Summary of the little red book of selling
The author of the book is the kind of person, who greatly does not believe in one being taught or undergoing some professional training in order to be a hotcake in the process of selling. He realizes that in the process of attempting to carry out a selling process, one undergoes a ‘shearing process’ of which he has to overcome to be the excellent salesperson that s/he is supposed to be. These cobwebs, he brushes away into, and explains the process of selling in twelve and half processes of which he’s well versed with.
Beginning with “kick yourself in the ass”, he explains stepwise till he reaches the one at the twelve-and-halve position. He condemns the idea of anyone whining and lays down the principles and those approaches that could be used in the practical selling and even beyond (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004). The method is rather moderately infectious and acts to give a reboot to a collapsing selling system. He warns that, upon the successful use of the method, one is not going to give a success degree, as this is something that the salesperson hands over to him or herself.
This book to me, its not just a red book as it looks or as its color portrays. It’s a kind of red-bull book that provides clues and tips towards the process of achieving high-energy sales volumes and even counsel. The author paints himself (from the way the author constructs his sentences and puts across issues) as a trainer at a much personal level, a role which he carries out in more of a comic way. All these tips leading to great salesmanship, he puts across in the way he thinks and puts across ideas in detail.
From reading and following the proposals of the book, we as salespeople (or people interested in the same) shall be in a position to understand why a sale(s) take place; and above all, the fact that the entire process of selling has everything dealing with a person’s buying motives and coupled with the idea of adopting ethical actions. This in the eventual allows the readers and businesspeople ‘to make that sale’ for the moment in the future. We shall in stepwise, consider each and every method as put across by the author. 1. 0 “Kick your own ass”
The fact that as a business person, at the closure of the business books, you are the only motivation to yourself, where you have to push the YOU in yourself to respond to ‘the wanting’. In order to do this, as a businessperson, one has to strictly stay away from giving excuses and to fully assume personal ownership of the situation and not drive failure miles away (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004). He uses the story of a horse rider in a race, which has to accept failing for at least five times before he can fully qualify to be called a professional horse-rider or just a cow-boy.
This vividly explains and spells out that it may not matter how many times one falls, but no matter how many times he falls; such a person should not despair, but rather should get up and move on. He should in fact blame himself why he’s falling, and whereas others are not falling. As for such, there’s something unclear to him or her as to why he’s falling (and which needs to be corrected anyway) that is not occurring to other fellow competitors. 2. 0 Prepare to win, or lose to someone who is
Is a principal that works with those salespeople who always feel there’s nowhere they can go with their selling process. With this, as a salesperson, one is required to be well versed with the details and basic information concerned with the goods and or services being sold. The degree or level of information as regarding the commodities being sold is quite important here. The author of the red book remarks that a salesperson cannot sell what he or she does not know. The salesperson ought to be well versed with the competition level of the particular product that he’s offering on the market for sale.
He too should be in the well-knowing of who the customers or the consumers of the product are. The question of who are you selling to becomes of concern. Besides, being equipped with a vast amount of knowledge as regarding ones products shall always keep one ahead of the others in the same market of concern (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004). Knowledge in this case shall be power and shall ensure that one gets good answers to those hard questions-a factor that enhance the difference between walking home empty handed and making a sale.
Similarly, being prepared with the answers implies that one has the answers to your customers’ problems and or queries. It shows that one has carried out the research and is ahead of others. 3. 0 Personal branding IS sales – it’s not who you know, but rather who knows you? This answers most of the queries to sell. It’s easy to sell in a situation where the customer comes to the business than the reverse. This is so because, the customer upon coming to YOU knows the type of brand you have for sale; are well posted about yourself and have trust in what you are offering (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004).
Whatever the customers may think about you is what they believe about your brands and services, hence its of essence to build and develop your own brand. Good personal reputation and brand means more customers, and the people will always give you that call when they think of your products, because to them, you come first! 4. 0 It’s all about value; it’s all about relationship; it’s not all about price! The aspect of bringing about competition in price can be quite a tricky edge to base on.
Infact it eliminates customer loyalty in the business. The mere aspect of building relationships with the customers coupled with enhancing value for your products tackles it all (Shane A. S, 2008). The more value that you may freely give; the high likely it is that your products shall be regarded to be of value. Similarly, creating greater relationships will certainly open the business doors to the incoming customers, and which shall be guarded by the aspect of trust. 5. 0 The it’s NOT work; it NETwork
The principle works basing on the fact that, the people who have, everything comes to them much more easily, basing on the power of networking and not luck! This principle is built on the fact that the more a salesperson spreads his ‘tentacles’ out to reach many people the easier it shall be for the person to land on what he wants or even be reached out for (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004). Here, the concept of networking ought to be done in a more relaxed manner and should not be taken as a chore or a job. 6.
