Reviews (82)

Re-reading the Classics
The canon of Sales Lit goes back only a couple of decades.In that canon, Neil Rackham's first "Spin Selling" takes a special place as one of the classics or founding texts.So, if you need help preparing a meeting with one of your largest accounts, take the time to re-read this classic text.
Revealing selling process
SPIN Selling illustrates the validaty of the method by showing how real Fortune 500 sales forces have improved by asking the right questions to uncover customer pain.This book will enlighten sales managers and any representatives who manage large sales transactions. Also, executives can benefit from the insights about large sales. I have personally improved my sales numbers greatly after utilizing the ideas in SPIN Selling.This book deserves a place in all-time sales manual classics.

Great book on asking the right questions
A very good and interesting book and very easy to read. For me this book was very convincing for 2 important reasons: 1. SPIN selling is based upon scientific research of many sales calls for many years. 2. The idea of SPIN selling is about the fact that customers decide whether they buy somehting (or advance the sales call) upon their own ideas, their own beliefs, their own assumptions.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Sales    5. Sales & Selling - General    6. Sales & Selling - Techniques    7. Selling    8. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    9. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (60)

A small, fun-to-read book that will improve your career
If you had to choose one skill that you would consider the most important for an entrepreneur to possess, what would you choose? I'm sure many different opinions exist. But if you ask me, the most important skill for an entrepreneur to possess is the ability to sell him or herself -- to present him/herself in a way that attracts others.
You're a salesman who hasn't read this book? You suck.
Gitomer is not known for sales "theory," and he isn't known for "nuance."But, he's long on motivation, and he tells you exactly what you need to do improve your sales today -- and for the rest of your life.Gitomer kicks your [...]!
Sales Reality NOT sales theory ...
Having recommended this book to thousands of sales people personally as the Chairman of the world's largest Business Coaching company Action Itnernational, I felt compelled to give you my reasons why I think you'll find this book a great read, but more importantly a great reference.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business networks    4. Business/Economics    5. Customer loyalty    6. Customer relations    7. Marketing    8. Sales & Selling - General    9. Sales & Selling - Techniques    10. Selling    11. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    12. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (61)

The Antithesis of Winner-Take-All
If you became hopelessly depressed after reading "The Winner-Take-All Society" by Frank and Cook, then "The Long Tail" will provide you with some solace. Nothing ever reaches its logical conclusion, and economic rewards will not aggregate to the top ad infinitum. The ability to make an infinite number of copies of the "best" song or movie or book contrasts with the infinite shelf space available on the internet. "The Long Tail" demonstrates why that shelf space will be a highly democratizing force. People are always looking for something new, and the traditional, monopolistic channels (or gatekeepers) are under siege, even now.

Pop-science goes marketing
The big thing these days seems to be science writers like Malcolm Gladwell coming up with best-sellers that, charitably put, are very light on facts and very long on sometimes outlandish assertion. Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, joins the parade with his silly - yes, silly - claim that businesses like music and movies are no longer driven by hits, but by the "long tail." That it is the thousands of titles that people buy or rent infrequently. Somehow, according to Anderson, the idea of web merchants making a zillion titles available and some of those titles being sold or rented once or twice will be the "transformation . . . coming to just about every industry imaginable." Uh, no it ain't. Nowhere in the book does Anderson factor in the reality that someone pays for the production of all those videos and music tracks that rent or sell infrequently. Nor does he account for the reality that not every web merchant can acheive the volume of an Amazon or eBay. In other words, Anderson has discovered the obvious: if you make 30,000 movies available for rental, let's say, through a Netflix, many of the cult titles and dogs will be rented. Anderson pounds on this "long tail" effec while glossing over the fact that the neighborhood video rental store won't carry 30,000 titles. The profits from the occasionl rental of the 30,000th item on the list won't match the cost of acquiring and keeping it in stock in a store, while it makes little difference to a Netflix.
Insights that influence Google's strategic thinking.
98 Rule: Netflix reckoned that 95 percent of its 25,000 DVDs rented at least once a quarter. Amazon using an independent academic research on its book sales suggested that 98 percent of its top 100,000 books sold at least once a quarter.Digital space cost per DVD is very cheap and represent almost no physical inventory space excepting magnetic medium storage.In the sale of one or two DVDs, the traditional retail runs out of steam because it can turn inventory fast enough to pay for physical space, but the economics of online retail keep going.Eventually, Amazon will localize and print digital media using high-speed printers producing a book in seconds from an electronic catalog, the birth of a book replication. DVDs will be replaced by wireless iPods, who are paying subscribers to iTunes, will increase the speed of distribution and volume of sales of the media they prefer. The 80/20 rules are changing.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Consumer Behavior - General    5. Economic Conditions    6. Economics (General)    7. Economics - General    8. Internet marketing    9. Market segmentation    10. Marketing    11. Marketing - Research    12. Sales & Selling - General    13. Technological innovations    14. Business & Economics / Economic History   

