Title: Sales on a Beermat
Author: Mike Southon & Chris West
Published by: Random House Publishing
I like the way this book is written – it’s a bit like a “dummies” guide, but it doesn’t make you feel like a dummy. Initially I thought it wasn’t targeted at me because, strictly speaking, I’m not in sales. However, Stephen Fry sums it up with his usual elegance and precision in his foreword when he says this is “a sales book for everyone”. We can all learn a thing or two from it because it expands beyond just the marketing industry to address human behaviour.
Of course it confirms the skills and practices that one would expect from a sales person, regardless of what you are selling, but it also provides some really useful suggestions and not so obvious routes to making and securing a sale, whatever industry you happen to be in. In this sense it is more of an anthropological book because it is about manipulating human behaviour and understanding desire.
Clear, concise and honest, this is a must read for all new businesses, as well as an essential process bible for marketeers to have on hand!
Reviewed by Louise Dean, senior planner/buyer, Mike Colling & Co
07-08-08
