Book Description

"The Closers," the keystone of Ben Gay III's world-famous series of books, cassette programs, newsletters and seminars is the most powerful book on selling ever written. With over 2,000,000 copies sold since it was first published in 1980, it explains selling the way it really is, not the way some salespeople wish it was. If you have only one book on selling in your personal library, make sure it's this "sales closers bible"! ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Must-read material for all Sales Professionals
I have read this book about 5 times since purchasing it 2 years ago. Each time I read it, my sales increase by about 40%! I am now the sales manager of a large Internet Backbone Provider and I have floated this book around my sales force as required reading. Each one of my reps who reads it, orders one for themself. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about selling and about increasing thier income

Packed with solid ideas.
I was forced to make a career change due to downsizing and soon discovered that sales was the only career choice available with no degree required. I needed to learn how to sell, what to say, how to say it, and the "nuts and bolts" of how to turn every sales situation to my favor. I don't care what you are selling, you can easily adapt any example in this book to your product. The chapter with examples using the worlds best closes is worth the price of the book alone. This stuff is not pie in the sky BS it works. I wish I had read this book a few years ago as I would have been able to close more than I ever dreamed of. This is a must read for anyone new or old to the sales profession. I can't praise this book enough.

unbelieveble!!!!
I SALE TIME-SHARE AND I USED TO MAKE $ 4000 A MONTH AVERAGE SELLING $ 60000 A MONTH AVERAGE!
I BOUGHT THIS BOOK, I FOLLOWED IT WITH A SWISS ACCURACY AND I NOW,AFTER 3 MONTH, IM A TOP SELLER SINCE 2 MONTHS SELLING NOT LESS THAN $ 300.000 A MONTH! HOW MUCH DO I EARN? $ 20.000 A MONTH AVERAGE!! SO SHOULD YOU BUY THIS BOOK? MMMMM.....NO DONT!!
LET ME BE THE BEST!!!

Buy it or Die
I used to sell this book. I sold my entire enventory of this book years ago when Ben Gay had a shop selling books and vitamins in California. Not only did I sell the book using the closes in the book I also sold my rag eared sample copies for full price. Before I would walk into a busines I would read one of the closes and use that close to sell. It took a while to get into the swing of the sale but the more I used it the better I got. At one car dealership I sold 4 copies at $20 each and the owner later told me that his salesmen thought that I "walked on water". The simple soft sale may work for some of you but the samples in this book are slam dunks. From hard close to harder closes these examples are just what you need to get the "OK" on the bottom line... As an example One will get you the signature or a black eye and nothing in between.. ReRead the title to this review.. It is honest and it works.

Only for those who want to close more sales
I initially was turned off by this book because it appears to be too much "old school." Having now read the book and used many of the techniques, have noticed an increase in actual sales. If you can't close, all you have done is had a conversation.

While some of the objections covered are not new, the manner in which Pickens responds is somewhat new and different. But that should come as no surprise since the author is a true master closer with decades of real world experience. Not someone hiding behind a managers oak desk.

"The Closers" is 10 chapters and 278 pages of powerful information. It includes the 20 greatest closes and 15 buyer objections and forty-five red hot closer responses.

Something that stood out for me occurred in the chapter on how a closer thinks. The author states that if you take out the letter "c" out of closer it spells loser. The "c" stands for confidence, compassion, control and courage. Strong point!

The warning on the front of the book may be a little misleading. I believe that anyone and everyone who wants to be a sales professional must read this book. However, if your goal is to stay at the novice level forever, then this book is not for you.

The closers is a must read for all sales professionals and I highly recopmmend it. ... Read more

Book Description

This book gives a fresh understanding of the “laws” that govern the sales profession.The first section includes the laws that deal with the attitudes, aptitudes, and abilities that are required for any salesperson to be successful.The second section deals with the laws concerning the communication, courtship, camaraderie and commitments between a successful salesperson and his or her clients.Each law provides a description of a practical application.If you’ve ever held a sales position you know that being successful takes more than a smile, a Rolodex and a “can do” attitude.This book provides the “more” you will need to come out on top and stay there.

Reviews (20)

It's All About Trust!
Ken Blanchard says, "I believe 'High Trust Selling' will become one of the enduring classics of business and personal growth literature."

Sales happen when trust exists; but in the sales profession, there's more to steady success than being a trustworthy person--although that's certainly where it starts. Long-term sales success happens when high trust exists--when you are a trustworthy salesperson running a trustworthy sales business.

Duncan teaches that despite what you've read or been taught to this point in your sales career, it takes more than fortitude and flattery to become great in the sales profession. That's because establishing high trust with prospects and producing high sales with clients is about your ability to develop and maintain loyal relationships, not your propensity for persuasion. Another thing to note is that high trust selling is not about you; it's about them--the clients and prospects whom you serve. The fact is that you'll never be genuinely successful in the sales profession if you're self-centered. You can go to the bank on that.

Here's something else you can bank on: If you are a trustworthy salesperson running a respectable, reliable sales business, you will succeed in the sales profession...in less time than you think and with much less stress than you're accustomed to. More than that, with high trust on your side you will climb to the top of your industry and remain there.

In fact, I believe the sooner you apply the practices and principles within the pages of this book, the sooner you will see results!

Read the Intro
I'm one of those who likes to read reviews before buying a book. In this case, I concur with all the reviews except for the two who seem to have skipped Duncan's Introduction in the book. After reading the other reviewers' comments, I was a little skeptical to buy "High Trust Selling" at first because of the two reviewers who say Duncan doesn't ever define "high trust." But when I picked up the book and read the Intro, "high trust" was clearly defined there, and then expanded upon in great detail throughout the remainder of the book. In the Intro Duncan writes, "...sales are made when trust exists. But in the sales profession there's more to steady success than being a trustworthy person - although that's certainly where it starts. Long-term sales success happens when HIGH trust exists - when you are a trustworthy salesperson running a trustworthy sales business. When it's clear to your clients that you are a person of integrity who will not only do what you say but who also has the means to deliver. It is one thing to be a trustworthy person with a sales job; it's another to be a trustworthy salesperson with a reliable business.

