Putting myself in the place of a customer, I felt strong resistance to Ziglar's closing techniques. His closing techniques seemed offensive to me, especially when ending his closing questions with "wouldn't you?" My feeling was almost always, "Well, maybe I would or I wouldn't, but I have to reflect on it. Truth isn't always so black and white. Stop treating me like I'm a checker on a checkerboard, as if you know the big picture, and I don't. You don't know what I think or feel."

When he gives examples of trying to sell cookware, I was thinking, "I could buy cookware at Goodwill that will work just fine for a few bucks, and you know it, and you aren't saying it. Why don't you take your closing technique of figuring out how much your cookware costs per day, and apply it to buying good second-hand cookware?"

Also, there was no mention of the role of the internet in selling. That is a hugely important thing to discuss that wasn't brought up in his 25th anniversary edition book.

For example, when he recounts buying a new Cadillac from a seasoned Cadillac salesperson, I recoiled! I thought, "Get real. I wouldn't consider stepping on that sales lot until I knew how much that Cadillac cost the sales lot to buy, and without finding customer's opinions of the salesperson," etc. And I am not a car guy or a salesperson -- this is just common sense in the age of the internet.

I also was turned off at the transparent BS of the salesperson who sold Ziglar the Cadillac. I thought, "This Cadillac salesguy can't be serious. He can't actually think I think it's 'Good news' that my offer of $7,000 was rejected and that only $7,200 was acceptable. He's just lying. What a manipulator. I'm out of here." (This was a salesperson that Ziglar was presenting as being recommended for his great integrity.)

On the upside, I commend Ziglar for his extreme emphasis on the need to believe in what you sell. This is what integrity is all about. He points out that if you really believe in what you sell, you might do quite well even with knowing few closing techniques.

Also good is how Ziglar educates the reader about the indispensability of the the salesperson to a strong society. Without salespeople, how are citizens to know what's available? How are companies going to get their products to the hands of those in need? Salespeople are crucial for moving goods, just like the heart is crucial for circulating blood in the body.

There are many other good practices that Ziglar promotes, such as exercising daily, and so forth.

Ziglar would earn a much higher integrity rating from me if he had put in bold letters on the front of his book: "Buy this used from Amazon and save HUGE." But, he did not. He would prefer that you pay full freight, even though I all-but-guarantee you, he doesn't need the money. He says he cares about the customer, number one. If he really cared about the customer and in the extreme importance of his information to society, he would follow philanthropists' leads and disseminate the info at very low cost.

Putting myself in the place of a customer, I felt strong resistance to Ziglar's closing techniques. His closing techniques seemed offensive to me, especially when ending his closing questions with "wouldn't you?" My feeling was almost always, "Well, maybe I would or I wouldn't, but I have to reflect on it. Truth isn't always so black and white. Stop treating me like I'm a checker on a checkerboard, as if you know the big picture, and I don't. You don't know what I think or feel."

When he gives examples of trying to sell cookware, I was thinking, "I could buy cookware at Goodwill that will work just fine for a few bucks, and you know it, and you aren't saying it. Why don't you take your closing technique of figuring out how much your cookware costs per day, and apply it to buying good second-hand cookware?"

Also, there was no mention of the role of the internet in selling. That is a hugely important thing to discuss that wasn't brought up in his 25th anniversary edition book.

For example, when he recounts buying a new Cadillac from a seasoned Cadillac salesperson, I recoiled! I thought, "Get real. I wouldn't consider stepping on that sales lot until I knew how much that Cadillac cost the sales lot to buy, and without finding customer's opinions of the salesperson," etc. And I am not a car guy or a salesperson -- this is just common sense in the age of the internet.

I also was turned off at the transparent BS of the salesperson who sold Ziglar the Cadillac. I thought, "This Cadillac salesguy can't be serious. He can't actually think I think it's 'Good news' that my offer of $7,000 was rejected and that only $7,200 was acceptable. He's just lying. He knows it's not good news. What a manipulator. I'm out of here." (This was a saleperson that Ziglar was presenting as being recommended for his great integrity.)

On the upside, I commend Ziglar for his extreme emphasis on the need to believe in what you sell. This is what integrity is all about. He points out that if you really believe in what you sell, you might do quite well even with knowing few closing techniques.

