Customer Reviews

The Accidental Salesperson: How to Take Control of Your Sales Career and Earn the Respect and Income You Deserve

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are considering going into sales or are new to the profession PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. Chris has drawn from his experiences in sales and life and put together a resource that will help any new sales person develope their new job into a career. I have read the book 4 times since I bought it in July. Most books written about sales are very dry and technical, but this book balances the subject quite nicely. The tips might seem simplistic, but THEY DO WORK!!!!! IF more people in sales used the skills in this book, I think sales would would be more respected as a profession. I learned to view my job a problem solver/analyst and I approach each sale that way. First I work to uncover the real need of the person that I am marketing to and then I work to tailor my products to fit that particular need. MY relationship with clients is better than anyone else that I work with because my clients trust me and feel comfortable picking up the phone to call me and discuss problems. My clients view me as a resource and I love my job. Thanks Chris!!!! Ben

As a lifelong "accidental salesperson" as well as supervisor of salespeople I have read literally 100's of books on selling and been exposed to an equal number of selling systems. This may be the best - book and system.

The concepts and recommended actions are simple, honest, without gimmicks, contemporary and practical. The best part is that they work!

For example, I adapted "the letter" to my situation (new enterprise with zero name recognition & letters going to complete strangers). The first wave resulted in 100% appointments. One prospect, so anxious to learn more, called me before I could call him. Subsequent waves have also resulted in very high appointment rates - better than any other approach I have employed over the years.

Lytle advocates for a systematic approach that creates much-needed structure and discipline for people who by nature resist it with a passion. Following the system is easy. The time invested yields dividends.

I highly recommend this book for the novice or the grizzled veteran.

I have found I have been getting much better responses from this book when working on specific prospects, and the "Endless Referrals" book when I am in a networking situation.

Forexample, I met a prospect at a social function, I listened while asking questions about him, it seemed to going great. I tried to follow-up afterwards, however, he was not taking my calls. I then used the lottery ticket method, and the next time I called he took my call. I now have an appointment with him.

Additionally, I have been getting great response from prospects that I send seeds to.

When I worked at a Fortune 500 bank, our team would marvel at the number of us who grew up wanting to learn about the banking industry: zero! The Accidental Salesperson fully grasps and addresses the fact that many people find themselves in sales without aspiring to become salespeople.

This book offers a full range of techniques from developing a healthy attitude about sales, to writing succinct emails, to answering phone calls, to sending Lottery Ticket Letters, to writing winning sales proposals, and more. My only suggestion for readers is to manage their expectations about a book promising to teach "how to take control of your sales career and earn the respect and income you deserve." Readers will learn about a wealth of ideas that they can implement immediately, but they're still on their own in determining how to synthesize and apply the ideas most effectively.

The book offers two excellent examples of top-notch salespeople who are fluent in the language of persuasive selling. One is a real-world selling scenario between the author and a high-level decision maker (pp. 25-28) and the other is real-world story about a retail salesperson who brilliantly overcomes objections to make the sale (pp. 126-129). The more that people hear/read that language, the more they start picking it up themselves. This is why the organizations bringing in the most revenue are typically the ones who relentlessly train and re-train their staff in sales.

Here are some memorable quotes from the book:

1. "Life is one big seminar and lifelong learners get more out of life." (p. 14)

2. "Early sales training was essentially a boot camp for professional stalkers." (p. 22)

3. "Here are the three secrets of success: "know what you're doing... know you know what you're doing... [and] be known for what you know." (p. 40)

4. "Many companies have sales departments. Fewer have sales FORCES." (p. 52)

5. "Although making more calls seems to be a reasonable solution to any sales problem, many misguided sales managers mistake a flurry of activity for real productivity." (p. 79)

6. Instead of saying, "Thanks for returning my call," say "Hello, ________. I was expecting your call." "The best thing about saying, `I was expecting your call' is that it's different. It implies that a lot of important people return your calls because you have something of value to offer." (p. 106)

7. "Whatever you do, don't apologize for being there or say, `Thank you for your time.' Your time is just as valuable as the prospect's." (p. 117)

In short, this book offers many invaluable hands-on tools (e.g., a Proposal-Writing Template) and insights (e.g., understanding and acting on the salesperson-prospect relationship as one of equals). Just manage your expectations at the beginning so you can reap the benefits at the end!

