The Sales Professional's Survival Guide - Book Review

"The Sales Professional's Survival Guide" by Mike Larusso is the ultimate guide for sales success in the 21st century. This comprehensive textbook delves into Tactical Prospecting and the Alliance Prospecting Process, equipping you with the essential knowledge and skills needed to thrive in sales. Larusso expertly illustrates the time-consuming nature of common sales methods through powerful diagrams and persuasive arguments. He emphasizes that the primary focus should always be on achieving the sale rather than getting caught up in unnecessary steps along the way. Additionally, Larusso addresses the importance of establishing symmetry between all departments involved in the sales process. This is an invaluable resource of knowledge to upgrade your sales game. 

Larusso makes a compelling case for the crucial need to align every department within a company, with an emphasis on driving or supporting sales. This resonates deeply with me, as I have personally faced the challenges of working in a company that lacked proper management. The ongoing clash between marketing and sales teams, particularly regarding leads, proved to be a significant cause of frustration.     

Although marketing successfully generated potential buyers, the sales team manager often failed to utilize them effectively. This dysfunctional dynamic resulted in each department manager blaming the other, with accusations of missed client calls and poor quality leads. The IT department was pulled into their feud by trying to have data generated into reports that would support their competing versions of reality. It's disappointing to think that this company had the potential to be worth billions but instead struggled to surpass the 100 million mark annually. 

Larusso provides a real-life example that sheds light on the detrimental impact of prioritizing costly rules over sales. By bringing this issue to higher management, he took charge and emphasized the importance of sales in keeping everyone employed. His message to the Admin/Shipping department was clear: ensure that everything within your department is done to facilitate sales. 

Larusso highlights alliance relationships as a crucial component in the selling process. He says professional sellers have significant opportunities to develop strong alliance relationships. These relationships can lead to valuable recommendations, sales of your product, or the provision of complementary products for you to sell. He also offers many formulas to measure the effectiveness of a selling process. You get to determine how much per hour, on average, is being made by adopting a particular process. How much, on average, does the cold-call process produce hourly versus how much do alliance relationship sales produce per hour? By the time you complete his book, you will want to create some alliances to spearhead your sales growth for the new year. 

This game-changing book challenges the conventional methods employed by many companies and is highlighted in older sales books. Say goodbye to outdated cold-calling techniques. Larusso delves into the core of what truly matters in modern-day business. This comprehensive guide presents a practical and effective blueprint for establishing meaningful connections with allies, potential clients, and buyers. By utilizing this invaluable resource, The Sales Professional's Survival Guide will enable you to achieve a whole new level of success in your sales and business career.  

This book is a game-changer for anyone looking to transform their approach to sales and leadership. Larusso provides a roadmap for transforming your sales acumen to that of a leader in the new era. 

Each of Larusso's techniques are succinctly explained, many with valuable examples and even formulas to prove their effectiveness. The descriptions range from a couple of paragraphs to a few pages. This book is a tool, a device, just like a notepad, a pen, or a calculator, for sales professionals. If you are in sales, this is your new sales bible.