Customer Reviews

The Optimal Salesperson: Mastering the Mindset of Sales Superstars and Overachievers

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I read this book from cover to cover twice, back to back. The booked is now pretty marked up with underlinings from my Sharpie pen and I have taken nine pages of notes in my Moleskine notebook from it.

There are five parts to the book and the authors do a great job at defining and then supporting with illustrations and examples. They define the Optimal Salesperson (I), discuss how they get motivated (II) and the tools they must possess (III), and then the meat and potatoes of the book for me was identifying hidden obstacles (IV) and how to apply them to specific parts of the selling process (V).

One of the many takeaways I gained from the book was that of identifying the hidden obstacle of a Sales Rep's buying cycle. A Sales Rep will find it hard to expect their clients to buy different from the way they themselves will buy, referenced as a non-supportive buy cycle in the book. I have a report that tracks first night closes vs. the overall close rate of each Rep so I pulled that report for a complete year. I looked at two of my top Reps who produced nearly the same volume and compared their first time close rates. The Rep with the highest first time close is one of those guys that goes out and buys what he wants when he wants it. He's the guy that will buy every book offered at a seminar and if somebody is selling Girl Scout cookies in the office, they are going to get an order from him. This is not to say that he spends his money frivolously, he just makes a decision and goes with it.

The Rep with the lower first time close rate is a shopper. He will go from store to store and do loads of research on-line investing valuable time before he finally decides on making a purchase. Considering that time is money, how much does he really save? So he empathizes with a client that "needs to get other quotes" or "wants to sleep on it."

In a sales meeting I had a lot of fun with this concept of "buy cycle". Without naming names I described the characteristics of the higher first night closer and that of the lower fist night closer. As I was setting this up I could see each Rep identifying with which category they were in and then I revealed the numbers from the report on the overhead. It was a revelation to my lower first night closer that he was working twice as hard as the other guy producing the same bottom line volume because of his own buy cycle. Now that we have identified his hidden obstacle we can work towards overcoming it and making him better

Just identifying it may have done that. He came up to me shortly after that meeting telling me that he'd been thinking about taking his daughter to a Yo-Yo Ma concert for her birthday. This usually would have required a lot of shopping around and bargaining on ebay and then he would have to figure out the best section to sit in, etc. He told me that as a result of that meeting he decided to just purchase the tickets immediately and to get seats in the front middle section so they could see Yo-Yo up close. He said he realized his daughter deserved the best seats for her special night and he didn't need to waste a lot of time on getting what he decided he wanted.

This is just one example of what I learned from this book but if it were all I got, I think it was well worth the read.

In their summary on page 241 they say, "The "hard" work of sales is overcoming the hidden weaknesses that hold you back." That is so true.

I will say that one small negative is that the editing of the book was poorly done as it is covered with typographical errors throughout which was very distracting for me.

I have known Dan and Marie for well over 20 years. Have respected them and frankly, I thought that they and I were all pretty much on the same page, and that I had personally mastered a lot of the concepts that they would be covering in the book. But, I've read their book, because of my prior history with them, and truthfully, I was blown away. They have summarized what it takes to be an optimal sales person so succinctly, and so uniquely, that actually, what I discovered in reading the book is not only that it is a great book, but that I personally need to get to work, and follow their process to improve my own sales results. This, in spite of the fact that I had, prior to reading that book, thought I wasn't all that bad. Kudos to Dan and Marie for a phenomenal little volume that gets an awful lot of marvelous information into less than 250 pages. I would highly recommend it to anybody interested in sales success, whether they're new in the sales career, or someone like myself who has been on straight commission for well over 30 years.

Al Strauss, Founder of Sales Concepts, Inc. Westlake, OH

The Optimal Salesperson is a fantastic, in-depth, sophisticated and indispensable training tool!!! The seasoned authors possess a keen psychological depth of knowledge plus the practical step-by-step how-to's that can help you achieve sales goals beyond your wildest dreams. I have seen them do it with client after client. Buy this book for yourself and everyone on your sales team right now. You can jump forward and become a sales superstar!

All the tactics and enthusiasm in the world may not be enough to overcome belief system limitations -- and not just for sales people, but for would-be deal makers, those growing their own businesses and anyone else promoting an idea. The hidden obstacles examined in parts four and five of the book lay bare the reasons why even dilligent, competent, optimistic people fail to reach their full potential.

Whether you're a sales professional (and we are ALL in sales) or you're looking to become more effective with the boss, the board, investors or others you need to influence, this is a selling book that goes way beyond techniques and adrenaline.

Dan and Marie's book was specifically helpful to me in evaluating and changing the way I think about Sales and myself. They point out deep yet very common beliefs which have huge impact on being successful. The tone is positive and the content helpful. Low on platitudes and high on useful insight. Homerun for me.

This book is an absolute eye opener. All professionals need good sales skills whether they know they're selling or not, and this book really opens your eyes. Dan and Marie really get to the heart of the obstacles that many of us face, not just in selling but in life. This was a very enjoyable read that I'm now going over a second time. Very Well Done!!

"The Optimal Salesperson" will help you to understand what is holding back your success in sales.
Everyone has obstacles their own mind creates - barriers to success buried so deeply they are invisible. But these obstacles are real, and they hold back the growth of a salesperson and that salesperson's income.
This book will help you to understand your obstacles. Once idetentified, you will see how to solve them.
It has useful real-world stories to support the theory. Read these real-world success stories, then apply the lessons to yourself. Soon, you'll be the next success story.
It worked for me, it can work for you.

Dan and Marie have gotten to the heart of how to really power the sales function. An easy to read, motivating book which gives you specific areas to focus on to grow in sales skills and as a person. Most sales people are victims to the clients, economy and their own attitudes. The Optimal Sales person shows them how to be sales "survivors", and overcome their fears and truly be winners in the game of sales.

The Optimal Salesperson: Mastering the Mindset of Sales Superstars and Overachievers
This is a great book for sales executives. Gives you the basics for salespeople who want to double, triple or more their income. I've used it and it has changed my life. The sales techniques and introspection used are simple and effective! It is a must have for salespeople who really want to accelerate their careers. I highly recommend Caramanico! -Scott Mavis