3 out of 4 stars
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This book caught my attention because I am currently mentoring a few women who are wanting to start their own businesses. I figured I could pick up some skills and ideas to share with them. In that respect, The 60 Second Sale by David V. Lorenzo did not disappoint. I did find some valuable information within its pages. However, it was intermixed with gimmicky sales pitches and some ideas that I disagreed with.
The overall premise of the author’s philosophy is that sales should be based on creating relationships and meeting people’s needs rather than pushing a product. His model for success includes seeking out people who have a problem you can help solve or a goal you can help them achieve. This seems a very noble mission, and he gives some concrete advice on how to achieve it.
He starts by encouraging the reader to meet new people and renew old relationships. There are scripts of questions to ask people to find out about their goals and needs. The next step is to create a database of everyone you know and set up a system to keep in touch with them via personal contact as well as newsletters. One strategy I especially admired was his encouragement to introduce or refer people that can help each other even if it has no benefit to your own business. Creating these connections that help people will set you up as a person who values others. There are also tips on how to seek out your ideal clients and how to attract their attention. Other topics covered include speaking, publishing, internet presence, advertising, networking, and of course closing a deal.
I like the author’s emphasis on building relationships and meeting needs. This is not your typical pushy sales pitch. However, sometimes his methods seemed insincere or even manipulative. There are numerous scripts to follow when interacting with potential clients. The reader is encouraged to personalize these, but they still felt gimmicky. Also, even though the seller is supposedly focusing on relationships, the end goal is still to make a sale. It’s sort of a “follow these steps and say these words and they will buy your product.” It felt like a contradiction to the idea that the relationship was the most important thing.
I am really torn about rating this book. On the one hand, I have already implemented some of his strategies. I did find value in his core philosophy and many of the suggested action steps. On the other hand, I felt the author was trying to manipulate people with tricks such as listing what they need to solve their problem and then listing his own qualifications which, of course, match perfectly or scaring them with a picture of what will happen if they don’t buy his product. Maybe I’m just not meant to be a salesperson. I would really like to give a 2.5 for this book, but I have decided to round up and rate it 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about running a successful business and is willing to sort out the gems among things they may disagree with in the book.
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The 60 Second Sale
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