18 Things You MUST Know About Sales – A Review of The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need by Anthony Iannarino

Having been in sales for three decades now I tend to favor books that specialize in a specific area. However, every now and then a broad scope book comes along that really hits the bull’s eye over a broad scope – Anthony Iannarino’s The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need is just such a book.

Mind-Set – The Foundation

One of the things that makes Anthony’s book noteworthy is an acknowledgment that our mind-set is foundational for success in selling. When we master our beliefs and behaviors we free ourselves to achieve the level of success we desire. The Only Sales Guide acknowledges this by devoting the first half of the book to this subject.

Anthony Iannarino

The 10 Beliefs & Behaviors of Sales Success

It would have been easy to generically address the area of mind-set by offering up something in area of attitudes and desire but Anthony’s book goes beyond that by breaking down mind-set into ten components that are crucial for sales professionals. Each of these is given serious treatment and this whole section is like a personal achievement book unto itself.

Here are the mind-set areas Anthony addresses in the book:

• Self-Discipline
• Optimism
• Caring
• Competitiveness
• Resourcefulness
• Initiative
• Persistence
• Communication
• Accountability
• Influence

In the final area (influence) Anthony sums up using all of the elements to maximize influence. It is the mastery of all these areas combined that creates true influence. Lifelong attentions to these areas will make you truly great and a powerful influence for good among others.

Skill Sets – The Abilities of Sales Success

The second half of the book is devoted to the specific skills sales professionals must be proficient at in order to succeed. The importance of being skilled in our craft reminds me of the saying by Thomas Fuller that “It is skill, not strength, that governs a ship.” So appropriately here we turn our focus on honing our craft.

Sales is Service

This section begins with a reminder that sales is service. “Selling isn’t something you do to someone. It’s something you do for and with someone.” What follows is an excellent discussion of ten commitments each salesperson needs in order to serve their customers. I hope Anthony won’t mind if I summarize here:

• The Commitment of Time
• The Commitment to Explore
• The Commitment to Change
• The Commitment to Collaborate
• The Commitment to Build Consensus
• The Commitment to Invest
• The Commitment to Review Your Proposed Solution
• The Commitment to Resolve Concerns
• The Commitment to Decide
• The Commitment to Execute

This wholesome philosophy frames-up and paves the way for all the skills to come.

The Skills of Sales

The section on skills contains solid and practical advice on eight skill areas – three of which are very special and unique to this book. The skill areas addressed are:

• Closing
• Prospecting
• Storytelling
• Diagnosing
• Negotiating
• Business Acumen
• Change Management
• Leadership

Anthony offers very insightful advice on the importance of these skills as well as their execution.

New Ground

In the last three skills, (Business Acumen, Change Management & Leadership) Anthony covers new ground that to my knowledge, has not been covered in a sales work before. These are higher-level skills that are more challenging to master but are essential for sales professionals that seek to insure their clients and customers realize the full benefits of the solutions they offer. This is absolutely refreshing and raises the bar on where our minds should be when interacting with customers.

Conclusion

I was confident that I would enjoy this book because I very much enjoy Anthony Iannarino’s style of writing on The Sales Blog.  What I didn’t expect is how timeless the material in this work is. Anthony has managed to encapsulate all of the core facets of professional selling in a surprisingly short number of pages. The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need is personal achievement meets professional selling. It’s both practical and inspiring.

The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need

To the readers and sales leaders everywhere I would say purchase this book. Its contents are timeless. Read its pages and make these skills and mind-sets a habit. With your desire the intersection of knowledge and attitude will help you become successful. We often think of our idols and champions are as superheros that were born different from us. We tend to forget that in reality they are relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary by honing their craft. The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need will help you do just that. I highly recommend it.

The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need is available on Amazon here.