What are the traits and habits that make some salespeople stand above the crowd? Why is it that 20 percent of the salespeople in most organizations produce 80 percent of the sales? And how can you become part of this elite group? These are the questions we will answer in this book.

Everyone sells. Even if you are in the service industry, you are selling at all times. A waitress in a fine restaurant is selling the image of the establishment. She is also selling a service to induce you to give her a big tip. A doctor is selling the credibility of his practice. A teacher is selling the ideas they are presenting to her students. If your ideas or services are not properly sold, you are sure to lose the future business or interest of your customers.

This book is written primarily for the conventional salesperson. If you sell anything from shoes in a mall department store to stocks and bonds to clients (over the phone) from a New York Stock Exchange brokerage firm, you will benefit greatly from the ideas presented here. This book is simply for any salesperson or sales manager that wishes to increase his sales numbers. Many of the examples presented in this book relate to the sales of investment products. This is because the majority of my sales background is in this area, but all of the ideas presented can be converted to the sale of just about any product or service.

The important thing to remember is that you must follow the ideas presented here as closely as you can. Do not try to take short cuts. Be true to yourself as to how closely you are following each mission and how your progress is going. None of the ideas here will work without your efforts. Becoming a true star takes hard work, but it can also be quite rewarding. Remember the top 20 percent of sales professionals not only produce 80 percent of the sales but also receive 80 percent (or more) of the commissions.

This 10-day plan will be your starting point to becoming a sales leader. And the techniques you learn here will follow you through a long and successful sales career. So charge in with an open mind and a commitment to work hard on becoming the best salesperson you can be.





Over sixty years ago Dale Carnegie wrote a very popular book called How to Win Friends and Influence People. This book became the Bible for many salespeople in its time. And if you were to go back in time twenty-five years or more, it would not be a bad tool for you to use in your sales career. Even today it would not hurt you to read this classic book, but for the years 2000 and beyond you will need an approach to sales that is far more sophisticated than simply getting people to like you. Using someones name over and over again while you are talking or smiling all the time will not be enough to control a sales presentation these days. You are not in business to win friends. Your job is to give outstanding service and to be the quintessential professional. Your clients do not need a friend when they come to you in need of your services. They need an expert and someone to give them direction and to help them make the right decision.

Even though it cant hurt your sales career to be likeable, this is not your primary concern. You want to be known as a professional who will deliver great service at all times. I have worked with a number of great salespeople whom many people would describe as unlikable. Everyone wonders how these people do it. They say things like, That guy never smiles, or She has no personality at all. But these people continue to be sales leaders year after year. The way they do it is with a pragmatic approach that says to clients, It does not matter how nice I am, I am going to give you outstanding service.