BOOK: Rebirth of the Salesman: The World of Sales is Evolving. Are You? - Cian McLoughlin
This book is a must read for B2B sales professionals and sales leaders who wish to survive and succeed in our changing world.
Cian McLoughlin raises a an enormous red flag for the sales world. The future of the sales profession is in question. There are significant recent changes - or more to the point - paradigm shifts are occurring that should be disconcerting for many salespeople and their employers - if they are aware of them.
As Cian writes; "According to Forrester research business to business commerce will never be the same again. They predict that in the US alone 1 million sales reps - that's almost a quarter of the entire B2B sales force - will lose their jobs by 2020. Whether you're a seasoned sales professional or a raw recruit this is a sobering statistic."
But this book is not about the bad news - it's about good news.
Cian makes it clear that the future is positive for those who are ready to listen and take action - thus the title 'Rebirth.....'. He provides a very clear insight into the changes that are occurring. These changes will present significant challenges for salespeople and selling organisations. How individuals and companies adapt to those changes will determine if they survive and thrive or wither on the slow dying vine . The message is clear - change or get out.
This book provides some very concise and constructive advice for the sales profession on how to make the necessary changes. Cian concisely portrays what the modern day winners do differently and he models the character traits that we all need to develop and enhance to survive and grow. He dedicates a chapter to each character trait.
Cian stresses that we need to become great storytellers leveraging our imagination to teach and challenge and provide value for our customers. We need to more consistently listen and create value for our customers at every interaction. We need to be entrepreneurial. Cian talks about how we can do all this.
Another thing we need to do to adapt to these changes, according to Cian, is to build a very strong personal brand that demonstrates the essence of the value we bring to our customers through our sales activity and inspires others to action.
Cian also emphasizes that we all need to grow our emotional quotient (EQ). We need to develop our curiosity, our self reflection and social awareness and we need to consistently reinvent ourselves.
This book could be seen as frightening - or it can be seen as a positive inspiration for change. Either way your survival may depend on you taking the advice that Cian so eloquently presents.
Enjoy the read and feel enlightened and refocused as a result - I did. Thank you for your insight Cian.
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