‘King of Sales’ Shares How He Cut His Teeth

by Greg Crumpton on Jul 29, 2021

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Greg Crumpton lives by a simple mantra: Relationships drive business. Each week on Straight Outta Crumpton, Crumpton dives into the lost art of networking and speaks with the biggest influencers in business services to learn how they build, nurture and value their professional relationships.

Greg Crumpton gets tears in his eyes thinking about all the special guests on the show. This one might be one of the best. This also might be the only episode with talk of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Jeffrey Gitomer, who has his own podcast, was bribed by Crumpton 15 years ago for a meeting. He may have been bribed for this podcast, as well.

On this episode of Straight Outta Crumpton, Hosts Greg Crumpton and Tyler Kern talked with Gitomer, an author who has earned the crown as “The King of Sales.” His latest book, Go Live! Turn Virtual Connections Into Paying Customers “helps readers understand and take advantage of several online tools to boost their sales and increase their revenue” by using tools such as Facebook Live and podcasting to drive sales and connect with customers.

Gitomer grew up selling in Manhattan in the 1970s, where he spent most of his time cold-calling, though he wasn’t always on phones but trying to get into offices. He admits there weren’t the same kind of barriers that prevent you from entering a building in today’s world. He would often sneak up the freight elevators.

“I never cared about that anyway,” Gitomer said. “I would just take the freight elevators up to where I wanted to go, and people would say, ‘How did you get in here?’ I would say, ‘I took the freight elevator, doesn’t everybody?’”

Usually, he would be allowed to stay, and this tactic allowed him to enter offices without being announced, which is the way he wanted to enter. He wanted to set himself apart and be slightly different from other sales reps. Gitomer realizes that most folks aren’t doing enough to set themselves apart.