Occasionally, I am asked to review sales books from those authors who are hopeful that some publicity on Sales Loudmouth might send their book sales skyrocketing.  Of course, I am always flattered to be a part of anyone's success.
 
This month, I review Smart Calling - Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection from Cold Calling by Art Sobczak.  For me, there are really two tests to determine if a sales book is worth recommending to the readers of Sales Loudmouth.  First, the author needs to be an expert in his field.  After all, why read a book designed to improve your performance if you don't believe the author is better than you?  Second, the book has to be written in an engaging and interesting manner.  Sellers don't want to slog through a dense treatise.  I think they want a book that moves along at a good clip and includes useful information delivered in a relatable manner.

Now that you know my criteria for recommending books, let's see about Smart Calling - Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection from Cold Calling by Art Sobczak.

Here's the truth:  Art Sobczak is better than you at using a telephone to make sales.  Don't worry about it.  He's better than me, too and anyone I've ever known in sales.  Not being as good as Art at using the telephone to make sales is like not being as fast as Michael Phelps in the water.  The difference, though, is that you and I have a pretty good chance of becoming as good as Art Sobczak and no chance at all of ever being as fast as Michael Phelps.

So, Art passes the test of being an expert in his field.  What about the book itself?  Well, I opened my copy intending to read the first two chapters and read the first six - causing me to be late for dinner.  Art writes the book as if he is talking to each of us individually.  His casual style draws the reader in and makes it easy to learn.  While there may be times when his style can be off-putting (like when he says, "screw it"), the less formal tone has more pluses than minuses.

The primary point of the early chapters is that sellers who use the phone must be prepared to make what Art calls a Smart Call.  A Smart Call is one in which the seller has done enough research about the prospect and the decision maker that the call can no longer be considered a "cold" call.  The research that Art would have us do isn't difficult but it can be time consuming.  Plenty of sellers have complained to him that they don't have time to do the research he recommends because they have to get on with the calling.  Art empathizes with their plight but proves to us time and again in the book that following his process will result in more success.  He points out that while telephone sales might be a numbers game - it isn't really about the number of calls so much as it is about the number of quality calls.

Art sprinkles in plenty of real-life anecdotes and examples of what he is talking about to keep the content relatable.   He also borrows liberally from other trainers and is generous in his attributions to Craig Elias, Harvey Mackay,Stephen Covey and many others.  I detected a hint of Tom Freese's Herd Theory in Art's section about social engineering.  That's fine.  After all, Art tells you right up front that he didn't invent telephone sales but his process is all about perfecting it.

As the book progresses, Art gives more specific tips about phrases to avoid and those to use.  Many sellers will be pleased that he isn't a "my way or the highway" kind of guy but provides a template that allows for the injection of one's own personality.

What I like about this book is its practicality.  Art doesn't tell us what to do without also telling us how to do it.  For sellers that are trying to improve their success on the phone, Art Sobczak has written the definitive book.  Get a copy and take advantage of his expertise!