{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes covers 12 strategies for sales and marketing systems — including best-buyer targeting and follow-up — that apply directly to independents.",
  "path": "/articles/book-recommendation-ultimate-sales-machine-by-chet-holmes/",
  "publishedAt": "2022-12-05T02:06:21.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:jznynyzgerlqmdbbj33o7wfs/site.standard.publication/3mnll3icujb2z",
  "tags": [
    "Getting Clients"
  ],
  "textContent": "This week, I have book recommendations for you!\n\nWith the Holiday season coming up, you’re likely thinking of books to buy those special (business) people in your life — or getting asked questions like, “Hey, uh, what books are you interested in? You know? For the holidays?”\n\nI’m here to help. And recommend a few highly impactful books that I think will make a difference in your sales and marketing, business, or life.\n\nOn to the first entry in this year’s book recommendation list!\n\nUltimate Sales Machine\n\nI first read Ultimate Sales Machine in ~2012 when I moved back from Hawaii to Oregon.\n\nMy copy of Ultimate Sales Machine is one of the most marked-up books I own:\n\n(I’m rereading the book this December for the first time in a few years, and I’m excited to rediscover my notes and marginalia.)\n\nThe Ultimate Sales Machine is an excellent book on sales and marketing systems. It made a significant impact on me. As I told Chris O’Brien on the contact page, Ultimate Sales Machine is the book that first introduced me to the concepts of:\n\nOutreach and follow-up\nValue-added sales messaging\nThe importance of using market data in your sales messaging\n\nAll of which are very relevant to the work I do today, the products I create, and the articles and tips I share on my newsletter (/newsletter/).\n\nHere’s a quote (and a core concept) from Ultimate Sales Machine that has stuck with me over the years:\n\nThere’s always a smaller number of “best buyers” than all buyers, meaning marketing to them is cheaper than marketing to all buyers. A marketing effort to 100 “best buyers” is less expensive than a marketing effort to an entire audience of 10,000 “all buyers.” Best buyers buy more, buy faster, and buy more often than other buyers. These are your ideal clients.\n\nThis a key concept for positioning your business or marketing your services. You don’t want to be targeting everyone (e.g., “Small Business Positioning”). You want to be targeting a smaller segment of people who are your best buyers.\n\nWhat’s the pitch for the book? Here’s a short summary:\n\nCalled “America’s greatest sales and marketing executive” by Charlie Munger (Warren Buffett’s partner), Chet Holmes identified 12 core strategies that provided great success to the companies he worked for and became the main structure of truly great companies.\nHis advice starts with one simple concept: focus!\nInstead of trying to master a hundred or a thousand different strategies, Chet recommends zeroing in on just the few essential skill areas that make the big difference. Chet used to say, “Becoming a master is not about doing 4000 different things, it’s about doing 12 things, 4000 times each.”\nIt’s about spending just an hour per week on each impact area you want to improve: sales, marketing, management, and more.\n\nThe book goes through twelve key strategic areas for generating more sales. While the chapter titles (and the book title) can be a bit salesy, the content is good, and the tips are impactful.\n\nTime management secrets of billionaires\nInstituting higher standards and regular training\nExecuting effective meetings\nBecoming a brilliant strategist\nHiring superstars\nThe high art of getting the best buyers\nThe seven musts of marketing\nThe eyes have it\nThe nitty-gritty of getting the best buyers\nSales skills\nFollow-up and client bonding skills\nAll systems go\n\nWhile lots of the topics apply well to sales teams, the ideas in the book apply very well to independents who are selling their services.\n\nI strongly recommend you pick up a copy of Ultimate Sales Machine. It’s an impactful book that, in my experience, is full of strategies, systems, and methods for improving your sales.\n\nGrab your copy of Ultimate Sales Machine right here: [](https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Sales-Machine-Turbocharge-Relentless/dp/1591842158/)https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Sales-Machine-Turbocharge-Relentless/dp/1591842158/. (Non-affiliate link.)\n\nExcelsior!\n\nKai",
  "title": "Book Recommendation: Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes"
}