The One Minute Salesperson by Spencer Johnson M.D. and Larry Wilson

I’m sure you know this by now, but it’s useful to remember that everyone is a sales person.  It may not necessarily be your profession to sell goods and services for financial returns, but you are involved in selling – every single day of your life.

You may be selling the value of a good education to your children – you may be selling your spouse on how wonderful a summer vacation to the beach will benefit the entire family - maybe you want to sell the lady of your dreams on the happy life you will both enjoy if she agrees to marry you… the list is endless.

In business and in life, “Nothing happens until a sale is made.  Either way a sale is made… you either sell them on why they should or they sell you on why they won’t!”

From the above, it should be obvious that sales is a critical skill in life, whether you like it or not.

This book is a fable, like many of Spencer Johnson M.D.’s books.

A legendary salesman looks back on his journey that got him to a life of massive success and happiness.

He tells us that rejection is a common reality in professional selling, and the temptation for most people is to try harder – to put in more effort, and hopefully to reap just rewards from going the extra mile.  They believe that when they exert more pressure and are more cunning in trying to convince the potential client, they will be more successful.  All this exertion takes the fun out of the job.  It is draining mentally, physically and emotionally.

Behind every sale is a person.  Your prospect is a person, don’t treat him like a commodity.  The seller too, is a person. The better these two people connect, the easier the sales process will be.

Jim Rohn says that in order to make more money you should become more valuable.  The same concept applies to sales.  If you want to make more money, you should add more value to the buyer.  Stop trying to get only what you want, and start helping the buyer get what they want.  This is the simple philosophy of life, also endorsed by Dale Carnegie in his wonderful book, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

The authors argue that every time you go into a sale you’re not really selling a product or service.  The prospect is not really buying the product or service – they’re buying the result that the product will bring.  More accurately, they’re buying the feeling that accompanies the result.

You may have heard the saying: “Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle!”  This holds true in many respects.  We’re all in the business of selling change. The book claims, “We’re selling an improvement from the current circumstances, moving from point A to point B, and the good feelings that come along with that change.”

The One Minute Salesperson’s central message is this, “Trust and service is essential to sales success.  Your customers should feel that you care. And this should not just be a false sentiment that you’re transferring. You must sincerely care.”

A business relationship built on trust will gain you more referrals. 

This, accompanied by a distinctive service,

will ensure you never lack in pocket change.

Service is adding value beyond what is expected.  It is a simple act that creates a WOW factor in the prospect’s mind.

We learn that sales is more about mind-set than it is about technique.  Before going into a sale, what are some of the thoughts that go through your mind? Do these thoughts serve you positively or negatively? Do they serve your customers’ needs? What are your expectations of the sales meeting – do you go in there looking to make a quick buck or looking for an opportunity to change someone’s life for the better?

Your focus shouldn’t be on yourself, according to The One Minute Salesperson, it should instead be on the results your prospects are trying to get.  Your prospect is the main attraction. You are the supporting act.

When I say that selling is primarily about the prospect, don’t mistake that as saying it is only about the prospect.  You need to also look after and develop yourself as a salesperson.  Everyone performs better when they feel good about themselves.  You are no exception.  Nourish your own esteem, nurture your own skills and become the best you can possibly become.

Success in sales requires that you develop a positive mental attitude.  We become what we think about, therefore, if you constantly picture yourself performing remarkably and closing the sale, you stand a good chance of closing more sales than if you’re constantly negative and pessimistic.

The One Minute Salesperson also teaches the salesperson to manage themselves, and their performance according to the one minute formula.  It is a very simple, yet extremely powerful formula:

The principles of sales success, according to the authors, are similar to the principles of successful living: