People often ask me what sales book has most influenced my life. Without a doubt, the answer is “You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar, by David Sandler.”
After graduating college I worked for big companies such as EDS, AstraZeneca, and Capgemini as they had a reputation for great training programs for their employees. I have read 100's of books and attended dozens of seminars on business, selling and motivation.
In the early 90′s I was accepted into The Second City conservatory school and spent 15 years performing improvisation comedy with various groups across the US all in the name of fine tuning my selling craft. Although I had an average closing ratio, working 80+ hour weeks put me in the top performers. I was literally performing the job of 2 salespeople in one.
I had been selling for approximately 10 years when I finally got introduced to Sandler Training. I attended a workshop and read the book, “You Can’t Teach a Kid To Ride a Bike at a Seminar” by David H. Sandler. One of the key concepts I took out of the book was that I was following traditional selling processes which actually put my prospect in control and me in the role of a hard working “free consultant”.
I learned that I didn’t know how to sell even though I had great numbers and bank account to prove it. I was selling $6M on a $4M quota before Sandler and after I started learning Sandler I didn’t have a year under $10M. My best year being $66M! The best part was that my close ratio increased from 10% to 60% and my work week decreased to 40-50 hours. I finally had some free time! I was promoted every year until I became a Regional VP of Sales for Capgemini. By the year 2005, I had career sales of over $250M!
That is when I decided to try something new, and I became a solopreneur. After careful consideration, I decided to buy a Sandler franchise. I have been training the Sandler concepts and have been “paying it forward” to a new generation of business owners and sales people ever since by giving them the same successes in wealth and career advancement that I attained. If it hadn’t been for that one book, I am not sure where I would be today. It literally changed my life.
What sales book has most influenced you? Leave your comments below.
