Customer Reviews

Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Richard Abraham has written a parable on "selling through relationships" that will be treasured by anyone in sales fortunate enough to come across this book.

An easy and compelling read, the reader gets to learn from the book's hero right alongside Robert, the young protégé, actually a college student doing a Summer internship. While a composite of several selling stars, the main character was inspired by the author's good friend, an extremely successful Atlanta businessman, Brett Hunsaker.

The protagonist, "Mr. Shmooze", a business and marketing consultant, has built a huge business by giving of himself to others, always desiring to add value to the lives of those he touches. (Quick point here: Because the term "shmooze" often has a negative connotation, another name for Mr. Shmooze may have better served this extraordinary work. He's actually not a "schmoozer", he's a caring, giving person who is always concerned with the other person and how he can add positively to the other person's life.)

He focuses on making others feel good about themselves, which is one of the key lessons any young salesperson should learn heading into the profession of sales. He continually introduces people to one another, always helping others. He's passionate about what he does and he has a lot of fun doing it, as does everyone around him.

Fortunately for the reader, as well as for Robert, he also happens to enjoy teaching others how to do the same. This, by the way, is typical of superstars in all aspects of life; they enjoy mentoring others and encouraging others to reach their potential.

Throughout this book, you'll learn many principles involved in good salesmanship and service to others. I won't take up the space to list them all here. However, the chapter on "Elevation" alone is worth ten times (actually, many, many times) the price of this book and if a sales professional learned this lesson alone and no more, they would see their production rise significantly.

This is the type of book that every company should promote throughout their entire sales force, including to their leadership and management as there are some wonderful lessons there, as well. And, like most great books, every parent should give this book to their child as a gift for them to read, re-read and internalize. This is the element of business that can make your child the most successful, but which he or she will probably never learn in school.

Sales is a very worthy profession and a sales professional should be very proud of what he or she does. Follow the teaching of the master networker in this book and you'll be both proud, and extremely productive.

Bob Burg,
author of "Endless Referrals"

Wow. Buy this book, no matter who you are or how you make your living. I actually complained to the cashier at the bookstore about the price of this book, but now I realize this book is worth it's price x $1,000 and surely more, over time. A quarter of the way through the book I felt my perspective on all of my current relationships start to change dramatically, and while I was reading the book, I had to take down notes of all the new ideas I was getting about how to relate to my friends, family and acquaintances. Less than 24 hours after finishing the book, I am relating to people in a very different way, and noticing how much more warm they are toward me in return. Talk about results. Buy this book.

This is one of the best books of all time. It is written in story format and very easy to read. It has changed how I do certain things in a good way. It makes you more conscious of others. I have read this book twice to pick more out of it. All that and it takes no time to read at all.

Great book that will get you thinking about elevating your game. Specifically applying creative approach to developing relationships. Plenty of sales books tell you "relationships are important" (DUH!). Book entails some practical example that are easy to apply....I recommend it.

Very enlightening and informative. It is very quick reading for those who don't have a lot of time. I believe if you were to put some of these ideas into place, it would pay dividends.

Over the course of my career, relationships have driven me to success. Recently, a friend and co-worker gave me "Mr. Shmooze" as a gift. "Mr. Shmooze" is an amazing, true-to-life story! I have read this book several times for my own edification as well given to the teams I have been fortunate to lead. The story is contagious, inspiring and focuses on the philosophy of "paying it forward". The most amazing part of "Mr. Shmooze" is the fact that such a simple read has the ability to deliver a powerful message. If you are a student, a newly hired salesperson or a Rainmaker who enjoys moving, inspirational lessons, I recommend adding "Mr. Shmooze" to your personal library of books!

As an organizational psychologist, I enjoyed this book's message about building lasting business relationships by giving to others. The titular character, Mr. Shmooze, is loved by his customers because his relationships with them are based on their needs and interests. Mr. Shmooze's passion for "elevating" the quality of every interaction is contagious. His positive presence brings out the enthusiasm in others. The psychological term for this phenomenon is "emotional contagion," and this book provides a simple and elegant, but powerful example of how the best salespeople build lasting bonds with their customers.

Easy to read. Helped me to think about "drilling down" when working on a marketing campaign or project.
Think about your clients as friends rather than clients.

I recommend this book (along with "Raving Fans" by Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles) to friends who are marketing & sales professionals seeking insight into account management best practices. The likeable hero of the story goes out of his way to make people around him feel better about themselves. As a consequence, his customers, prospects, suppliers, partners, employees, etc. love him - and love his company and its products as well. Mr. Schmooze practices the platinum rule by delivering personalized service that demonstrates how he values and appreciates his relationship with each individual.

He employs variants of the methods that couples use to express their love and commitment to each other summarized in Gary Chapman's "The Five Love Languages". The surprising results of years of family therapy research are that each of us communicates our love in five different ways:

Acts of Service
Words of Affirmation
Physical Touch
Quality Time
Gifts

These are powerful lessons for building and nurturing healthy interpersonal relations - for fun and profit!

This book is one of those rare finds that can truly light the fire! The ideas are presented in a fun, easy and quick read. I find myself generating even more ideas because, like a "yes pattern," reading Mr. Shmooze puts my mind in a "creativity pattern" that encourages me to keep taking my thinking to the next level.

I read it every time I need a little motivation, or each time I am searching for a solution and need to think outside the box.

You don't have to be in a sales role to benefit from this book. Everyday, we all need to sell ourselves and our ideas to our Supervisors, Co-workers, clients, customers and even our families. Mr. Shmooze can help.