The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business Paperback – June 27, 2016

I'm a huge fan and student of David Meerman Scott's teachings. I own and study his books The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History, Newsjacking: How to Inject your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage, andReal-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now. As soon as I learned about this book, I pre-ordered The New Rules of Sales and Service (NRSS): How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business.I received an advance, draft copy of The New Rules of Sales and Service on which I'm basing this review. The New Rules of Sales and Service is written in David's trademark style: challenging marketing strategy's status quo (with a rebel's heart). His thoughtful, entertaining, and case study-rich content applies to Fortune 100, small businesses, and individuals who genuinely desire to competitively differentiate themselves.The game changing argument David makes in his examples and case studies is how marketing, sales, and service can no longer exist in functional silos. Every employee is (and should be) accountable for marketing, selling, and servicing new and existing customers because the social tools are available online to everyone. The New Rules of Sales and Service extend beyond it's a "cross-functional" thing. It's now an "all-hands-on-deck" thing.Executing and sustaining an NRSS-driven culture requires top-down, CEO-driven leadership. Successful New Rules of Sales and Service practitioners instill a participative and trusting company culture. These leaders enable all employees to capitalize in social, one-to-one, real-time, customer communications throughout the entire buying process. David interviewed company leaders who trust and expect their team members (regardless of departmental function) to:1. Acquire NEW customers and MAINTAIN existing customer relationships using social tools in real-time interactions (e.g., concepts of AGILE selling and real-time speed & engagement; Case Study: Avaya)2. Contribute and share valuable content to educate and inform customers in the pre- and post-sale process AT THE PRECISE TIME THE CUSTOMER NEEDS IT (e.g., CONTEXTUAL & consultative selling vs. hard-selling tactics; Case Study: Kendall PRess)3. Collect and analyze real-time customer data to support real-time content delivery, service actions, and sales interactions (e.g., salesperson comes in later in buying process OR no salesperson; Case Study:GrabCAD)4. Convey stories about the company's products / services aligning with the customer's view of themselves (e.g., buyer persona research, newsjacking; Case Study: MultiCare Health Systems)That opportunistic mindset drives competitive differentiation at both a tactical and strategic level.By the way, David's research confirms blogging is far from dead. Long form content may be the best social tool in authentically demonstrating one company's "truth" to a competitor's public relations "spin."Will more and future leaders trust their teams and David's rich teachings in NRSS? Time will tell. But, I hope you'll trust my review and recommendation to buy, study, and share David's important book.That's why my real name is attached to this Amazon Review.

At first I really disliked the writing style of Scott, took me as condescending and rude at the beginning of the book. After getting used to his tone, I enjoyed the information and ideas he shares.

David Meerman Scott nailed it. I've been reading his blog for about a year and when he announced that this book was coming out I became incredibly interested. I am the 3rd generation owner of a major appliance dealership in the NYC metro market and I kind of had a head start on some of the things that he would eventually talk about in this book, specifically that sales professionals had to stop "selling" and turn more into service and information brokers...or as another noted marketing blogger coined "trust agents". I had the fortune of having a chat session with Gary Vaynerchuk about 4 years ago and he told me that I need to stop selling and instead invest in content creation (which is what David talks about in this book) so what I did was create an online persona called "Appliance Dude" and I started posting YouTube videos of me being honest, candid, somewhat funny and just giving the straight scoop on appliances. Well, funny things started to happen. Sales picked up. I started receiving calls, emails (and orders) from folks all over the country let alone the NYC area. And they kept repeating the same message - "thank you for doing what you do and helping us with our purchase". The Appliance Dude kept gaining momentum and was then discovered by the President of Viking Range who loved a few Viking-related videos that I cut - that lead to him flying me to KBIS (the largest industry show) last February to introduce him at a major Viking event. So the reason I am giving this brief biographical sketch is that I am living proof that what David talks about absolutely works. You just need the idea and the desire/energy to execute. Aside from his advice to "stop selling", I also found the emphasis on customer service (to the point where it can be a revenue driver!) to be priceless info that I am now inculcating in my business. I loved the example he used of the appliance dealership in Boston who sends videos to their customers in order to prepare them for their deliveries (which is the most harrowing and mistake prone part of this business). Suffice to say my company will be starting that practice asap. The beautiful thing about David's book is that whether you are a small biz operator such as myself, a sole practitioner or part of a multi-national, there are gems in this book for you.David, I salute you and have started following you on Twitter as well. The only boo-boo was that you did not include Axl Rose, 80's era David Lee Roth and Freddie Mercury as lead singers to emulate when doing your rock-star on-stage swagger at talks!Thanks and looking forward to the next classic!