"A trustworthy person will do everything in his power to follow through on what he has promised - and that's very important. But if a trustworthy person is not ALSO an efficient salesperson running an efficient sales business, trust will only go so far. It may land a sale or two, but it rarely will last beyond that. High trust is necessary to climb to the top, whether you're selling cars or copiers; hats or home loans; footwear or financial services. And high trust happens by design, not by accident. It's earned and preserved, but never finagled. Despite what you've read or been taught to this point in your sales career, it takes more than fortitude and flattery to become great in the sales profession. If you are a trustworthy salesperson running a respectable, reliable sales business, you will succeed in the sales profession . . . in less time than you think and with much less stress than you're accustomed to. More than that, with high trust on your side you will climb to the top of your industry and remain there."

All things considered, this is a very valuable book - even if you're already successful in a sales industry. This book will both teach you and keep you focused on the keys to staying on top as a salesperson. I highly recommend it.

Don't read books that are self serving - no trust here!
Ok - a few nuggets - very few. What annoys me most are books that are written to promote the authors business. They're self serving and never provide a full "how to" guide.

I'm curious - were the other reviewers relatives of the author?

Worthwhile investment
Unfortunately most sales books are garbage. I have wasted alot of money on these books over the years. This book is the exception to this theory. It is worth every penny.

My eyes were opened to may things in this wonderful book. I wish that this had come across earlier in my sales career. The info and exposure to coaching has been invaluable.

Todd Duncan "walks the walk", he is a sales professional, not some author pretending he is a salesperson.

High Trust Selling
I found the first nine chapters to contain a few pieces of beneficial information that really had nothing to do with the title of the book. I kept reading and wondering when I was going to find out about selling with high trust. Although the words are mentioned throughout the first nine chapters, it's almost as if the author added the words after coming up with the book title to make the chapters seem like they should be included. I found the last five chapters to be somewhat worthy of the book title and found I highlighted much more in these chapters. My expectations, though, were not exceeded given the book title and my hope for extensive high trust selling content. It is also rather obvious that the author's background is in the mortgage industry. This makes it a little less relevant for people selling in complex situations. I did empty one highlighter, though, which results in an overall rating of 3. I would give the first nine chapters a 2 and the final five chapters a 4. ... Read more

Book Description

``Solution Selling is the most comprehensive sales and sales management process available today. Mike Bosworth has the best understanding of sales process in corporate America.''Jeffrey M. Fisher, Vice President, Symix Computer Systems. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

This book is Your Advantage over other sales executives.
I have been in sales for over 15 years. This book explains in detail what goes on during a sale and offers profound insight to the art of selling complex products. It is true that selling is just a simple name for the complex mental wars that happens between the buyer and the seller. This book helps one strategize his selling and predict customer behaviors. It also helps any sales person to be less emotional because he or she knows what stage is the customer in and can anticipate customer reactions. Great book, must read!

Better Sales Practices
Bosworth sells us all on solution selling. He teaches us how to sell everything from shoes to software. IBM recommends this book as the definitive guide to their sales strategy. Bosworth provides numerous examples, case studies, and most importantly he explains and analyzes each of them. But perhaps the best example of solution selling is the book itself -- it solution-sells the concept of solution selling, from catching our attention, demonstrating that a problem exists, asking us questions, and finally prescribing a solution: solution selling. A must read for anyone in sales or business in general

Good book
I liked SPIN SELLING better as they both covered the same ground with similar approach, but SPIN SELLING seemed better researched and had 4 steps where this had 9. Spin Selling was a better read too.

However, it is entirely possible that had I read this before reading Spin Selling, I would have gained more from this, and hence liked it more.

bit disappointed
I gave this book one star only to indicate that it was not for me, it may well be for people in other fields of selling. I actually work in the timeshare-business and since timeshare is also a "big ticket"-item I thought this could be the right book for me. First of all, let me state that I have read many books on sales and this is by far the most boring one that I have read so far. "Scripts", descriptions of specific sales-calls and so on, I personally don't like that AT ALL. If you find yourself in pretty much the same situation on every call you may find this book could be too versatile for you, it just covers too many different scenarios in order for me to find how it could benefit me. If you wanna find out about how to do a proper intent-statement on the phone etc. or sell stuff to companies, then maybe you should go for it, but a tough, not very inspiring read. And every book on sales should be inspiring. Selling is a creative process, this book is only technical. I really wanted to like it. I just couldn't.

The book to read and the book to keep!
Once you have read it, you would want to share it with others. This is how good Michael Bosworth's book "Solution Selling" is. From clarifying the difference between Features, Advantages and Benefits (which a lot of sales people still mixed up), to complex solution selling process, the book has given losts of good illustration with practical examples. Especially in "3 levels of buyers needs", "10 faces of buyer pain", "Price Negotiation" etc.

The book uses the buyers' prespective to help readers to understand what the buyers think at each stage in their decision process which is a good way to demonstrate his theory behind.

Solution selling is a long and complex process, with the approach and process Bosworth described, it helps a lot in defining the actions and precautions we need to take in day to day solution selling process.

If I can only pick one of the chapters in the book, I must recommend you to read, at least, how Bosworth uses the "9-block vision processing model" to see solution selling in the buyer's viewpoint, steps by steps showing what a solution sales/consultant should react in response to different level of the buyer's pain.

If I have knew/bought this book earlier, I might not need to spend my last few years going through the hard way. It is definitely a book to read and the book to keep ... ... Read more

Book Description

This is the only book available today that provides a very readable, step-by-step guide for managing an incoming call center. The book combines theory with practical advice and is filled with over 100 charts and graphs, several case studies and an extensive glossary and index. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Book for all business people
This book is for everyone in the business world, not only for call center managers. All organizations of all sizes are closing the gap between businesses and customers. And the main customer contact point, call center, is coming into a spotlight as the centerpiece of businesses. This book introduces readers to call center management practices, the good and the bad. It also point out the factors that are changing call centers, their functions and people who work in them. Its insight into some of the technology changes help readers grasp their importance in the context of everyday operation. Fast reading.

