The Relationship Edge: The Key to Strategic Influence and Selling Success

by Jerry Acuff, Wally Wood

Get the relationship edge The Relationship Edge shows you exactly how to build valuable business relationships with people you don't naturally connect with. It presents a straightforward, three-step process that is easy to apply to your work and business. Jerry Acuff provides real-world principles for developing strong and lasting personal relationships with the key people in your business life, helping you become more effective and persuasive while maintaining meaningful, truthful dialogues with those around you. Acuff shows how the more truthful and direct you are with customers and colleagues, the more truthful they'll be with you-and the more likely you are to find meaningful solutions to the business challenges you share. This revised edition includes new information on building and leveraging healthy business relationships, especially how to maintain them over the long term. With real case studies and step-by-step guidance, The Relationship Edge offers the tools and advice you need to develop strong, rewarding relationships with customers, coworkers, and managers. With practical, concrete information on the mechanics of interpersonal relationships in the business world, you'll be well on your way to doing business better and more productively. "A great coaching tool for every sales manager-finally, a book that outlines step by step how to build both strong customer and personal relationships."
—John M. Woychick, Senior Vice President, Training, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals "Time and time again, Jerry Acuff's approach to selling has been proven to work. A must-read for those who believe that successful selling is a part of their everyday life."
—Georges Gemayel, Executive Vice President, Genzyme Corporation

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[Wulan Suci Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

My initial objective when I picked up the book is to learn about basic salesmanship skill, in which I think the author does discuss about that throughout the book. In summary, to be a great or at least good salesman, is all about building genuine relationship. My key take out to build genuine relationship from the book is to talk less listen more, listen more about the other person needs. A great salesman is a person with an authentic pleasant personality, that put the other person (customer) first and mean it through small &big gestures. Overall, a good book to read for a start to understand basic tips about salesman from experienced salesman.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

To put it best...this book is really dry. For some reason I could not engulf myself in the context. Jerry Acuff has great stories about his time as a pharmaceutical salesman but trying to fill in the in between is tough. The acronym FORM (Family, Occupation, Recreation, Motivation) was great concerning how to build goals but thats it. This is a one and done book

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a class. I'm sure that when this book first came out it was revolutionary. I don't know why I had a hard time with liking this book.

If your new to the sales world you should definitely take a look at this book or take his classes online.

I would like to see a revision with his take on the use of social media now.

[solai · Rating 1 out of 5]

im literally not into self-help books at all because i find them mundane and boring; however, my dad thought it would be a good idea that i read this one, so i did. i guessed correctly because i hated it but atleast i got some useful info lmao

[Amber Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm on page 185 of 240 pages. It is taking me forever to finish this book. I'm not even interested in continuing reading, but I don't like to start books and not finish them.

Jerry Acuff was a pharmaceutical salesman and I feel like his only anecdotes are pharmaceutical-related and his advice pertains almost entirely to salespeople. Considering I work in the hospitality business and am still young and growing in my career, I have found very little that is interesting or helpful about this book.

This is not a book just for building business relationships. This is a book for salespeople that want to build relationships with clients. The advice isn't especially helpful to someone making relationships to help get a job or move up in their company. I would have liked if ANY section of this book said anything besides "care about your client and do nice things for them."

This book is very repetitive. The chapters are full of very similar anecdotes, intensifiers, and reminders that being genuine is important. If you don't already know how to communicate with people well or how to be genuinely nice to people, than this book won't be helpful.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under the age of 35, anyone not in sales or medicine, or socially awkward people.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The relationship edge is a book that can really help you make more friends in your business life or your private life. It also starts to help you by improving your relationship with others so that you can get around with more people more easily without those tense situations.

[Scott Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book that I found covered the topic of business relationship building pretty well in depth. I would recommend this book to others.

[Vctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

People tend to decide emotionally and defend logically.. I think this book will help me alot and will read this one over and over again.. Thanks Jerry Acuff and Wally Wood