Book Review: The Way of the Dog by Geoff Burch

Capstone Publishing ISBN 1-84112-576-8, £7.99

Using a metaphor to lead the reader through the learning process is not a new idea. Memorably, Selling the Wheel is an effective example. The metaphor in "The Way of the Dog" is that of a salesman being portrayed as a sheepdog wending his way through the sales process. The analogy of herding sheep (Customers) to a pen (Sale) is nothing if not interesting!

The book and writing style will suit those starting in sales. It avoids describing sales processes, reams of strategic considerations and those boring funnel diagrams. For those of us that have read the books and seen the films many times before, some of the messages reinforce (dare I say remind us of) some of the basic principles of sales.

A more typical target reader is my good lady wife who picked up the book in a moment of boredom and consumed it, in its entirety, in one sitting. She thought that the book was interesting and informative, but somewhat simplistic - suited to someone that wanted to know some of the basics of selling without the more complex overheads, such as those that describe the earlier stages of customer acquisition. She was very positive about the experience. The book is easy to read, concepts are clear and the main points are highlighted by large notes that reinforce messages in the text.

The book skips some of the up-front aspects of selling such as marketing and prospecting, but I would recommend this book to those wanting to grasp the fundamentals of the selling process in a memorable format, in about 4 hours. Perhaps technical team members or sales support personnel would particularly benefit.

Allan Behrens

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