Selling has been called a dark art, but never-the-less is a necessary part of life for every business. After all, we all live or die by our ability to create a product or service that people buy. This is why those who wish to be successful salespeople are willing to spend money learning how to sell. A quality sales book, after all, can dramatically cut down on your learning curve, resulting in more revenue. Unfortunately, it’s not every day that a sales book worthy of a review comes out. However, William Goldstein’s The Dark Art of Selling hits the mark.
In The Dark Art of Selling: Influence and Persuasion, the second book from StaffHealth CEO William Goldstein, you’ll find a strategy that brings long-term results. He focuses on overcoming people’s natural bias when approaching any offer and eliminating risk. It seems this is done by networking with others, providing value, and genuine interaction. Despite the title and attractive presentation, this book isn’t so much about manipulative tactics to trick people into buying. It’s much more of a guide to becoming the dominant authority in your niche.
What the author is trying to do here is to shed light on what it takes to be successful in sales. Though you could accomplish this in the short term by using pushy sales scripts and marketing tricks, Goldstein argues that it is much better to focus on building the buyer’s confidence, maintaining rapport, and removing any doubts the prospective buyer might have. You do this by successful networking and relationship building. This is the superior long-term approach and would eliminate the bad taste salesmen often leave in people’s mouths. When they think of salesmanship, most people picture the door-to-door salesman or the used car lot person.
The old way is out, and ineffective today, Goldstein says. Today, people are buying from companies and individuals they can connect with and relate to. That’s what the Dark Arts of Selling is all about. It’s about the new way of selling. With several successful businesses under his belt, William Goldstein knows something about successful selling, and it shows.
This is a book I highly recommend. At just under 200 pages, it manages to dive deep enough into the concepts to give you a firm grasp of the subject without becoming difficult. He approaches the topic with a direct and matter-of-fact tone that reflects experience. Overall, I’d say this is a book every entrepreneur or salesman should have on their shelf. You can get it at Amazon.com or wherever books are sold.
