SWAMI KESHVANAND INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,

MANAGEMENT AND GRAMOTHAN

MARKETING LAB ASSIGNMENT

Title : Book Review of “The Art of Relationship Sales,

Smart Business Network (By Paul Darley)”.

Program : MBA-II

Course : Marketing Lab

Session : 2021-22

Submitted To : Dr. Atul Gupta

Date : 25th December, 2021

Words Counted: 2350

Submitted By: Aman Chitkara.

About the Author

Paul C. Darley is Chairman, CEO & President of W.S. Darley & Co., a fourth-
generation family business and world leader in the firefighting and defense
industries. Under Paul’s leadership, the company’s sales have increased more
than 1,000 percent. During his tenure as CEO, Paul has travelled to 80 countries
and delivered more than 500 industry speaking engagements. He is a past
president of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association (FAMA) and served
on the board of directors of Fire & Emergency Manufacturers & Services
Association (FEMSA) for seven years. Paul currently serves on the board of the
National Defense Industry Association (NDIA) for the Great Lakes Chapter.
Paul is also involved with numerous charitable and service organizations. He is
a former chairman of the Chicago Windy City Chapter of Young Presidents’
Organization (YPO) and currently serves as a trustee for Dominican University.
In 2010, W.S. Darley & Co was named the Loyola University Illinois Family
Business of the Year. It was recognized by Marquette University in 2009 as
Alumnus Family Business of Year. Paul has conducted numerous family
business speaking engagements, including “Resolving Sibling Conflict in
Family Business” at the annual Family Business Magazine Conference. A
graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Paul earned his bachelor’s
degree in marketing and finance from Marquette University and an MBA from
North-western University’s Kellogg School of Management. He also earned a
two-year post graduate degree in Emotional Intelligence from the University of
Illinois. Paul lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, with his wife of 28 years and their three
daughters.

Main Understandings from the Book:

We are all salesmen. Whether we sell goods and services for a living or sell
ourselves to future employers or spouses, the skills we use to build
relationships, close deals and get ahead are the same.

That's the premise behind Paul Darley's Sold! The Art of Relationship Sales.
Darley lays out a theory that companies run by CEOs with a sales background
outperform peer companies with CEOs who come up through other disciplines.
To reach this conclusion, he interviewed top sales producers from numerous
companies, analyzed his own person experiences growing a 100-plus-year-old
family business, and documented processes and concepts that were successful.

Sold! Not only offers the results of Darley's findings but explains how to build
effective sales relationships through a combination of emotional intelligence
and authenticity. He shares the 50 Ps of relationship sales; shows how to
establish a solid sales foundation (build relationships, solve a pain, follow a
process); and reveals time-tested methods for overcoming objections and
getting to "yes."

Darley also dispels the long-held myth that salesmen are not to be trusted,
providing strong evidence that when you hone your relationship skills by
employing emotional intelligence and authentic leadership, you will not just
become a better salesman but you'll also be better prepared to rise through the
corporate ranks.
Chapter 1 - We’re all salesmen! “A good salesman can sell himself before he
sells his product.”

Selling is a Process Selling is a process that needs to be learned. There is no

“one-size-fits-all” approach. While selling came very naturally to me, I had to
learn how to sell, and I am still learning. So does everyone in your organization;
it’s not only the people with “sales” written on their business cards. Whether
you’re a C-suite executive or the employee who sweeps the floor at night, we’re
all salesmen and an integral part of the selling process.

Yes, even the custodian is part of the process. He’s selling by making sure the
plant is clean, and as he makes his way through the office and shop, he has a
smile on his face that others see on a regular basis. Smiles are contagious. A
person still answers our phones at all our locations.

We refer to our receptionists as the “Directors of First Impressions.” They know

they must be upbeat, cordial and professional with visitors and customers who
phone or visit us. When transferring calls, they always respond, “It’s my
pleasure to connect you.” It’s simple wording, but it goes a long way toward
making a good first impression and building a brand.

Relationship Sales: There are many different types of selling: retail sales,
transaction sales, enterprise sales, soft sell, hard sell, solution selling and
consultative sales, to name a few.

