I read a book on the plane last week which makes it into my top 10 sales books: Mr. Shmooze.  The title is a little cheesy, but the content is anything but.  It is written like the One Minute Manager, as a story. The story revolves around a summer intern learning from Mr. Shmooze, the uber sales person. It is 74 pages long and I easily burned through it in 2 hours (While doing email and taking notes).

The essence of the book is that relationships are the core to business. Early in the book, Mr. Shmooze defines the book with this statement:

“I consult for a living. I advice companies on how to grow revenue. That means my product, to a great degree, is myself, my ideas, my connections. I believe most successful service providers succeed because of their ability to build relationships’

He goes on to state:   “… the only way you are going to win is by accomplishing two things. First, establish an intimate, personal relationship … And Second, be able to clearly and quickly explain how your product and services will benefit the buyer, personally, in memorably graphic and provable terms”

It is so true. Unless you are selling a true commodity that requires no service, then it is about the relationship and the value that the sales person bring to that person through that relationship. Only the best sales reps pay attention to the details, go that extra mile and really endeavour to build trust and a relationship that go beyond a single meeting or golf game.

For me, I find it gratifying that I have retained friendships and relationships with clients even after I moved on. That is relationship building, and something every sales rep should endeavour for. A client of Mr. Shmooze sums it up: “This guy has reached out and touched a lot of people. But he does more than just touch them, he adds value to their day to day lives. He always gives more than he gets. Don’t every forget that!”

Have you added value to a client or partner’s life today?

I read this book and laughed, nodded as I read things that I do regularly and wrote notes about ways that this book can help me take it to the next level. Read this book.