"I always expected that Prime Devices Corporation would have a 20th
anniversary," says Cohon. "But I never guessed that two weeks after I
finished writing The Sales Force, the Manufacturers' Agents
National Association (MANA) would buy the rights to print 10,000
copies, and that they would be in print so quickly."
Inspiration for The Sales Force came from classes Cohon took as
part of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business MBA
program. "I saw an link between the Operations Management class and the
Sales Force Management class, and just started writing," he says. "The
funny thing is that the book came out before I completed the MBA
program, which really came as a surprise.
"There are a lot of great books written about being a part of a sales
force or managing a sales force," he says. "But when I read a textbook,
my favorite parts are the anecdotes the author used to illustrate his
point. That's why my book is written as the story of a semi-fictional
character who makes all of the biggest mistakes I've ever made or heard
that other sales people made."
More information about The Sales Force is available at www.cohon.com, or by calling MANA at
877-626-2776. The book is available to MANA members for $15, and MANA
sister organizations for $20. Cost to non-members is $30.
