The Secret Sauce to Sales Success with Jeffrey Gitomer

As sales professionals, we are all searching for the secret sauce to sales success. After all, all of us have sales goals that we need to reach. But the ones who reach them consistently have something in common. 

They rely on video.

Video isn’t a new technology. In fact, even if you are just looking at digital video or video that you can find online, you will see that it has been around for decades. Video is so integral to the Internet that a website solely dedicated to video (YouTube) is the second-most trafficked website on the Internet.

At the same time, many sales professionals do not use video. They tend to rely on old-school sales strategies like cold calling. While I’m not saying that these methods cannot work, they tend to be less efficient and less effective. By relying on the power of video, you can more easily find warm prospects, build stronger, long-term relationships with those prospects, and reach your sales goals. 

To better explain this secret sauce to sales success, I was happy to sit down with Jeffrey Gitomer. If you haven’t yet heard of Jeffrey, you are in for a treat. Jeffrey is known as the “king of sales.” He is a New York Times bestseller of several books, including The Little Black Book of Connections. He has decades of experience helping his clients build stronger connections and generate more sales, so he is someone that you should definitely pay attention to. Better yet, Jeffrey says that he closed over $350,000 in sales using Dubb (all in less than six weeks). But more on that later. 

In the end, anyone can take advantage of this secret sauce to sales success. All you need to do is take action today.

This blog post is a summary of a recent episode of RevShow, which is Dubb’s YouTube show on sales, marketing, video, and everything in between. If you would like to get updated on when we release new episodes of RevShow, go ahead and subscribe by clicking here.

The Ingredients of the Secret Sauce to Sales Success

Video is the overarching component for sales success. It is the secret sauce that any salesperson or organization can leverage today. 

At the same time, saying that video is the secret sauce to sales success may be oversimplifying it. Yes, if you choose to use video in your sales and marketing work, you will see plenty of exciting things. You will develop closer relationships with your prospects and customers. You’ll even see an increase in your conversion rates. That being said, there are several important ingredients that make up the sauce. 

I want to explore some of these individual ingredients through Jeffrey’s experience using video. As Jeffrey said, he started using Dubb around six months ago. He immediately realized that there was something about it that no other program had. Not only is it easy to use, but Jeffrey recognized that it had the potential to help him gain engagement and make more sales. It could do this in a way that his text messages never could.

Even if you don’t end up using Dubb, I believe that you can learn a lot from Jeffrey’s experience. Collectively, these ingredients make up a tantalizing cocktail that can help you reach your sales goals. 

Embrace Emotionality

Emotion is one of the core attributes of being a human being. We are all emotional, whether we are listening to one of our favorite songs or going on a first date with our crush. Emotion is what makes life worth living. We aren’t robots that are making the most rational decisions throughout our daily lives. Rather, we let emotions have a huge role in our personal and professional lives. 

As you can guess, emotion is a key attribute in the sales process. In the secret sauce to sales success, you are going to want to be authentic and emotional. In other words, you are going to want to be your true and authentic self—even if it makes you more emotional throughout the sales process. 

Jeffrey has been monumentally successful in leveraging emotion in the sales process. Simply put, it is core to his sales style and is something that he truly connects with. He isn’t afraid to be himself, whether that means using profanity in his sales videos or infrequently stumbling over his words. 

Emotion can help a sales professional in so many different ways. As he told me, the challenge that a salesperson has is getting to the decision-maker. From there, the salesperson needs to get the decision-maker involved with the decision. This can be difficult, as decision-makers have the power to write off salespeople in literally two seconds. Further, we have just gone through two years of extreme uncertainty and anxiety. Salespeople didn’t know what to do.

The outcome of all this uncertainty, Jeffrey argued, has a silver lining. That silver lining is the fact that the sales world has embraced the virtual. Virtual communication has become normal and video has become commonplace. Video isn’t something that is extra to how you normally communicate. Video has become the core of sales interactions. Because of this, there will be more distant connections. There will also be more communicative, emotional messages that are sent to prospects and clients. Consequently, this offers a chance for salespeople to gain a competitive advantage that they never had. All they need to do is be real, embrace their emotions throughout their sales process, and speak to their prospects on a human level. 

Through video, you can convey a message to someone who is both startled and engaged. They tend to smile and anticipate hearing your message. Importantly, this message is not centered on a value proposition. In fact, Jeffrey says that all value propositions should be burned. Instead, you can create a value message, which is down-to-earth and focused on solving a key problem in the customer’s life. That value message is perceived by the customer as being authentic and accurate. That is exactly what we are aiming for when trying to convince a prospect to become a paying customer.

