Master Salesman Zig Ziglar has died after a battle with pneumonia, according to his Facebook page.

“Though his time on earth has ended, he is speaking with Jesus now in his heavenly home,”  “The angels in heaven are rejoicing and his family is celebrating a life well lived.” are two statements that were on his Facebook page.

As I write this blog, I can see my very worn copy of Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing The Sale sitting on my book shelf.  Next to it is a copy of Ziglar on Selling and Over the Top.

I had the privilege of meeting Zig Ziglar in person a couple of time.  The last time was just a couple of years ago and this time I made sure I brought my two worn Zig Ziglar sales books for him to sign.

Zig Ziglar had a great impact on my selling career.  Not only did I learn from his principles but I used them to train the sales teams that I built.

Some of Zig’s principles that stood out to me are:

Ethical Selling – two words that should go together.

When you miss a sale, it is even more important to make a cheerful, friendly, optimistic, and courteous exit than it is when you make a sale.

Remember that every prospect listens to radio station WII-FM (What’s In It For Me?)

No,often means they don’t know.

If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.

When you are home, BE THERE!

The sales process is something that you do for or with the prospect, and not to the prospect.

My prayers go out to his family, friends, co-workers and staff. We lost a master seller today but his teachings will be here for the next generation of sales people to learn from.

My favorite quote from Zig Ziglar is a great way to end this blog post.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”