A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

Our friend Ron McDaniel is about to release his new book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing.  Despite what must be a natural inclination to hog the spotlight and pump his own book as much as possible, he takes a few minutes in a recent post to plug another book on the same subject by a different author.

Good for Ron!  Smart, too.

Why?  Because when you're selling something (in Ron's case, his book) you want competition.  Competition isn't bad.  In fact, its vital for success.

Does McDonalds suffer because of Burger King and Wendy's?  No.  Because the consumers who are hungry and looking for something to eat don't think "Should I have a hamburger today?"  Instead, they ask, "Which hamburger place do I want to eat at?" 

In Ron's case, he should want as much stuff to be coming out about "buzz marketing" as possible.  Instead of being a voice for a new way of marketing that some would see as "risky", he would be seen as a leader in a new and growing field of thinking.  That's an important distinction.

I could see his book being sold along with Andy Sernovitz's book.  Or maybe the two team up to offer a dual-purchase discount.  If you look at Amazon's information on how people buy books, many of their purchases are multiple items of the same category.  In other words, someone will buy three mysteries at a time...or two books on sales skills...or four books on opening up a business.

Competition need not be adversarial.  Actually, if used correctly, it can be an important element of your long-term success.