Jeffrey says that by making videos that are compelling, emotionally engaging, and hit the customer in the head, heart, and wallet, you emerge in a great position to close the sale. He has been able to do this because he has video to the next level. In fact, Jeffrey has been in the studio since 1998. Because of this, he isn’t uncomfortable when it comes to shooting video. At the same time, he argues that 97% of salespeople are not good at video. Even if it is 74%, Jeffrey is ahead of his competitors “without doing a damn thing.” 

As he makes clear, his prices aren’t low. They are high and he makes a healthy profit. That being said, Jeffrey is ahead of his competitors in terms of emotional engagement. Because of this, prospects and customers will respond to him while they may not have necessarily responded to Jeffrey’s competitors. 

So keep emotion in mind when you are making your video content. No matter the size or sector of your business, you are going to want to rely on emotional video content to connect with your prospects and customers. It is an essential ingredient to the secret sauce of sales success. 

Leverage Humor

Along with emotion, humor is a vastly important part of the secret sauce of sales success. 

Jeffrey loves talking about humor. Along with being funny himself, he recognizes that humor is a key attribute in helping him reach his sales goals. Going further, humor creates a listening environment that optimizes your chance to close that sale and open up a new relationship. 

Jeffrey has many stories and ideas on how to use humor to close sales. In his seminars, he has said to many CEOs that they should walk into a prospect’s office, sit down, and ask “Do you want to buy now or do you want to hear the pitch?” The prospect says that they are probably going to do something. Jeffrey responds by saying, “Great, let’s go eat.” As he told me, why would he want to pitch someone who has already bought? He is there to make the other person feel comfortable enough to do business with him. 

If Jeffrey gets that as a net result of what he is trying to convey, everyone wins. He is going to help the individual become a better person (not just a salesperson). And when the CEO or vice president of sales gets that benefit, they become his customers. To get to that win-win type of scenario, he leverages humor and speaks to the prospect like a real person. He recognizes that employing humor is a way to put his prospects at ease and connect on a human-to-human level. By doing this, he increases the chances of a long-term connection and, consequently, a sale. 

We could spend plenty of time discussing how you can employ humor in your videos. The bottom line, however, is that all of us can be funny. Even if you don’t think that you are a naturally funny person, you can work on this skill and make your viewers laugh. Stick with it and you will be satisfied with the results. 

Attaching Proposals to Your Video

This is an ingredient that may not seem obvious at first, but it can go a long way in capitalizing on the power of video. Essentially, what you are doing here is making video the center of your customer interaction and then attaching a more detailed, written attachment to an email or SMS message. 

In May 2022, Jeffrey made more than $350,000 using Dubb. He did this by relying on the power of video along with sending a proposal. As he told me, there is a strategy to this. Jeffrey doesn’t send a proposal and add a video to that proposal. Rather, he reverses the process by sending a video and then adding a proposal. 

While the distinction may not seem like a big deal, it can go a long way in helping you reach your sales goals. It is an unorthodox strategy. Because of this, Jeffrey starts out by saying, “Look, I have a boring proposal that is attached to this email. It isn’t quite self-explanatory, so let me explain what happens after you decide that I’m your guy.” From there, his video then explains the value that he can add to the customer’s life and then tells the customer to take a look at the proposal. 

By going about it this way, you make it much easier for your prospect to engage with your video content. Rather than having their eyes glaze over a boring proposal, you can take the initiative by explaining the highlights in your video. Not only that, but you get to connect with your prospect on that authentic, emotional level. He or she can see the passion that you bring to your work and how your product or service will dramatically improve their life. It’s nearly impossible to get the same effect by reading a proposal alone.

So if you intend to send a prospect a proposal related to your product or service, make sure that it takes a backseat to a video. That video doesn’t even need to be overly long. It can be a 30-second or one-minute video that quickly introduces yourself, has a few sentences on your meeting and/or your product or service, and then directs the viewer to look at the proposal. Whatever angle you choose, definitely think about including this strategy in your day-to-day sales work. 

Reply with Video

Jeffrey says that he employs a secret weapon in many of his videos. That secret weapon? The reply with video feature.

If you are a Dubb user, you probably already know what reply with video is. If you aren’t, however, you can think of reply with video as a seamless way for your viewers to respond to your video. Instead of needing to type out a lengthy email or send a long text message, your viewer can simply speak to the camera. 

