Life’s A Pitch: What the World’s Best Sales People Can Teach Us All
£12.00£15.20 (-21%)
Now in paperback, Philip Delves Broughton. bestselling business author of What They Teach You at Harvard Business School, takes a sideways look at the greatest salespeople in Life’s a Pitch.
What are the selling secrets of Majid, Tangier’s greatest rug peddler? How does Mrs Shibata, Japan’s top life insurance seller, seal the deal? Why does Belyamani, a seller of Boeing planes, believe trust is all?
Few of us have the chance to meet let alone work with the best. But to get on, we need to learn their secrets of success. Here, Philip Delves Broughton, author of the bestselling What They Teach You At Harvard Business School, journeys around the world meeting business legends from all walks of life. Their stories are insightful, hilarious and compelling. Revealing their secrets and tips, Life’s a Pitch also shows how mastering the art of selling will help you master the art of life.
‘Marvellous, dazzling’ -Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence
‘Thoroughly entertaining’ -Toby Young, author of How To Lose Friends and Alienate People
‘You can never look upon a sale in quite the same way again. Buy Life’s A Pitch and be enlightened’Economist
Philip Delves Broughton is the author of the international bestseller What They Teach You at Harvard Business School. He was born in Bangladesh and grew up in England. He served as the New York and Paris bureau chief for the Daily Telegraph, and he now writes for publications including the Financial Times, the Evening Standard, and the Wall Street Journal. In 2006 he received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two sons.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Penguin (5 Sept. 2013) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 304 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9780241959992 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0241959992 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 1.8 x 19.8 cm |
by A. Hurden
This is a book about selling and treats it as a skill to be admired. The author takes a good look at a range of experienced and (mostly) successful sales people, and identifies what makes them succeed.
There is no single answer – follow your passion is one way to paraphrase it.
This is a delight to read, full of insights and thought-provoking observations and should be part of any business person’s library. Selling is not easy and can feel lonely, but this book is full of nuggets of wisdom and comfort!
A great treat!
by Review Robot X345Yu8
I am in sales so thought this would be good after reading a review in a national newspaper.
It has many anecdotes and you can learn a lot from it – perhaps it is worth a second read to reinforce many of the ideas that can be taken from it. the book is wel written so a second reading will not be a hardship.
I feel the format could be improved by adding summaries etc at the end of each chapter. I am sure the author did not include those deliberately to improve the readability. However with some good summaries this book could be used as a handbook/guide. Instead, if you want to use it in such a way, you would need to go trough it again and make notes. Of course such an active process is not a bad idea with any good book, however it is just a matter of whether you have the time.
Generally this a very informative and interesting read. It helps you to understand that their are many ways to be good at sales – not just one route as espoused by many experts. Fully recommended for people involved in sales or marketing. For others who do not perceive themselves to be involved in sales it is still a good read that can give much insight and context. Above all it is a very ‘human’ book and shows that sales should not have the sordid reputation that it unfortunately garners.
by Javier
Easy to read and handy to remember some basics but necessary facts about sales.
I think is great to make clear some points that everybody knows but is not bad to bear in mind for everyone who is in sales
by navigator
I’m very pleased I bought this book. Having just started a new business, I have felt daunted by the prospect of selling. PDB’s book is not a sales-training manual but a deftly-written, balanced presentation of the reasons why selling is the second priority after design; how it can be successfully undertaken with respect for prospects and customers, and that way becomes an activity of which to feel relf-respect, not shame or embarrassment. My own copy is now full of highlighter marks, which is my own measure of a valuable book.
by RobM
Philip has really brought to life the characters he has come across in life, not just in relation to sales, but also gets into the human mind about what the innovators in sales actually see. Not the run of the mill “how to get great sales” type book, but will definitely take on board some great things that others have pioneered and put into practice. I’ll probably read again and highlight the best bits for my own personal gain. Well worth the investment and will probably look at some of Philip’s other titles.
by A. Schaffer
There are many books and training programs out there with instruction on how to be the best salesman. This book is different.
The author documents his meetings and interviews with ‘the world’s best salespeople’ and the chronicles of those meetings are presented in this book.
There are many nice quotes to hang on the wall about what makes a good salesman, but ultimately the author eschews the catch-all solution to good selling in favour of the ‘you can do it your way’ approach:
“You can be exactly who you are, provided that you have the kind of attributes anyone should aspire to… curiosity, acceptance of others, warmth, resolve.”
This is quite an appealing conclusion.
by Jvstinivs
Inside and out, a great book dispelling the unfortunate myth that sales is a low art. Highly recommended to all!
by Edna Mode
Sales and selling has a mixed reputation – we admire entrepreneurs who build businesses from nothing but we distain ‘salesmen’ seeing them as pushy, ‘don’t take no for an answer’ cold callers and doorsteppers trying to get you to buy something you don’t want and don’t need.
What this book reveals is the best salespeople are interested in other people’s motivations, wants and needs before than their own. Revealing the psychology of why we buy and how we buy and showing how salespeople build relationships over time (from the two minute infomercial to the five year conversion), the world’s best sales people tell their stories – and Philip Delves Broughton keeps the pace lively and the reader’s interest piqued.
An excellent book that I romped through and will no doubt read again. It’s a rallying cry in support of stella sales people.