University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Selling with a Servant Heart
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Selling with a Servant Heart

Ten Lessons on the Path to Joy and Increased Income

Jim Doyle
Amplify, 2021
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Many sales books characterize selling as winning. But respected sales trainer Jim Doyle says selling should have nothing to do with seeking victories. The I-win-you-lose sales philosophy generates minimum customer loyalty and maximum customer churn. Instead, Doyle offers a completely different approach than most short-term oriented sales books that prioritize profit over customer service. His inspiring manual argues that your customers should always win, because when they win, you do, too. Servant salespeople, Doyle argues, gain major contracts, big commissions and long-term, repeat customers.

Summary

“Servant-heart” sellers follow 10 sales principles. 

All salespeople suffer from customer churn, an occupational hazard. Servant-heart sellers enjoy a low churn rate because they consistently make efforts to deliver positive results that serve their clients. Customers know these salespeople have a deeper motivation than earning the most sales or the highest commissions. Serving their customers motivates these salespeople, first, last and always; they have “servant hearts.”

Take Dave Wall, a sales representative for Liberty Coach in Stuart, Florida.  Liberty Coaches are 45-foot long, ultra-luxury, extravagant motorhomes that can sell for around $2 million each. Wall, a servant-heart sales professional, sells multiple Liberty Coaches each year, mostly to wealthy, demanding business owners. Fully 60% of his customers are repeat buyers. Wall has sold as many as nine big coaches to some customers. Past customers refer another 30% of Wall’s customers to him.

As Wall’s customers repeatedly demonstrate, they like and trust him, mostly because he takes care of them. Some former customers have even joined...

About the Author

Jim Doyle founded Jim Doyle and Associates, a national broadcast and cable-television sales-training and marketing-consulting firm. He is a board member of Second Heart Home.

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