Interview with Business Author Charles "Charlie" Scheele

  

1. What inspired you to write this book? I went on a cross country trip with my oldest brother (Bill), a consummate salesperson in his own right, from San Diego to Houston. On our way, we traded sales stories and life events to fill in the time. When we arrived in Houston, Bill turned to me and asked "Why doesn't anyone know how to sell anymore?", and it hit me. Write a book about what it takes to succeed in sales, share my knowledge with others and deliver the lesson in an enjoyable fashion.

 

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? My book is for people who are learning about sales and service. This talent isn't just directed to sales people. Anyone who interviews for a job is, in effect, selling the most important thing in their life, themselves. And it applies to anyone who makes presentations, where they are trying to persuade people to their way of thinking. From priests to politicians, and from students to teachers, they all will find something in this book that will help them. The stories (many true experiences) are selected to point out specific aspects of sales. They are written to be a bit interesting, a bit crazy, a bit informative and a bit amazing. But all are written to capture the reader's interest and help them learn in the process. 

 

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? My readers will learn the art of persuasion. And this book makes learning fun. Theme: Finally, a training manual that is fun to read!

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I have a Health Insurance producer license and was a top notch seller. When Obama Care came out, I was an expert on the subject. A friend told me that the State of Minnesota was having a lot of trouble rolling out their own insurance marketplace. I applied to be a customer service representative and within 48 hours was hired as a top tier rep. Out of the 219 top tier people, I had the highest success rate. However, long waits on hold did nothing to make the client easier to work with. Also, as the monthly enrollment deadline approached, the people were more frantic and emotional. In our morning meeting on the last day for insurance applicants to qualify for the next month, I would tell my coworkers "Get ready for the screamers, liars and criers!"  So I took this concept and applied it to the cover, with a screamer, liar and crier peering over me as I held the headphones tight to my head. (See attached dust cover)

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

·         I went through 12 rewrites before I showed it to a friend who was an editor, and she loved it, but she said the book didn't flow well. So I had to reorder the book layout, plus make it flow, both a lot of work. My advice is to be patient and think about the destination you want the reader to reach.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  Schools do not teach skills that we all will need someday, so these "self-help" books are becoming even more important.

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  Absolutely. Aside from a couple imaginary experiences, everything is based on my life.

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I call it a combination Aesop (the moral to the story) and Mary Poppins (a spoonful of literary sugar to keep the reader's interest).

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Much of the time I spent writing was after working a full day (50 hours a week) as a consultant for troubled businesses. There is a point you finally get to and you can "see the light at the end of the tunnel", but that was only after two years of effort.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? This book is an easy read, but packed with knowledge we all can use. I guarantee most everyone will learn something from this book and enjoy it in the process.

 

About The Author: I have a varied background: sales (including cold call), executive accounting roles, consulting, presentations, customer service (including crisis management), and insurance. I am a jack of all trades and master of at least one. In all these career paths, customer service was a vital element to my success. Selling is not just running a product through a barcode reader. It is much more. I use my stories to convey important factors that support successful sales. These stories can be humorous or amazing, but they are all quite interesting and include a sales skill as part of the story. Please see https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-scheele-716a4517/ or https://www.facebook.com/charliescheele/

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.6 million pageviews. With 4,800+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.