The Accidental Salesperson: How to Take Control of Your Sales Career and Earn the Respect and Income You Deserve Paperback - 2012

The Accidental Salesperson, 2ed -- paperback jacket copy

Advance Praise for The Accidental Salesperson

"If you only read one book about sales this year, make The Accidental Salesperson your choice!"

-- Jeff Sleete, Corporate Director of Marketing (Sales), Sinclair Broadcast Group

"Anyone, not just sales professionals, can benefit from reading The Accidental Salesperson. This is a must-read for my team at Morgan Stanley, and select clients will be receiving it as a gift."

-- Michael D. Patterson, Senior Vice President--Wealth Management, Financial Advisor

Have you chosen a career in sales? Or has it chosen you? Never fear if you didn't plan on your sales role--the fact is, most people who sell got into sales "accidentally." A classic guide that shows you how to master the essentials and hit the ground running, The Accidental Salesperson provides a lively, entertaining boost of inspiration, giving you immediately usable, repeatable processes for:

Generating leads and inquiries

- Getting your first face-to-face meeting or telephone meeting with a prospect

- Weeding out prospects from information seekers

- Keeping the sale open long enough to get it closed

- Writing and making proposals

- Confirming the sale

- Following up and growing the relationship

Fully updated to account for the changes in the marketplace since the book's original publication, the second edition helps you contend with buyers who now have access to an unprecedented amount of information on the Internet; sell to committees rather than to a single decision maker; and use social media, Skype, GoToMeeting, WebEx, and other online tools. The book contains new features, such as The Proposal Producer, which helps you transform data into client-focused proposals, and a Platinum Service Checklist, enabling you to follow up each sale with a systematic series of "touches" designed to help you build relationships your competitors can't steal.

Whether you're a young professional who's just discovered the best jobs are sales jobs or a veteran sales pro in need of a booster shot to take you to the next level, The Accidental Salesperson gives you the money-generating strategies you need to master every step of the selling process and sell successfully to today's customers.

CHRIS LYTLE is the President of Sparque, Inc. An acclaimed leader in sales training, he has conducted more than 2,100 seminars worldwide and is the author of The Accidental Sales Manager. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. Visit Chris's website, theaccidentalsalesperson2012.com