0 Getting in front of the real decision maker is key The real decision makers once excited shall enable you make a broader pitch. For instance, it doesn’t matter whether you yourself are an engineer, for you to address a crowd of engineers, you only need to be seen talking and not caring what other people think of your talk; what you only need to do is to ensure that you are at least drawing the top man’s attention; and exciting him/her – simply because it’s the person who writes the cheques! 7. 0 Engage me and you can make me convince myself.
Taking full ownership of a task(s) ensures that one takes the required direction and doesn’t engage in micro-managing practices (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004). The same leadership theory applies in the doctrines of selling, where if you succeed in guiding your clients in that right way as to find a way towards purchasing, then you are at it. 8. 0 If you can make them laugh, then you can make them buy. This principle builds on the comedial aspect of humans whereby the role of comedy plays a key role here (Shane A. S, 2008).
Presenting funny commercials to the targeted audience passes on that kind of a ‘virus’ that erodes the stressed mood of that could be present in the client and enables the person to create a reception for all that’s being presented in front of him. Hence, it’s important to moderately slay the clients with laughter if your intentions are to rack up your products’ sales. 9. 0 Use creativity to differentiate and dominate. In this, when some idea proves to work, we tend to use it repetitively with expectations that it shall create same successful results for ourselves again.
The problem in this, however is that the same idea may not continue to fetch much onto the table because the idea is no longer new or fresh in the market. The lesson here is that, we should always strive to come up with or invent new ideas that shall claim new attention among the potential buyers (Shane A. S, 2008). This is only adopted by those salespeople who want to be great, and who take on creativity and being totally different – the ones who are the first to invent on a selling concept that shall be copied. 10. 0 Reduce their risk and you’ll convert selling to buying.
Risk could be eliminated through processes such as branding social proof and trust, and they serve to eliminate some unknowns. A salesperson is required to know or establish the risks to his customers and plan on the process of eliminating them. Once the salesperson reduces this approach from push to pull; and where there’s more buying than there’s selling to them, since you would have eliminated the obstacle earlier present on their way. 11. 0 When you say it about yourself it’s bragging, when someone else says it about yourself, its proof.
Here, the importance of social proof is that there are people who believe in your products that you provide, in that, they go raving in your products, and the more people that believe, the more that will (Gitomer Jeffrey H, 2004). Getting celebrities, media people, artists and dignitaries from other careers in general to celebrate your products is enough proof to the public, and any other interested people about the quality of goods you stock. 12. 0 Antennas up. The salesperson, should beware that there are always opportunities around him, that can help project the person’s full confidence instead of doubt.
It should also be noted that these opportunities might go unnoticed if one is surely not keen enough with his immediate surroundings (Shane A. S, 2008). These great chances could be either large or small and may be prevalent only for a brief moment, and as a salesperson, one should be ready to jump into them when they sprout. 12. 5 Resign your position as general manager of the Universe. The only drawback with salesmanship is that you know that yourself are good, and everyone else knows it. The problem is you can’t be able to solve every problem and you can’t commence thinking you can.
You can’t assume that you know more than everyone does and you cannot imagine you do. It’s may be easy to get things above yourself, and this is quite human. The point here is, everyone has and everyone will. This is just but the best way to put many people off, and begin the downward spiral of failure in sales. We should at this point allow someone else to rule this world, but for us, we should all, and at all cost focus on the idea of selling, because it’s the beautiful thing to do! Works cited Gitomer Jeffrey H. Little Red Book of Selling: 12. 5 Principles of Sales Greatness: how to Make Sales Forever, 2004.
Bard Publishing Press. Gitomer, Jeffrey H. Little Red Book of Selling: 12. 5 Principles of Sales Greatness: How to Make Sales Forever August 2004. Accessed from http://www. ebscobooks. com/books/ProductDetails. asp? CatalogID=607725, on Saturday 06th June 2009. Shane A. S. 12. 5 Principles of Sales Greatness from the Little Red Book of Selling November 26th 2008; accessed at http://www. zoomstart. com on June 6, 2009 at 2056hrs.
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