The I Hate Selling Book : Business-Building Advice for Consultants, Attorneys, Accountants, Engineers, Architects, and Other Professionals [Hardcover]

Allan Boress (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1994

Most consultants and service professionals can't stand selling. This book provides consultants with proven and painless techniques for building their businesses. It shows how readers can: listen to potential clients, ask questions and evaluate answers effectively; avoid fatal mistakes; differentiate themselves from the competition; conduct a "sales examination"; and sustain and grow their business. Allan Boress is the editor of "Quality Client Service".

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Allan Boress, CPA, CFE, trains more professionals than any other individual in the world (that we can find) in the areas of systematic selling, personal marketing, and client relationship management. Since 1980, Allan has taught these skills to over 150,000 professionals.

Allan’s training is the only one of its kind to offer a systematic approach to bringing in more business – an approach that removes the pain and fear of failure and rejection from the sales process forever. An award-winning instructor, Allan has worked with most of the professional firms in the world. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814402453
• ISBN-13: 978-0814402450
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sales appointment advice. Bad get-in-the-door advice., February 19, 2004

By 

Gill E. Wagner "Honest Selling" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The I Hate Selling Book : Business-Building Advice for Consultants, Attorneys, Accountants, Engineers, Architects, and Other Professionals (Hardcover)

Diagnosis is the key to sales -- that's the fundamental idea conveyed throughout "The 'I Hate Selling' Book." Boress advises that anyone selling professional services should act like a doctor -- diagnose the problem, prescribe a solution and learn whether the patient is committed to solving the problem you diagnosed.

Boress calls this a "Sales Examination," and it's this concept that not only gives Boress' book its value but also makes it easy to understand and to apply the concepts discussed. (Attorneys, accountants and consultants get paid to diagnose issues and offer solutions, so doing this in a sales call is second nature for most.)

Allan Boress has the right idea. His diagnosis format is clear, straight-forward and honest, and anyone who sells professional services and then performs the service itself can benefit from what Boress has to say.

Boress did, however, make a huge mistake adding the chapter on telephone prospecting, because it's clear he is neither experienced in, nor an advocate for, cold-calling to get appointments. The advice is terribly out of date and really should not be followed at all. (I'll bet big bucks his publisher made him add this chapter so it would sell more copies.)

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on Selling Non-tangibles, Don't miss it!, January 30, 2000

By 

Des Gray (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The I Hate Selling Book : Business-Building Advice for Consultants, Attorneys, Accountants, Engineers, Architects, and Other Professionals (Hardcover)

An excellent book, don't miss it! When you are selling non-tangibles, clients purchase the "PROVIDER" of the service or product, Not "the service or product." Professional selling is easy once this concept is fully understood. This book serves as a good guide to any professional or otherwise who wishes to build a stronger business and better sales. The processes are clearly laid out, make sense and are easily followed by anyone who has the desire to accomplish more by using a natural process rather than hard selling techniques. A great book originally borrowed from a friend, now I have my own copy!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect reference guide for professionals who hate selling, November 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The I Hate Selling Book : Business-Building Advice for Consultants, Attorneys, Accountants, Engineers, Architects, and Other Professionals (Hardcover)

If you've never attended an Allan Boress selling seminar, you really should. Especially if you are a professional looking to improve your selling skills. This books serves as a great guide to most of the concepts he teaches in class. Allan explains many of his core ways of selling. Things such as selling into the persons pain and how to focus on the client's needs and not your own. I've followed Allan's advice and it works! You should go see Allan live --- and pick up a copy of his book to help you implement his advice.