What if I told you that many of the popular recommendations you heard on selling are not true? To get their voices heard in a crowded, loud world, authors started doing something suspicious: exaggerations. They tell what impresses you and what you want to hear. Not what is based on hard evidence.

In this book, I have done something simple. I read hundreds of sales books, articles, or reports, and extrapolated their most popular recommendations for you. Then, I verified whether they were supported by research or not. Surprisingly, in many cases, what popular recommendations claim is very different from what cumulative research shows. Books build myths, rooted in embellished versions of reality that sound alluringly inspiring but have one flaw: they just aren’t real.

In this book, you will find plenty of surprises. You will discover that most prospecting tactics only work for particular types of buyers; that there are two ways to influence buyers, and most people follow the worst one; that extrovert behaviors do not help, except for one type; that only one personality trait matters to sales, and it’s the least known; that one form of empathy is good, and one is bad; that a customer orientation can potentially be deleterious; that inspirational appeals only work in two situations; that ingratiating tactics can be dangerous unless done in a specific way; that popular listening tactics don’t teach you how to listen; that there is one best process to sell, and you should never use it; that most sellers misinterpret buyers’ needs; that there are two ways to solve a client’s problem, and everyone follows the least effective; that most sellers have been misunderstanding value selling; that many widespread closing and objection handling tactics are futile, while only a few simple ones matter. And many, many more provocative ideas.

This book is different. It does not tell you what all other sales books say. You won’t hear the voice of one popular guru but the combined voices of thousands of sales professionals whose actions have been meticulously studied. Perhaps you will disagree. And it’s OK. I don’t want you to agree. I just want to stimulate your thinking and make you reflect. Discover which popular sales tactics are completely unfounded, and find a set of actionable and practical recommendations grounded in reliable evidence that can improve your sales performance.

Strap in for ARISEN: Operators – the biggest and most relentless ARISEN odyssey yet and the untold story of the pipe-hitting operators of the Unified Special Operations Command.

A young girl, haunted by the annihilation of her tribe, transforms into a battle-hardened soldier – the ultimate survival machine and the planet’s most lethal special operator.

As the world crumbles into chaos around her and safety 10,000 miles away, Master Sergeant Yaël Sion must escape the imploding maelstrom of Israel, as it’s devoured from within by merciless jihadi fighters, striking in the chaos of a global pandemic spiraling out of control.

To reach the sanctuary of Fortress Britain, she must then cross a million square miles of open water, facing a relentless gauntlet of danger, forging and forsaking alliances while battling to stay mobile, armed, and clinging to life.

But in the midst of the harrowing odyssey, Yaël must also wage a fierce internal battle, confronting the demons of her past. Here, in the heart of darkness, she’ll learn that solitude isn’t the sole refuge of the survivor – sometimes, the presence of others isn’t a threat but a lifeline. And perhaps, amidst the desolation, she’ll discover compelling reasons to keep fighting for life and for living at all.

He tries to live and let live. But when a killer drops by for Xmas, can this retired copper keep an innocent from going down for the crime?

England, 1964. Ex-police inspector Tom Ramsay worries the world has left him behind. Thinking a trip to ring in the season is just the ticket, he agrees to a shared vacation with his assistant, her parents, and his loyal dog. But soon after they arrive at the hotel, the good tidings take a deadly dive when his assistant’s mother is found crouched over a corpse holding a knife.

Snowed in without an official constable on hand, the retiree temporarily dons his detective hat to calm the rising panic. And as he systematically interrogates the frightened and belligerent guests, he comes to the frustrating conclusion no one saw anything and nearly everyone loathed the victim.

With the culprit lurking in plain sight, can Ramsay unwrap the truth?

Dark Deeds on a White Christmas is the absorbing third book in the One Man and His Dog Cozy Mysteries series. If you like quick-witted heroes, intriguing conundrums, and short jaunts back in time, then you’ll love P.C. James’s engrossing whodunit.