BOOK REVIEW Revolutionise the way you sell and influence people

By Jim Huse

Reviewed by Cathy Parker

In 2010 we reviewed Jim’s book “Revolutionise the way you work”. from which we took a number of valuable tips. Huse has a background in sales, psychology and business improvement and has now published this companion title.

A key point he makes in the foreword of the book is that “Selling and influencing is part of our everyday lives – not just something sales people do at work. We all have requirements we want fulfilled be they food, shelter, a new boat or a night out. Communicating these requirements to other parties in a meaningful way so that they supply them to you is Selling and influencing”.

So yes this is a book about how to improve your “selling” in all forms. A lot of the advice is basic sales common sense – it is just unfortunate that a large portion of people selling don’t in fact follow those common sense rules which is where Huse’s book can be invaluable.

This is not a book about the latest fancy sales close but a step by step guide through sales models such as traditional sales, consultative and collaborative sales. It looks at sales preparation (building your product and industry knowledge because knowledge is power for a salesperson), finding your ideal prospects and who to talk to. It then looks at the sales meeting (both physical and by phone) including a great section on body language, complete with illustrations. It then moves on to the sales process with some of the usual topics such as presenting relevant solutions and dealing with objections. It then looks at the sales follow up and how to progress clients up the ladder from a customer who buys one product to a client who buys two or more, to being key clients and advocates.

The book is written in a style that is easy to read and absorb with numerous illustrations to help get the points across. Huse also has regular anecdotes (called sales tales) of real-life situations to go with the theory. Each section also has a check list at the end for easy reference.

This book provides great advice for someone new to sales with advice that can be of use every day, it also provides a great refresher for those in sales who may have lost sight of some of the basics due to the everyday sales grind. This would be a great investment for your or your teams’ sales journey.

In addition there will be a set of coaching cards available in the New Year each of which will feature key points from a section to allow managers to give sales teams easy access to specific areas of training without them having to read the full book.

Book only $54.95 from www.husehill.co.nz/books/revolutionise-the-way-you-sell-and-influence-people/  Coaching cards Price TBC.