Many of the ideas I've used in this month's issue can trace their origins to this month's book recommendation. It is also one that occupies a permanent place on my bookshelf so I refer to it often in my own business."World Class Selling" is Jim Holden's second book on value based selling and is as relevant today as when it was first written. The title's tag line "The Crossroads of Customer, Sales, Marketing and Technology" brings to light these four functions in the format of a fictional business setting to bring his ideas to life in situations we can all relate to.

The book does an excellent job articulating the importance of defining and measuring value to our customers. It speaks to leveraging tools we've discussed in previous issues such as the importance of Visions and alignment between sales, marketing and processes to create that value. My favorite aspect of the book are the tools the author integrates into the story line enabling readers to objectively measure their sales processes and quantify their sales and marketing efforts. For example, in Chapter 5 the book outlines a quantifiable method to evaluate the customer buyer to see if they are in fact the right person to align with for full value of the relationship. The book is full of these helpful tools to help the readers understand the importance of measuring customer value through business alignment and not just the number of orders

Enjoy the book!