Also good is how Ziglar educates the reader about the indispensability of the the salesperson to a strong society. Without salespeople, how are citizens to know what's available? How are companies going to get their products to the hands of those in need? Salespeople are crucial for moving goods, just like the heart is crucial for circulating blood in the body.

There are many other good practices that Ziglar promotes, such as exercising daily, and so forth.

Ziglar would earn a much higher integrity rating from me if he had put in bold letters on the front of his book: "Buy this used from Amazon and save HUGE." But, he did not. He would prefer that you pay full freight, even though I all-but-guarantee you, he doesn't need the money. He says he cares about the customer, number one. If he really cared about the customer and in the extreme importance of his information to society, he would follow philanthropists' leads and disseminate the info at very low cost.

If you are in the sales profession, there comes a time where the sale needs to be closed. Unfortunately, your customers won't always easily make the decision to buy. At those times you need some insight and some tools to bring value to the sales process so you can make the sale. This book is full of practical tools for closing the sale. Every salesperson wants more ideas to assist them when they need it and this book can help you with that.

Mark Tewart - author of "How To Be A Sales Superstar"
[...]

Zig Zigglar is a bit of a legend in the sales industry for his depth of selling knowledge as well as being a powerful motivational speaker and writer. This book is motivating and has an enormous number of excellent ideas for selling.

Just a few of the topics covered are: The Right Mental Attitude, Your Attitude Towards Others, Everybody is a Salesperson and Everything is Selling, Using Objects to Close the Sale and more.

One of Zig Zigglar's most famous quotes does a great job of summing up his thoughts on how to be successful at sales:

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want!"

This is an exceptional book for anyone who wants to be successful in working with others...salespeople and anyone else!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

I have read a few of Zigs books and always come away satisfied and educated. This book should be required reading if you are in sales, and I would even recommend it if you are not in sales. The reason a non-sales person could profit from this book are manifold. This book teaches more than selling, it teaches how to deal with people. If you understand how a person thinks, or understand what they mean as opposed to what they are saying, you can steer them where you need them. You can connect to them. thats a great thing on many levels.

As you read this book you will keep thinking to yourself "thats a great idea" or "thats a good point". After reading this book and using what Zig teaches, you will look at your sales calls in a different light. You will go into every meeting with the expectation that you will sell your product or service, it will help your prospect, and there is no way they will not see the value of what you are offering. Its that simple. If you believe you are there to help this person, it comes through in your words and actions.

Zig has an excellent technique to teaching, he tells stories. That works great for me because I can easily remember more and it quickly comes to mind when I hear an objection or question from a prospect. I am then able to quickly word it in a way that helps the prospect.

"Failure to hit the bullseye is never the fault of the target and failure to close the sale is never the fault of the prospect". You need to be better to help more prospects buy your product or service. This book will help you in that goal.

Another classic addition to your sales library should be How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins.

Climb Your Ladder of Success Without Running Out of Gas!: The Simple Truth on How to Revitalize Your Body and Ignite Your Energy for Lifelong Success

This is the handbook for anyone in or considering a career in sales. I got my first copy 20 or so years ago and I still look at it. The cover is falling off but it is still one of my most cherished books. You must read this because it not only tells you how to sell but Mr. Ziglar makes it fun as well.

This is the first book I read on sales and will always be one of my favorites. Zig is a great story teller and sales person. This book is more about the psychology of sales than the a selling system, but will start people with the right mindset (which more than half of success).

I own my own home business and like every business it involves sales. Zig Ziglar is the king of sales and his book provides several hundred closing techniques that he used personally. As you read the book, it is as if you got a copy of his personal notebook on what works and does not work. Business building is about relationships and he covers that topic in great detail. There are funny stories and many tips. As he says in the book - you must read it with a pen and highlighter in hand. Mine has so many notes in it I might need to buy another one! I've bought and handed copies to my business team and they loved it! Want to talk about it...call me and we'll discuss Zig and how he has helped me build my business!

If you are in sales or for that matter, have a job, you must be in a position to persuade people and/or get what you want from them.


I have about 200 sales/marketing books and this one is in the top 3 if not the TOP.

