I love to review really good books about selling. Sometimes I have to plough through many mediocre texts. Often the advice they contain is sound and worth following. Sometimes a book is full of dry, monochrome expressions that bury its gems so deep that I just cannot will myself to persevere with it.

I have been listening to ‘Let’s get Real or Let’s not Play’ and it has been a pleasure. Mahan reads his own work. He uses the right emphasis and tonality to make the words dance. If you read the book or listen to the audio version, like me you will soon realise that the book represents a sales course delivered by the author.

I imagine it is an excellent course. I would say so because it covers much of the material contained in our own Sales Master Class course and does so very well indeed.

You don’t need to read on. Just buy a copy. If you would like to have a library containing all the best sales books, this one should be in your collection.

Since listening to the un abridged audio version, I have bought the book so that I can easily find particular details. I also and carry around and display it with my other favourites when delivering a sales course.

The book follows the flow of an acronym – ORDER – standing for Opportunity, Resources, Decision, Exact Requirement, and Relationship. The whole process rests on the title and is underpinned by the mantra, ‘No Guessing’.

You will know how hard it is to eliminate the guess work. Mahan explains it using blow by blow examples. This book fixes a dysfunctional sales process or provides one if you don’t have an effective method already. It teaches sales people how to help customers succeed even in the face of dysfunctional buying practices.

‘Let’s get Real or Let’s not Play’ is a first class book that gets my highest recommendation. I whish I had written it.

Review by Clive Miller

ISBN 0-446-67598-9