An excellent overview in Call Center Management
I love this book, it provides an excellent overview on a myriad of call center topics, including staffing, forecasting, metric assessment and performance review. It definitely proved to validate some of the observations and concerns that I had regarding my own call center.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a reference on call center management, or any person new to the field of call center management. The book is very well formatted to be used as a stand alone reference or a cover to cover read, each chapter is very thorough in explanation without going into excruciating detail or debate.

This book will help you do your job better!

Wow! So This is How Call Centers Work!
I've generally been an IT Director and Project Manager, so I read this book to get a better idea of my customers' needs. I was pretty excited to discover that there's at least one good summary of what call centers do and how they do it. For my own sake--and perhaps yours--here's my summary of Brad and Julia's summary:

1. Incoming call center management is the art of having the right number of skilled people and supporting resources in place at the right times to handle an accurately forecasted workload, at service level and with quality.

2. Though average call load may be predictable, calls arrive randomly--which means that they often bunch up.

3. A service level is defined as "X percent of calls answered in Y seconds", not as "X percent answered" or "Average Speed of Answer". (The ASA is skewed by the bad times when calls bunch up.) Abandonment rates matter, too, but fixing abandonment problems usually means fixing service levels.

4. Service level and quality don't conflict. If you try to fix service level with poor quality, it comes back to bite you with more calls and demoralized reps.

5. A good forecasted call load--including talk time, after-call work, and volume--is critical for budgeting people and circuits. Often, a good forecast should predict load by the half hour, using previous data, knowledge of upcoming plans, and good judgment.

6. To determine staffing needs, use a variation of the Erlang C formula. Its input is the number of reps, number of callers forecasted, and the time to serve each caller; its output is a prediction of waiting time. (Even better, add an input for response time, and you'll get the percentage who'll wait longer than that!) If agents have different skills, you'll need forecasts and calculations for each set of agents.

7. More staff, less waiting, fewer phone lines for people on hold. Less staff, more waiting, more phone lines. Formulas exist for phone lines, too.

8. Not everyone scheduled is always working on customer service. Schedule accordingly. Be clever about work schedules to get the right number working at the right time. Service level results tell you whether you got it right.

9. If you have too few reps on duty, queues get long (service level goes down), more circuits are needed, and customers get frustrated, sometimes abandoning the call. If you have too many reps on duty, you spend too much paying for them to wait.

10. Give senior managers good reports, but make sure they understand the points above.

11. Monitor the number of calls in the queue and the longest current wait. Service level and other metrics tell more about the past than the present. Be ready with plans for unexpected load (reassigning, rerouting, delay announcements, busy signals).

12. There are lots of tools and graphs to measure aspects of quality. Use them to identify root causes, not beat your employees. Reps should adhere to schedules, and do good work. Use monitoring capabilities to coach. Measuring based on "calls per hour" is unreliable, and invites cheating.

13. Customers are getting more demanding, automated systems are taking the easy calls, so reps have to be better trained and more skilled.

14. Create a good environment that uses technology well.

The book was written in 1997, and I don't know whether it's been updated. The authors have some commentary about email-based, web-based, and CTI-based systems, but the next edition might want to say more about the similarities and differences between those and the traditional call center.

Overall, I'm happy to understand more about the math and science behind this discipline. As another reviewer commented, it's clear that IT Help Desks have something to learn from the Call Center experience.

Call Center Management ~On Fast Forward
We were in the process of re-organizing our call center and based on the excellent reviews that I read, I choose this book. Well, the reviews were right. This book is excellent. It is very well written and explains all aspects of organizing and analyzing a Call Center. We have ordered a total of 6 copies and they are being utilized by the V.P. of Operations, Operations Manager, IT dept, and the Customer Service Dept.

Comprehensive handbook for management
The perfect book for the people that are managing the call centers. Especially when call center is just a part of your responsibility and you need a comprehensive and ehhaustive in-depth description of call center activities. Great book. Good for both excecutives to understand what the call center managers are doing (even in terms of languages they speak, very usefull, if you are not able to undestand sometimes the cc managers you need the book) and call centers managers in order to understand how to present their work to the executives. ... Read more

Book Description

Selling Today: Creating Customer Value, one of the most popular sales information books on the market, offers readers a blend of time-proven fundamentals and new practices needed to succeed in today's information economy. It emphasizes the need for salespeople to be guided by the new principle of personal selling: establishing partnerships that are maintained by customer value, created by the salesperson. This edition stresses the need for sales professionals to cope with new forces shaping the world of sales and marketing, and emphasizes the strategies for long-term success.It provides comprehensive coverage of consultative selling, strategic selling, partnering, and value-added selling. Sales force automation is also a major theme.For sales and marketing professionals. ... Read more

Book Description

In this follow-up to his bestselling book Experiential Marketing, Bernd Schmitt introduces the five-step CEM process, a comprehensive tool for connecting with customers at every touch-point. A must-read for senior executives, marketing managers, and anyone charged to drive growth and spur change.

PRAISE FOR Customer Experience Management

"In all his work Bernd Schmitt sets about scraping away the conventional marketing wisdom. Schmitt’s prescription makes it more satisfying to be a customer, more satisfying to be a brand manager. I hope desperately that every company with which I do business reads this book."
–Martyn Straw, Chief Strategy Officer, BBDO Worldwide

"Schmitt finally identifies the bush that a lot of marketing departments have been beating around. He anchors the activities that cost us millions and billions of dollars to ‘end game’ objectives that have never before been so beautifully focused."
–Victor J. Pacor, Chief Marketing Officer, Sony Electronics, Inc.

"With his groundbreaking new book, Schmitt answers a much-needed call for a practical way to enact experiential marketing. His dynamic and engaging voice makes this as entertaining as it is informative."
–John Quelch, Senior Associate Dean for International Development
Harvard Business School ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Packed With Knowledge!
The revolutionary approach that Bernd H. Schmitt is advocating here wouldn't sound so radical to anyone who has ever been in therapy: be aware, see things from other people's point of view, address their concerns. If you've been in $150 an hour territory, this isn't radical, but in the suites of marketing, the author contends, it is brand new. The book is an interesting follow up to the author's earlier seminal work on the broader theory of customer experience. Entitled Experiential Marketing, that work made the case for a customer-experience focus. This book is more of a practical how-to, professorially organized into a neat near-outline format. Here, Schmitt makes the case for dissecting, designing and then improving, the customer's experience with your product. We recommend this book of marketing therapy to anyone selling a product or service - and it is lots less expensive than putting your consumers on the couch.

