Customer Reviews

The Best Seller

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

 

 

Considering the book is a few decades old, it still contains merit, if you read "between the lines".

First off, the tone of writing is very straightforward, reminiscent of Ries/Trout.

One point he's got bang on:

1) Turn on the "Want" emotions and they will buy. (it's not the presentation or answering objections, if you want it badly, you'll buy, simple as that, thus selling is motivational, not persuasive)

Overall, it's definitly worth your browse. But some of the rigid systemtic "prospect reading" is outdated.

I happened to pull up this book to look at and was saddened to see that one of the reviews on it was very poor.I have an "inside opinion" about this book since I had the privledge of working for the author prior to my childbearing days.Mr.Ley received literally thousands of communications raving about his book, and other products.He is a master at this work.To the man who wrote the poor review:I think being a salesman is a talent,& this book will enhance & perfect it!If it doesn't help, perhaps it is just that selling is not your area of expertise.I highly recommend this book!!

This is truly the definitive book on sales technique. The author has a phenominal understanding of sales. I have attended his seminar and find his techniques to be right on target. I have never read a more complete and understandable book on sales.

This is one of the first books I ever read in sales. And I continue to review and leverage many of D Forbes Ley insights as I grow a mulit-million dollar sales force consulting firm (and close million dollar deals). D Forbes Ley was the first to construct a sales process that focused on emotional buying motives. while some of the text is outdated (sales scripting) there are some huge gems in this book. He makes a great outline for the difference between the human "needs" and "wants" and how to uncover the prospects pain (he calls selling a "hurt" and "rescue" mission). if you apply his simple concepts it can give you a focused and effective approach.

Let me start by saying I've read a lot of sales books over the past two years, like close to 100!

As I have gone forward I have found some of the old ones I REALLY like! Top picks of mine are books by Willie Gayle(if you see them out here you'll see by price how much other readers think of them!) Included in this list are Power Selling and 7 seconds to success in sales.

Others I like are Socratic selling by Kevin Daley and I Hate Selling by Allen Boress and I like the tough questioning Audio Program by Tom Hopkins/J. Douglas Edwards "Back to the Future in Sales".

All of these books have questioning as their primary method of selling. Some are soft(willie Gayle). Some are tough, "Back to the Future", another in the soft questioning area like Willie Gayle is Roy Chitwood in World Class Selling and some are in the middle like Socratic selling.

I believe Mr. Ley was a trainee of Willie Gayle's because many of the soft objection handling techniques sound like the soft butter of Willie Gayle cushion and reverse or cushion and question.

The interest creating questions at early and correct part of the meeting are some of the best I have heard in the business and rate with Kevin Daley's Socratic Selling in piquing my clients interest.

While I may agree I may not use these techniques in B2B selling exactly, for selling in the home or on the lot or one on one with a couple: I feel these techniques will get a client chasing after you for more benefits and emotional wins for himself as you use the interest generating questions and follow with his emotional rewards for owning your product.

Bravo, at this point maybe the best or at least the best compilation of timeless writings from the past.

If your sales don't go up. You didn't follow the plan.

Enjoy..

My only regret at this time is I didn't get to attend his training 20 years ago...AND that he was still conducting these sessions.

I first read Forbes' book several years ago. I ended up taking his intensive selling course in California (I live in Michigan). I loved the book; I loved the course; I'm still waiting for the movie (although he did recommend the movie "Stand and Deliver" as, in part, a movie about motivation and selling). I have also gone through and have practiced the Sandler Sales Institute system.

Whether you feel his book is helpful or not may depend on the context in which you are selling. I believe his most important point is that you must sell to a prospect's hurt or pain, as well as to his/her logic. The emotional sale must be, as he puts it, invisible. A real estate agent selling a home to an interested buyer in the owner's living room is a much different selling context than team selling to a purchasing manager of a Tier One auto supplier. For the latter, any open display of gamesmanship or obviously tired (translate: "visible") techniques will be fatal. But Forbes' point is that even in selling to the purchasing agent, and to the various users within the purchasing agent's company, you must click into their emotional hurt to motivate them to buy, if only to help them talk themselves into believing that your product is the best buy. Relying only on a logical presentation of more features than your competition will not cut it.

Todd W. Grant

Ann Arbor, MI

TWG@toddwgrant.com

I stumbled across this guy when I was a new salesperson. Needless to say, it probably could have been good training for a pushy furniture salesperson in the 70's, but this material is hopelessly out of synch with the corporate marketplace of today.

I recommend "The Sandler Selling system" which works wonders, in terms of information that is usable in a corporate environment. Next, Tony Robbins offers a decent sales training too. Both are far superior to this...

Though it is true that most selling decisions are emotional. This book misses the point that many or maybe even most people do not like a salesman digging into their emotional shorts. Some of these ideas in the book were personally tried by me and the techniques fell flat. The people of the '90's are better educated and don't want to get hoodwinked by someone playing the obvious emotional games

I see the favorable reviews for this book and must assume they have it confused with the excellent Ron Willingham book with the same title. Mr. Ley has constructed book you can only hope your competition is using for a text. The book can be counter productive if used by someone with less than a month's experience in sales. Most with that much experience will recognize how shallow it is.

The customers and buyers that I deal with would throw me out the door if I attempted these techniques. Mr. Ley implies that by simply using certain magic phrases, you are able to get a customer emotionally involved or upset enough to buy from you. I wish it were that easy.