The Joshua Principle: Leadership Secrets of Selling

By: Tony J. Hughes

Narrated by: Michael Bonner

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

This unique business novel captures the essence of sales leadership. Everyone in business or professional selling should read it to learn how to become truly strategic and more effective in positively influencing others.

Joshua Peters is a salesman in crisis - after losing a key deal, his boss threatens him with the sack and he has doubts concerning his choice of career. His father is a sales veteran who progressed all the way to CEO but can't help directly as their relationship is at an all time low. But a mentor's intervention from the other side of the world powerfully transforms everything as Joshua learns about the RSVP concepts and applies them to the biggest and most complex deal of his life. The story culminates with a powerful meeting that changes the lives of mentor and protegee forever - and finally reveals The Joshua Principle.

In addition to the RSVP concepts and the importance of focused execution, readers will also learn about The Value Quadrant for Professional Sales Agents, The New ROI for sales organizations, the seven sins of selling, the ten laws of relationship and strategic selling, how to develop and execute effective strategy, the history and evolution of professional selling, how to create business value for both buyer and seller, how to successfully sell at the top of a buying organization, avoiding the 'see-more syndrome' with evaluators and recommenders, a values based approach to ethical selling, decision drivers and buyer motivations, and much more.

©2010, 2011, 2013 Tony J. Hughes (P)2013 PipelineManager.com, LLC

an excellent book on personal leadership

my second listen and the book still has the same challenging and insightful effect. picked new lessons that I didn't hear before. highly recommended.

The “Weed Out Course” for the Subpar Sales Person

If you could sum up The Joshua Principle: Leadership Secrets of Selling in three words, what would they be?

Educational while inpirational

Any additional comments?

The “Weed Out Course” for the Subpar Sales PersonAsk anyone with a professional degree about the "weed out" class in college and you’re bound to hear...• Med School - Organic Chemistry • Engineering - Calculus II or Intro to Mechanical Engineering• Law School - Civil Procedure or ContractsWeed out courses are unofficially designed to be ridiculously difficult and force students to reconsider advancing within a specific degree track. They are a sneak peek of the effort required to receive a degree in a desired field. So what’s the weed out course for the subpar sales person? In a profession with misconceived prerequisites of having a “good personality” or being “well spoken”, there’s nothing designed to help people understand the level of skill and effort that goes into being a true sales professional. Sales doesn’t require an advanced degree or a professional certification.Rarely do training programs force candidates through the psychological rigors required to be successful in sales. No college class can prepare you for the day your manager says, “I like you, but if you don’t hit quota next month- you need to find a different job." “Everyone wants to be in sales, until they get slapped with a quota.” -Jeff Lovesy Of the 479 accredited business programs in the US – only 101 have sales based curriculum. Until universities recognize the need for intensive programs build to find the strongest candidates, The Joshua Principle is the best alternative to a “weed out” class for the subpar sales person.Author Tony Hughes masterfully weaves a fictional storyline about a struggling rookie salesman and his secret mentor with concepts behind the RSVP SellingTM framework. The barrier to entry for sales jobs is almost nonexistent. Yet the skills, effort and mental fortitude needed to become an elite sales professional is unmatched by any other profession. The storyline of The Joshua Principle holds your undivided attention while articulating the energy required to become a Sales Master. This book is my default book recommendation for anyone thinking about a career in sales.

First read of many!

What a great book, I will buy the paperback too for the second read. Entertaining read but packed with insight and practical applications.

Tony Hughes hits it out of the park.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Joshua Principle: Leadership Secrets of Selling to be better than the print version?

I thought the narration really made you connect with the characters

What did you like best about this story?

The story within the story.

What about Michael Bonner’s performance did you like?

His ability to give you a sense of the different personalities throughout the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Pure enjoyment

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this book to many professional business minded individuals.

Left an impression

Would you listen to The Joshua Principle, Leadership Secrets of RSVPselling again? Why?

YES. This book not only had a great story line, but there are many lessons to be learned. As a young and aspiring career person, I can instantly relate to Joshua and have found myself rethinking habits in my life and using RSVP principles at work.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Joshua Principle, Leadership Secrets of RSVPselling?

Getting rid of the TV. Importance of strategy. The ending of the book.

Which scene was your favorite?

The end.

Any additional comments?

Bravo on a fantastic book that I did not want to put down. I have never read a business book where I was so captivated in the characters, learned valuable selling and business lessons and was emotionally spent at the end of the book.

it was amazing

just read it!! you need this and you need to read it again and take notes

great story!

loved the principles of genuine selling... interwoven with a great story, made for very practical application of the concepts.

One of the best professional books I’ve read

I absolutely loved this book. The way it is written really got me intrigued.

There are so many learnings from a professional side, but also personal.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to perform better both in business and on a personal level.

Fantastic book!

Fantastic book overall that delivered true insights for sellers and life lessons for all. The story line was also good to keep you engaged throughout.

Enjoyable, would recommend

What an amazing way to deliver ideas of selling. This story was so intriguing I couldn’t stop listening to it. By the end of the book, as I was driving to work, I got all choked up and had to collect myself before entering the office. Not only was there a lot to learn, but this audio book was extremely enjoyable overall.

Great Book

Amazingly written book. great way of putting the human and relationship angle in explaining the sales fundamentals. I would highly recommend this book

Challenged my thinking around sales

If you could sum up The Joshua Principle: Leadership Secrets of Selling in three words, what would they be?

Challenges old ideas

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joshua's mentor Damion. He carefully managed the mentoring process and used his wisdom to pass on the complex selling secrets to Joshua in such a way, and in the the way that the story is told, that it left you wanting more, and wanting to know Damion's reactions to Joshua's emails.

Have you listened to any of Michael Bonner’s other performances? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, there's a lot to take in. I listened on 1.25x speed, in 1 - 1.5 hour slots (long car commutes), and that was enough. I wanted to stop listening and move on to another book, but I persevered and I'm glad I did. I felt connected to Joshua and the relationship with his father pulled me in. I felt so relieved when he started to make real progress with the bid for new business

Any additional comments?

Well narrated, although some dogdy accents in there by the speaker, but on the whole very well recorded. Would recommend to anyone looking to step up from commodity / transactional sales to complex selling process. It was a humbling book to listen to.

Personal Takeaways:

The need to identify and be in communication with the key influencers and decision makers
The importance of identifying whether a company is growing, in crisis or in status quo and the effect that has on the proposal you present
Why understanding the buying process of the prospect is crucial to bidding for new business
Don't think that because you have a great product you are guarunteed the win
Know the company and your contacts inside out
Get a mentor!
Learn from those who have trodden the path
Stop selling and start consulting to truly understand the motives behind using/not using your products and services