Reviews (18)

Quick Read, excellent motivator!
I loved this book. I recommend purchasing it for anyone in sales. I gained some truly interesting tidbits. The website and newsletter for Jeff Gitomer really adds to the overall enjoyment of learning better sales techniques.

It Changed the way I thought about the selling process!
Gitomer's book helped me turn my slumping sales career into a blossoming cash cow.I found his ideas especially useful in the real estate profession.The relationships I was able to build with my potential customers solidified their trust in me and allowed the buying process to move forward, smoothly and efficiently.This is the second book of Jeffrey's that I have bought and each one gets better and better, chock full of new idea and strategies.

WARNING: If You Don't Want Stronger Business Relationships and More Sales, Don't Read This Book
Much like most small business owners, I wear many different hats in my business.This book simply took hold of my sales hat and my head and screwed them on properly!What an interesting view when you're looking at things the right way.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business networks    4. Business/Economics    5. Customer Service    6. Customer loyalty    7. Finance    8. Motivational    9. Sales    10. Sales & Selling - General    11. Sales & Selling - Techniques    12. Selling    13. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    14. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (18)

Mrs. Mortgage Broker
I decided to review the library's copy before I bought it and I could not get enough info out of it!I found myself taking notes and almost writing in the library's copy!I rushed and bought the book.Now it's covered in pink and yellow highlighter.I feel like I'm back in college preparing for an exam -- except this time, my studying is going to directly contribute to my bank account!Truly valuable!

Get More Referrals Now
I found this book to be very educational to anyone in the sales industry.I used most of the techniques and found them beneficial to the growth of my business.I found the material easy to read and straight to the point.

Interesting Ideas
Overall an interesting read. Makes you think out of the box. This book gave me more ideas to make my business grow. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business referrals    4. Career/Job    5. Customer Service    6. Marketing - General    7. Sales    8. Sales & Selling - General    9. Sales & Selling - Techniques    10. Business & Economics / General    11. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (40)

Marketing Reference
This book is part of Executive MBA courses, I have to admit that, this book covers different areas and considered as one of the important Marketing references.
Rip off, no new material since edition 2
Kotler tries to sell college students new books every year, hence the 12th edition he is now marketing. There is no new information, and the information contained is no different from any $12 marketing book.Students, buy an old edition and save, teachers stop using books like this, more and better information is available for free over the net anyway. Just because they are expensive and shiny doesn't mean they are worthwhile.BTW this is also available in an international edition with the exact same content for 1/4 of the cost.

Marketing Bible
This book by Marketing Guru Philip Kotler is a Bible you must read before starting your career in Marketing. 'Marketing Management' mainly focuses on strategic decisions of a marketer, such as positioning, segmentation, startegies at different stages of product life cycle, brand building strategies, etc. It is better to finish 'Principles of Marketing' first to understand the strategies in marketing management.
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Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Entrepreneurship    6. Management    7. Management - General    8. Marketing    9. Marketing - General    10. Marketing Management    11. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    12. Sales & marketing management   

Reviews (66)

Worth It!
Outlines the things that waste time and the things that make money. Always a good motivator.

