The Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes [8]
The Ultimate Sales Machine is all about working smarter, not harder. Doesn’t it seem smarter to take 12 proven strategies and perfect them, than to scramble about using hundreds of different ideas without any real traction on any of them? This book is for executives; CEOs; entrepreneurs; and professionals such as doctors, dentists, and lawyers. It’s for middle managers, salespeople, and customer ser vice representatives. In short, it’s for every one who plays a role in operating, marketing, selling, and running a company or department. It offers the kind of information and strategies that are essential for every one in the trenches doing battle to grow and strengthen their business or department.
Backed by countless success stories of companies just like the carpet cleaner, the Ultimate Sales Machine mind-set is the culmination of my experiences in the trenches. I’ve run magazines, newspapers, and trade shows for billionaire Charlie Munger and have owned 14 businesses. I’ve studied karate and owned a karate school on Times Square. I’ve also personally sold my ser vices to more than 60 Fortune 500 companies and nearly 1,000 other clients. Finally, I’ve taught millions of business owners and employees through seminars, articles, and my 65 training products, which now sell in more than 20 countries.
IMPORTANT: I set up this book the way you should set up your business. I begin by discussing how to structure your company to maximize everyone’s time. Then I move into training and its critical role in any organization from one-person armies to the world’s largest companies. As an author, I could have started with sexier and more potent material. But I believe that the right thing to do and the best way to serve you is to begin with the building blocks you must have if your company is going to be set up to succeed long term.
Meetings: another building block. I had a client that had terrible meetings, so they stopped having them altogether. No meetings, ever. Wow. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water. Where do you learn how to hold a great meeting? Nowhere. So here it is in this book. Meetings are great if you know how to have them, and in Chapter Three I show you how to become a meeting master. I give details on how to run dazzling meetings that will have a profound impact on your company.
After these three chapters, you’ve got your building blocks. Now you are ready to become a world-class strategist. Chapter Four will change your life. I would love to start with this as it’s the single strongest lesson any businessperson can learn, but I set the book up as your business should be set up. Get your building blocks in place and then erect your skyscraper.
From there the book takes off, teaching all the nuts and bolts of better selling, marketing, and hiring that you will find in 99.9 percent of businesses. The strategies, tips, and insights that I’ve used to help turn mediocre or ailing companies into bulletproof success stories are right here in this book. Let this be your guide to transforming your business into the Ultimate Sales Machine.
Time Management Secrets of Billionaires
How to Maximize Your Productivity and
Help Your People Do the Same
I developed this time management system while I was running nine divisions for billionaire Charlie Munger. I always try to hire bright, aggressive, creative people, so naturally these people were constantly coming to me with new ideas, issues, and concerns. I later learned that no one should have more than six direct reports, but at the time I had something like 22. So I was constantly reacting to my staff’s needs for attention. Basically, I was in a reactive mode all the time. I worked seven days a week—10 to 12 hours per day at the office, dealing with interruptions, and