“Nothing good happens in a firm unless someone sells something. That adage has proven true in countless organizations, the direct opposite of another adage often proved untrue, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” Effective selling often separates success from failure. Not just in business, but in many of life’s activities.
William Shakespeare started As You Like It with the words, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players;” Whether selling a role as an actor, solving a case as a lawyer or physician, leading a class as a teacher, or a congregation as a pastor, a key attribute is the ability to sell one’s ideas and abilities. When marketing the brand called YOU, success follows the ABS principle—Always Be Selling. HOW?
There are many good books on how to sell, but one just published contains a process that creates ultimate success in selling. The book is a narrative about the life journey of Paul Rhodes, a fictional character created by Dr. Daniel McQuiston, award-winning Professor at Butler and other universities and consultant on selling to firms and professional associations. Dan assisted me teaching Marketing 650 while receiving his Ph.D. at Ohio State and spent decades researching salespeople and developing courses about selling. His book is a culmination of a career of successful selling research.
I recommend The Serving Salesperson: Seven Pillars to Transform the Customer Relationship, by Daniel H. McQuiston, published this month by Illumify and already a #1 Best Seller in several categories on Amazon. The book is especially useful for B2B and B2C firms, but I believe is also valuable for anyone wanting to understand how to “sell” their ideas to other people. It is short and very readable but you will also probably find it motivating and inspirational.
