Jerry Acuff

People love to buy. Unfortunately for anyone in sales, people hate being sold. They hate feeling like they've been convinced to buy something or tricked into a purchase—even if they want the product you're selling. That's why sales is harder than ever, and that's why you have to change the way you operate if you want to sell more and keep your customers coming back. This one-of-a-kind sales guide takes a revolutionary perspective on the art of selling: Knowing how to sell isn't enough. You need to learn to think like a buyer and understand the buying process and what your customers want.
Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer offers a "buying" model that changes the focus from hard-sell tactics that convince people to buy what you're selling to new relationship-based strategies that help them buy what they need and want.

From Booklist: Most organizations train their sales staff to focus on product features and benefits and neglect the crucial aspect of building long-term relationships with clients. Acuff uses a sincere approach in his practice of forming lasting relationships with others without keeping score or expecting paybacks. He introduces the "Relationship Pyramid," with the largest group of relative strangers at the bottom and people who highly value your relationship at the top. Acuff suggests getting to know your clients better by getting them to talk about their favorite subject--themselves. He offers 20 questions designed to get people to open up, discusses ways to alleviate shyness, and suggests the sharing of a meal. A refreshing break from the winner-take-all approach to salesmanship.