Move Over Og Mandino--Here Comes

      The Salesman's Magician

K. Karl Leavitt has been called the Og Mandino of the 21st Century.  He has enjoyed an extraordinarily successful career culminating in his most recent position as the Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for a billion-dollar International high tech firm.  Jumping into marketing and sales from an impressive career in computer science, Leavitt now devotes himself to writing and speaking and is the author of a phenomenal book, The Salesman’s Magician. 

Written in the style of Who Moved My Cheese and The Alchemist, this clever parable of the business world will get you back to the basics with a simple, ethical approach proven effective for anyone seeking better results in today’s contentious marketplace.

Timely topic:  The world of business is in a state of constant change and flux.  How can you ensure your business will get, and then stay, on top?

• Are you seeking better results in this current ultra-competitive business marketplace? 
• Once at the top of your industry, are you now seeing the competition racing past you? 
• Do you work long hours, but feel as though you’ll never catch up?  Then this entertaining, easy to read book is for you.

"This book is different—it doesn’t try to prescribe a technique or a trendy set of steps and lingo that will run through the market for a while and then fade as some new fad takes hold. This book is about a sales philosophy, with underpinnings in the belief that understanding the customer, taking a long-term view, and maintaining an ethical focus will result in success. That may sound
simplistic, but I was surprised at how I was both entertained by Karl’s tale and gradually provoked to examine my own world. "

Harry S. Cardile, MBA, cofounder and partner, Braselton Custom Homes

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Read sample chapters on the Home Page.

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Combining 20 years of experience building successful sales organizations, with a fresh voice and engaging writing style, K. Karl Leavitt has written this business parable for today’s sales and marketing professional. Part marketing course, part fantastical romp, the reader finds themselves engaged in the story as much as they learn from it.

"You'll learn a great deal from this fantastic little book. I've been in sales nearly my entire career, and I know I did. This story stresses efficient selling and creating customres when it seems there are none in sight. I found the writing charming and the mood contagious."

Steve K. Wilson, Major, US Army, Ret., president and cofounder, VERTEX Inc.

In this clever parable of the business world, join Sydney Arthur, the first salesperson on the enchanting planet of Inc, as he learns from the great wizard and prophet, Margin, that selling success is more science than magic. Then, put these simple and effective truths to work for you, and see the selling difference.

Reader Views says:

"The Salesman's Magician: A Business Parable for Today's Sales and Marketing Professional" is designed to teach the professional about the importance of sales philosophy and planning in a business. The book is an easy read and packed with lots of valuable information. Using a parable to teach business concepts is a great idea and works very effectively in getting the point across and for memory retention, especially for a right-brained thinker like me.

The story begins with a young man named Sydney Arthur who lives on the planet Inc in the kingdom of Equity. His family business does well in his early days of running it, but he does it more from using his innate business sense than a good strategy with a strong plan. Sales is not an recognized occupation on planet Inc. with a good training program. Does this sound familiar when describing a lot of small businesses today? Enter the competition. Alaine, the Duchess of Avidity is a very smart, successful and resourceful woman. She begins to see the value in creating a strong sales and marketing strategy and soon begins to move into Sydney's territory and his family's company begins to suffer sales losses.

As Sydney's company losses begin to mount and they face downsizing, the famous Magician Margin comes into the picture. He offers to take Sydney away for a year and teach him a comprehensive sales strategy. This begins his adventure with the Magician. His training takes him to new lands and other planets to observe other groups good and bad strategies. It turns out that Alaine is also receiving assistance from another Magician, Agitato, and is gaining serious ground while Sydney is away. Margin realizes that he is being spied on and works to train Sydney faster and to mislead Agitato in the direction of his training.

When it comes time for Sydney to return home, he finds that things are a lot worse than when he left. But he is now fully armed with a good sales strategy and quickly rolls his sleeves up and jumps back in the ring against Alaine. His company begins seeing positive results and the company sales losses soon stop and become profits again.

"The Salesman's Magician" gives good solid advice on building a strong business. The story makes it fun to read and because of this a right- brained thinker like me will retain more information than a traditional textbook. It ends on a good note with Sydney's final realization that "There may be little magic in sales, in accomplishment. It is more a matter of thoughtfully putting one foot in front of the other with ever a careful eye on the future. But there is magic in the world. It lies in working as if your deeds will last forever, while living as though each one might be your last, the one by which people will remember you the most". This is a good rule to live by. I highly recommend "The Salesman's Magician" to people who are thinking about going into, or are already in, the sales and marketing field."

MIDWEST REVIEWS Hailed The Salesman's Magician:

"A Welcome Addition

In 'The Salesman's Magician: A Business Parable For Today's Sales And Marketing Professional ', Karl Leavitt draws upon his many years of experience and expertise as a marketing and sales director for a billion-dollar high tech firm to show others how they can earn new customers and significantly expand their market share (reqardless of the product and/or services they represent) through a unique sales philosophy that is simple, ethical, effective, flexible, and adapted to the vagaries and competitions of the marketplace today. A quick and easy read, The Salesman's Magician lays out sixteen succinct chapters of advice, explanation and commentary that would prove especially useful for the marketing novice, and also has a great deal to offer even the more experienced sales director. Enhanced with two appendices ('Status Reporting' and 'Relationship Management'), The Salesman's Magician would prove a welcome addition to personal, professional, and business school reference collections, as well as the supplemental reading list for students in the field of Economic Studies."

"In this story, our hero, Sydney, is the first real salesperson on his little planet. Sydney is a pioneer, and he must learn the profession the hard way: through trial and error. Predictably, he makes a few crucial mistakes. Then Margin the Magician comes to the rescue. He acts as Sydney’s mentor. Margin doesn’t solve problems by magic, and he doesn’t map out a foolproof, step-by-step process. If you’re like me, you’ve already found plenty of books on technique. After more than twenty years in business, what I realized was missing was a book on approach—a high-level strategy. This is what Margin shares with Sydney, and this is what I want to share with you: a proven, winning philosophy."

K. Karl Leavitt --Author, the Salesman's Magician

"The Salesman’s Magician is at once a creative and an entertaining tribute to all the sales professionals who have mentored a young Sydney, and at the same time, it’s an excellent wake-up call for everyone who deals with customers, from the young sales apprentice to the crusty, old sales veteran. As a salesperson, you may be inspired to readjust your philosophy to focus on sales success in the long term. As a businessperson, you may obtain a renewed commitment to your customers, your employees, or your shareholders. Just as Margin the Magician inspires Sydney, I suspect that this book will inspire you."

-- Harry S. Cardile

With chapters addressing everything from market identification and line extension to long-term planning, including tools to support the sales process, The Salesman's Magician is sure to become a staple on the shelves of every sales and marketing professional and in the bookbag of every Marketing Student.