Jeremy Cassell - How to Sell Anything: What the Best Salespeople Know, Do, and Say

Praise for How to Sell Anything

A must-read for anyone aspiring to excel in sales.

Patrik Frisk, President, Timberland

How to Sell Anything is very practical and accessible, without a lot of the jargon you see in many sales books. Readers will get real and tangible value from this rich and informative book. I highly recommend it!

Paul Matthews, Managing Director, People Alchemy

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their understanding of the sales process and the art of developing and managing long-term commercial relationships, which turn into enduring partnerships.

Philip Jansen, Group Chief Executive, Brakes Group

I am really impressed with How to Sell Anything. I am responsible for a large corporate sales team and I have been looking for a book that will support our people. I can thoroughly recommend How to Sell Anything it is full of practical tips, does not have the jargon contained in so many sales books and will, I believe, make a significant difference to both the new and experienced salesperson.

Neil Cornay, Commercial Director, LOral

I put this in the top three business books I have ever read (alongside Julian Richers excellent The Richer Way and Malcolm Gladwells The Tipping Point). Cassell and Bird effortlessly fuse a range of techniques, templates, stories and tips into a handbook that anyone can use whether they are an out and out salesperson, a business owner, or simply wanting to get better at influencing. You dont need to change the way you are with this book most people are how they are. But it gives you the tools to start making small changes in the way you operate. I heartily recommend it to you, as I have to countless people personally.

Andy Coughlin, sales director and coach

How to Sell Anything is very pragmatic, which is exactly what we found when we hired Jeremy and Tom to help us improve the way we deliver sales presentations. Our salespeople and operators gained significantly from their training and coaching and we can directly link their involvement to our improved sales results.

Jeremy Alderton, Sales Director, Sodexo

How to Sell Anything: what it says on the tin a brilliant book about selling brilliantly a familiar friend and a refreshing change, all in one very informative and useful package. A genuine message of Doing It Right and Winning that resonates with a modernity and humanity for which the whole field was more than ready!

Business Development Manager, Tribal Group

What the Best Salespeople Know, Do, and Say

2nd Edition

Jeremy Cassell
Tom Bird

Skyhorse Publishing

Pearson Education Limited 2012

Licensed for sale in USA and its dependencies only; America Samoa, Guam, Northern Marina Islands, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands and Canada

Published in the UK as BRILLIANT SELLING WHAT THE BEST SALESPEOPLE KNOW, DO AND SAY.

This edition published by arrangement with Pearson Education Limited

Copyright 2012, 2013 by Jeremy Cassell and Tom Bird

Cartoons by Sarah Arnold

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. , a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62087-778-4

Printed in the United States of America

It is a great pleasure to be able to write a foreword to this US edition of How to Sell Anything. We are thrilled to be able to connect with you on the basis that you have already decided to buy this book!

Confession time. We are Brits. And yes one of us has met Prince Charles!

We were surprised and delighted when we heard the news that Skyhorse were going to publish our book. We have both worked and vacationed in the US many times and we have consumed many books on selling from your US authors. It is for us the epicentre of outstanding salesmanship. So who are we to write a book that can add value to you, whether you are new to selling or an experienced old timer? Two things come to mind. First, we have both sold collectively for over 50 years in software solutions, finance, consultancy, hair care, snacks and training. So we have a fair amount of experience. Secondly, we are passionate about identifying what works in selling and then making that information available to as wide a community as possible. Frankly, when we set our goal to write a sales book we had no idea we would end up writing this foreword in 2013. Thats the upside of the law of unintended consequences!

There is always room for improvement no matter where you are in your sales career. The best are always up for fine tuning and learning new ideas. It is with this spirit that we trust you will find value when you read How to Sell Anything. We can tell you that it has found an audience around the world. It started life as Brilliant Selling and has sold well over 40,000 copies in the UK and many other countries, having been translated into 9 languages. We have used many of the ideas and exercises in a host of countries in our training, from the US to Hong Kong, and with a variety of different market sectors including banking, retail, facilities management and professional services.

So much has changed in selling since we both started. For instance, we have all become more sophisticated consumers and so traditional closing techniques are now seen as manipulative. We were taught to overcome objections if you were a customer would you really want your concerns about buying to be overcome? With social media we all have the opportunity of becoming key people of influence if we can tap into our latent confidence and project credibility as well connect with our clients. With change, comes opportunity and the chance to grow and improve. Our intention is that How to sell Anything will help you do that.

Please do tell us what you think about the book via our website www.brilliant-selling.com or contact us directly in the UK (0044 1903 813897). And if you are an entrepreneur or sales manager and you want to talk to us about training or keynote speaking, we are all ears. We have much more in common than the same language!

Jeremy Cassell: I started out as a teacher when I left university. I taught English to A level, History to GCSE, ran the hockey club, coached other sports and ended up as Head of Drama at Kelly College in Devon.

After a brief spell in commercial finance, I started my formal selling career in a classic FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) role as a territory salesman for LOral. I doubled the sales turnover in three years and even won a new Mini in a generous sales promotion! I ended up as Head of Training and Development, focusing on developing the sales force. After a brief spell at Pepsi and a management consultancy, I ended up doing what I always wanted to do being my own boss.