Book excerpt: Introduction Sales is first and foremost the art of persuasion. A salesperson persuades someone to part with his or her money in exchange for a product or service. This is done by convincing the customer that he wants the product or service more than he wants his own money. Often this is a formidable task because the goods and services offered by professional salespeople usually cost a lot of money. The good news for the salesperson is that the approach used can significantly improve the odds of success. Like any profession, a sales job becomes a lot easier once you learn the tricks of your trade. I believe that how well a salesperson learns the tricks of the trade can have a big effect on his success, income and career. The degree of success can also affect the salespersons happiness, family life and sense of self-worth. I am convinced that learning these tricks can be financially rewarding and prudent for any salespersons career. Perhaps Wesley Autrey, a New York construction worker, understood achievement best when he simply said; Good things happen when you do good. This book is designed to help you do a good job at selling people things. It describes, explains, and provides examples of the best tricks of the trade I have used in the real world for over twenty-five-years in my sales career. Several (but not all) tricks of the trade require specific rhetorical techniques. In those cases, I will explain the recommended rhetorical procedure as well. When needed, I will explain what questions a salesperson should ask, when to ask these questions, and why we ask these particular questions. I will explain not only the tricks of the trade but I will explain when and why we use specific tricks. I will also do my best to explain how and why these tricks actually work. All the tricks will work for most products and services sales professional typically are asked to sell. They work for inside salespeople as well as outside sales representatives. I have years of experience in both types of sales and the tricks in this book are important and valuable regardless of your sales environment. My own career attests to how well these tricks of the trade can succeed. Because I have used them while working for some of the largest corporations in America, I have frequently won incentive trips to wonderful resorts in the United States as well as those in Cancun, the Bahamas and even Europe. My goal in this book is to suggest ways in which salespeople at any stage of their careers can improve their techniques, hone their strategies, and ultimately, succeed more fully in sales. Vernon Law once warned: Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before presenting the lesson. In this book I am going to try to change the natural order of things. This book is designed to give you the lessons first, thereby leveling the playing field between rookies and experienced salespeople. The way I am going to do that is by letting out the secrets I have learned in the real world to everybody in this book. Over the course of my career, I have been to several conferences set up to train the beginning salesperson. This book takes what I have learned in those classes to a more advanced level with concrete suggestions based on my years of actual sales experience. As a result, this book is designed to benefit both novice and experienced salespeople. While each chapter focuses on a different fundamental principle of selling, I also give a very practical spin to what else---in addition to fundamentals---salespeople should understand. This book explains not only how to make a great presentation but all the other things you need to know to be an effective salesperson. Let me give you an example of the type of insight you can expect to gain by reading this book. Usually the first thing a new salesperson receives is training on how to explain what eventually he is supposed to be selling. This includes a detail