When thinking of sales, it’s easy to pick out the heroes and the villains, but Adrian Davis is here to spell it out in detail. With relatable analogies of comparing sales to cinematic superhero tropes, Heroes, Villains, and the Thrill of Professional Selling explains how to find success in every story in the marketplace. Rooted in SAMA and the concept of “Co-Creating Value” this book describes an approach to creating value that draws upon an ideal from the movie industry and is imperative for mutual success: Your client is the hero in the story.

Adrian Davis simplifies the hero’s journey with real-life examples, compelling stories, and templates to guide your learning. Movie genres are compared to different client types, and analogies are drawn between the screen and the sales floor to educate the salesperson, or in this case, the director, on creating a positive buying experience for clients. Adding to this insight, Adrian offers a path to develop your SOCKET solution, and a way to engage “inside-outsiders” to help in the journey. Find a robust series of 100 questions to discover value and a stakeholder checklist to guide you through the maze and knowledge on “Co-Creating Value” to garner success.

Whether you prefer action, mystery, romance, sci-fi, comedy, horror, or drama, Adrian’s explanations are sure to make you a sharper salesperson and cinephile as you continue working with your client.

Take Adrian’s advice and don’t come out of the story to editorialize — let the story do the work! You can read his lessons learned, put them into practice, and embark on your own journey for stronger relationships and success.

ADRIAN DAVIS is the President & CEO of Whetstone Inc., a management consulting firm. Companies such as DuPont and Johnson & Johnson have partnered with Adrian to create greater value for their customers. He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a Certified Professional in Business Process Management (P.BPM) and a Certified Competitive Intelligence Professional (CIP). The author of Human-to-Human Selling, Adrian is an internationally recognized, thought-provoking speaker and trusted advisor to CEOs and sales leaders.

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