“What are your goals for this book?” That’s the question I have been asked over and over by folks at my publisher and by various advisors I have talked to about marketing the book.
For a long time my best answer was “I don’t know.” The title of the book, Selling with a Servant Heart, came to me in my morning quiet time just after I had left my day to day role at jda.media. I shared it with my wife and some other people whose feedback I respect and got very positive responses. Within a few weeks I had another morning thought about how to approach writing the book. I started interviewing a bunch of amazingly successful sellers in a variety of industries. But I still didn’t know why I was writing it.
I knew I wasn’t writing it for money. For authors, selling books is a low margin business. I had heard that before. But now that I understand the business math of book publishing I am sure that it’s pretty likely I’ll actually lose money on the book.
Losing money would be OK if I was trying to book more speaking gigs or had an expensive back-end coaching program. Lots of my speaker friends have used a book to effectively promote their speaking business. But I am 71 years old. I have spent 30 years pulling suitcases through America’s airports. And while I am sure I’ll do a few keynote speeches to support the book I am not hugely motivated to go back to the travel life.
So why did I write this book? There are two reasons.
#1 – I think there’s a way to sell that is way more effective than the things most sales training teaches. I believe that selling success is less about the words you say and more about the person you are. Teaching closing or answering objection techniques ….which I have done…..isn’t really the way that the most successful salespeople approach their business. They are less focused on the words they say because they are OBSESSED by achieving the best possible outcomes for their customers. I hope the book shows salespeople that there is a way to approach selling that can bring someone way more success and way more joy.
#2 – I want this book to make a difference. And maybe that’s to a lot of people. And maybe it’s just to a few people who might read or hear the message and find a path to success in sales that is meaningful to them.
I love selling. And I love salespeople. I think lots and lots of talented people shy away from a lucrative career is sales because they thing selling is about manipulation and saying the right things when true success in sales is really about making a difference.
About the author:
For the 30 past years Jim Doyle has been helping salespeople make more money, serve their clients better and find more joy in their sales career. He’s a great sales trainer but one with a difference. He has never stopped making sales calls. That makes the insights shared in his books and seminars incredibly real world.
Jim’s live seminars and speeches are fun and motivating, He’s delivered his message of selling with a servant’s heart to audiences in every US state and several foreign countries.
Jim’s a loving husband, a proud Dad and a crappy golfer. He’s recently found a new addiction to his Peleton. And he continues to serve his audiences, his community and the company he founded in 1991, JDA.media.
He lives in Sarasota, Florida with his wife Paula.
Connect with him by email at jimdoyle@servantsellingbook.com