Today Bob Poole launched his wonderful sales and marketing book, Listen First – Sell Later.

I love this book.

This is the project I spent so much time focused on editing in February, and I have been incredibly impressed with the content and usefulness and heart of Bob’s writing. I am proud to have been a part of it, and I hope he sells just zillions of copies. If you have an interest in sales, marketing, being a real person who cares about the people around you and/or running a business that cultivates relationships with its customers, I strongly suggest you read it. I’m not the only one, either—some very neat folks weighed in (including Seth Godin). Check out the blurbs on the back of the book.

Pace wrote a great review with a ton of book snippets, and you’re welcome to read my last post (How to Inspire Your Editor, Get a Post Written About Your New Book, and Be Just Plain GREAT With People) if you want to know more about the kind of awesome person Bob Poole is.

Right now if you buy a copy (and probably not forever!), Bob is offering to send a free copy to a friend of yours. All you have to do is forward him the receipt once you’ve ordered and give him shipping information. Here’s everything you need to know.

For real: Buy it from Bob, buy it from Amazon, buy it from the Squidoo lens that supports Acumen Fund (my personal favorite), just buy the book. It will make your life and your work and your relationships with other people better. In the short time since I worked on the editing, it has surely done so with mine.

Last month, I finished a job editing a book.

I know! A freaking book!

It was an awesome book. It was all about listening and building real trust and relationships in business. Of course, nothing’s ever just about business (and neither was this book). It was an incredible resource in terms of great ideas, practical steps and case studies that really make you think about business building, sales, marketing, and people. (I love people. You know how I love people!)

And there were moments during the editing process where I was absorbing so much great material, I felt like I was getting paid to learn. (If you ever want to really ingrain some information, get yourself an editing job!) This book was very worth learning, and it was written by Bob Poole.

If you’ve been paying any attention, you know that Bob Poole is pretty damn nifty.

I first met him on Triiibes, and over the course of the next six months came across him during the work on the Tribes Q&A ebook, my bid for Seth’s Alternative MBA program in NY, and soon after, when he asked me to do some consulting… and this editing work. (He had to convince me to do it, because I’d never really, professionally considered myself an editor. Man, am I glad he did!)

Bob’s way of interacting with people is impactful. In my case, it makes me want to do great work for him; it makes me want to impress him. This is a particularly strong feeling, and I haven’t felt it very often (in fact I can only think of one other person, off the top of my head, who’s struck me quite this way). It seems to happen most when I’m dealing with people I feel undeniably valued by.

Whatever it is Bob does, he does it well. It’s a lesson in dealing with people, prospects, clients, employees—and everybody else. They will work hard for you if they know you appreciate and respect them. They will work harder for you than anyone else.

I don’t think a lot of people get this (even when they think they do), but Bob clearly does. It means that any work with him is sure to be delightful, and it meant that I worked my ass off editing his book.

The title is Listen First—Sell Later. It’s fantastic. Seth Godin wrote a blurb for the cover. (See?) It will be officially published and available in just a few weeks. The title alone should clue you in; this is what Bob’s all about.

If you want to know what the hell Bob does, why and how he does it (and learn a lot about sales and marketing in the process), well, you can read it yourself—but not for another few weeks. Please get crazy excited and send lots and lots of link traffic here so that everyone else can get excited too. Please do not actually hold your breath until the book is available unless you really can go without oxygen for more than a week. Because, dude. Come on.

(Also, I don’t think asphyxiated people buy books.)

You can bet I’ll be letting you know when you can pick up a copy. And in the meantime, you can go read Bob’s post from yesterday. Because of the awesome.

Update 2009-04-15: Bob made a post about his book today! Go take a look!

Update 2009-05-06: Bob launched his book today, and it’s available nigh-instantaneously from Amazon. Plus, if you buy one copy he’ll send a second for a friend (those instructions are here)! He’s doing this for a limited number of purchases, so go grab yours and forward your receipt along now while you’re thinkin’ about it!

You can use a tool like Highrise to track every single conversation you’ve ever had in your life, and the pertinent details of each person you meet. But I have sudden clarity: Why not also use it to track what each of them wants?

I’m not using Highrise at the moment, but musings like Bob’s make me want to start it back up again. Except this time, it’s far more important to me to track the ways in which I can help a person, rather than, necessarily, our conversations or how much business potential there is with them.

I just want to put a new spin on the address book: Name, occupation, where we met, things they like, what they want, what drives them. What or whom they identify deeply with. What do they really need? How can I really help them? And that last part should have nothing specific to do with money. How can I really help them?

You know—by introducing them to someone else. Or teaching them how to set up a simple blog. Or going out for dinner and letting them talk for an hour. Or telling them how much I appreciate them! What makes them feel best in all the world?

I like connecting with people a lot, and it would be nice to track the ways in which I might make a difference in other people’s lives. It would certainly be easier to remember and be useful to more people, that way! Plus, I wouldn’t feel so forgetful. ;}

Where’s my perfect software? