Selling is easy.
This is the most often repeated sentence in this book. Is it true?
I’ve stumbled over this book through a private internet forum. I couldn’t
resist the title. I bought the kindle version for $9.99 from Amazon.
Starting with the introduction, I was even more intrigued. The author, Harry
Browne, promises a success recipe based not on wit, manipulation or strong
vocal cords, but instead on sound principles rooted in reality.
He makes such provocative statements as:
“Positive thinking” is an unrealistic fallacy. The salesman who thinks
negatively has a far greater chance for success than the so-called
“positive thinker.”
Or:
The desire to be able to motivate others is unrealistic and foolish. A
really great salesman will never try to motivate anyone.
Furthermore, he claims that his teaching does not only apply to sales, but to
human interaction in every sphere of life.
The chapters are fairly short and very, very easy to understand. The engaging
writing style kept my attention all throughout the book. After whetting one’s
appetite in the introduction, we find a three-fold division of the book. The
first part consists of seven chapters, laying the foundation. This part
doesn’t tell you how to sell anything. It explains to the reader what the
market is and how it works. Browne begins with the basic premise that people
seek their own happiness. They do so by chosing between alternatives. Each
person has a different standard of happiness. That allows for mutually
beneficial transactions. Every sale is a transaction in which both parties feel
to be better off than before. They don’t profit at the expense of someone else.
They profit through benefiting the other party as well. That is, in essence,
the lesson of part one. I’ve put it into few words, but that doesn’t mean it’s
not worth reading the actual chapters. The truths contained in them are very
profound, though simple, and remind me of the way Austrian economics begins
with the axiom of human action and builds its entire system on that premise.
In part two, Browne begins by rejecting common notions of what is perceived to
be necessary to be successful in sales: aggressiveness, tenacity, glib talking,
manipulation, tirelessness, positive mindset
You’re about to enter a new world of salesmanship. In this world, there
isn’t any conflict between buyer and seller. There are no
stomachaches, no mysteries, no feeling of trying to do the impossible.
The world you’re about to enter is the real world. And you’ll never
have to leave the real world to find success.
The next chapters lay out a 5-step method of how to approach sales. These five
steps constitute the corner stone of his approach:
- Don’t change the buyer’s motivation, find it.
He is already motivated. Find the prospect’s moitivation and appeal to it!
This stage consists mainly of asking questions and listening.
Instead of trying to persuade the prospect to consider your product,
you find out what they actually need and what their real-life
problems are. You listen carefully and attentively to everything
they have to say. - Summarize the motivation!
Once you think you understand the prospects problem, you summarize it for them and see if you got it
right. You point exactly to the problems that the person wants to see
solved. - Mirror back the prospect’s problems in relation to how your product
provides solutions for exactly those problems and those problems only.
Only the advantages of your product that correspond to the prospect’s
problems are worth mentioning because that’s the only thing that will motivate him to buy. - Talk about questions and objections.
This one is optional and will be initiated by the prospect, not by
the seller. Clarify and explain.
Don’t respond quickly, instead hear him out, acknowledge his concern and then
suggest a solution. - Close the sale.
After the first four steps, it is only natural to
then make the deal because the prospect understands how your product
will help solve real problems.
After explaining these points, Browne makes an effort to help with common
problems and how to integrate the whole system into one’s life. Browne
also deals with common objections and problems that may come up (he assures us
that those will come up much less, when following his model). He goes on
explaining the right mindset necessary to succeed, giving examples and then
refutes some common fallacies:
The salesman must sell someone something he doesn’t want
The salesman can improve his results through ‘positive thinking’!
There are certain basic motivations in everyone. Appeal to his fears, his
desire for love, or his hope of reward.
What makes this book so compelling is that his model is based on honesty and
building a friendship, instead of deception and fighting. It is rooted in
common sense. He understands and
explains that sellers do not compete with buyers. They compete with other
sellers, just as buyers compete with other buyers. The seller’s job is to help
the buyer, not to persuade him to do something against his will. The seller’s
job is to find out what the buyer wants and to then give it to him.
Conclusion
This book can be read in one sitting. I recommend rereading it periodically. It
is clear, short and profound. It appeals to honesty and integrity as well as
common sense. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sales
as well as increasing their people skills. It won’t make you a good seller,
only practice will do that, but it will teach you how to practice.
Two notes:
This book was written way before the digital revolution. It will therefore not
help you necessarily with online selling or copy writing, which is dependent on
things other than one-on-one interactions.
The Kindle version does not have a table of contents. Since the book is
relatively short, this doesn’t pose too big of a problem.
Quotes
Never leave a sales interview without one of three things: (1) an order, (2) a definite “no” because you can’t give the prospect what he wants, or (3) an understanding of when the prospect intends to make his decision and on what basis.
Profit is a reward for satisfying the desire of someone else.
It is not how long you work at some task that determines what you’ll receive for it in exchange. It is the value someone else places upon the product or service that determines what it is worth in exchange.
Put your imagination to work thinking of unusual ways your product could help someone get more out of life. Every time you think of something, write it down. Once you start looking, you’ll be surprised at the number of new applications you’ll discover. As your list grows, review it often to keep as many of those applications in mind as possible. This will help to suggest new prospects that should be approached – individuals who might be able to benefit from one or more of these unusual applications.
If you don’t have what he’s looking for, the only way you could hope to make the sale would be to lie. And why bother doing that? Selling is easy. Why make it difficult for yourself by being dishonest? When you use the principles offered in this book, you are no longer a tiresome salesman. You are now a friend. You may even be a hero to some of your customers. For you’re helping them to get what they want.
If you think of selling as “putting something over on someone,” then you obviously won’t want to use the principles of selling with your friends and loved ones. But if you’ve seen by now that selling is communication and helping (and I hope you’ve seen it), then you should have no hesitation in using these principles in all phases of your life.