How to Master the Art of Selling

As a sales book author myself, I'm always looking for the great sales ideas that I can share with my students and clients. This book by Tom Hopkins was the first sales book I ever read that really covered the entire art of selling for me. It changed how I sold. I got my first copy of How To Master The Art Of Selling in 1981. At the time, I was doing well, selling vacuum cleaners in people’s homes. I remember buying the book in a bookstore (remember those?) and reading it over a long weekend. The book changed everything about how I sold. Sure, I knew some closes, I had a way to prospect, and I knew how to demonstrate my product. But this is the first time I was seeing all this written down in a comprehensive book. A serious study of the techniques of selling. The book drew me in…I was engaged. There have been several editions of this book. I was reading the first edition, in hardback. But the newest edition is the 2005 version. There are updates, and so I’m going to review the 2005 version. Hopkins gives a short introduction about the profession of selling; Why it’s a great and honorable profession, and the advantages of seeking out a career in sales. A large chunk of the book is invested, wisely I think, in asking questions. Some of this is Qualifying. And I have to admit, this is where the book helped me the most. What questions do you ask to make sure that you are talking to the right person. What questions do you ask to make sure that they have the money…and the ability to buy…before you even start your presentation. The technique of “Bracketing up for money” I took directly from the first edition of the book, used it word for word, and I saw a huge jump in my closing percentage. He spends time on “Tie Downs”, which are ends of sentences, that turn the sentence into a question, and gather agreement from the prospect. I’ve used these in my selling, and find that they help hold the prospect’s attention. But if you use them more than a few times, they become obvious and irritating. Just use them in moderation. There is a section on how to see rejection. This is a series of views on how to see rejection. The work comes from the book Anatomy Of A Salesman by Art Mortell…which is a great book by itself. And I wonder why it isn’t a best seller. It takes the fear out of prospecting. It also helps overcome the fear of rejection. The techniques in this section work. I’ve used them in my own life, and they helped me get over my fear of rejection. The section on non-referral prospecting is revealing. There are several places to find perfectly good prospect, before you ever ask for referrals. These sources are covered nicely in the book. The real strength of this book are the sections of types of questions, that lead to a close, and the closing questions themselves. Although I don’t use these in their presented form, you can learn a lot by reading the questions, and knowing why you should ask them. I won’t spoil it here, but the closes presented are strong stuff. This is old school closing, from a master of the craft. The section on referrals is weak, but I imagine it’s because the author wants to appeal to salespeople in every field, and so he leaves out techniques that are only going to apply to a few businesses. Do I use these techniques today? Not so much. My selling is pretty advanced, and my prospecting method makes the selling pretty easy. But for salespeople who haven’t taken serious sales training? This book is a goldmine. And everything taught in the book works. I remember the end of that weekend in 1981. That week, I put what I learned to use, and saw my sales increase dramatically. Buy then I was already doing much of what was in the book. But the book taught me why I was doing it, and it helped me polish my methodology. And a few techniques, I learned for the first time, right from the book, and used them as is for a few decades. A must for any sales person’s library. This is a book you study.

The best seller on sales ever. Written by a great teacher of the science and art of effective one on one sales. Want to sell with no buyer's remorse? Tom Hopkins will teach you.

This is truly a beautiful book about customer service and sales overall. A classic. It is full of pearls of wisdom, you won’t regret it. Just get it.

My favorite thing about Tom Hopkins' How to Master the Art of Selling is how specific it is. Many self-improvement books (especially in sales) are extraordinarily vague, general and cliche. While they may put you in a desired frame of mind or remind you of important truths, they fail at actually arousing change because of lack of specificity. Down to the exact wording and tone of the scripts, Hopkins is meticulously specific and thorough. Further, he explains why his scripts or ideas work with memorable examples. For example, when discussing buy-in (getting the customer to agree to small things), Hopkins lays out a series of hook phrases such as "isn't it?" and "doesn't that?", then gives us examples of salesmen using the phrase, as well as using it in his own writing to show how it can be overused. In fact, he goes the extra mile and includes an exercise to further commit this technique to memory. Explanations, anecdotes and exercises such as that are important because they transform Hopkins' techniques from abstract concepts into tools committed to memory, tools which he motivated me to improve and practice on outside of the books. While How to Master the Art of Selling is certainly an old book, it is far from obsolete. I consider it a must-read in sales and persuasion literature and am grateful for the person who recommended it to me.

Superstar of the field, Champions guide for mastering the art of selling in business and in life.One of the best books ever about selling, must read, great content and a lot of tips to practice and sharpen our own selling skills!

I am new to sales. Brand new. And this book is a game changer. It was recommended to me by several people and all I could think is yeah, “one little book is going to make a difference.” I was wrong. If you are new to sales or maybe you have many years under your belt, a so-called “master” I would definitely recommend this purchase.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to learn sales techniques. I use some of these techniques daily. The kindle version is just fine isn’t it?

First read this book 30 years ago and I have re-read it several times. Tom Hopkins' advice is the foundation of my success in sales. He is really the one trainer I have found that breaks down the sales process into nuts and bolts and provides further advice enabling anyone to succeed in sales. You will find a lot here for a single book. Regardless of personality, anyone can sell and learn to use their own personal advantages in a sales situation. Take your time and absorb this information he offers. You will be repaid many times over. Make it yours!

I really liked the book. It has been a wonderful book for me to start my selling journey with. I would definitely recommend this book to all of my friends and family. Thank you for this.

To the point practical advice once implemented will be life changing. Read it and most of all apply the recommendations.

The book is well written and very helpful for every salesperson, or the aspiring ones like myself. I was able to put in practice some of the techniques and they really worked. It's a must read book for anyone who wants to be a salesperson.

Le meilleur livre pour apprendre l'art de vente. Toutes les personnes qui sont dans le domaine de vente devraient le lire et relire

One of those really dated books, that isn't really dated at all. The language and setting is amusing almost; but the ideas are rock solid. Overall, read this and understand that good selling is a gift - a way of one person genuinely helping another.