"Dugong Ahente" (Selling is in the blood)

The Filipino is world-class and that includes the field of sales. If you are into, say, the sales secrets of Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, or Todd Duncan, you wouldn’t want to miss the Ahente series of Emmanuel “Bobbit” Santos. For this book review, I highly recommend Ahente 5.0:?The Ultimate Ahente, subtitled A Complete Guide to Becoming a Sales Superstar.?

The book delivers on what it promised. For its size (6” length by 4” width, a bit over 200 pages, handy enough to put in your pocket), consider it as your personal Bible for a thriving sales career.?Wisely, the author does not jump straight into selling techniques (that starts in chapter 3). Rather, he first establishes the foundation of what makes a great salesperson.?

Ahente 5.0 is organized in six chapters:

·????????Chapter 1:?Determining the Right Sales Approach

·????????Chapter 2: The Sales Attitude

·????????Chapter 3: The Sales Process: Prospecting

·????????Chapter 4:?The Sales Process: Approach

·????????Chapter 5: The Sales Process: Presentation

·????????Chapter 6: The Sales Process: Closing the Sale

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but early in my career, I considered sales as a “begging” career: please, please, give me your order. It took me years to appreciate sales and I am pleased to see Bobbit’s book validating what I’ve learned along the way:?

·????????That sales is a noble profession, in contrast to the “snake oil” variety.

·????????That sales is about caring for the customer, not fighting for a commission.

·????????That sales can be win-win, even a triple-win, depending on the circumstances.

The author’s style is conversational and encouraging. He does not come across as a guru, but as a fellow struggler who generously shares his experiences to ease another salesperson’s struggle.

The book kicks off with an intriguing question: is sales science or an art? After examining both sides, Bobbit declares that it is both.?He imparts the concepts of activity-based selling and the sales funnel, complete with diagrams (pages 8 and 16) and ratios which are already worth the price of the book.

Next, he guides the reader on how to set goals. He goes beyond the usual SMART (though it’s there, too) by supplying sharp guide questions (page 29) and powerful advice. (My favorite is “associate with winners, avoid losers”).?Human nature for what it is, he also takes time to address fear and self-limiting beliefs.

The middle chapters can be seen as the “meat”: prospecting, approach, presentation. There is a wealth of information, systems, and examples such as:

·????????Where to find customers (yes, that includes social media)

·????????What are the different kinds of buyer and how to approach each kind

·????????Suggested scripts for “first contact” with the prospect

·????????What makes for powerful sales presentations (this book introduced me to the term “storyselling”)

·????????The different kinds of closes (complete with scripts!)

If there were a hypothetical revised edition, I would suggest that while the success stories in Chapter 2 are inspiring, they are all American. If Bobbit can cite stories from his Filipino comrades, that would be helpful given that we are selling within the context of Asian culture.

All told, my advice is to read Ahente 5.0 twice. The first to get the big picture, the second to mine the wisdom that is packed in every page.?For example, while I am active with Toastmasters, I learned some new things in the chapter about sales presentation. Also, you may think that just because you’re into HR, Operations, or Finance, you don’t need this Ahente book. But we are always selling, be it a controversial policy, an innovative technology, or a supplementary budget of ten million pesos.

Let me close this review on a personal note. I had the pleasure of meeting the author in a webinar where we were both speakers. There, I learned that his main field of selling is in real estate. I asked, “That’s a tough industry, given the pandemic and all. What’s your secret?”?Bobbit distilled his years of experience in this short but profound reply, “It’s all about being high touch.”

Ahente 5.0: The Ultimate Ahente is just like the author:?top notch and high touch.?Read it before your competitors do!

Tags: #salesbook?#salesguidebook?#salestips #ahente?#TheUltimateAhente?#ReadAnvil

About the author: Emmanuel “Bobbit” Santos is currently Program Director of the Sales Academy of Vista Center for Professional Development, following his vast experience as sales and marketing head, sales regional head, sales coach, researcher and academician. He has conducted training programs for over 7,000 participants from over 100 companies. Learn more about him via https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/emmanuel-santos-34731462/

Contact him via:

·????????Email:[email protected]

·????????FB page:?fb/me/ahenteacademy

·????????FB messenger:?m.me/ahenteacademy

Ordering information:?https://www.anvilpublishing.com/shop-anv/new_releases/new_tradebooks/ahente-5-the-ultimate-ahente/

About the Reviewer: Nelson T. Dy is an author, speaker and trainer on career, relationship, and spirituality issues. His day job is being an Assistant Vice-President running two factories for a well-known beverage conglomerate. He is among the Top 100 Filipinos to follow on Linkedin in 2021.

Follow him at https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/nelsontdy/ as he continues to share his insights through posts such as the one you just enjoyed.