Reviewed by Y.W. Chun
For people wanting to excel in sales, to take positions different from rivals and to outperform others, one book to read is Never Make the First Offer, And Other Wisdom No Dealmaker Should Be Without (by Donald Dell with John Boswell, coming in August 2009, Portfolio, 200-plus pages, US$25.95). The ideas, wisdom, rules and advice inside can apply personally and professionally.
No one will doubt Dell's experience and expertise. As the founder of Proserv, he became one of the first sports agents. Some people call him a “father” of the sports-agent and sports-marketing business, together with IMG's Mark McCormack.
Most of Dell's rules emerge from common sense. Readers can recognize and understand them because they're not difficult to grasp. Each rule dominates a chapter as Dell explains it using real examples, actual names and true incidents. It's intriguing to peer deep inside and see how sports-marketing really works. Learning from a famous dealmaker is a treat.
Many of the chapter titles give strong hints of what to expect: Get Noticed, Build Trust, Win Before You Begin, Size Up Personalities, Evaluate the Situation, Stack the Deck, Make Your Words Count, Recognize Your Leverage, and Never Make the First Offer.
Dell regarded IMG as a big competitor. He writes interestingly about how IMG and ProServ jostled for advantage. When approaching the same athletes, they often used different tactics. Dell calls ProServ a “mom and dad” operation compared to the big corporate structure at IMG. The latter's strategy often focused on pleasing the client (the player it wanted to represent). One trick called for guaranteeing more money than anyone else, even at the cost of paying a shortfall from its own pockets. The players enjoyed more money, and the company represented the people it wanted. Only the rival agents lost.
Still, Dell represented many famous athletes, like Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Michael Jordon, to name a few. The blend of lively personalities and sage advice creates an entertaining book.
Dell writes about his “most difficult client of all time”, the tennis player Connors. Of course, the author dealt with many tough-minded people who were difficult to read. But Connors and his mother Gloria acted as each other's alter egos. Dell tells how he coped and helped Connors to prosper, and how the client's mother fired him. As for Lendl, his “rude” manners cost a fortune since no one wanted to endorse a nasty character.
For each rule, the book introduces a “guest writer” who describes how the rule applied to him or her. These are people who dealt with Dell, everyone from players he represented to CEOs and the people with whom he negotiated.
Never Make the First Offer should give a boost to its readers seeking sales-marketing success. What better way to learn than from a seasoned professional?
Most people picking up this book will be glad they did. They'll enjoy the encounter with Dell. If they can apply the rules, that's even better.
Approval rating: 89 per cent.
(July 14, 2009)
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