The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone by Fredrik Eklund, Summary

Introduction: The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone by Fredrik Eklund

The Sell is about enjoying life. Fredrik Eklund relates his experiences from childhood to the time he wrote the book. He tells us that success is a series of efforts. You sell every day, even though you may not realize it. You have to sell yourself and your ideas.

Barbara Corcoran wrote the forward. And in it, she gives her five personal beliefs about becoming successful.

5 Personal Beliefs About Becoming Successful

1. People want to do business with people they like. Business is about people and not the product. Make people like you.
2. Selling is playing up the good and playing down the bad. You can learn how to do this. Play up what you're good at.
3. Successful people know how to fail well. Successful people get up faster when they get knocked down.
4. Everybody wants what everybody wants. This is the basic psychology of sales. Figure out how to make people think what you offer is the best thing.
5. Most successful people think their success is temporary. Your track record becomes your biggest accomplishment. When you're successful, fear of not staying successful breeds accomplishment.

You sell every day whether you think you're in sales. Sellers persuade, influence, and convince someone to give them something in exchange for what they have. Whenever you want someone to do something you're putting The Sell into action. The Sell by Fredrik Eklund is supposed to be an instruction manual of how to become successful. The book is designed to help you realize your potential. This book reminds me of Ed Mirvish’s book, How to Build an Empire on an Orange Crate.

Have you read?

Sell It Like Serhant by Ryan Serhant, Summary

Summary of The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone by Fredrik Eklund

If you want people to believe in what you have to offer, you have to first believe in yourself. Let people see exactly who you are. Share your story and allow your personality to shine. What makes you, you? The world needs to know. What are your unique passions? Tell the client a personal story. Be comfortable and happy inside your skin.

Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it? Finding the authentic, unique you, is the secret to mastering the art of The Sell.

Steps to Get Out of Your Shell

1. Look inside. You are your own competition. Know your competition and yourself. How do you describe yourself?
2. Find your trademark. What's your signature? Be comfortable with your trademark. You need a trademark because it makes you memorable. Your trademark will work for you.
3. Get over what other people think. Stop trying to please everyone. When you're true to yourself others will feel comfortable around you.
4. Know what revs your engine. What makes you smile? What makes you feel loved? According to psychologists, the three biggest motivators are the need for achievement, affiliation, and power. What combination makes you jump out of bed in the mornings?
5. Embrace failure. Accept your failures and incorporate them into your successes. They're part of you.

Find yourself, be yourself, sell yourself.

“A good seller knows that people want to be told what to do, as long as you’re smiling when you give them orders. You have to be decisive for them.”

What motivates you to shine? Money helps you to give more. And also support causes that are important to you. Know your big dream. Dream big. Fulfilling your dreams allows you to live up to your potential. You grow by having a big dream of yourself doing something great. What will you do with your first $100,000? Always keep the finish line in mind.

Set Your Sights on a Superstar

1. Find a professor-mentor.
2. Find a top producer in your industry.
3. Watch them in action.
4. Do your homework. Research them. Get to know a lot about them.

Know the superstar’s gatekeeper. He or she holds the key to the castle. Do research so you're credible.

You Got 30 Seconds

The first 30 seconds of a meeting sets the tone for the time together. You have 30 seconds to capture someone's attention.

To Expand Your Reach

You're one person personally and professionally. Build a network of contacts. Do not let fear of disapproval limit your reach. Be active in your posting to attract followers. Success doesn't happen overnight. Integrate your posts with who you are on a daily basis. Give people good information and share a part of you. Use social media to define who you are in the real world. Be authentic. Be who you are, and don't try to hide. Post two things in five hours. Make your follower's co-creators. Engage with people

Pitch Perfect

Definition of the Pitch

What happens in the first 10 minutes of the initial meeting. The outcome of the meeting is usually decided in the first 10 minutes. After the 10th minute, the pitch turns into negotiation because the person you're dealing with has already made a decision in his or her head and has started looking for the best terms in the transaction.

The number one goal of a pitch is to get someone excited enough to say yes. People want to know what you can do for them. Make the other person happy. Working with you should be a great experience. Find the positives in situations.

Offer something specific to the other person. In making deals, take basic baby steps. Every baby step takes you closer to making The Sell.

Baby Steps

1. Establish credibility. What does your email signature say?
2. Create urgency while saying positive things.
3. Instill confidence in a dialogue, not a monologue.
4. Establish a friendly dream while creating a little more urgency.

The Sell starts with you at the very first point of contact.

The 10-Minute Window

1. Smile with eye contact.
2. Exude positive energy. Be humble yet confident. Identify a positive trait in the other person.
3. Take control of the conversation.
4. Use the competition to brag about yourself. However, you have to know your competition.
5. Avoid negative remarks about others. Don't try to undermine others.

Lead with the positives. Eighty percent of sales come from 20% of your clients.

Make The Sell

For any deal to happen, the two sides need to be in balance.

Negotiation Secrets

1. Put your foot down. You can always walk away.
2. Keep them waiting, but don't let them wait too long. Give the negotiation some breathing room. The person with the information is in control. Put things in writing.
3. Make it a face-to-face meeting. Talk things out.
4. Listen closely. Listening is one of the most important skills when trying to achieve something.
5. Speak with your body. How you say something is more important than what you say.
6. Take unexpected turns. You want to keep the other side unprepared. Take the person off guard.
7. Stay away from the deal. Take a 25-second break. Come up with a plausible excuse to take a break.
8. Throw it in neutral. Go neutral like a robot.
9. Play bad cop good cop.
10. Always have, Mr Kim — that imaginary person you talk about. You need to make and stand behind your decisions.

Fifty percent of people who don't make the Sell, fail because they don't ask for the sale.

How to Get People to Know your Name

1. Be friendly.
2. Help a Reporter Out (HARO).
3. Send out a press release.
4. Write a newsletter.
5. Respond to breaking news. This is often referred to as newsjacking.
6. Contact a reporter.
7. Make your own news.

Conclusion: The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone

I liked The Sell because Fredrik Eklund comes across as being authentic. In the other sales books I’ve read so far, they included a sales model. This book didn’t have one. He emphasizes that you’re one person personally and professionally. So, he added information about getting enough sleep and keeping physically fit. You can find a ton of lessons in The Sell.

Next Steps

1. Buy and Read The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone by Fredrik Eklund
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