Don't Fire Them, Fire Them Up: A Maverick's Guide to Motivating Yourself and Your Team

An expert in the field of business motivation shares readable and effective advice on how to stimulate and encourage underperforming employees. 125,000 first printing. Tour.

Xerox sales executive Pacetta, writing with freelancer Gittines, presents an excellent primer on the rugged discipline of selling. Introducing readers to the frenetic world of push-and-pull sales ("kill the other guy before the other guy kills you"), the authors transcend the fatuous "Attila the Hun" mindset with superb observations about leadership, teamwork, success and customers, along with shining comments on time management, goals, evaluating problems and cultivating sales personnel. A voice from the trenches who is not above taking cues from Dirty Harry ("I never give much credence to advice from people whose ass is the same shape as their chairs"), Pacetta paints a vivid landscape of "cold-call' combat. Don't be put off by the convoluted subtitle.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pacetta offers this enthusiastic account of how, as district sales manager for Xerox, he built top-notch sales teams in Cleveland and Columbus, though sales in each place were among the lowest in the country when he took over. Filled with practical, usable tips, this guide shows how to motivate employees, improve morale, and increase sales. Pacetta recommends a blend of no-nonsense rules, hard work, customer service, open and honest communication, and fairness; and he warns that when changes are necessary, they should be made decisively and swiftly. Many books target those who want to sell better, but this one effectively helps those whose job it is to make others sell better. David Rouse