Advice: Read/ Re-Read and Re-Read again and agin.... Take many many notes

No matter what you do, no matter what career you may participate in, you are a salesperson. And if you want to do your job better, even as a housewife or stay-at-home dad, you need to read this book. Zig Ziglar's homespun wisdom, laid-back storytelling and down-home humor make this not only a easy read, but a must have! His words of wisdom about not just paying attention to what you say but how you say it makes this book worth the price by itself. And if you don't think you are a salesperson, think again. After you read this book, you will know you are.

In general, I am a fan of Zig Ziglar in that he is model for making money in an ethical fashion. In addition to his business books, he has also written books on raising positive children in a negative world, having a good marriage and other topics that serve a large audience.

Some of his material ranks with the best out there. This book is excellent and something that should be on every salespersons shelf. However, some of the material comes across to me as somewhat manipulative. I don't know if that is because of how it is written or if he really believes that it isn't.

On the other hand, Zig Ziglar is a master communicator and he's the only person I ever knew who got the best of the "SIXTY MINUTES" news show team. In one scene, they say how much of what you do in terms of motivation really lasts and has lasting value. Without missing beat, Zig Ziglar replied, "taking a bath isn't permanent either, you need to do it everyday are you suggesting that this isn't necessary and useful either." A brilliant and accurate response in my opinion!

Anyway, despite my reservations about some of the techniques and communication styles discussed, this book is loaded with excellent ideas for closing a sale. Communication strategies that are eventually embodied in good sales people. I wouldn't hesitate to pick this book up and take what you need from it.

In general, I am a fan of Zig Ziglar in that he is model for making money in an ethical fashion. In addition to his business books, he has also written books on raising positive children in a negative world, having a good marriage and other topics that serve a large audience.

Some of his material ranks with the best out there. This book is excellent and something that should be on every salespersons shelf. However, some of the material comes across to me as somewhat manipulative. I don't know if that is because of how it is written or if he really believes that it isn't.

On the other hand, Zig Ziglar is a master communicator and he's the only person I ever knew who got the best of the "SIXTY MINUTES" news show team. In one scene, they say how much of what you do in terms of motivation really lasts and has lasting value. Without missing beat, Zig Ziglar replied, "taking a bath isn't permanent either, you need to do it everyday are you suggesting that this isn't necessary and useful either." A brilliant and accurate response in my opinion!

Anyway, despite my reservations about some of the techniques and communication styles discussed, this book is loaded with excellent ideas for closing a sale. Communication strategies that are eventually embodied in good sales people. I wouldn't hesitate to pick this book up and take what you need from it.

Easy reading, funny, motivational and packed with powerful strategies that will take your sales career to a new level. Read and reread Zig's Secrets and you'll become a top closer too.

Also recommend Tom Hopkins classic 'How To Master The Art of Selling' Tead anad apply both and break through that six figure income easily.

Easy reading, funny, motivational and packed with powerful strategies that will take your sales career to a new level. Read and reread Zig's Secrets and you'll become a top closer too.

Also recommend Tom Hopkins classic 'How To Master The Art of Selling' Tead anad apply both and break through that six figure income easily.

This book contains what every salesperson should know about sales. There are not reasons for not getting sales, you just didn't get past the objection. This book puts things in a whole new light. I highly recommmend it.

This book contains what every salesperson should know about sales. There are not reasons for not getting sales, you just didn't get past the objection. This book puts things in a whole new light. I highly recommmend it.

This is on of the first books I ever read on Selling and I have never forgotten it. What still stands out after all of these years is Zig's placing a huge importance on questions. In fact the book contains thousands of questions in its narration and you sort of pick up the habit naturally by example by just reading it. Zig is also a friend to the customer by disseminating these effective but ethical selling techniques. Do you want a rewarding career in sales? Highly Recommended.

Five Stars

This is on of the first books I ever read on Selling and I have never forgotten it. What still stands out after all of these years is Zig's placing a huge importance on questions. In fact the book contains thousands of questions in its narration and you sort of pick up the habit naturally by example by just reading it. Zig is also a friend to the customer by disseminating these effective but ethical selling techniques. Do you want a rewarding career in sales? Highly Recommended.

Five Stars

For any salesperson or any person. since we do not sell only services we also sell ourselves be it in a job in a relationship. It is definately a must read.

I have read this book numerous times. It is a book that I have highlighted, taken notes on, and referred back to several times. I absolutely recommend this book.

Zig is an accomplished sales trainer and his "Secrets of Closing the Sale" is absolutely awesome and a joy to read.

