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Public speaking pioneer Dale Carnegie may have died in 1955, but his work continues to influence our lives - not only through his most successful book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, but also through the global Dale Carnegie Training programmes.

The Sales Advantage - written by Dale Carnegie Training's president and chief executive J. Oliver Crom and executive vice-president Michael Crom - is a continuation of his life's work.

According to the introduction, this is the first time that 'proven techniques perfected by the world famous Dale Carnegie sales training programme' have been made available in book form.

Obviously, the book targets sales people in general - regardless of where they are from, the industry they are working in or the product they are selling.

It aims to solve two crucial problems: how to close more sales and what can be done to reduce objections from buyers.

The authors also make four suggestions to help the reader get the maximum benefit from the book: keep an open mind; aim for evolution, not revolution; try the action steps and selling tips; and be yourself.

They have used their selling experience to good effect, breaking down their advice into an 11-stage selling process.

But they also warn that learning the sales process is not easy.

'We're . . . not implying that we can sell today the same way we sold 10 years ago - we can't,' they write in the preface.

'It's a different world out there. Customer attitudes have changed. Technology is breaking down barriers between nations but creating different kinds of barriers between our customers and us.

'Companies are downsizing. Territories are expanding. We're being asked to generate more sales with fewer resources.'

What the authors promise, though, is that by using their sales advantage tools and principles, you will increase the odds that will overcome these challenges successfully.

'How? By learning to see the buying and selling process from the customer's point of view,' they say.

Topics covered include finding prospects, building trust, finding common ground, commitment, solution development and customer evaluation. They advise that selling is not about manipulating people into buying, but rather creating an atmosphere that is conducive to customers making a favourable decision for everyone involved.

The book is peppered with quotes from the Dale Carnegie 'school of thought', such as its sales philosophy: 'Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.'

There are exercises for the reader, including advice on personal pep talks, as well as charts and diagrams to back up the authors' points.

Networking guidelines also help the sales person's contact list and how to maintain it. But keep in mind, the book says, that 'to be successful in sales, it's not really who you know. It's who wants to know you.'

It also includes real-life experiences of sales people from around the world, who relate their successes and failures and the lessons they learned.

Before you race out to buy The Sales Advantage, the book is not available until January next year.

But a firm commitment to improving performance will give those New Year's resolutions the boost they need for a successful 2003.

The Sales Advantage:

How to Get It, Keep It, and Sell More Than Ever

Edited by J. Oliver Crom and Michael Crom

Published by The Free Press



Carnegie's sales ideas brought to life in print