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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
In My Experience, The Author Doesn't Practice What She Preaches, August 15, 2005
As I read, "Selling With Integrity," I felt that it was indeed a book for anyone who is struggling to make the conceptual switch from using manipulation to using honesty to sell. Throughout the book, using many religious undertones, Ms. Morgan places an emphasis on doing what's right, thinking of the prospect's problems first, putting your needs second and generally collaborating to identify whether a reason to do business exists. (These are all ideals with which I agree.)
My single biggest reservation comes not from the book itself, but from the response I got when I contacted Ms. Morgan with a question.
I had noticed that every example in the book ended in a positive outcome. For instance, the book conveys that, to get a great conversation with a prospect, all you have to do is call and say, "This is a sales call." So I actually tried doing exactly what the book said, and I tracked my results:
* I dialed the phone 150 times.
* I reached a gatekeeper 31 times and my prospect 21 times. (The remainder were busy signals, no-answers, auto attendants, voice-mails, etc.)
* I introduced myself and said, "This is a sales call."
* Every gatekeeper responded with some form of: "[Mr. Jones] doesn't take sales calls."
* Every prospect responded with some form of: "I don't take sales calls."
After my lack of success, I decided to contact Ms. Morgan and ask, "How many phone calls do you actually have to make before you get one of those great conversations you describe in your book?"
After dodging the question by telling me "I don't track such things," I forced the issue once more, and she finally said, "If you insist on questioning the process, then you clearly aren't committed to making it work." (These "quotes" are from memory, so while they convey her attitude, they are probably not exact wording.)
Frankly, I expected to speak with someone who would interview me and help me decide whether her course was for me. What I got instead was more like what I'd expect from a cult leader who wanted to indoctrinate me, and who expected me to accept everything on blind faith.
I believe in a lot of what the book conveys, but the author's actions cost her a ton of credibility with me.
Gill
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this book!, February 25, 2002
This book claims to be the follow-up to Solution Selling, by Bosworth. There is a great deal of discussion about which book is better. In my mind, they are simply for different audiences if you want to compare them as simply 'sales books'. Selling with Integrity is by far my #1 recommendation to someone who is not, or does not want to be, a professional salesperson. It is much more simple than Solution Selling and easy to remember in front of customers. I own an agency for OD/HR consulting and have read HUNDREDS of books, manuals, etc on selling. I am especially interested in books about selling high dollar intangibles (HR consulting is incredibly intagible). I am paid by a number of my consultants to provide marketing and 'sales' coaching and this is the book I recommend. If you want to go deeper and have more structure to your sales, this is not necessarily your book. Look to Selling Solutions. However, Selling With Integrity resonates deeply with the solid principles at it's core and a new mentality of looking at sales - helping the buyer buy, or becoming a 'Buying Facilitator'. I consider myself a professional sales person and when I need a quick boost and/or self pep talk on sales, I pick up Selling with Integrity and remember why I like it so much. My personal litmus test is 'Would I buy the book again after I have read it, but pay double the price?' The answer is absolutely, no question, YES!! Buy the book. For almost any price, it is an absolute bargain.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, a sales paradigm which supports..., April 19, 2000
The words in the title of this review appear at the top of Sharon Drew's book in an endorsement by Ken Blanchard. When you read the word "paradigm," your bussword detector might go off, as mine did. Sure--I thought--another new paradigm! Deliver me from paradigms. But I read the book. Pondered on it. Then I read it again. If you're looking for just another book on selling--and I've read most of them--skip this one. It will challenge your old assumptions about selling. If "control" is what you're about as a salesperson, and you enjoy trying to control the prospect, don't read this book. You'll find it disconcerting. It could make you want to change your approach. But if you want to consider selling in an entirely new way, one that respects the customer (and yourself, too), read it. It's a simple read, but far from simplistic. It does, in fact, offer a new sales paradigm, and it's a breathe of fresh air.
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