Although some of the materials are somewhat dated, it's immensely useful on how to develop a great personal attitude in the sales and MLM profession!

For the more experienced sales professional, I would also recommend Duane Lakinin's "The Unfair Advantage".

James Leong
Author of The World's First Book on Network Marketing with NLP,
"MLM Persuasion Mastery: How Master Networkers Change Beliefs and Behavior"

Zig is an accomplished sales trainer and his "Secrets of Closing the Sale" is absolutely awesome and a joy to read.

Although some of the materials are somewhat dated, it's immensely useful on how to develop a great personal attitude in the sales profession!

For the more experienced sales professional, I would also recommend Duane Lakinin's "The Unfair Advantage".

James Leong
Author of The World's First Book on
Network Marketing with NLP,
"MLM Persuasion Mastery: How
Master Networkers Change Beliefs
and Behavior"

Zig is a pro in sales. He is the BEST of the BESTESS.

Really, read, write, note, and read again. Good book on sales. Somewhat outdated, but it targets more personal attitude rather than skills and techniques.

This work relates the intangible qualities of a successful sales personality to the tangible principle of lessons to learn for individuals who are motivated to do so.

Many years ago I made the investment in Zig Ziglars book, finally the pages wore out from my numerous readings so I re-ordered and would not be without it.

Although I do not sell pots and pans, I took Zig's techniques and put them to work in creative real estate investing, just pluged in real estate instead of pots and pans as I like to relate. If you are in sales or just want the ideal way to handle situations then make the investment in this book.

Thank you Mr. Ziglar

John $Cash$ Locke

What a pleasure it was to read and thoroughly study this treatise on selling by the great Zig Ziglar. I don't care how successful you are right now or how inexperienced you are, this book will take you to new levels of accomplishment.

In Zig Ziglars Secrets of Closing The Sale you will learn from an acomplished sales master. Zig has done it. He has been in selling since 1947 and speaks from actual experience. The techniques offered here are proven, sure fire tested methods, not theory.

This book is huge and can be intimidating to some people at 410+ pages and 38 chapters. You will find over 100 closes and over 700 questions.

You will learn how to paint word pictures and use stories. Not only will your sales take off but your ability to communicate in everyday life will become much easier and more fun as well.

Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing The Sale is a fun read. Zig is witty and the hardest thing I had to do was to put the book down. It's a great read.

The techniques are easy to apply and the best part is that they work even when the client knows what you are doing. Zig also drills the concept of integrity selling and building value as well as following up after the sale.

Five months ago, I went to work for a company that is big on the "Spin" Method of selling. Being open minded, I tried The Spin Method setting aside what I had learned from the past. I was wholly dissappointed. Two months ago, I began studying Zig Ziglars Secrets of Closing Sales and am once again making money in selling and enjoying it.


Thank you Zig. We needed this.

As a new small business owner who needs to learn to sell and manage sales people really, really soon, this is the first book I should have purchased. There are other 5 star books on sales and closing but, start with this one.

Zig Ziglar's "Secrets Of Closing The Sale" is probably the best book I've ever read. Not only does it provide you with everything you will ever need to be successful in the world of selling - it thoroughly entertains as well.

"Secrets" provides readers with interesting and humorous stories meticulously tied in with step by step actions and exact scripts for sales people to use in specific situations.

All you have to do is adapt these scripts to your situation and you are ready to start selling more of what you sell.

Zig covers - how to use a tape recorder to explode your selling power - how to use voice inflection to communicate your message more effectively - how to make you and your prospect both winners when you close the sale - and so much more.

Ziglar even has various free items that he will send you scattered throughout the book. Just by responding I've already received three free gifts including an incredible audio casette on voice inflection. It's incredible.

I hope to get to see Zig live one day. He's an incredibly powerful speaker and author. Get this book - even if you have to steal it.

If you do steal it though, read it, learn to sell, sell something, get your commission, then go pay for the book. Zig deserves to get paid. He did a fine job on this one.

Raymond A. Mardo III Mailto:raymardo@raymardo.com

As of this writing, I met the amazing Zig Ziglar in Atlanta, Georgia 40 years ago - September 15, 1965, to be exact. Even then, he was astoundingly good - not only at selling, but at telling other salespeople how to do what he was doing. Trust me, I know! And much of what he taught me back in those early days is contained in "Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale," one of the all-time sales training classics.