A New Experience
My experience with this book was generally stimulating and inspiring and sparked many insights. Customer Experience Management is so powerful because it is based on a largely intuitive idea.

Since the beginning of commerce, and buyer and seller interactions, there surely has been some element of customer experience management by the seller, and some subconscious understanding by the customer that he/she is not buying a product or service but participating in an experience.

In his previous book, Experiential Marketing, Schmitt demonstrates that firms who have capitalized on this recent movement and expanded and refined their experiential approach have reaped huge benefits and stayed ahead of the pack. Now, in this sequel to that book, Schmitt elaborates on his previous work and provides a framework for how to efficiently and effectively implement the customer experience management approach.

I found this book to be enormously helpful and an important addition to this fascinating and important field.

A Satisfied Customer
Customer Experience Management is a must-read for busy marketing executives. Although it was a quick read, it should not be taken lightly. The framework Prof. Schmitt outlines carries on where his eye-opening Experiential Marketing left off. It provided me with a good outline and a valuable set of tools with which to jumpstart my marketing department. The case studies were insightful and helped illustrate his methodology and the success many companies around the world are having by making their customer's needs and lifestyle top of mind.

A much-needed book
This book provides a comprehensive and much-needed overview of the total customer experience picture. It goes far beyond the highly-touted (and too often disappointing) CRM craze to provide sound strategies for connecting with the customer at various "touch-points." Any company that is serious about treating its customers right could benefit from this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Millions of people around the world are involved in direct selling.There are 12 million in the United States alone!Almost 74 percent of direct sellers are women.

An estimated 46 million people in the world are involved in direct selling, according to the Direct Selling Association.In less than ten years this number is expected to grow to an unbelievable 200 million!With more people looking for careers that offer independence, flexibility, and tremendous income potential, this book offers a one-stop source of nuts-and-bolts advice, insights, and practical sales skills.

Build It Big: 101 Insider Secrets from Top Direct Selling Experts addresses the three most popular models of direct selling:
* network marketing (e.g., Amway)
* party planning (e.g., Pampered Chef)
* person-to-person(e.g., Guardian Life Insurance)

The training that many of these companies offer is limited and typically covers only product features and benefits, basic sales techniques, recruitment, and order processing.

Through extensive research, the Direct Selling Women's Alliance (DSWA) has identified four crucial "life skills" that often are neglected or omitted from a company's training and support program:

* Financial and tax guidance.
* Coaching and leadership skills development.
* Business management and technology training.
* Daily success practices and implementation.

Build It Big unveils the methods and approaches in developing these skills that, DSWA believes, are the true linchpins of growth and long-term sales stability.The disciplined approach and real-life insights from some of the most successful and talented people in the direct selling business will have broad appeal to rookies and veterans alike, especially for people who are opting for direct selling for part-time work, extra income, and the autonomy it offers. ... Read more

Book Description

In this completely revised and updated edition of the customer service classic (more than 600,000 copies sold), Carl Sewell enhances his time-tested advice with fresh ideas and new examples and explains how the groundbreaking “Ten Commandments of Customer Service” apply to today’s world.

Drawing on his incredible success in transforming his Dallas Cadillac dealership into the second largest in America, Carl Sewell revealed the secret of getting customers to return again and again in the original Customers for Life. A lively, down-to-earth narrative, it set the standard for customer service excellence and became a perennial bestseller. Building on that solid foundation, this expanded edition features five completely new chapters, as well as significant additions to the original material, based on the lessons Sewell has learned over the last ten years.

Sewell focuses on the expectations and demands of contemporary consumers and employees, showing that businesses can remain committed to quality service in the fast-paced new millennium by sticking to his time-proven approach: Figure out what customers want and make sure they get it. His “Ten Commandants” provide the essential guidelines, including:

• Underpromise, overdeliver: Never disappoint your customers by charging them more than they planned. Always beat your
estimate or throw in an extra service free of charge

• No complaints? Something’s wrong: If you never ask your customers what else they want, how are you going to give it to them?

• Measure everything: Telling your employees to do their best won’t work if you don’t know how they can improve

• Borrow, borrow, borrow: Sewell, for example, learned about hospitality from Japanese culture, cleanliness from Disney, and
politeness from his mother. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Customer for Life
Summary:

We live in a customer economy. Customers control the way of doing business. It is necessary for the company to put customer¡¦s need at the core. This book provides many practical tactics to turn what customer needs into actions.

Structurally, this book can be divided into three aspects: customer, employees and physical environment. And in each aspect, author will introduce some interesting tactics. For customer aspect, Carl suggests that company should ask customer their preference instead of just assuming what customer like. For employees aspect, Carl realizes that ¡§if you want your employees to be polite to your customer, you have to be polite to your employees¡¨. For physical environment aspect, Carl thinks that ¡§every impression is important¡¨, therefore all physical environment even a restroom should be treated well.

Comment:

Advantages:

Although minor, still need to care

For a student, this book really gives us many practical way of doing business as well as the proper manner when dealing with customers.
One of the insight that this book bring to me is ¡§although minor, still need to care¡¨. Customer will not very appreciate if company does all thing right, since customer think it is company¡¦s responsibility to do so. Also, customer will dissatisfy if company does not do well in a minor aspect such as toilet because customer will afraid how a company treat customer good if they cannot treat toilet well. Overall speaking, this book can give reader understand this concept.

Linkage between customer, employees and physical environment

After reading the whole book, I understand more about the relationship of customer, employees and physical environment. Employees and physical environment are two vital elements which are influence customers directly. Therefore, if company want to retain and satisfy customers, it is critical for them to put effort the aspects of employees and physical environment.

Disadvantage:

Some ideas may not be applied in other industries

Since the author run the business of car dealers, the content inevitable focus on car dealer. This may reduce the attractiveness of this book since some of the tactics cannot apply to other industry.

