Jeffrey Gitomer

The definition of “referral” will surprise you, and at the same time make you understand why you don’t get as many as you expect or ask for.

It started like a small bunch of rustling leaves. A little Facebook here and there – a blog or two. And then the wind picked up. LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube. Growing from a windstorm to a firestorm, social media in now a tornado running wild over the Internet plains.

Social media has become a phenomenon beyond words. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world have joined the party. In a millisecond, millions of people can know everything about everything and everyone. You knew it couldn’t be long before business got involved. Small business, big business, your business.

About a year ago we launched Ace of Sales 1.0 – instant success. Salespeople loved our customized emails that set them apart from the competition and the ability to send low cost custom greeting cards and postcards. They loved the ability to do all social media from the Ace of Sales home page. They loved the ability to import their outlook contacts.

I’m NOT talking about the economy, or customers in financial trouble, or slow sales, or price pressures from competition, or pressures from your boss to “sell more now.”
Oh and, by the way, how about YOUR changes? Still cold calling? Still learning “how to close?” Still “finding the pain?” Still trying to figure out social media? Still a bit behind technology? That’s your problem.

As my sales career has evolved over the years, and I have emerged as a leader (maybe THE leader) in the sales industry, I’m often asked if I have any secrets for success or what’s been my path to personal success.

Several months ago I got an email from Michael Andrew Wilson. He read my Little Red Book of Selling and Little Black Book of Connections, loved them, and wrote to tell me about it. Very nice compliment, with one notable addition. Michael lives in Paris, France. He moved from Newport, Rhode Island, to Paris in 1989.

You may know that line from the infamous sales movie Glengarry Glen Ross where Alex Baldwin plays himself. It’s a throwback sales training line from the 1960’s that manifested itself all the way to the ’80s. The problem with that line is that some people are still using it.

Do you love sales? Do you love what you do? Do you love your product? Do you love your company? Do you love your customers? These are not questions I pulled out of the air. These are questions that directly affect your productivity, your attitude, your income, your success, and your fulfillment-not to mention your longevity at your present job.

It got more than 100 “re-tweets.” Evidently people understood what I was saying and chose to tell others. But since Twitter only allows 140 characters, I wanted to elaborate on the word resilience because it has a much deeper meaning than I was able to provide in one tweet.