Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Ultimate Sales Machine

By Chet Holmes

"Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies"

The summary of the original text discusses

  • Mastering... the 12 strategies that will enable you to out-manage, out-market, and out-sell any competitor any day and every day
  • Discover... a proven technique for hiring superstars by rejecting them during the interview to see how they will respond to adversity
  • Double... your sales by using the "education-based marketing" approach that will make every potential buyer truly want to hear what you have to say
  • Target...your "dream clients" - the small number of customers who buy the vast majority of the products and services in your market
  • Improve...your marketing ROI by using seven weapons more strategically: advertising; direct mail; corporate literature; PR; personal contact; market education; and the Internet.

Originally, I only read the Book Summary, but after reading a respected author's review I've since bought the book. "Maximizing Productivity" has become a new term for me..replacing time management and anything about organization. In my recent Round Tables I've been asking participants "what are the 3 things you need to improve on?" Around 30% (of 70+) have said either time managment or organization (training and communication tied for #1). In one group, when I turned the term to "maximizing productivity" the discussions became very passionate about what a difference the term did to their viewpoint.

Training and education as a business building block also hits close to home.

Holmes seems to have a great deal of hands-on experience and puts a really good spin on his message about having pig-headed discipline and determination. Though I wondered at first about the title; The Ultimate Sales Machine, I remembered a sales consultant we talked to last year who claimed we were not a sales organization! Yikes...that hurt - who doesn't want more sales?

His fresh perspective on some old ideas are good and refreshing.

I like the book and have added a stack of them to my office for give-aways.

Pig-headed!

Danny

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pigheaded discipline and determination.

Entire organization maximizing productivity. Time management, time management, time management...(great specific idea about subject lines in e-mails...I think we ought to have policy and procedures on how to correctly write and send e-mails).

Commit to Training (even down to how to write and send e-mails correctly and productively). It all has to come from the top down through the org chart both in active training and in passive modeling (ie. "got a minute?"..."NO.
Let's discuss it in your weekly meeting.)

Proactive Super-Power meetings. The summary was light in the area of specifics of holding the meeting, I would like to see if he presents it better and more thoroughly in the book. But, the concept is dead on.

The sales section is exactly what we have taught through Z3 about identifying your ideal customer, sell to their need, develop relationships, follow-up, etc. If they haven't gotten it then shame on us because it has all been there and trained. Hmmm, I bet lack of follow up has something to do with it...

Like his ideas about hiring superstars. Namely using the initial interview to assess their sales skills. Ego strength and empathy as critical sales traits...

Great stuff.

DannyLSmith said...

While I originally only read the Book Summary, I've since bought the book and have started slowly working my way through the book and practicing some the techniques Chet teaches.

"Maximizing Productivity" has become a new term for me..replacing time management and anything about organization.

In my recent Round Tables I've been asking participants "what are the 3 things you need to improve on?" Around 30% have said either time managment or organization. In one group, when I turned the term to "maximizing productivity" the discussions became very passionate about what a difference the term did to their viewpoint.

Anonymous said...

Well said.