The title of this book describes me! I "fell" into sales so the strategies and tools that Chris Lytle shares gave me everything I needed to be successful in sales. This book is easy to read, practical, yet written in an entertaining style. I highly recommend it to those who are new to sales and those who are more seasoned - you'll more than likely find some new tools for your sales toolbox!

Look at the rest of my reviews of business titles and you will see that I almost never give five-star reviews. Even books that I really like, I tend to give four stars. My belief is that if we give five stars to books we like...even a lot...there is nothing to separate those books from the all-time classics.

To me, THIS is an all-time title. I work with smaller businesses and start-up entrepreneurs. Frequently, business titles only apply tangentially. I this case, I tell darn near every entrepreneur that will have a sales element to his or her business that this book is a MUST READ.

Lytle does a great job of spelling out the process involved with making a sale. For small business people who think that they can just place a few ads and wait for the phone to ring so they can start getting rich, this book is a GREAT look at what it REALLY takes to get somebody to spend money with your business.

I'll read it again and again.

My father heard Chris Lytle speak a few months ago and he was so impressed he bought this book. When I was home for Christmas, I picked it up off his desk and within 2 chapters I was so hooked I pulled out a highlighter and started marking up the book. I ended up buying him a replacement copy, bought one for my sister in Sun Prairie, Wi, and one for my business associate in Connecticut.
On Saturday after I got back home to California, I had an unfortunate message on my voice mail from an upset customer that was dropping our service. I called her and she immediately told me she didn't have time to talk. An hour later she was not only not going to drop us, she is likely going to move up to our highest package. I already put to use some ideas I had learned only days earlier from this book. I didn't use any manipulative technique, nor would I ever stoop to that level, but used what I learned from this book to maximize my effectiveness with the customer. In the end what I really care about is giving my customers top rate service, a top rate product and hopefully we'll all have fun in the process.
I didn't know it until I read The Accidental Salesperson, but I am the epitome of an accidental salesperson. I am a software engineer that started an Internet service 5 years ago in my spare time that I have nurtured and slowly picked up more customers. This last month it is really starting to pick up. I am scrambling to learn how to be the best salesperson I can be because I am thinking about quitting my full-time job to give this a go. I am going through this book, wearing out my highlighter, and am building a bunch of ideas about how I can become a salesperson, on purpose.
Email me if you have any question as to why this book should be $40 instead of $18. stevek@caladventures.com

There are many "sales" books on the market today. Few are as good as this one. I'll point out three ad-hoc bullet points that combined make for a very productive and educational read:
1) Because a Major League second baseman might be a great hitter, fielder, and baserunner, does that make him a good team manager? That is a very important point of this book. Because someone is a terrific salesperson, he gets promoted away from doing what he really does well to become a manager. Not necessarily a good move.
2) The book is very motivational. As you read it, ideas pop into your head as to how it's annecdotes apply to your business. I found myself scribbling away with new thoughts that I'm excited to implement.
3) The book is NOT vague. There are very many specific paths and actions to take. No one can read this and not find unique suggestions that can be applied to YOUR business.

I own two enterprises. Both will be affected by my reading of this book.

After reading this book, I realized that I was utilizing many of the authors techniques, however he gave me great ideas to continue to explore other ways to generate more business from my current clients, as well as new ones.

I am a big believer that sales courses or a Sales Major should be offered at colleges and Universities...and this would be required reading!

The book does give you methods on how to "take control" of YOUR sales career and not allow others to influence you in a negative way.

I have been purchasing this book for my new Sales Reps for the last several years. They always come back and thank me. It helped me tremendously and many others. Each story / example is short but full of insight. Not your typical sales manual.