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by Jerry Acuff
Premium summary · Opens in the app · 30 min read
There is a moment every salesperson knows intimately. You have delivered the pitch. You have highlighted the features. You have explained the benefits. You have answered every question. And then the prospect looks at you and says something that feels like a door closing.
**Author:** Jerry Acuff with Jeremy Miner
**Estimated Reading Time:** 45 minutes
**What You'll Learn:**
- Why traditional sales techniques no longer work with modern buyers - How to ask questions that guide prospects toward their own conclusions - The art of listening as a persuasion tool - How to handle objections without becoming defensive - A complete framework for selling through trust rather than pressure
**Who This Book Is For:**
Sales professionals who feel the old playbook is failing. Anyone who interacts with customers, clients, or prospects and wants to build relationships that lead to genuine commitment. Leaders who want their teams to sell with integrity and effectiveness.
There is a moment every salesperson knows intimately. You have delivered the pitch. You have highlighted the features. You have explained the benefits. You have answered every question. And then the prospect looks at you and says something that feels like a door closing. "Let me think about it." "I need to run this by my wife." "Send me some information and I'll get back to you." These phrases are not rejections. They are signals. They tell you that something in the conversation went wrong long before you reached the moment of asking for a decision. The prospect did not feel understood. The prospect did not feel safe. The prospect did not convince themselves that your solution matters. For decades, sales training taught people to push through these moments. Overcome objections. Create urgency. Close harder. The assumption was that selling is a battle of wills, and the salesperson who applies enough pressure will win. That assumption is now obsolete. The modern buyer has changed. She has access to more information than any salesperson could possibly provide. She has read reviews, compared prices, researched alternatives, and formed opinions before you ever speak. She has been burned by pushy salespeople and has developed sophisticated defenses against traditional tactics. She does not want to be sold. She wants to be helped. Jerry Acuff and Jeremy Miner recognized this shift and built a new approach around it. Their insight is simple but profound: the best way to persuade someone is not to argue with them. It is to help them persuade themselves. The New Model of Selling flips the traditional sales process on its head. Instead of spending most of your time presenting and closing, you spend most of your time engaging. You ask questions that uncover problems. You listen in a way that builds trust. You guide prospects through a process of discovery that leads them to their own conclusions. This is not manipulation dressed up in softer language. It is a fundamentally different understanding of how human beings make decisions. People do not resist…
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Get the complete summary in the appSelling is finding and solving problems through questions and listening, not pushing products.
Spend 85 percent of your time engaging, 10 percent presenting, and 5 percent committing.
Ask questions that help prospects discover their own problems and imagine their own solutions.
Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to respond.
Replace pressure language with neutral language that invites collaboration.
Treat objections as concerns to be understood, not obstacles to be overcome.
"The New Model of Selling" is a strong fit if you want practical ideas around business, especially themes like selling is finding and solving problems through questions and listening, not pushing products; spend 85 percent of your time engaging, 10 percent presenting, and 5 percent committing. The MinuteRead summary distills these concepts into a focused read, whether you're deciding whether to buy the book or applying its lessons at work.
Jerry Acuff is an accomplished author and sales expert. He co-authored The New Model of Selling with Jeremy Miner, combining their expertise to create a comprehensive guide for modern sales techniques. Acuff's approach focuses on understanding buyers and adapting to the changing landscape of consumer behavior. His work emphasizes the importance of connection, problem-solving, and value delivery in the sales process. Acuff's writing style is described as informative and occasionally humorous, tho…
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