How It Works
If you haven't read the Introduction, go read it, then come back. I'll wait. The Sequential Model of Professional Selling represents one of the fundamental principles of adult learning: Learning is not an event. It is a sequential process marked by stages of growth and development. Learning is cumulative. As we mature in life, we come to know and accept this principle of a continuous process. A child must learn to crawl, sit up, walk, talk—and then to sell. Even superstars like Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods had to respect the principle of sequential development. Their parents were instrumental in their success and I'm sure they would be happy to confirm the endless hours of practice required to develop the basics. Attempts to shortcut the principle only result in disappointment, frustration, and a lousy pay-check.
Remember when you were a child wrestling with jigsaw puzzles or building model airplanes and ships?
When you finally put the last piece in place, your proudly displayed finished project was most gratifying. During construction, you had to deal with several frustrations: extra pieces, missing pieces, wrong-sized pieces—and the worst part: not realizing you still had glue on your fingers until you rubbed your eye!
The good news is that the Sequential Model of Professional Selling has already been put together for you—no assembly required. It has no missing pieces and comes with an excellent user's manual—this book. The manual represents 30 years of my personal sales experience, learning real-world selling skills on the street. In fact, feedback from my customers helped me write this user's manual. Unlike many other manuals, this one is simple. When you follow the instructions, customers will cast their votes of confidence with orders. A purchase order is the ultimate ballot of confidence. The beauty of this model is that you can always add extra pieces by adding your own unique personality and your own selling skills. You can be the architect of your own personalized selling style using the Sequential Model as your guide.
Although many salespeople constantly search for the secret of "little effort, big returns," or the "quick fix," the selling profession is not immune to the principles of adult learning. There are no shortcuts.
