I just finished a book about sales that I liked quite a bit: "The Contrarian Effect: Why it pays (Big) to take typical sales advice and do the opposite". The book is short, and filled with useful examples of how typical "close now!" tactics work against the interests of your company. Sure, you might get a revenue spike from a forced sale now - but what's the cost in terms of customer loyalty and future revenue? Not to mention something else the authors (Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall) bring up: word of mouth is no longer limited to the water cooler. Pick almost any company name and try to search for "XXXX sucks". You'll be amazed at what you turn up.

The question is, do you want to be the next company listed there? Probably not, and that's one of the primary reasons to listen to these authors. They advise something pretty simple:

• Listen to the people you want to sell to
• Expand your pool by sharing your network of contacts with them, so as to grow your common interests
• In any conversation you have with interested parties, offer something of value - advice, a place worth visiting on your website, etc.
• Work with partners - a lot
• Don't force sales through typical "closing questions" - ever

The last one is crucial - people have too many choices in terms of products and services - if you get pushy, they will go somewhere else. Ask yourself this: Do you like dealing with the car salesman who tries to make the sale today, when all you want to do is test drive? If not, what makes you think your customers and prospects enjoy talking to your sales staff?

It's a quick read, but highly useful. Well worth recommending to decision makers in your company, so that you can start making headway towards the right kinds of changes now.

Technorati Tags: sales, sales tactics