Customer for Life means business for life
If you want to keep your customers and bring in new ones this is the book for you. Carl not only knows that customers are the life blood of a business but how the employees are a key to it. If you want your dealership (or any business) running at top speed, this is the book to read. I highly recommend it to my dealership clients.

A must read if you want to get better!
I manage a car dealership, and our management team is going to have every employee in the dealership read the book and report on what they learned. It will change their thinking, just like it changed our thinking. It will change yours too. We MUST look at every transaction as a piece to a bigger picture puzzle, and this book reminds us of the the "how's" and "why's."

PS. Even if you are not in the "car business", this book will change the way you think about interacting with people. Simply put, it makes you want to give 110% in everything you do.

Customers for Life
If you just take a portion of what Carl Sewell has done to build his business and implement it into your business, you will see amazing positive results! This book is required reading for my employees!

Customer for life
Summary:

We live in a customer economy. Customers control the way of doing business. It is necessary for the company to put customer¡¦s need at the core. This book provides many practical tactics to turn what customer needs into actions.

Structurally, this book can be divided into three aspects: customer, employees and physical environment. And in each aspect, author will introduce some interesting tactics. For customer aspect, Carl suggests that company should ask customer their preference instead of just assuming what customer like. For employees aspect, Carl realizes that ¡§if you want your employees to be polite to your customer, you have to be polite to your employees¡¨. For physical environment aspect, Carl thinks that ¡§every impression is important¡¨, therefore all physical environment even a restroom should be treated well.

Comment:

Advantages:

Although minor, still need to care

For a student, this book really gives us many practical way of doing business as well as the proper manner when dealing with customers.
One of the insight that this book bring to me is ¡§although minor, still need to care¡¨. Customer will not very appreciate if company does all thing right, since customer think it is company¡¦s responsibility to do so. Also, customer will dissatisfy if company does not do well in a minor aspect such as toilet because customer will afraid how a company treat customer good if they cannot treat toilet well. Overall speaking, this book can give reader understand this concept.

Linkage between customer, employees and physical environment

After reading the whole book, I understand more about the relationship of customer, employees and physical environment. Employees and physical environment are two vital elements which are influence customers directly. Therefore, if company want to retain and satisfy customers, it is critical for them to put effort the aspects of employees and physical environment.

Disadvantage:

Some ideas may not be applied in other industries

Since the author run the business of car dealers, the content inevitable focus on car dealer. This may reduce the attractiveness of this book since some of the tactics cannot apply to other industry. ... Read more

Book Description

The book that launched over 3,000,000 careers worldwide! No longer a well-kept secret, Tom’s mega-hit book is placed within arm’s reach on every top producer’s desk. It’s considered the world’s best reference guide and has been used for more than 17 years in every sales profession. Even if you’ve been selling for years, you’ll find page after page of valuable information guaranteed to help you serve more clients while boosting your bank account.

Millions agree, this is the guide to base your career on! It’s hard-hitting, down-to-earth and entertaining....you’ll read it again and again as you map out your own road to success.

Tips and techniques show you how easy it is to:

Earn a six figure income

Create a sales climate where nearly everyone will say YES!

Dazzle your prospects from the first handshake

Change negatives into positives

Sink your teeth into success ... Read more

Reviews (44)

This is a must-read book for all sales professionals.
How to Master the Art of Selling is a book that must be read by anyone planning on entering the sales profession, and everyone currently in sales. No matter how good a salesperson you believe yourself to be, your sales skills can be sharpened by the information contained within the pages of this book. Tom Hopkins has been a master salesperson for many years. He has taken the time to compile all of his proven sales techniques and list them in an easy to follow format. Since I read this book, my sales have increased dramatically. Even though I have read this book from cover to cover many times, something new is gained every time I read it. You don't have to be in sales to benefit from the knowledge that is in this book. What you are selling does not necessarily have to be a product. It could be a point of view or an idea. How would you like to be able to talk someone into or out of something? You will be able to, if you follow the guidelines that are in this book. You will have a better understanding as to what people think about when they make decisions. Mr. Hopkins calls the people who have mastered the techniques in this book "champions". He says, "you know the champions when they walk through the door." If you want to be a champion,

A Good Read!
Copious strategies for becoming a salesmanship champion fill the pages of Tom Hopkins' book. This is a handbook for those who are eager to become sales masters, but are asking themselves, "What do I do next?" "How do I deal with a procrastinating client?" or "How can I effectively present my product?" Hopkins conveys instructions and suggestions through a variety of sales conversations. The author, a master salesman, is obviously enthusiastic about helping others succeed in sales. His strategies, which are based on seminars he teaches, include steps for organizing and writing a successful sales presentation. He also provides strategies for closing sales. The information could be more compact and less repetitive, but it is logical and sometimes even funny. We from getAbstract recommend this book to people involved in all levels and aspects of sales.

Has been the "base" of my sales success for over 20 years!
I am a VERY successful media salesperson and was introduced to this TAPE SERIES right out of college. I had NO clue of how to sell and this tape series gave me the solid foundation upon which to build. After a few years I read "How To Win Friends And Influence People" and after I put both of these works together, it was MAGIC! I am the most successful salesperson in my industry and I constantly have clients "BEGGING" to give me all of their money. The interesting thing is that money is not the reason that I am in sales. However, I have more money than I could possibly spend! And, when I asked a close associate why she thought all of this was happening, she and I sat down and figured it out. The answer was that the principles of both of these works have become such a part of me that I hadn't realized how Effective, Unique and Valuable they were. At one point I said to her, "Doesn't everybody treat their clients this way" and she said- THAT'S IT! You really DON'T get it! That's why you're SO GOOD! It's not an act. You're sincere and the fact that you actually care about them really comes through and sets you apart so much!
Enough said.

A classic - The masterpiece in professional selling
How To Master The Art of Selling is actally much more than just a classic and even more than a masterpiece. It is the bible of selling.Tom Hopkins took what he learned from J. Douglas Edwards, refined it and shows you literally how to master the art of selling.Before reading this great book by Hopkins, I was just an average salesman trudglying around. The methods and technqiques described b Hopkins herein transformed me.How To Master The Art of Selling changed forever my ability to sell and also my belief in the profesion of selling.

