Secrets of Closing the Sale Paperback – Print, September 1, 2004

I had the great good fortune to know Zig Ziglar personally and to be able to call him "friend." Following his recent death, I found myself thinking back to all the wisdom I had learned from him over the years in his other books and the multiple times I heard him live. I knew that I hadn't extracted all the wisdom I could from his life, and, given that we are ALL "Selling" in one form of another, I decided to get this classic book he wrote several years ago.It is quintessential Zig. Straightforward, kind, empathic, self-deprecating, and full of life lessons - not only for sales, but just generally living a better life. If one is "in sales" full time as a career, this book should be in your library (and you should have READ it. :) ) If you do not identify yourself particularly as "being in sales", it's still a useful book. Highly recommended.

I owe Zig Ziglar. Big time. This book increased my ability to demonstrate and sell our service dramatically after one read. Zig tells you and then sells you on the fact that you've gotta read his book three times: once with quick notes in the margins, a second time with thorough notes and a third time with a steno pad so you can make your own "Secrets of Closing the Sale."I've purchased three copies of this book. Two for myself, one to give out to my staff. I started out thinking about sales in the same way most people do - sleazy scumbags out to make a fast buck. I started out wanting to make more money. I ended up learning that "You can have anything in the world you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want."Ziglar teaches you, from the beginning, that there's no room for success in a salesman's career if he's taking the fast route, making the quick sale and then locking the door behind him.Ziglar teaches you that if you want to make a living in the profession of selling you have to truly believe in your product. You have to be so convinced that your product is the right product to fit your prospects needs that you can't possibly believe or understand how they wouldn't want it.Yeah. Ziglar teaches the closes. There are hundreds of scenarios and stories that demonstrate various closing techniques. Most of them are great (a few are cheesy).But what makes this book so good is that it constantly drives it home - a good salesman is an honest salesman. A good salesman has his customer's best interest in mine. A good salesman has a solution to a need of his customer. When you help the customer, they will help you (with money).When I finished this book I felt I needed to learn how to prospect and find new clients for the business I manage so I could show them why they needed us. I started reading books on cold calls and searching the internet for more information. And I started to notice a major trend...Anyone who knows anything about sales has studied Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale. You'll see the concepts, ideas and phrases from this book echoed throughout all sales-oriented literature. You're going to see direct quotes. I guarantee it.If you're only going to ever read one sales book this is the book to read. It's going to teach you how to close the sale, sure, but more importantly it's going to teach you that being a salesman is about helping others. It's going to teach you to be true. And you will profit because of it.Afterthought: This book will also benefit those who don't directly "sell" to clients but are involved in the overall process of presenting an organization. It's important to "have everyone on the same page" and "playing for the team" when it comes to building a successful business or brand. So if at all possible get a few extra copies of this book and hand it to the individuals who aren't even involved in sales!

We are using this book as the basis for weekly training meetings for our staff. Solid advice in an easy to read and easy to understand format. Mr. Ziglar has captured the essence of professional salesmanship based on integrity and truthfulness. We assign a chapter a week then discuss the chapter in our weekly meetings. His approach to selling, his ideas and closing techniques are fundamentally sound and our people are understanding and absorbing the information and taking it into the field with them, The only nit I would pick with the book is that Mr. Ziglar's career was in the 1950's-1960's and a few of the ways he approaches clients' objections can be a little dated. Take those with a grain of salt and the rest of the book is excellent.

This book covers a lot of sales and closing techniques without feeling inundated by useless information. Ziglar employs a narrator prose that feels genuine and keeps the reader’s interest. His ‘stories’ are laced with sales strategies that can be easily transposed into any sales market. Zig employs some unobtrusive selling to his readers throughout which is a clever approach. Definitely a must read for entry level sales professionals.

This is a fantastic book. While it is especially valuable for beginners and first year sales reps, it has value for anybody in the profession. As an experienced sales professional myself, I will say that this won't teach a seasoned sales veteran any new information about HOW to sell, but it will help to realign your thoughts with WHY they buy. Huge difference there that we sometimes become jaded to after many years in the business. We get so focused on saying things we like to say, but disregard the things that the customer needs to hear. This book will also help the seasoned veteran to get back to the positive outlook and remember why they started selling to begin with. Sales is truly the best profession in the world, nothing will give you the satisfaction like a successful selling career. I wholeheartedly believe that ANYBODY in sales, regardless of skill level or experience would benefit from reading this book.