One of the most complete sales books of all time.
The "Sales Bible" is a masterpiece.This is one of the most complete books on sales that I have ever read.When I became a sales leader four years ago this was the first sales book our team read together.The practical sales tips and techniques Jeffrey Gitomer discloses in this book are priceless.I have a sales rep that tells everyone that will listen that "The Sales Bible" is the reason he tripled his income in less than three years!David Otis Author of "Walk Fast, Talk Loud and Smile.

covers important techniques, buta bit unorganized and long
A very long book of over 300 pages.Very useful information in this book, but I found it to be too wordy and long, too much nonsense.It's hard to go back and find the usefull information.He tries to be too entertaining and all I want is the facts/techniques. Ironic, he advises to not sound like a salesman and to listen more then you speak, but then he goes and does just that. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Management - General    5. Sales    6. Sales & Selling - General    7. Sales & Selling - Techniques    8. Selling    9. Skills    10. Study and teaching    11. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    12. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (25)

Wow!So This is How Call Centers Work!
I've generally been an IT Director and Project Manager, so I read this book to get a better idea of my customers' needs.I was pretty excited to discover that there's at least one good summary of what call centers do and how they do it.For my own sake--and perhaps yours--here's my summary of Brad and Julia's summary: Call Center Management ~On Fast Forward
We were in the process of re-organizing our call center and based on the excellent reviews that I read, I choose this book.Well, the reviews were right.This book is excellent. It is very well written and explains all aspects of organizing and analyzing a Call Center. We have ordered a total of 6 copies and they are being utilized by the V.P. of Operations, Operations Manager, IT dept, and the Customer Service Dept.

Comprehensive handbook for management
The perfect book for the people that are managing the call centers. Especially when call center is just a part of your responsibility and you need a comprehensive and ehhaustive in-depth description of call center activities. Great book. Good for both excecutives to understand what the call center managers are doing (even in terms of languages they speak, very usefull, if you are not able to undestand sometimes the cc managers you need the book) and call centers managers in order to understand how to present their work to the executives. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics / Customer Service    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Customer Service    5. Marketing - Telemarketing    6. Business management    7. Call Centers Management    8. Call centers    9. Management    10. Telecommunications   

Reviews (4)

Shippment
Book was in perfect condition with the exception of some small damage that occurred during shipping.The company packaged it well, I think the postoffice just used metal straps during shipping which damaged the book a little.But the company shipped it out immediately which is appreciated!
Strategic Marketing Problems... Not Solutions
I was disappointed. The book does contain some interesting thoughts, but 90% of the content is a description of companies facing marketing problems (case studies with a lot of facts). The author doesn't offer the solutions and best practises that would help solve these problems. While reading this book, i felt i was eating a burger without meat. Something is missing... Great and comprehensive
I am a MBA Candidate with a finance focus who had the pleasure to use this book. Never before had I imagined that marketing could have the amount of numerical focus that this book shows. There's a case for every type of industry and many world-famous companies in this book. What else is missing from an introduction to marketing text?! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Case studies    5. Customer Service    6. Decision making    7. Management    8. Marketing    9. Marketing - General    10. Marketing Management    11. Business & Economics / Customer Service    12. Sales & marketing management   

Reviews (12)

New Ways to Measure Marketing Effectiveness
The people who really started measuring marketing are the mail order folk. You run an ad or you mail out a few thousand catalogs and you can almost immediately measure the return on your investment. Then when computers became common place, they began to measure not only the immediate return but the acquisition cost vs. the lifetime value of a customer. That is, you may not have gotten as many customers from Ad B, but they bought more stuff down through the next months or years than the customers from Ad A.
Every executive who is responsible for the way their company competes should study the metrics in this book
Personally, I love these kinds of handbooks.Having a ready resource for these dozens of metrics can help any executive understand their business and think about ways to compete in the marketplace in new ways.Too often marketing is thought of in terms of advertising and sales, but it is so much more than that.Marketing is everything your company does or needs to do to choosing a marketplace, the products to compete with, how to promote and sell them, and how to better understand your market, your competition, and how it is changing over time.
Like the Kama Sutra...
Reading this book is a little like reading the Kama Sutra. Both books discuss fascinating subjects but readers are given far more information than they are ever likely to use in practice.
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Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Applied    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Marketing    7. Marketing - Research    8. Marketing Research    9. Mathematical Models    10. Sales & Selling - Techniques    11. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    12. Market research    13. Sales & marketing    14. Sales & marketing management   

Reviews (29)

Very good and pratical advice.