Classic
I notice a lot of negative reviews by people who aren't worthy to shine Tom's shoes. This book made the careers of many sales professionals, and deserves to be treated with respect. I went through several copies in the early 80's, replete with underlining. Of course there has been progress in selling since them! Does that mean that we need to diss those who have contributed to the advancement of this profession?

As far as substance, Tom explains each of the stages of salesmanship in simple, but not simplistic, terms. It is as good an introduction to the field as any you are likely to find. It is up there with Zig's best. And, I might add, Zig and Tom would pay homage to Frank Bettger, Elmer Wheeler and other pioneers who blazed the trail. ... Read more

Book Description

Pricing, 3/e, synthesizes economic and marketing principles with accounting and financial information to provide a basis for analyzing pricing alternatives within legal and corporate constraints. This revision of this classic text brings readers an understandable writing style, a more complete discussion of the quantitative issues, and a greater number of clear-cut examples. The material on the economics of pricing now reflects recent research in pricing by applied economists and marketing researchers trained in economics. ... Read more

Book Description

Here in a short, compact and concise format is the basics of how to persuade more people more effectively, more ethically, and more often. Ziglar draws from his fundamental selling experiences and shows that while the fundamentals of selling may remain constant, sales people must continue learning, living, and looking: learning from the past without living there; living in the present by seizing each vital moment of every single day; and looking to the future with hope, optimism, and education. His tips will not only keep your clients happy and add to your income, but will also teach you ideas and principles that will, most importantly, add to the quality of your life. Content drawn from Ziglar on Selling.

Reviews (4)

How about something new, Zig?
Zig, I don't think you will ever read this, but just in case you do. We all know you have written the same book for 20+ years. Yes, your material used to be fresh and new, but now it is nothing more than a cliche.

I understand you put your name on these things to make money, but really how much more money do you need? After all you get $40,000 a speech, which if you do not know is more than most hardworking Americans make in a year.

For those rates, I expect something new, fresh, and invoative. Please start earining your money again.

A Handy Primer
'Selling 101' is an easy to read and understand introduction to sales technique for those new to selling, or a quick review for experienced sales people who need a refresher. The book can be read quickly, but to get the most out of it return to each section and determine how you can apply the principles there to improve your skills.

There are chapters on overcoming call reluctance, need analysis, closing, dealing with angry clients, making the most of your time and more. You are sure to pick up at least a few good ideas. Part motivation, part how-to, 'Selling 101' may be just what you need to improve your sales results a little or a lot.

Great little book!
This is a great little book to use as a handy check up book from Mr.Ziglar. I am not a sales person, but am in the service business and this book was just perfect for me. For $10.00 anyone can get this book and learn a few things, even if just for fun.

You're Kidding Me, Right?
This book is basically a collection of "daily affirmations." Its a feel-good book. It has very little in the way of "actionable" advice. At only 100-pages, I expected a collection of greatest hits. This is the first, only, and last Zig Zigler book I will ever buy. For people with a serious interest in tangible advice on how to increase sales effectiveness, I would recommend Michael Bosworth's "Solution Selling," or Stephen Heiman and Diane Sanchez's "The New Strategic Selling" or "New Conceptual Selling." If you need to feel good about yourself, I'd suggest a psychologist instead (or simply buy a dog). Overall grade: D-/F. ... Read more

Book Description

Sales and Operations is a powerful business process that integrates Sales & Marketing, Operations, Product Development, and Finance.Tom Wallace describes how it works and lays out a detailed plan for making it happen.This valuable handbook covers all aspects of a successful implementation, from the composition of the Executive S&OP team to the nitty-gritty of S&OP spreadsheet design. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

S&OP for Dummies
Should be called "Sales & Operations Planning for Dummies". This book has all the basics to get you started.

Excellent book.
An excellent practical guide for setting up a Sales & Operations Planning process. ... Read more

Book Description

You don't have to have the biggest name or the most dazzling graphics to lure customers to your Web site. These days, all you really need is prominent search-engine placement. This book shows you how to get it! With searching one of the most popular Internet activities, a top spot on a major search engine virtually ensures a high volume of visitors--though converting them to buyers is another story. In these pages, top Internet marketer and strategist Catherine Seda tackles both parts of that equation. First, she outlines the strategy involved in buying the specific keyword positions that will lead users directly to the page you want. Then, she describes how you can turn poor-performing ad copy into targeted sales-getters, and how you can evaluate and correct low visitor-to-buyer conversions. Beginning marketers will find the info they need to implement a Web strategy quickly, while advanced marketers will find all kinds of tips for analyzing and improving current results.

Reviews (8)

Catherine Covers It All!
This book does it. Whether it is me needing a refresher or if I am trying to make marketing partners "get it", Catherine covers it all. I can hand this book to a marketing director or VP and they can read it and understand what I have preached for some time. Catherine's incredible knowledge of the industry not only brings it home, it brings it to their level of understanding.

Beyond Expectation
Catherine explains beyond my expectation when reading upon her book on the search advertising.
And what I do not hope, it explains in a-step-by-step tutorials. Yes I give her my thumb for her book.

During my giving training and consultation to my clients in the world of SE, sometimes I refer it as well.

Not only that, I also grow my business in Jakarta, and on national basis in Indonesia, using "search campaign" and sponsorship program to attract my clients either in this industry or other industry I have such as www.presentationsupport.com.

Yes search engines create other way and yet cost effective promotion with quick ROI.

Magnificent companion to "Search Engine Visibility"
Catherine Seda's excellent book "Search Engine Advertising" is the perfect complement to Shari Thurow's "Search Engine Visibility" from which includes an excerpt toward the end. Where Thurow's book, the best one in terms of accomplishing high rankins in 'organic' (read unpaid) search results, Seda's book brings along the whole other side of the equation: that of paid options to accomplish high rankings. In doing so, one of her key points is that Search Engine Advertising doesn't end when the customer arrives at your site (visits), but it really is about conversions (getting the customer to make a purchase, subscribe or whatever your web site's purpose is when s/he arrives to it).

