New Sales Speak (Paperback)

by Terri L. Sjodin (Author) "There is an adaptation to a line from shakespeare that says, All the world is a stage and sales professionals play to the most discriminating..." (more)
Key Phrases: informative presenter, overnight presentation, next appointment time, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Tip Number, Scott Friedman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Some people believe salesmen are born, not made. Sjodin, a public speaking and sales techniques consultant, insists anyone can become an effective seller by polishing his speaking skills and learning to sell himself and his ideas to business partners, investors, employers and supervisors. "Everybody sells something," she notes. Sjodin's book is based on the idea that presentations are typically torpedoed by nine common mistakes: "winging it" instead of being prepared, being overly informative instead of persuasive, misusing allotted time, providing inadequate support, failing to close the deal, being boring, relying too heavily on visual aids, using distracting gestures or body language and wearing inappropriate clothing. The author provides practical tips for achieving her recommendations and anecdotes to illustrate her points. New to this revised edition are sections about "elevator pitches" (how to close a deal if you're on an elevator with the one person "who could make your dreams a reality") and tales from Sjodin's workshops. While the book entertains, much of it skims the surface and fails to go beyond the realm of common sense ("Expensive clothes aren't essential. What's important is that your clothes look clean, pressed, and coordinated in color and style."), providing tidbits that might be useful to people new to the business world, but it's hard to see what experienced professionals would get out this book. Still, for readers fresh out of business school needing a pep talk and a reminder that it's okay to deviate from the PowerPoint script, this book is worth a look.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist
Sjodin is a business trainer and full-time professional speaker. She is also the author of SALESpeak: Everybody Sells Something, a small-press title published in 1995. She now updates her advice to reach a broader audience. Although both selling and public speaking are often considered talents, Sjodin insists that they are skills that can be learned. She notes that business people and professionals are given little training in presentation skills and emphasizes her point that "everybody sells something." After offering some basic general tips, Sjodin details the nine biggest mistakes one can make, whether the presentation is one-on-one or before a large group. She shows how "winging it," being too informative rather than being persuasive, misusing allotted time, providing inadequate support, failing to "close," being boring, relying too much on visual aids, using distracting gestures or body language, and wearing inappropriate dress all detract from one's purpose. Sjodin also provides practical tips for overcoming these mistakes, and her good sense will benefit anyone who must use persuasion to make or win a point. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (November 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471395706
• ISBN-13: 978-0471395706
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Immediate improvement for sales force, May 14, 2001

By	Gregory Bailey (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

I have given numerous books and had many training programs given to my sales teams . All feedback from the current Enterprise Software Sales and Technical team was positive.Comments ranged from "I can put this information to immediate use during an upcoming Executive Presentation" to "I make that mistake all the time ". Terri's writing style and practical application with examples make this a must read for anyone involved in Fortune 1000 Software Sales.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 13, 2001

By	"judojim" (San Clemente, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Terri does an excellent job in helping both the beginner as well as an intermediate speaker in learning how to best prepare a presentation. This is such an important skill and is often overlooked as the necessity it is for salespeople, managers, leaders, etc. It's organized very well and is easy to read. Terri uses lots of great examples which bring the information to life and make it useable. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to see their career step up a couple of notches.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Lite" Treatment for Beginners Likely to Disappoint Pros, February 23, 2002

By A Customer

This book, like so many others in the field of selling techniques, is probably useful for people new to selling but disappointing to those with more than a few years of experience. Ms. Sjodin's writing is competent, engaging and easy to read. She illustrates her points with pertinent anecdotes that make the book engaging to read, but the content is definitely "lite," meaning both general and thin on substance. Although she has targeted her book for sales professionals, it may be less useful to sales reps than the many more more substantial books on public speaking and the principles of persuasion written for a broader audience. The points Ms. Sjodin makes about sales presentations are no different from tips presented in any low-level high-school or college speech class.
Importantly for new sales people, Ms. Sjodin makes only passing reference to the critically important differences between complex sales that require many presentations over a long period of time and simpler sales that are likely to be closed after a single presentation.
The book is another volume in a growing library of thinly veiled self-promotion vehicles that provide contact information on the back page in case you may want to hire the author as a consultant.
As a 15-year sales professional who has been closing multi-million dollar software deals for years, I read almost anything about selling techniques in the belief that even a nearly useless book can easily justify its cover price if it provides a single good idea. Even so, I wish I had not spent the money on this book.