I READ Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive by Harvey Mackay in 1992. It was a life-changing, and career-changing, book for me, and millions of other readers (hopefully you).
A #1 New York Times bestseller, Swim with the Sharks contains 100 short business lessons that are both impactful and actionable.
After its initial success, the book has become a classic, rivalling any other printed business book in the past 100 years.
Fast forward to 2011. I just finished reading Mackay’s new book, The Mackay MBA of Selling in The Real World, and it is with trepidation I tell you that it’s better than Swim With The Sharks.
If you’re reading this article, it’s probably because you already know me as an expert in selling who has written and published 11 books in the past 20 years. I make it my business not to read new books because I don’t want to be influenced by, much less accused of copying, someone else’s idea or style. I have my own style. I have my own voice.
But I could not pass up the opportunity to devour the intelligence, the insight, and the strategies that Harvey Mackay has gained over the past five decades in his successful writing and speaking careers.
Mackay has made a career out of networking, befriending, giving value, and selling. He sells his business and his product. More important, he sells himself. Actually, people buy Harvey Mackay. I do.
In The Mackay MBA, he’s taken all those characteristics and broken them down into lessons that you can use immediately in your sales life, your business life, and your personal life.
One look at the sections of the book – ‘You, Imagine, Stick With It, Setbacks, The Championship Stride, Connect, and Excel’ – will give you an idea of the depth of information that will create new patterns of thinking and provide new actions you can take to become a better salesperson and a better person.
Here are a few chapter titles so you can get an idea of the diversity and completeness of content, so when you read ‘MBA’ in the title you will know how complete the book is.
• Loyalty In The Little Things Is Huge
• Rain Can Make Your Parade
• Enthusiasm: Only You Can Ignite It
• Watch Out For These 4 Letter Words
• Networks Have Power Ratings
• The 7 Cs of Success
Mackay uses short chapters to provide condensed information. He’s taken out all the fluff, but left in all the meat. You can open the book anywhere and get a practical, real-world lesson that you can take out into the street and turn into money one minute after you read it.
At this economic moment in our world, every businessperson and every salesperson needs new answers and hope. The Mackay MBA of Selling In The Real World provides a plethora of both.
• He gives you inspiration: Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try.
• He gives you strategy: The Mackay 25 Sales Call Prep Checklist is worth the entire price of the book.
• He gives you new information: Social media sites are rapidly becoming the customer service desks of the 21st century.
• He gives you hope: Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.
Stop what you’re doing right now, head to your local bookstore (or Amazon.com and click on the ‘buy now’ button) and get two copies – one for you, and one for your best customer.
When you get the book, follow Mackay’s classic advice, “Don’t just read it, study it.” Set aside personal time so that you can take each chapter and create an implementation game plan.
Bring your fellow salespeople to a meeting, and create a Mackay mastermind group that will help you both understand and implement these classic principles of business and sales success.
For the past 20 years, I have had the privilege and the pleasure of reading every single Harvey Mackay book. His new book, The Mackay MBA of Selling In The Real World stands out as relevant, realistic, resourceful, right on the money, and ripe with opportunity for you to take advantage of.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com , will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email salesman@gitomer.com
