Book Review: Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy – Steve Martin
By Harvard Business School Working Knowledge |
Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy By Steve Martin Paperback, 384 pages John Wiley and Sons Publishers ISBN: 0471787000 |
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The first section deals with the human nature of communication. It describes different layers of communication, including phonetics, content, purpose, and the way the mind uses and interprets language. "Heavy Hitters", or successful salespeople, can structure their dialogue and create personal rapport with customers by borrowing ideas from neurolinguistics, the study of how the brain and the body work in conjunction with language.
The second section examines strategies for deciding which customers to target and which actions to take. The third section focuses on the power of persuasion, and touches on a deeper level of the meaning of language: the power of metaphor and language's ability to appeal to emotions rather than logic.
Though the author defines salesmanship principally as an art, he believes that art has a scientific element. Salespeople could well benefit by exploring scientific models of language. Practical exercises and a glossary make the book useful for everyone.
About Steve Martin
Steve Martin has been personally responsible for over a quarter of billion dollars of high technology sales while working for leading edge Silicon Valley companies over the past twenty years. During this time, he has participated in thousands of sales calls and worked with hundreds of salespeople in roles ranging from salesperson to Vice President. His new book titled "Heavy Hitter Selling – How Successful High Technology Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy," is the first book to truly explain the human nature of high-tech selling. Visit www.heavyhitterselling.com or email Steve at stevemartin@heavyhitterselling.com
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