Day

Day challenges would-be salesmen to develop a sense of confidence in the idea that they are doing a general good not only for themselves but for their clients day

TITLE: Persuasion Power, Mastering the Science of Successful Selling

AUTHOR: ALVIN DAY

PUBLISHER: Million Mountain Press

REVIEWER: Colin Steer

Alvin Day's Persuasion Power, Mastering the Science of Successful Selling should prove a useful primer for persons involved in any area of advertising, sales and marketing.

It is part motivational in the genre of Les Brown and Norman Vincent Peale, but is pitched primarily at persons who are already directly involved in sales and marketing or who may be wavering in their decision about the wisdom of getting involved in this particular field.

Published by Million Mountain Press of Lake Worth, Florida, the 167 page paperback is easily navigated with its several charts, tables and bullet points on making the perfect sales pitch or improving on what is now being done. It offers what some readers may consider the staple advice of learning how best to target the intended buyer's wants and desires rather than what he or she may consider to be a need. The author acknowledges, of course, that the two areas may overlap.

Desired end state

For Day, the key is to focus on what he calls the "Desired end state". People do not buy products as ends in themselves, he suggests, but as means to an end such as a desired state of self-confidence and self-esteem; social fit and acceptance; beauty and looking good; satisfaction, contentment and peace of mind.

Recognising that people involved in direct sales may not be among the most-liked people in the world, Day challenges would-be salesmen to develop a sense of confidence in the idea that they are doing a general good not only for themselves, but for their clients; and to develop a set of principles and approaches that may be applied to any business where people exchange money to satisfy their desires.

In nine chapters, he challenges the mindset with which people enter the sales profession steering them to take new approaches. Among the broad areas he lists for consideration are: You are selling the wrong thing! (Go beyond bland benefits); Never sell people what they need (Your job is not to save the world) and Finding People's Pain (the five buttons you push to persuade).

Day also offers advice on how they deal with the every day reality of rejection in "Mind games to make you mighty (emotional conquest over rejection)" and "The anatomy of 'No' (Logical conquest over rejection)".

Move your own cheese

For those who want tips on how best to stay ahead of the game in a changing world he offers "Move your own cheese" in chapter 9.

The Jamaican-born Day is described as an explosive sales leader, who has chalked up exceptional performances in individual sales and as a team leader working for leading American companies such as Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He is also credited with helping companies build their businesses across the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

In that regard the book could have been advanced with a few more personal anecdotes by way of authenticating the tips he shares.

Persuasion Power might not be a textbook for business students, but it is an easy read and offers useful advice for anyone involved in sales and marketing.