Go-Givers Sell More: Post #1

Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann (Portfolio published by the Penguin Group, 2010) reviewed by Steve Gladis, Ph.D.

In an episode of Seinfeld, my all-time favorite sitcom, George Costanza starts doing the opposite of what “old George” would do, because whatever old George did, it never worked out the way he wanted. The minute he starts doing the opposite of what he would have done, George meets with success. Go-Givers Sell More preaches rather convincingly that George was right. The authors of a previous giant best selling business fable, The Go-Giver, Burg and Mann have created a sales manual for every person who wants to provide a product or service for fee. The trick is never to sell…do the opposite—give. Start with value, don’t end with it. Talk less, listen more. Ask what you can do—not if they’ll buy your product or service. Their model is the opposite of the old sales model that had sales people prospect, qualify, present to them, and finally close the deal. Rather, their sales model is to create value, touch people’s lives, build networks, be real and stay open. There are Five Laws of Stratospheric Success: The Laws of Value, Compensation, Influence, Authority, and Receptivity. Why am I so passionate about this? Because it works! I’ve practiced an iteration of this model for years, but these guys have given it structure, definition, and legitimacy. It’s a book I’ll be buying for a number of my friends.