The book is very well structured around six parts:
i) Planning: the key (yet sometimes overlooked) part of the process, to ensure you know who you are targetting and how, before jumping into the paid options.
ii) Paid Placement Programs: she presents the differences (pros and cons) of the most important fixed placement and pay-for-placement programs available.
iii) Paid Inclusion Programs: directories are presented here in all their splendor, along with what you can do to enhance your possibilities before submitting your site, and how to manage a large number of simultaneous submissions. Web site optimization is touched upon briefly at this point, but in no way substituting Thurow's book on the topic: you simply have to have both, if you're serious about Online Marketing at all.

iv) Specialized Search Engines: comparison shopping engines, vertical market search engines and international search engines are discussed in some detail, to get you started with them.
v) Tracking ROI: normally just as overlooked as the planning stage, the tracking of the results of paid advertising campaigns are discussed in extensive detail to ensure that you are able to steer the boat in the right direction if your ROI data shows that you're putting money on the wrong key terms, your copy is not doing what it should to engage customers, or your landing pages are not taking customers where you want them to go once they get to your site.
vi) Protecting profits: topics such as click fraud, trademark infringement and affilate networks are discussed, as things to keep an eye on.

All in all, this is not a book you'd want to sit down and read in one afternoon (nor would you be able to). This is a hands-on book to work through and use as a reference as you're getting your feet wet with this whole other animal that is paid advertising on the Web. It has done a ton for me in the two months I've been applying the concepts contained in it, since it summarizes very well all the options available to you, their pros/cons and how to best take advantage of them, considering your size and budget. I highly recommend it without reserves for eMarketers that have not had too much exposure to paid options, as well as those who have some experience in the area, since it provides a wealth of tips and insights that most people in the field can benefit from.

Disclosure: I received a copy for review from the publisher.

Best Intro To SE Advertising
If you want more traffic read this book. I read it over once, started up some SEA campaigns, and now will re-read it again carefully to see how I can get the most out of those campaigns.

I am a full time SEO, an employee with a multi-national company. I teach SEO at the local college and am the author of a small SEO workbook (seoworkbook.com). I also sell books, eBooks and my own music CD's via the internet, do consulting for small businesses like Bed & Breakfasts and am a broadcaster on an Internet radio station. As you can imagine I spend a lot of time in the search engine world. Until now I have focused on organic search which simply means creating web pages and sites the way search engines are going to find most attractive i.e. keyword rich content, SE friendly design, and optimized tags for engines that use them. Shari Thurow's book, "Search Engine Visibility", also published by New Riders, is the best resource regarding this approach that I have seen.

I read Catherine's book first of all because she has credentials, she has worked in a variety of positions in the SE advertising industry. Then flipping through the table of contents I knew from my own experience that she was covering the basics (and I a big believer in basics) and that she knew who the important players were. I liked what I read because she wrote in an easily understandable, conversational style which I appreciated and enjoyed.

She covered everything thoroughly, beginning with background chapters when necessary. There were a few times when the detail level got a little deep for me but that is because I, like Catherine, am essentially a marketing guy, I appreciate strategy, tactics and logistics but feel more comfortable in the strategy end of the pool.

Like Shari's book, this is definitely another winner from New Riders. I see that New Riders is a division of Peach Pit Press who do the Visual Quick Start books. I have long told my students that the VQS books are the best computer books for beginners on the market - bar none. The quality of all these books is no surprise as I see Pearson Education is the corporation behind them all. I work for an eLearning company so I am familiar with Pearson; they are one of the worlds largest and most respected publishers of text books.

Catherine helps make the industry jargon like "trusted feed", "fixed placement", etc. understandable, and explains how to monitor and track your campaigns and how to manage your conversion rate and return on investment. Her sections regarding landing pages, page design, and site architecture are easy to understand and immediately useful. Very importantly to us entrepreneurs, she also discusses how to deal with potential "click-fraud" and other business issues.

For a person who is venturing forth into the SE advertising world for the first time I can highly recommend this book. I would suggest that you read and do everything in Shari's book first however. Then do the same with Catherine's. Here is a key point: Even if you are ranking well with organic search the advertising option gives you the added benefit of your site being passed on to many other search engines of all kinds because of the business relationships large advertising companies like Overture and Google have with partners and affiliates.

I would say Shari's book represents step one of your search engine marketing plan, and Catherine's represents step two. Hopefully New Riders will soon come out with some form of step three - "How To Convert Visitors To Buyers". As I mentioned above, I currently teach SEO at the local college: because of Catherine's book, and the impressive results I have immediately achieved using her methods, I intend on adding another course on SE advertising later this year. There will also be a proposal on my bosses desk next week recommending SEA campaigns for all our primary products. For large or small companies, even my little B&B clients, advertising on the web is clearly an effective and affordable option. For serious entrepreneurs, the web has matured as a sales and marketing channel to the point where it is a required one.

Good Overview of Search Engine Marketing
Full Disclosure: One the editors sent me this book for review.

Although never flirting with greatness, the content soared above average. The editing style, however, clipped my rising expectations. Like a chicken scratching in the dirt, new ideas would be tossed into the middle of an existing chain of thought. Occasionally ideas would end as fledglings, never fully explored or even transitioned.

That said, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a solid introduction to marketing a webiste or product on the internet. I learned how keyword analysis works, how to create a marketing campaign, how to monitor a campaign, and how to get more money from a campaign.

Although no topic was covered in depth, the resource section at the end of the book points the reader to industry recognized sources. The book even includes advertising credit with Overture and FindWhat, a great way to get your feet wet.

If you do not mind some leaps, and a little silliness, this book may be a four on your list. The choppy style was too much for me. ... Read more

Book Description

THE SALES COMPENSATION HANDBOOK Second Edition

Now in anupdated and expanded edition, The Sales Compensation Handbook providesthe information and tools needed to design and implement top-notchsales compensation programs.

This authoritative reference fromexperts at Towers Perrin provides guidance on all aspects ofcompensating salespeople, including cash and non-cash incentives * basesalary, bonus, and commission scales * team-selling roles andimplications * linking compensation to company culture, and muchmore.

Sales managers and compensation professionals alike will findthis comprehensive resource a valuable tool for building sales repproductivity.

