The heart of our economy is selling. And, for decades, sales experts have written wonderful books detailing ways to improve the sales process. Having spent much of the early years of my career on the front lines of selling professional services (high-end consulting) and having taught professionals selling for the last 20 years, I have long been a voracious reader of the latest books on how to improve the selling process. At long last, someone has written the perfect companion to all those wonderful process books - this a beautiful gem on a winning sales philosophy. The perfect companion for all those wonderful process books.
I loved this book! It jumped off the bookshelf and into my arms on Sunday while passing through the Orlando airport. On the ensuing plane ride, I read with delight a book which captures the essence of the philosophy that I have personally seen as the differentiator among professionals selling high-end services (i.e., lawyers, accountants, consultants, and investment bankers). The five "laws" are brilliant, the explanations of the laws are very clear, and the short stories crisply support the point being made.
I thought the Go-Giver, the prequel to this book, was a delightful book. This book takes the concept espoused in that gem and transforms the concept into a comprehensive and implementable sales philosophy. This is the starting point for being successful at selling. Compliment it with your favorite sales process (eg "Consultative Selling," "High Trust Selling," "Integrity Selling," etc.) and you will have the winning combination for times that require every sales person to be at their very best.
If I have one concern about the book, it is that the book will get thought of as being just for "sales people." I share the belief that authors Bob Burg and John David Mann point out that almost all of us are involved with sales, in some dimension of our life. From the President of the United States, to non-profit CEOs, to professionals, to solo-entrepeneurs, we all need to be sell effectively and honorably. This book lays out the guidemap for building the foundation for doing so. Best of all, it does so with five laws that any of us can master.
The best indicator of the depth of my feelings about any book is when I start gifting a book in significant numbers. Not only have I started doing that with this book, but I already have one CEO who has told me that he appreciated my gift, loved the book and is buying copies for his entire sales force and his senior management team. And another CEO is giving copies to each of the lawyers in his firm. Their actions have me convinced this book is going to the top of the charts, and deservedly so.
This my 100th review here on Amazon, where I write reviews only on the best of the best of the many dozens of books that I read each year. Because I only write on the best of the best, my ratings here are generally a 4 or 5 star. This book not only deserves a 5 rating, but also goes down as one of the most important of the 100 top books I have reviewed here. It really is that good! And, that important for a world that needs principled approaches to all the important things in life!!