Having read some of the critical reviews of this book, and having had to listen to some of today's young "sales trainers" knocking Zig and his "old fashioned ways" (when I'm sharing the stage with them in the sales training seminars I do), let me share this with you:

Zig Ziglar knows as much or more about selling as any salesperson who ever walked the planet . . . and all of us who have experienced great success in selling and sales training know it - to a man and to a woman, without exception! Further, and to make sure you don't miss my point, the "salespeople" who say otherwise aren't qualified to carry Zig's briefcase. And I cleaned that up!

I worked with Zig. I competed against him. And, after I became president of the company we both joined in 1965, he worked for me. But I never forgot for one second how good he was . . . and rarely does a day go by - all these years later - that I don't use some lesson, phrase and/or technique he personally taught me.

Summation: Buy the book! And Amazon.com has my permission to attach this review to any other product Zig has ever produced.

Note: You may have noticed that all of my book reviews carry "5 Star" ratings (*****). But that's not the sign of a "soft reviewer." I only review books to which I can honestly give a "5 Star" rating. You may assume, therefore, that any sales training/self-improvement book without my "5 Star" rating is either something less than "5 Star," or I simply haven't gotten to it yet . . . and there are certainly plenty of those!

It amazes me that a few reviewers on here have stated that these sales techniques are outdated. The human mind has no evolved greatly over the past 20+ years, so why does selling have to change? As Zig points out, it's all about control, psychology, word phrasing and tones, confidence, etc. If you're a salesman and you're using slick, state of the art, 21st Century tactics, you're probably not being an honest salesman, bottom line.

This book has everything you need to know. I mean, EVERYTHING. Some might not like Zig's writing style. It's really rough around the edges, but easy to understand. He likes to go off track, make constant "redhead" references, and in the book, he also makes outdates references, such as selling cookware door to door. But that doesn't take away from the points the book is trying to nail home. I became at least twice as confident and more educated about selling after I read this book. I'm willing to bet a beginning salesperson will increase their income by 100% with this book.

I enjoyed the book by the end. The stories he shares are intresting and come from a man who can sell. I enjoy his books in general. This one is very good the last 60 pages or so. If you want more meat then turn to "Cars and People How to Put the Two Together" for automotive sales. Try SPIN selling as well.

but your book didn't knock my socks off. At least two thirds of the book are more or less a waste of time and teach about closing only in the form of annecdotes - then every little story has a headline and the "close" gets a name, the soundso-close, and he drones on and on and then towards the end of the book finally he is getting somewhere. Still, I think that Ziglar is mostly good at selling cooking pots, (I even believe he was good at it), and himself. But since buyers and markets always change and salespeople should change alltogether with them in order to stay on top, we should turn to other authors in the meantime. I recommend SPIN Selling and QBS. This one here is still at times enjoyable and I am not saying I didn't learn anything or that I wasn't inspired at times. But not a treat and no matter how good he's been and still is, old school is over and I am looking for something fresh. When you're not Zig, don't sell like him, it may not work. Everything from chapter 25 on, however, is worth the money, this is where he covers objections and how to handle them. Also, I never knew the guy (I'm German). When I started to listen to his audio programs on motivation (How to stay motivated) he made a lot more sense to me.

While attending a sales class last spring, I met a salesman in my company who was consistently performing at top levels. I asked him his secrets, and he suggested I buy this book and read it. "I could let you borrow my copy," he said with a smile, "but if you invest in your own copy you'll get a lot more out of it."

He was so right. This book shows a lot of tips on closing the sales: how to make the sale when your customers don't show up for appointments, how to handle complaints on price, how to help the prospect sell HIMSELF on the product/service. I don't know how I was ever selling anything before reading this!

It's a delightful read, written with humorous stories and pertinent examples in every chapter. And despite its age (written in the 1980's) it consistently provides good advice. Everything I have read in "Secrets" has been a boon.

Does it work? Well, now I'm the top salesperson in my market area and in the top ten in my region, whereas before reading "Secrets" I was near the bottom in both.

Amazing. He could talk a dog off a meat wagon. After I read it I sold a bunch of stuff I'd never been able to sell before. This guy is as good as Og Oglar.

Review by O. J. Haney