THE ART OF THE SALES MEETING

Prangley provides a blueprint for improving all aspects of the standard sales meeting in this business guide.

This book focuses on the surprising shortcomings of the traditional efforts most professionals put into their sales meetings (“Tone, timing, clarity, active listening, rapport, preparation, inflection, and eye contact—all the keys to communication—have fallen by the wayside”); for the author, a former professional actor, the key word is “performance.” When Prangley witnessed typical sales pitches in his new career in tech sales, he began compiling a very acting-oriented list of problems: too much anxiety, too much tension, too many swallowed or mumbled words, too little eye contact or control of body movements. Everywhere he looked, he saw boring meetings, and he considered this a crucial flaw; the author asserts that, once a sales professional has squared away the basics of the trade, the biggest factor in success is the ability to run a sales meeting well. In these pages, Prangley seeks to demonstrate to readers how they can use some of the same techniques that enhance acting performances to improve their meeting performances—everything from maintaining correct posture to vocal delivery to wardrobe. The author contends that pairing these skills with industry-specific traditional practices, like market research and customer profiling, will take sales meetings to a new level. Prangley is such a winning personality on the page that even readers who might be impatient with tired cliches like “Trust your gut” will be won over by his optimistic encouragement. He stresses that achieving mastery over running sales meetings is more about hard work and perseverance than talent or luck, which will come as a relief to any of his readers who lack movie star charisma. This combination of an actor’s-eye-view and a seasoned professional’s advice is irresistible; professionals at any level will find invaluable pointers here.

An appealingly fresh and energetic look at rethinking the sales meeting.