When we think of selling, we tend to imagine a very simple process, whereby a product or service is offered to a customer for a given price. We also often believe that the success of this process depends on the salesperson’s selling skills. The authors, Bob Burg and John David Mann, however, argue that this is something of an outdated approach, and they propose five new laws for achieving stratospheric success.
The ‘go-giver’ model is not a magic formula for turning an idea into money, but is simply a new and innovative selling model. Through their five laws of success, the authors show that we are able to sell more when we actually give more. They maintain that the secret of success therefore lies in the salesperson’s generosity, and their skills in building relationships, communicating effectively, and putting themselves in the customer’s shoes. In fact, while this may well sound like a contradiction, giving leads to receiving.
According to the authors, the five laws of stratospheric success allow us to receive a great deal, and to achieve success in life. These five laws focus on the importance of other people, of giving value, of making a significant impact on other people’s lives, of authenticity, and of remaining open and receptive to others. By ‘other people’, the authors simply mean anyone who receives our attention, and the importance we give to them determines our success as a salesperson. The authors’ model revolves around the concept of ‘giving value’, in other words, touching people’s lives in a meaningful way. The sales process therefore relies on a straight-forward pattern of giving value, touching people’s lives, building relationships and networks, being authentic, and maintaining an open and receptive attitude.
If we are able to apply these five laws in life, we will achieve a higher level of success, and not just in terms of the amount of money we earn. There is a clear difference, in fact, between economic success and the kind of fulfilment that derives from living by these five laws. Financial success leads to personal gain, but the kind of success we can achieve with the five laws is the result of a social movement involving many people, and automatically results in economic success too. This can be seen by the countless stories of people who have mastered these practices, and have seen their lives improve dramatically after shifting their focus from receiving to giving. The key principle behind the five laws could be summarised as ‘going and giving’.
