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The Sales Bible
Book

The Sales Bible

The Ultimate Sales Resource

Wiley, 2003 more...

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

This comprehensive catalogue of sales tips, maxims and never-to-be-forgotten rules of thumb should be on every salesperson’s desk. The author’s advice on selling in a down economy is particularly useful. In fact, all that he has to say reduces to three or four core messages, repeated in a variety of modes and keys throughout the book. But these principles bear repeating, and it may be that one formulation will miss, while another will hit the mark. The author’s relentless optimism, boosterism and cheerleading will put some readers off, but those readers probably won’t be salespeople, who need all the encouragement they can get. getAbstract recommends this solid and useful book, and welcomes its up-beat attitude.

Summary

Why Another Book on Sales

Plenty of books on sales are already available. Why another? Simply put, because the market has changed. Old ways of selling won’t work anymore. The new rules of selling require you to know and to master the old ways, but to use them in a different fashion. Styles in selling, like styles in clothing, change.

Simply put, the new rules are:

  • Sell what the customer desires or requires, not what you happen to have.
  • Get personal; collect as much information about your customer as possible, and use it to make a sale.
  • Become a friend, because people will buy from people the consider friends, but the don’t trust salespeople.
  • Compete on the basis of strong relationships.
  • Find things that you and the customer have in common - sports, family, golf - and build on these connections.
  • Gain the trust of your customers.
  • Have a great time, and have a great sense of humor.
  • Don’t ever even look like you’re trying to sell.

Tough Times

Practice each of these principles every day. They’re particularly important when times are bad. In fact, when times are really tough, ...

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is a global authority on sales and customer service. Participants in his meetings and training program have included representatives of IBM, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Hilton Hotels, Inc. magazine, Siemens and Cintas. He writes the syndicated column, "Sales Moves," which appears in business journals in the U.S. and Europe.