Sell The Way You Buy Book Review – Part One

📅 25th June 2020 | 2020/21 Sales Book Reviews

When was the last time you enjoyed speaking to a salesperson?

Once in a while a sales book comes along that makes a real impression. Sell The Way You Buy which came out in paperback form only a few weeks ago, maybe one such publication. In the future its author, Canadian-born David Priemer, could have his name tripping off tongues in the same way as Frank Bettger, Zig Ziglar; Brian Tracy, Steve Schiffman and our own Geoff Burch. STWYB really gets to the nub of B2B sales issues in the 2020’s.

This post excludes my usual ‘good, bad and ugly’ references, instead I’m briefly outlining the first few pages of Priemer’s book. Next week, I’ll share with you a more considered review.

…..and when did you last enjoy a conversation with a salesperson? I bet right now you’re scratching your head trying to remember!

We all relish the sight of a market trader selling his or her wares down Wembley Market or Columbia Road. But those guys are pitching rather than engaging in a two-way meaningful business discussion. Priemer suggests that (as you can see from the Amazon blurb) many B2B salespeople lack empathy and as a result, many sales calls are wasted or don’t achieve their intended objective.

Back in the day, I , along with the rest of my salesforce were subjected to weekly sales training sessions. Normally held on a Monday morning, topics such as demonstration techniques, prospecting and the ‘flavour of the month’ closing technique would be rammed down one’s throat – but so was the importance to learn about empathy, enthusiasm and other personal qualities. The emphasis though was always on closing and doing the numbers, the antithesis of where Priemer is coming from. It’s almost as like the last thirty or forty years of direct selling is laid out in front of you when you scour through the first chapter – or as the author puts it, ‘how we arrived here’. Weaved in is the author’s remarkable transformational journey from scientist to salesman, buyer, entrepreneur and now writer.

A couple of years ago, I attended a meeting at a certain higher-educational establishment in Southern England. One of the speakers who was representing (not very well) a public utility said “does that make sense?” no less than seventeen times (I counted) in a twenty-minute presentation. Premier explains the possible causes behind the asking of this question. You see, it’s all in the execution.

Tags: Finding Customers