The Death of 20th Century Selling

I keep Dan Seidman's "The Death of 20th Century Selling" on my desk and use it regularly to inoculate myself against Silly Selling Syndrome. Although I laugh often at the short easy to read sales blunder stories, I often spot myself and the people I coach in the stories as if there were a beacon on the page that says "You are here!"I would highly recommend this book for anyone in sales or sales management and especially for SME-International's professional Certifed Sales Managers (CME®).I especially enjoyed the pointed lesson in the story about the two reps who slurped down flourescent colored frozen pop before visiting a client. How many times have we all blundered in this area by doing something just before a sales call that marred our professional appearance?It reminds me of the time I visited the men's room in my office and noticed a chap who didn't wash his hands after using the facilities. Guess what? He was the body wearing those hands when he showed up in a few minutes on a sales call in my office. Not only did we not shake hands, he was sent on his merry way.In life we can all learn from consequences, and now Seidman effectively teaches this as a strategy in sales. What a concept!

Presumably the salespersons involved did not find their blunders "hilarious." Hopefully, they learned something of value from them. Seidman has written a book about 50 "blunders" and then helps his reader to understand how to benefit from them. Each situation is followed by a brief "Postmortem." Seidman correctly suggests that his book not be read non-stop from beginning to end but I suggest that you skim read it, locking in on those specific situations which correlate with your own experiences. One of his most important points is that every salesperson makes "blunders" and each is a learning opportunity. His book enables readers to learn from the mistakes of others which range from not listening carefully to refusing to accept "Yes" as an answer. No single book on the general subject of salesmanship can possibly address all issues and all situations, much less provide definitive guidance on which strategies and tactics are most appropriate. When I devise and then conduct what are necessarily "customized" sales training workshops, I first learn all I can about the specific marketplace in which the participants compete. Also, I learn as much as I can about the individual participants. Another important point which Seidman reiterates throughout the book is the importance of credibility which, really, is determined by the authenticity of a salesperson. Obviously, it is important to be fully-informed about the functions, features, and benefits of whatever is offered for sale. However, people do or do not "buy" the salesperson before agreeing to a purchase. Therefore, being (and being perceived to be) sincerely interested in the prospect's needs as well as the needs of the prospect's organization is of paramount importance. Their styles and skill levels may vary but all effective salespersons come across as being authentic (because they are) and thus the given prospect trusts them. Near the end of his book, Seidman observes that: "The term system [italics] refers to the use of a model that copies the success of others. The system tells us what to say at the beginning of each sales call. It shows us the path to follow when encountering tough prospects, handling objections, filling out paperwork, even planning the pieces of each workday -- like the times we do phone calling and when we have face-to-face appointments." It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of having a system, whatever its specifics may be. For decades, salespersons at IBM were not only urged to "THINK": they were also required to plan their work and then work their plan. For Seidman, an evangelist of discipline and structure as well as of passion and enthusiasm, the purpose of a sales plan is to insure predictability. Specifically, Seidman explains, "It duplicates successful behavior. It disqualifies bad prospects quickly. It employs strategies that allow you, not the prospect, to control the sales process." For whatever reasons, "blunders" are inevitable and thus to be expected

The Death Of 20th Century Selling: 50 Hilarious Sales Blunders And How You Can Profit From Them is far more than an just another amusing collection of anecdotes about prospective sales gone bad. Expert sales speaker and trainer Dan Seidman describes in fascinating detail how the Information Age has made buyers better educated than ever -- meaning that the old selling techniques from the 1980's and earlier are no longer effective against modern-day executives, who have already experienced strategies like the "Porcupine Close" countless times, and indeed, see what used to be the standard sales practice as manipulative or worse. The Death Of 20th Century Selling analyzes fifty sales blunders with a careful, searching "post-mortem" that dissects exactly what went wrong and how the salesperson might have avoided disaster. In addition, tips on reading body language, structuring a system, and especially dealing with sales partners and co-workers make for an indispensable reference. Written in open, frank, clearly understandable, no-nonsense layman's language, The Death Of 20th Century Selling is an absolute, unequivocal "must-read" for anyone and everyone in the business of sales, and makes for fascinating, uproarious, and utterly addictive reading for just about everyone else.

Dan has done a wonderful job in the classification of sales professionals. In my career of sales I have not only been able to match certain personalities to Dan's descriptions, but was able to see myself as the sales "tourist," and took steps to correct my shortcomings.Dan's book also debunks old closing tactics that may have worked in the past, but are now cliche'd and trite.He also recommended "Cash Copy" by Jeffrey Lant, a truly effective book for anyone who writes copy.I laughed at nearly every story in the book, because we are all human, and we all make mistakes. This book is well worth reading, and it just may help make you a better salesperson.

As you read this unusual book a pattern emerges... first you'll laugh - loudly - at some of the really funny sales failures. Then you'll read Dan's "postmortem," (his analysis and suggestions on what to do), you'll nod your head and mumble, "hmm, yes. I never thought of handling a sales call that way." Back and forth, laughter and wisdom, humor and strategy until you realize that this book is truly special. Dan encourages salespeople to be different from the average. And he shows you how to do it. His "Teaching Consequences to Prospects" technique is ingenious. I immediately began re-working my literature and my conversations with potential customers to use this concept and found that it is extremely effective in motivating buyers to take action. This book is well worth owning for the laughter and the learning. If you're looking for a gift for a salesperson you know, pick up this rare present that should make them laugh AND make them more money