Hellow rexraiford~
As the author of a dozen nonfiction books, let me assure you that
you're beginning on the right foot. Happily, you realize that one of
your first steps is to target your audience and find out what they
want. Hopefully you also know that sometimes this is less a matter
fact, than it is a matter of opinion.
That stated, let me help you get started.
WHO IS THE TARGET OF YOUR BOOK?
The first thing to think about is whether a book like yours has
already been written. A long browse at Amazon.com (there are well over
4,000 titles that come up with the following search: selling
-salesperson) tells me that if there is a book similar to your idea on
the market, it's not readily available. The key here is "readily
available." It is possible there's a book similar to yours somewhere
(perhaps out of print, perhaps self published, perhaps with low enough
sales that giants like Amazon do not carry it...), and if there is
*not,* then you should carefully consider why. (In fact, assuming
you're not going to self publish, many publishers are going to ask
this same question; be one step ahead of them and have an answer
ready!)
There are two main reasons there might not be a book like yours
available:
1. Nobody has yet thought to teach non-salespeople how to sell
2. Somebody has written a book on the subject, but it didn't sell well
If #1 is true, that's great news for you. If #2 is true, then you must
consider why it didn't sell well. (You see, here's one area where
opinion steps in!) Did it not sell well because it wasn't marketed
well? Or because non-salespeople simply weren't interested? To explore
idea #2, you'll first have to find a book like yours that is out of
print (or nearly so); I have been unable to find one, even in library
databases.
(I should add that it's truly impossible for any single person to be
aware of all the books out there...For example, I recently was denied
a contract to write a book because another publishing house had *just*
contracted a different writer for an almost identical book!)
If, by chance, you find that another book has been published that is
similar to yours, be sure to get your hands on it. Pinpoint it's
weaknesses and assure your publisher that your book is better
*because*...
Now, if #1 is true, then you'll have to explain to publishers why your
book is necessary or deserves to be published. An anecdote to prove
your point, a shocking statistic, or a quote from a well-known person
can be of great help in doing this.
The first step to doing this is to determine who your audience is.
You've already mentioned: people who are selling ideas in their
company for the first time, attorneys, architects, CPAs, and
management consultants. I would add to that: beginning inventors,
actors/singers/other performers in the entertainment industry,
writers, small business owners (especially those just starting
up)...the list could go on and on and on. These are pretty
wide-ranging careers--so the next question becomes: How general should
the book be?
While it can be smart to narrow your audience down, narrowing it down
too much cannot only hurt sales, but can make it difficult to get your
book published. Therefore, my suggestion is to keep your book
generalized; don't target it to architects, because if you do, you'll
alienate CPAs...et cetera. In addition, there are books out there that
target specific audiences (like writers) and teach them lots of
information about selling their work; since you don't want to repeat
what's been done before, keeping your audience general will be a smart
move.
So when it comes to telling your publisher how large you audience is,
what should you say? Well, take your list of who may be interested in
your book and find out if there are associations dealing specifically
with them. For example, a search for:
architect* association
reveals that there is an "Association of Licensed Architects." I
currently have an email out to them to see how large their membership
is. This will be helpful information for your publisher, who can then
get an idea of how large the market is for your book. (PLEASE NOTE: I
am waiting for calls back or replies to emails on the professions
without figures after them. I will post numbers immediately upon
hearing back from the appropriate association.)
Attorneys: more than 56,000 belong to The Association of Trail Lawyers
of America ( http://www.atla.org/info/guide.aspx#Mem )
Architects:
CPAs:
Management Consultants:
Beginning Inventors: more than 10,000 people belong to the United
Inventor's Association ( http://www.uiausa.com/History.htm ), whose
site contains information specifically targeted to novices (
http://www.uiausa.com/SubNoviceInventor.htm )
Small business owners : "several thousand" businesses belong to The
American Small Business Association (
http://www.asbaonline.org/mission.html )
Notice that I've chosen what I personally feel are your strongest
markets. Everything else is "icing on the cake."
SO...the short answer to your first question ("who is my prime
market?"): Anyone who doesn't have sales experience, but is going to
be making some sort of sale. Truly, this broader audience is a much
better path to writing a book that will be profitable. It's the
difference between a book you can sell to a large publisher who will
sell many thousands--perhaps millions--of copies and give you a nice
advance...and selling your book to a small press (or perhaps self
publishing) and probably only selling one or two thousand--and not
getting a very good advance (or any advance at all). It's also the
difference between filling a hole in the marketplace, or adding
another book to the shelves of micro-markets.
WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW
Since you are specifically targeting your book toward non-sellers,
you'll have to begin at the beginning. Avoid sales lingo (although it
might be helpful to include a glossary of common sales terms). Assume
they know nothing.