This book, however, is about relationship selling. Developing a relationship

with your customers is critical, but it isn’t exactly a revolutionary concept.
Relationship selling has been the hallmark of many service businesses, such as
banking, for hundreds of years.

Relationship selling is a technique centered on the interaction between the buyer

and the salesperson, rather than focusing solely on the price or details of the
product. Relationship selling requires a process, and I’ll walk you through the
process that has been successful for us.

Relationship selling can increase customer loyalty and, thus, customer retention.
The traditional sales approach focuses on getting the sale; with relationship
selling, getting the order is a by-product of the relationship. To quote sales
coach Patricia Fripp, “You don’t close a sale; you open a relationship if you
want to build a long-term, successful enterprise.” Some other good quotes can
be found here:

Chapter 2— Emotional Intelligence (EI)

“At best, IQ contributes about 20% to the factors that determine life success,
which leaves 80% to other forces: forces grouped as emotional Intelligence.”
Daniel Goleman Ph.D., author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional
Intelligence and Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships,
1995 A college degrees — even an MBA — doesn’t carry the weight it once
did.

Today’s highest performing companies are looking for recruits who have high
emotional intelligence (EI) to complement their academic and business
credentials. In 2016, more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies tested and
hired people based on their emotional intelligence, putting more weight on their
emotional quotient (EQ)6 than on their intelligence quotient (IQ), or even their
experience.

Below are some simple steps to be a better listener:

1. STOP everything you’re doing. It’s more about them and not about you.

2. LOOK with your eyes and body facing them, and make your facial gestures
in sync with their feelings.
3. LISTEN with nods and smiles, short, affirmative phrases, shared experiences
and high support. Don’t let you mind wander…stay present.

Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace For leaders, relationships are about

expressing a vision, telling a compelling story, and motivating people. Social
awareness means understanding how your actions impact employees, customers
and the marketplace. It means constantly scanning your environments. Today,
most successful business people have high EI and those who don’t are either
working on it or on their way out the door.

A two-year study by the Liautaud Institute in Chicago showed that the business
people who participated in the study and worked on their emotional intelligence
through forums could show measurable improvements over a control group that
did not. The study found participants improved in the following ways:

1. Self-Awareness (knowing one’s emotions, capabilities and preferences).

Coworkers viewed participants as becoming more insightful of their own
emotional states and capacities.

2. Self-Management (controlling one’s emotions and impulses; persistence).

Evaluators noted an increase in the participants’ ability to exercise emotional
control and work more effectively in achieving a common goal.

3. Social Awareness (accurate perceptions of the feelings and needs of others).

Participants are more empathic with what other people are feeling and their
concerns.

4. Relationship Management (skill in getting desired results from others).

Participants are viewed as better able to work through others to get results. As a
result, salaries and promotions improved significantly. The critical period for
comparison is relative changes from Year 1 to Year 2. According to the
Liautaud Institute research, EI participants received an 11.09% increase in
salary compared to 7.96% among the control group. This represents a 39.32%
greater salary increase, and was statistically significant with a single sample test
on percentages.

Chapter 3 — Authentic Leadership

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you
become a leader, success is all about growing others.” Jack Welch, former CEO,
GE Google the word “leadership,” and you’ll come up with over 800 million
hits. There are that many opinions on what makes a great leader. I don’t profess
to be an expert on leadership, but over the years I’ve read reams on leadership.
And, more importantly, I’ve observed many leaders very closely.

Authentic leadership is an approach to leadership that emphasizes building the

leader’s legitimacy through honest relationships with followers who value their
input and are built on an ethical foundation. Generally, authentic leaders are
positive people with truthful self-concepts who promote openness. By building
trust and generating enthusiastic support from their subordinates, authentic
leaders are able to improve individual and team performance. This approach has
been fully embraced by many leaders and leadership coaches who view
authentic leadership as an alternative to leaders who emphasize profit and share
price over people and ethics…

Chapter 4 — The Darley Way

“At Darley, we will continue to live with integrity, accountability, hard work &
commitment.” Bill Darley, 1998 if you’re not in the defense or fire industry, I
won’t be disappointed if you breeze through our company history in the first
half of this chapter. But please take time to read the second half, which talks to
our company’s rich culture and our approach to business.