You can imagine how useful this is. For starters, it makes it more convenient for your viewers. But beyond pure convenience, the reply with video feature is an outstanding way to gather customer testimonials. Because customer testimonials are some of the best forms of social proof, you will definitely want to take advantage of this feature. In fact, if you are a Dubb user, I recommend that you include a reply with video call to action button below all of your videos. It will make your viewers’ lives easier and make it easier for you to get all kinds of valuable customer testimonials. 

When he gets a video reply, Jeffrey calls it “24-carat gold, every single time.” Why is that? Because Jeffrey is receiving a video from the prospect or customer, he immediately recognizes that he made an emotional connection with the viewer. It meant that the customer received your video, watched it, liked it, and felt so strongly that they felt a need to take the time to respond. Now, that is power and something that can accelerate the course of your business. Make sure that you are leaning on this ingredient when you are capitalizing on the secret sauce to sales success. 

The Importance of Preparation

Another important part of the secret sauce to sales success centers on preparation. This is one of Jeffrey’s favorite mantras. No matter the specific circumstances leading up to a sale, there is one thing in common: Jeffrey was always well researched and well prepared. 

As Jeffrey said, he has been able to close many sales in his life. He is very blessed and fortunate to do so, but it didn’t happen by accident. Jeffrey is prepared. He knows who he is targeting. He also properly opens the relationship. While many sales professionals focus on how they are going to close the sale, Jeffrey takes a different approach. He spends his time thinking about how he will create strong, lasting relationships that will eventually lead to a sale.

Now, when he is making video content, Jeffrey prepares for every single engagement. You’ll notice, however, that when he is speaking to the camera, he is extremely natural. It doesn’t look like he is reading off of a lengthy script. He is relaxed, and he encourages all sales professionals to simply relax on camera. When you are yourself, you don’t have to remember anything you said or did. 

That said, you don’t have to speak off the cuff. Jeffrey says that the cool thing about Dubb is that you can leverage teleprompter mode. This means that you can create a script (of whatever length) and insert it directly into Dubb. When you are recording your video, you can then read off of your teleprompter and deliver the message as you envision. Whether you want to use a full script or simple bullet points, Dubb’s teleprompter mode can help you deliver the message that you want. 

However you choose to proceed, preparation is an immensely important tool in your sales toolkit. You won’t regret it. 

A Case Study on Preparation

In this discussion on preparation, I want to share a brief story that Jeffrey told me. While the story doesn’t explicitly involve video sales and marketing, it goes to show how solid preparation can lead you to your sales goals. 

Among the many books that he has authored, Jeffrey wrote the Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching!: 32.5 Strategies To Ring Your Own (Cash) Register of Business and Personal Success. NCR (the cash register company) was one of Jeffrey’s clients. He was delivering a seminar for NCR and thought that NCR’s father (John Patterson) is the grandfather of sales. In 1880, Patterson literally bought the patent for the cash register. He then thought, “I’m working with the grandfather of sales. I should write that book.” Jeffrey then called NCR’s CEO and said that he wanted to write a book about the life and times of John Patterson. 

As Jeffrey said, when you walk into the room with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you are taught to go in with nothing. Jeffrey flew into Dayton, Ohio with a drag bag and briefcase. The CEO came out and asked Jeffrey how he could help him. Later, Jeffrey had that same CEO dragging his bags. He pitched to the CEO by offering him to write the book in exchange for $50,000. He would write and then own the book. Once the book was finished, he would get 10,000 copies of the book and send them to the CEO. The CEO could then send those books to whoever he wanted. If the CEO needed more books, Jeffrey would sell them to him at cost. 

Ultimately, it was a 15-minute meeting. The CEO loved the idea and decided to move forward with Jeffrey. In fact, Jeffrey said that it would have been a shorter meeting, but it took that long to get a check from the CEO’s assistant. As he told me, he walked out of that meeting with a $50,000 check because he was prepared. The CEO knew of Jeffrey and sensed that he would successfully complete the task. Simultaneously, Jeffrey approached the meeting in an unorthodox manner. He dragged his bag into the meeting and wasn’t wearing overly formal attire. One year later, the CEO had Jeffrey’s book. Along with that, one year later, Jeffrey was doing seminars for NCR all over the country. He was even able to conduct a seminar at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Jeffrey reiterated that we shouldn’t close sales. We should open sales. Be prepared, have your target, and know exactly what you want to say. Further, make sure you are clear on what you want the outcome to be. From there, have a good time. You are prepared enough that you can be yourself, focus on the other person’s wants and needs, and get that much closer to a sale. Even though you may not be pitching a Fortune 500 CEO today, you can use Jeffrey’s experience to thoroughly prepare for your meetings and increase your odds of success. 