As someone who dislikes making sales myself, I suggest that you spend
some real time on the psychology of selling. Help your readers
overcome their loathing for selling things. What can a person do who
dislikes sales? How can they overcome these feelings and actually make
a sale? How can they get over their fear of rejection? How can they be
liked, but still make the sale? Any tips and tricks along these lines
will be an important addition to your book.
Related to this: How much enthusiasm is good, and how much simply puts
off the person you are trying to sell to? (A serious concern for those
of us who are uncomfortable selling.) Also, when the idea is met with
objections, how does a person deal with that? What are some effective
means of getting the sale back on track again?
You will also want to include specifics on various methods of selling.
For example: How do you make a sale when you must call someone up on
the phone? When you must make the sale through a letter? When the sale
must be made through a full-out proposal? When the sale is made to an
individual in person? When it's made in person to a group of people?
Et cetera. Also, when it's not clear what sales method to you, which
should a person choose? A chapter on each of these topics would be
appropriate. (That way, a reader can just flip to the chapter that
applies to them. Although we authors usually believe readers should
read the *whole* book, in our modern world, many readers want quickest
access to what they need *now*...they'll read the whole thing--later.)
How does one prepare themselves for each of these scenarios? How
should they prepare their person (for example, how should they
dress?). How should they prepare their mind? How should they prepare
their sales materials, if they are using any? Should they test out
their sale on a friend...or is this a bad idea?
Some ideas about why sales fail will also be helpful. What are common
mistakes and pitfalls? Also, what to do when the sale fails. How does
a person cope with this on a personal level, and what is the next step
(if any)?
Remember that since you're dealing with people who've never sold
anything (and probably dislike selling things), they probably have had
unsuccessful results trying to sell something in the past.
And, finally, on the up side: How to close the sale.
Again, while you may be able to find similar information in other
books, your goal is to always have the novice in mind: You're giving
the essentials here...pared down, simple, and to the point--bearing in
mind that those who are reading your book do not consider themselves
salespeople. (I think that psychological fact will direct your book
more than any other single thing.)
HOW SHOULD THE INFORMATION BE DEVELOPED?
Readers of modern nonfiction prefer short chapters. That doesn't mean
you'll cover less information; instead, you'll just be breaking it
down more. Cover a few (or even one) basic idea in each chapter. (As
stated earlier, this also makes it easier to find information
quickly...And on that note, don't neglect to include an index in the
book.)
The bulk of your book will be straight text, but avoid long paragraphs
and textbook-like writing. Anecdotes are a nonfiction writer's best
friend. As is humor. Lots of specific examples are fabulous.
Sample sales letters, sample "scripts" for calls, sample proposals, et
cetera, will all be invaluable. (As a reader, I would be especially
impressed if these samples had actually been used and *worked* to make
a sale.)
Using bullets is always an excellent idea, where applicable. Diagrams
are also important, if applicable.
In short, any means you can use to make your book to the point, hit at
home, and really be a working tool, will make it unbeatable in the
eyes of readers (and publishing houses). And whichever of these tools
you decide to use in your book, be sure to let your publisher know you
plan to use them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You didn't mention it, but something you should consider when writing
your proposal to a book publisher is this: This subject matter is
ideal for audio, as well as traditional text. According to Judith
Applebaum, author of the best-selling "How To Get Happily Published,"
sales of 10,000 - 15,000 are not unusual for audio books, so this area
could substantially influence profits. (To see Amazon's listing of
this book, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0062735098/qid=1043355184/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8113688-3906405?v=glance&s=books
)
Lastly, you began your question by stating that you're beginning to
write your book. I suggest that you write your book proposal and query
letter first. Unlike fiction writers, nonfiction writers send out
their query and proposal first, along with a few sample chapters, and
then get a contract. After the contract is signed, *then* the
nonfiction writer begins in earnest to write the book. It is a mistake
(and, to most editors and publishers, the mark of an amateur) to write
the book first and try to send it out to publishers. (If you plan to
self publish the book, then you won't need a query or proposal, of
course.)
For helpful, specific information on writing and formatting a query
letter and proposal, I highly recommend "The Shortest Distance Between
You And A Published Book" by Susan Page. You can view the Amazon
listing for this book at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553061771/qid=1043352147/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/002-8113688-3906405
although it should be available through any good bookstore.
If you feel I have missed something in my answer to your question(s),
please don't hesitate to ask for clarification.
Keywords Used:
architect* association
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=architect*+association&btnG=Google+Search
lawyer association
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=lawyer+association
CPA* association
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=CPA*+association
"management consultants" membership
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22management+consultants%22+membership
inventors membership
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=inventors+membership&btnG=Google+Search
"small business owners" membership
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22small+business+owners%22+membership
Best wishes,
kriswrite |
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