Chapter 5 – The 50 Ps of Selling

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no
trust.” Zig Ziglar, Sales Author, Speaker and Coach

Chapter 6 — The Sales Foundation. Build Relationships. Solve a Pain. Follow a

Process

“Most people think ’selling’ is the same as ’talking.’ But the most effective
salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job.” Roy
Bartell, Sales Trainer and Speaker

1) People (Relationships)

2) Private Conversations/Principled

3) Pacify a Pain

4) Process

5) Prospecting

6) Penetrable/Potential (Qualify the prospect)

7) Preparation/Practice/Pitch/Pre-call Planning

8) Pertinent/Pithy/Precise/Pointed

9) Primary Point of Contact

10) Presentation

Chapter 7 — Separate yourself from the Pack; Be Professional, and Enjoy the
Ride

“A sale is not something you pursue; it’s what happens when you are immersed
in serving your customer.” Author unknown.

Chapter 8 — Getting to Yes!

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from
non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” Steve Jobs, co-founder and former
CEO of Apple.

Chapter 9 — Profitable Sales & Pricing. Making a Buck for you and the
Company

“The chief executive officer is also the chief sales officer. He or she is
responsible for the success of the company and making a profit. The closer the
CEO is to the everyday selling process, bringing in business, the more
successful the company will become.” Jeffrey Gitomer, sales author,
professional speaker and business trainer.

Chapter 10 — Concentrate on what’s most important. 80/20 is everywhere!

“I don’t care how much power, brilliance, or energy you have, if you don’t
harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you’re never going
to accomplish as much as your ability warrants.” Zig Ziglar

Chapter 11—Transitioning from a Salesperson to a Leader

“Ideas are a commodity; execution of them is not.” Michael Dell

Below is the Liautaud Institute’s Eight Steps for the Emotionally Intelligent
Reprimand for providing a proper reprimand or “Inspirational Feedback.”

1. MAKE IT PRIVATE: When your anger subsides (and only then), arrange for
a personal meeting in a quiet location away from others, and arrange for no
interruptions, with phone and computer off 160

2. MAKE THEM COMFORTABLE: Begin the meeting with the one thing you
admire or respect most about them. Tell them you need their input because of
the respect you have for them
3. DEFINE THE ISSUE: State exactly what you understand happened, and then
ask them for their recollection. (Don’t proceed until you both completely agree
as to what happened, giving them the edge to minimize the impact)

4. AGREE TO THE CONSEQUENCE: Ask that person how that action

negatively affected the company or you personally. (Don’t proceed until you
have a consensus)

5. AGREE TO THE CORRECTION: Ask what that person might do to correct

this situation from happening again. (Let this come from the other party, and
then suggest options only if needed. Don’t proceed without a consensus)

6. AGREE ON A DATE: Set a date to discuss this topic again, so the other
party can report how well he has done

7. CONFIRM YOUR BELIEF IN THE OTHER PARTY: Leave the other party
with this, or a similar statement, “The meeting went well, and I’m convinced
you’ll make this change happen.” (People tend to rise to the expectations of
those they respect)

8. CONGRATULATE THE OTHER PERSON’S SUCCESS: Let him know

that you look forward to your follow-up meeting, and congratulate him on his
successes. If he is still a bit short, repeat the process at least once

Chapter 12 — Advisors are all around you. Get help, and give help!

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own
image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” — Steven
Spielberg

Chapter 13 – Profit and Corporate Social Responsibility

“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” —

Winston Churchill
The Important P’s of Relationship Sales (Concluded from the Given Book)

1) People (Relationships)

2) Private Conversations/Principled

3) Pacify a Pain

4) Process

5) Prospecting

6) Penetrable/Potential (Qualify the prospect)

7) Preparation/Practice/Pitch/Pre-call Planning

8) Pertinent/Pithy/Precise

9) Primary Point of Contact

10) Presentation Chapter 7 — Separate Yourself from the Pack; Be Professional

and Enjoy the Ride

11) Phollow-Up (Follow-Up)

12) Point of Difference (Be different or die)