"The Ultimate Sales Machine" by Chet Holmes, 2007

The extended title of this book contains the words "Ultimate", "Turbocharge" and "Relentless".  Hyperbole alert.

Firstly, this book is aimed at business owners and managers, less so at employee advisers.  Second, it isn't really a "sales" book but more of a "sales management" book.  So in the 240 pages you can expect everything from time management, training, meetings, strategy, marketing, recruitment and, finally, some chapters on sales.  12 key strategies in all (although is running effective meetings really a strategy?).

Therein lies the crux of the book - it's broad, rather than deep.  For example, in the chapter "The Seven Musts of Marketing", Marketing Weapon 2 is Direct Mail.  There follows a single page of random tips (be consistent, use colour, put messages on the envelope, make it look like a greeting card) ending in the following statement - "Countless books on direct mail are better sources of information [than this book...]".  Then we are onto Marketing Weapon 3.  The whole book is like this giant checklist with a few quick bits of information and then a recommendation to get a book focused on that topic if you want more.  Ideas come thick and fast, but few get more than a single page of detail.  It's a shotgun approach, so chances are that something will stick with you, but a lot might be glossed over.

Clearly, the author is extremely experienced and respected.  I agree with many of his ideas (although he is American, so non-Americans may find some sales approaches to full-on).  It's a fast paced read too.  But, with all this experience, why not 12 separate books in a series, giving each step its due, than given lip service to these topics in a single (relatively short) book.

If you are a business owner or corporate manager and want a good overview as to the areas you should be monitoring to improve sales effectiveness, this is a good book.  But it is more of a checklist, less of a solution, so you will ultimately need to find most of your answers elsewhere.  A selective recommendation if you fit that demographic.

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