STOCKTON B. COLT (Los Angeles, CA and Santa Fe, NM)is a principal at Towers Perrin, an internationally known consultingfirm in the compensation field.He is also a frequent speaker on salesproductivity and compensation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Avoid thousands in consulting fees!
This book was just what I needed, and much more. I expected a primer on sales compensation design. What I found was a challenge to review the underlying systems of the Sales Department _AND_ state of the art sales incentive compensation plans.

This book is a must-read for every sales manager who is looking to make sure that compensation is not the reason his or her sales force doesn't achieve its goals, or is churning. Putting these tactics to work takes real discipline; but the rewards are tremendous.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the art and science of a finely tuned sales machine.

Meeting the challenge of creating incentive plans for sales
As one who does a considerable amount of consulting work in designing sales compensation plans, I was delighted with this publication. Anyone who has had the challenge of creating an incentive compensation plan for salespeople, or of leading and motivating a sales force, will appreciate the scope and depth of this book. Using an abundance of diagrams and tables, the chapters and sections examine a very comprehensive range of topics that is highly helpful in shaping sales compensation. One important point that is clearly made is the enormous range of potential root causes of performance problems, other than the nature of the compensation plan. In this regard, compensation is viewed in the broader context of the sales management system; far too often, this big picture is missed, or glossed over. But most of the book focuses on designing sales incentive compensation plans and provides plenty of solid content and detail. I expect readers will find this work a very worthwhi! le contribution to a complex subject; one with which so many organizations seem to continuously wrestle and, more often than not, fail to fathom and, ultimately, succeed. ... Read more

Book Description

A six-step plan for driving a wedge between the competition and the customer
For sales people, convincing a potential customer to choose them over the competition is no easy task, and especially when the competition already has the account. Finally, How to Get Your Competition Fired shows readers a proven system for breaking the relationship between the competition and the customer. Randy Schwantz's method, The Wedge(r), includes a six-step plan that drives a "wedge" between the competition and the customer. He shows how to reveal the competition's shortcomings without seeming to, letting prospects decide independently to dump their current provider, exclude other competitors and, finally, switch to the salesperson's product or service. Offering real tactics, not just theory, this is the only sales strategy that really works to break the relationship between customers and the competition and bring in more business, faster than ever.
Randy Schwantz (Dallas, TX) is a leading authority and expert on the sales process. A highly successful sales professional, he is a nationally respected sales trainer, author, sales coach, consultant, and public speaker. Randy is President and CEO of The Wedge Group, whose clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A MUST READ for Financial Advisors
This is, by far, the most powerful book I've ever read on marketing - as it relates to my profession as a financial planner.However, I would think this book would easily translate for anyone in the service industry.

How to Get Your Competition Fired realizes and addresses a problem most books on marketing don't.That is the fact that in most cases; your prospect is already dealing with your competition.Many of the books on marketing I've read through the years neglect this one detail; but it's an important detail.

In my profession, almost all of my clients were dealing with another financial planner before working with me.After readign Randy's book, I've found it much easier to cast myself in a more favorable light, show prospects how I deliver better service with greater value, and then - most importantly - how to prepare them to leave their present advisor.

Many of you in the servie industry probably have run into the situation where you find a prospect who you can help.Your competition has not been providing very good service.The prospect tells you they are ready to come on board.Then, the next call you get is to tell you that they are staying with your competition.

If many of your prospective clients are currently dealing with your competition, you can't afford to miss reading this book! ... Read more

Book Description

All sales managers work like crazy, but few are true managers. That's because they tend to fall back on the skills that made them great at sales...instead of adopting the new skills that will make them great managers.

This essential book, which speaks their language, will turn them into management pros. It teaches a proven method for managing the sales process as well as the salespeople. Packed with specific, field-tested techniques, PROACTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT shows sales managers how to:

* Regain control of their time* Create a proactive sales culture* Motivate a sales team* Manage to simple yet powerful metrics* Weed out failures quickly* Effectively coach and counsel up and down the sales organization* Measure not to revenue, but to the things that create revenue* Reduce reports to one sheet of paper and 10 minutes a week* Forecast more confidently* Manage the sales organization the way it should be managed. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

This is a Sales Manager's survival guide!
Managing salespeople is very hard. Contrary to coventional wisdom, being a successful salesperson has very little to do with being a successful sales manager. Too many organizations put good salespeople in management roles with little preparation, and then they wonder why the failure rate for new sales managers is so high.

"ProActive Sales Management" is an indispensable guide for any professional sales manager, from the newest to the most seasoned. This is a practical, actionable blueprint for building and managing a winning sales organization.

The core of "ProActive Sales Management" is a set of tools that can be immediately applied to a variety of sales management challanges, regardless of size of sales force, type of industry, or even geographic region. Our own organization has successfuly applied these methods in the US, Europe, Asia, Canada and Latin America.

The key strength of this book is its common-sense approach. This is not about dogma or ideology, as so many sales and sales management books are. This is about getting the job done, and doing it well. If you manage salespeople, or if you aspire to being a sales manager, you must read this book!

Not bad, but don't place too much faith in Sales Gurus
Good attempt at writing about sales management, and Skip makes some very solid points in the opening chapter. He points to the need for Leadership as a key element of a good sales manager. Unfortunately, I think Skip knows more about sales than leadership, himself, so he is not great at explaining HOW to be a good leader. He spends a lot of time on how to hire good people, which I agree is important. This might lead some rookie sales managers to fall back on the excuse of inheriting weak sales reps, and worry more about replacing them, than fixing them.
Read the first chapter in a book store somewhere, and save the $$$

More "tools" than Home Depot
I always thought that all my years of sales success would transfer to my job as a sales manager -- well, it has been a 2 year roller coaster ride. Until, I read skip's book.....my game plan was to manage the people the way I used to sell, however, ProActive Sales Management showed me that you must "Manage the process, not just the People!" I love the fact that Mr. Miller uses "tools" in his book, so this way I am able to pick and choose the right tool for any given situation. Sales have been climbing since we started implementing these metrics and we are not looking back!

Good Basic Sales Management Fundamentals
ProActive Sales Management takes a reactive sales manager and teaches them how to become ProActive. It provides basic guidelines to he