An Excellent Book Simplify TheComplex Sale Cycle
Invoke Solutions is one of my client companies.(www.invoke.com) Their offices are located next door to ours in Wellesley, MA.Because of some encouraging early success with their unique marketing research software and solution, Invoke's Board recently decided to staff up additional sales territories across North America.Ben Cesare, Invoke's Senior VP of Sales, retained me to help them to find Sales Executives for some of these new territories.Ben came to Invoke with more than 20 years of experience in leading sales teams, including a stint heading up Channel Sales in North America for Apple Computer.Ben understands the world of complex selling!
The title says it all
Rick couldn't pack anymore information into this well written book on selling. This is some of the best advice anyone could offer, hope really is not a strategy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Sales & Selling - General    6. Sales & Selling - Techniques    7. Sales Management    8. Selling    9. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    10. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (63)

A Useful Book for the Right Type of Person
Michael Port has written a very useful book with proven techniques and strategies for being successful. There are three main aspects to this book:
How to "let" a client find you
The owners and employees of client-based businesses often end up doing it all, providing the service or product, managing the office, and handling sales and marketing - often the entrepreneur's least favorite chore. Now, you can learn to love it or at least to do it well with less pain. Author Michael Port cites many applicable marketing activities that you probably already know about, but he pulls them together in an organized manner supported by lists of questions and answers. He begins with the foundation of your business, including your motivation and area of specialization. Then he teaches you how to build credibility with clients. Next, he covers marketing and outreach, including tactics for promoting yourself. The book's concepts are easy to grasp and implement, including advice for conquering online marketing. You may already be carrying out some of these strategies, but this book can take you to the next level. We recommend it to those who want new clients badly enough to make sales and marketing a regular part of their jobs for a few hours a week. If you are a new entrepreneur, this resource will help you learn the art of rainmaking.

Maximize Your Capacity -- Full of useful tools.
A wonderful book! It contains useful, understandable, and actionable information on every page. While at face value the author's breakdown of his processes into tiny, custom-named tools may seem simplistic, it is a powerful approach to allowing both the beginner and the seasoned professional to successfully compartmentalize and execute the steps. THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU GET BOOKED SOLID. But beyond that, it will teach you how to better COMMUNICATE and COLLABORATE with your customers by building meaningful, lasting relationships. You will then be better serving their NEEDS, for which they will handsomely pay. The book is best read over a period of a few weeks or more, to give ample time to apply each concept and compound the benefits of each subsequent tool the author provides. I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Marketing    5. Marketing - General    6. Sales & Selling - General    7. Sales Management    8. Selling    9. Strategic Planning    10. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    11. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (20)

THE book for those who need to guide others in decision-making
How many people do you know who make rational decisions? After reading this book, you may learn that the answer is a lot closer to zero than to one...Kevin Hogan and James Speakman have asserted in this work that people make their decisions based on subconcious feelings about similar situations; they back it up with results from many counterintuitive psychological studies throughout. And it even includes a section on ethics.
Couldn't stop reading it
Cram every great persuasion book over the last 50 years--How to Win Friends And Influence People, How to Get Anyone to Do Anything, Influence, Sales Bible, The Secrets of Power Persuasion, and other--into a box, add a few new insights, and shake the box until the books become one resource and you have Covert Persuasion. I couldn't stop reading it. From the very beginning, the authors (I'd heard of Hogan before from other books on the same topic)toss out solid advice. Sure, you've heard some of it before, and some of it is reworded and served up new, but the collection of strategies is still worth the money. Almost every page is highlighted somewhere, and often in several places. To me, it's a must have book if you are interested in any way in persuasion.

A "Must-Have" for the Serious Persuader
"Covert Persuasion" is crammed full of the latest research on persuasion.While you might scan the contents in an afternoon, you'll need time and attention to make these persuasive techniques a part of your automatic arsenal.Careful, thoughtful reading will reveal a treasure of information that is available nowhere else.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Interpersonal communication    5. Motivational & Inspirational    6. Negotiating    7. Persuasion (Psychology)    8. Psychological aspects    9. Sales & Selling - Techniques    10. Selling    11. Business & Economics / Negotiating    12. Popular psychology   

Reviews (12)

The basic smart course in sales techniques
Seldom is a book as aptly named as Selling 101. This is a true primer on the ABC's of selling. Author and sales expert Zig Ziglar walks you through the sales process, teaching you how to find prospects, overcome "call reluctance," pose the right questions and ask for the order. He touches on all of the fundamentals, using examples from his experiences to illustrate his main points. His brief, concise prose is easy to understand and even easier to incorporate into your sales practices. The seasoned sales professional will not find anything new in this basic textbook, but we recommend it to anyone who is new to selling, particularly if you lack a mentor to give you this kind of guidance. This handy manual will provide know-how that is usually gained only by experience in the field.