“Tell Me Something I Don’t Know”

The phrase “tell me something I don’t know” isn’t just a great interview question. It is an important question when you are engaging with a prospect. You really want to get the prospect engaged and have them speak about problems that they are currently facing. Make the interaction about them, not you. 

Most salespeople don’t take this approach. They are taught sales tactics and techniques that focus on themselves, rather than the prospect or customer. When these sales professionals are memorizing something or sticking close to a system, they are actually doing things that the customer perceives as uncomfortable. They aren’t building that connection and making it much more difficult for them to make a sale. 

Granted, everyone has their own way of selling. But at the same time, Jeffrey says that you can’t tell him how to sell your way. You need to tell him to sell in a way that is comfortable for Jeffrey. With that understanding, all that Jeffrey wants to do is convey a message and transfer a message. The goal is for the customer to say, “I get it. I agree with it.”

The “tell me something I don’t know” framework is a great way to see eye-to-eye with your prospect or customer. It can break the ice and help you get into a customer-focused perspective. Follow Jeffrey’s lead here and embrace this question as you are engaging with your audience. 

Find Your Signature

In every video that I have recorded with Jeffrey, he has worn a different t-shirt. His t-shirts are often funny and have witty captions. What is great about this is that Jeffrey’s t-shirts are his signature. They are something that I always notice and something that his clients certainly notice as well. 

We all have a signature. In other words, all of us have something that is truly unique to ourselves. It could be our hair, shirt, shoes, or something else. It could even be a word or phrase that we typically say in our videos. Whatever the case may be, I’m sure that there is something that you wear, say, or do that makes you stand out. 

Because of this, it is important to find your signature and be different. Embrace your signature—no matter how different you think it may be. By doing this, you are able to stand out in the mind of your prospect or customer. You differentiate yourself from your competitors and make it much more likely that your target will remember you.

This is especially important when you are targeting CEOs or other members of the C suite. In all likelihood, their schedules are packed. They are meeting so many different people per day. If you are actively trying to sell to them, it is going to be hard to stay in their minds—no matter how good your product or service is. One way to overcome this challenge is to embrace your signature. Certainly, you will want your product or service to speak for itself. But at the same time, your signature can be just the thing that helps your target remember you. It is an ingredient for the secret sauce of sales success for a reason. 

It Is All About Trust

Think about this for one second. Would you rather do business with a friend or someone that you don’t really like? The answer is obvious. People want to do business with people that they like (in other words, their friends). 

Trust isn’t given. It is earned through hard work and commitment. Arguably, this is one of the most important ingredients in the secret sauce of sales success. If you aren’t able to put in the time to build trust with a specific prospect, you will find it incredibly difficult to get their business. On the other hand, if you are patient and dedicated, you will see some promising results. Incorporating the rest of the ingredients in this post can help you create your own secret sauce of sales success.

With that in mind, embrace the long game. Create genuine, real relationships with all of your prospects and customers. Believe in the power of trust. I’m sure you will be satisfied with the results. 

Incorporating the Secret Sauce Into Your Own Business

Telling a story is one of the most important parts of sales. Essentially, telling a tale that truly connects with your prospect or customer is a powerful tool to have in your sales toolkit. I hope that you have learned from Jeffrey’s stories on how to leverage the secret sauce of sales success. 

It all comes down to the power of video. Ultimately, people connect with video. They feel like they can see you, believe you, and trust you. As you can guess, when that takes place, the sales process becomes so much more efficient. If you want to increase your sales and decrease your sales cycles, I highly encourage you to check out Dubb and leverage everything that video has to offer.

As Jeffrey said, he earned $350,000 in one month by using two Dubb videos. The core benefit of Dubb videos is that they create an emotional connection with the viewer. Text will not and audio will not. By understanding what you want to shoot and efficiently transferring your value-added message to your viewer, you will be in business.

The secret sauce of sales success is there for you to take. The best time to get started is right now.  

If you would like to learn more about Dubb, click here. You can also click here to contact us and click here for a free 14-day trial of our paid plans. Whether or not you choose to become a Dubb customer, we encourage you to take advantage of video today!