Sell Like A Spy: The Art of Persuasion from the World of Espionage

by Jeremy Hurewitz

Learn the art of influence from the best salespeople on Earth—spies. Tapping into the history of intelligence gathering and his working relationships with former CIA, FBI, and counterterrorism agents, corporate sales and security expert Jeremy Hurewitz offers field-tested spycraft strategies and government-agency tactics anyone can use to build relationships, persuade others, and sell anything.

Jeremy Hurewitz has built his career around former CIA case officers, FBI agents, and other intelligence operatives—people like Steve Romano, former Chief Negotiator of the FBI; Mark Sullivan, former Director of the Secret Service; General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of the Joint Operations Command; and John Cipher, former CIA Senior Intelligence Service member. Drawing on in-depth interviews, stunning spy-world anecdotes, and science-backed principles of emotional intelligence, Hurewitz has created a handbook of techniques that will strengthen your ability to better connect, entice, and make deals—in business and everyday life.

Though a spy’s targets may be odious—terrorists, criminals, and corrupt diplomats—the agent’s focus is on cultivating relationships and understanding motivations to gather information, free hostages, or procure money. Elicitation, Radical Empathy, Disguise, and RPM (Rationalize, Project Blame, Minimize Fault) are just a few Sell Like A Spy methods in this playbook of persuasion tactics from the real world of the Secret Service, special forces, counterterrorism, and international espionage.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Business

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2024

Reviews

[Serkan Basaran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not directly related with sales.
Nothing new

[Steve Rockower, · Rating 5 out of 5]

entertaining look at the world of sales from the vantage of spyware. I especially liked how he weaved his love of baseball, aquired from his father, into a way to make contact with sales clients.

[a man duh · Rating 3 out of 5]

learned a lot!

[Johannes Ament · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sehr oberflächlich, viele Geschichten aber wenig neue Erkenntnisse. Habe das Lesen nach der Hälfte des Buches abgebrochen.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique approach to sales which is essentially the art of persuasion.

Drawing from his own experience as a journalist and corporate security/intelligence, the author distills practical lessons in 5 parts:

1. The World of Intelligence
How to overcome difficult people, forge connections, and differentiate in a crowded marketplace.

2. The Art of Conversation
How to be strategic and deliberate about gathering information, and handling body language and tone of voice.

3. Espionage and Environment
How to be flexible and align with the culture that we’re selling into, being mindful of what is important to that potential client and how they operate.
How to manage a team, getting beyond our own ideas and priorities, listening to those in the field, building and motivating them for their mission.

4. Skills of Social Influence
How to navigate a variety of social and business interactions to create the best opportunity to succeed.

5. Disguises, Superpowers, and Other Spy-Development Methods
How to bring out the best sides of our personalities to meet the moment.
How to leverage spy-development techniques in creative networking, strategic usage of “warm introductions,” and patient relationship growth to make the sale.

The techniques are illustrated with lots of stories from the field which I found really enjoyable to read.

Each chapter ends with a "Key Takeaways" summary which is always a win for me.