Decent sales starter or refresher
Good short book if you are looking for something basic.There is certainly nothing dynamic, but Ziglar hits several points right on and gives a nice overview.

Thanks for keeping in simple!
This is the perfect sales book for anyone who is considering entering the field of sales or that is just beginning a career in sales.Zig Ziglar gives practical, real world sales tips that will pay immediate dividends.David Otis, Author of "Walk Fast, Talk Loud and Smile (How to Succeed in Sales and Have Fun Doing It.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Sales & Selling - General    5. Sales & Selling - Techniques    6. Selling    7. Success in business    8. Business    9. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    10. Leadership    11. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (18)

Unfair Advantage could use more advantage
This is a very basic book. As i read it I kept wishing there was more depth to the information. It is superficial and left this reader frustrated that she had once again paid for a guru's packaging and not content. In typical gufu fashion, the book is oversized and has LOTS of white space. If he is such as expert, why could he not share a little more knowledge with the reader, or is the rest of it in his several-thousand-dollar workshop package?

nothing new here
I bought this book recently but after reading the first few pages I realized that there is nothing new in this book. The same old stuff from "the structure of magic (1975)" by Richard Bandler rehashed.
You are not wasting your time
I'm a salesman of some years standing.I buy sales books and spend a couple of hours going through them trying to find the one or two gems hidden inside that I can use in my circumstances.In this book there are many gems. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    2. Business/Economics    3. Business    4. Business & Economics    5. Neurolinguistic programming    6. Sales    7. Sales & Selling - Techniques    8. Sales & marketing    9. Telemarketing   

Reviews (49)

Where in the world did the positive ratings come from? (!!!)
I never thought I'd give a book a zero, however, believe me in this case I'd make an exception.I bought this book because I have never seen a book with better reviews . . . all by the top guns in the field.I have a heavy background in direct marketing myself and assure you that the reviewers all have top notch materials themselves. Nevertheless, this book stinks. It promises you the world and then delivers nothing.
Wow!If you only buy one book this year buy this one
I bought this book because I have read article written by Mark before.He is an excellent writer and very clearly presents difficult information.He goes above and beyond on this book.It was hard to put down even when it was 1 am.I have read it once and put it aside for a few days to digest all that he gives you.I have it on my calendar to pick up and reread again next week.It may take a time or two through the book to truly get it (and by get it I mean absorb it, believe it and implement it).He provides concrete examples, concise practical laws of marketing and business building.An excellent read and worth multiples to your business if you implement even 1/100th of the information he provides.

Totally Blew Me Away Which is VERY Hard to Do!
I consider myself a marketing expert.I've built two hugely successful million-dollar mail order companies within just a few years and thought I knew ever trick in the book from Gary Halbert to Dan Kennedy.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Marketing    5. Marketing - General    6. Sales & Selling - Techniques    7. Selling    8. Business & Economics / Marketing / General    9. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (15)

Nice book, but too easy after reading SPIN Selling
I bought this book together with SPIN Selling. I read the Fieldbook after reading SPIN Selling. If you've already read SPIN Selling, this book is not going to tell you much new things.
Indispensable part of the salesman's library
This book is a practical guide for implementing the principles learned in the original book about 'Spin selling', however it is not necessary to have read the other book to make good use of this one. I think the SPIN methodology is a most valuable contribution from Mr. Rackham to the field of large sales and this book gives sound help to implement it.

Spin Selling Fieldbook
I use this book to train new salespeople on the SPIN selling method.I originally was trained on this years ago with Xerox.I like the fieldbook approach because the salespeople can focus on real world scenarios with our products and our customers.We break it up into 2-3 chapter segments and hold a working lunch to discuss the content and the assignments.
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Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Marketing - General    7. Sales & Selling - General    8. Sales & Selling - Techniques    9. Sales Management    10. Sales promotion    11. Selling    12. Business & Economics / Sales & Selling    13. Sales & marketing