Finding that one thing that will help you hit it out of the park in 2016 is not something that most people go in search of. You either find it by accident, or you do what everyone does and you create a list of resolutions and you make empty self-promises about how you are going to change in the new year. Maybe some of it sticks around, but if you’re anything like me, by March it’s business as usual.
After 10 years of being in business for myself, I have found that there have been only a few distinct instances when I’ve made significant changes to the way I operate. It doesn’t usually happen at the beginning of the year and it has not always been a result of some do-or-die event. While there was typically some event that I could identify as a catalyst for change, there was something more specific that happened at each of those pivotal moments when my behavior changed for good.
The way that I saw the world changed.
Whether it was the result of some jarring event, the consumption of a well-written book, the analysis of a set of data or something else, each time my behavior changed it was because I saw the world in a remarkably different way than I previously had. But I didn’t know that until I read the book Sell Little Red Hen! Sell!
I’ve read a number of books on sales and marketing and when I came across this book, I was skeptical that there would be much in it that I hadn’t read or learned at some point along the way. However, I know that if I stop reading books because I don’t think they will teach me anything, I reduce the odds of learning anything at all. So I took a plunge at this book because I thought the author’s approach of writing a sales book in the style of a folk tale would be entertaining, even if I didn’t learn anything.
While the book was a little slow at setting up the lesson, the contents were invaluable; and at 97 pages, it’s a breeze to read. The story, about a Little Red Hen who is in search of a way to save her house from being taken by the mortgage company, is more about changing the way we see the world than it is about sales. It sheds light on the fact that people who “practice selling” and who spend countless hours listening to audio books to get better at “sales” never seem to get any better at it. It’s the people who choose to see the world differently who ultimately eliminate the resistance to getting what they want.
A Book for Everyone
If you’re the secretary manning the phones at a Fortune 500 company or you serve as the president, if you’re a door-to-door salesman or the sales manager of the largest sales team in the world, this book is for you. If you want to experience a change in the way you operate, if you want bigger and better things for your future, read this book. The four major concepts that this book lays out are paramount to getting the most out of your interactions with bosses, employees, customers and vendors.
Because you can get Sell Little Red Hen! Sell! on Amazon for a penny (plus shipping), there are no excuses for not reading the book. I challenge you to read it before the end of this year and come back here to give your feedback on how the book helped you see the world differently.