Selling the Wheel.
Selling the Wheel: Choosing the Best Way to Sell for you, your Company, and your Customers is a business novel written by Jeff Cox, Howard Stevens, and Zapp as a co-author. It was published in 2001 by Simon & Schuster and has 256 pages with content that has been an inspiration to many readers (Cox, 2001). This business novel is so far the best business novel I have read since the authors have done decades of research and settled on the best and right way of selling successfully (Cox, 2000). In addition, it is simple, interesting, easy to elaborate and very reflective on the sales field for any interested individual or organization. This book will have a positive impact on any salesperson, entrepreneur, and manager who takes time to read and understand it.
Selling the Wheel is a story of Max and Minnie, the inventors of the wheel. At the time, wheels were not a common scenario in the society. Therefore, nobody was interested in buying the wheel from Max except Cassius the Closer. It is really interesting to imagine how people lived without wheels. Since they had survived without them, they did not see their importance even when Max tried to convince them that they needed wheels.
At the end of Max's story, many people had embraced the use of the wheel, the market had expanded, marketing strategies had changed, and all sorts of companies had turned to wheel business (Cox, 2000). Since many firms had ventured into the wheel business, competition had gone high and Max's wheel company had become the market leader in the wheel business.
The journey of the wheel is bursting with knowledge for salespersons as they are given alternative strategies for sales depending on the business market and existing environment.
Max and his wife Minnie managed to hire four salespeople to help them in evaluating the different strategies they could use so that their product would be at a competitive advantage over others. These salespeople include the closer, the relationship builder, wizard, and captain and crew (Cox, 2000).
The optimum style and strategy used by Max and Minnie is The Closer. This is mainly because a closer is a listener (Cox, 2000). They tend to listen to the customer's point of view on the product and use a go around method to convince the customer that the product meets their needs. Closers have attachment issues where they never create long-term relationships with customers after they close the deal making it easier for them to concentrate on the current client. They have been in the sales industry for a long time proving that they have experience in the field. The fact that Closers have a thing for new concepts means that they are open to change while their high-quality output is attributed to their passion for what they do (Cox, 2000).
In addition, Closers are efficient and they do not waste time dealing with subordinates and instead, prefer working directly with the decision makers. This is also the reason they are described as dramatic individuals. Since they are viewed as arrogant, it is surprising for one to learn that they have mentors who guide them throughout their activities (Cox, 2000). In addition to being dramatic, they have a hands-on character where they prefer handling their business roles personally, ensuring that business ethics are upheld in every situation, and their personal assistants are only left to deal with minor duties (Cox, 2000). However, Closers are very manipulative because they are only interested in closing the deal and they hold no liability for any losses incurred by the client once the deal is closed.
There is a huge mismatch between being a closer and what customers want and prefer. Unlike Builders, Closers are picky and prefer dealing with decision makers rather than subordinates results in loss of potential customers in the market because customers want to deal with non-discriminative salespersons (Cox, 2000). Since they do not take liability for any losses incurred after the deal is made, customers are discouraged for being denied the opportunity to raise complaints or give their suggestions on the purchased product. This situation is different for Builders.
Again, customers prefer salespeople who give them regular updates on new products in the market, a character that goes against the closer's behavior. Unlike Builders, Closers cut contact with customers once the deal is done hence making it hard for references to be made since they have a short term relationship with their clientele (Cox, 2000). The fact that closers are manipulative and dramatic may be a turn off for some customers since dealing with a closer is viewed as a risk because they can be unpredictable. The risk-taking behavior of closers is proved by the fact that they need mentors to keep them on track. Most customers are more comfortable in buying common products in comparison to new ones, a situation that is similar for Builders (Cox, 2000). The fact that closers have embraced the sale of new concepts makes it difficult for them to attract reserved and non-risk taking customers.
Selling the Wheel is a business novel I would recommend for any entrepreneur and salesperson since it provides interesting and important strategies that can effectively boost the sales of any business. Its analysis of different types of salespersons gives numerous options for organizations in determining the best type way of selling company products. Closers are preferred since they are efficient professional who are out to ensure that the deal is closed.
Reference
Cox, J. &. (2001). Selling the Wheel: Choosing the Best Way to Sell for you, your Company, and your Customer. New York: Simon & Schuster Publishing.
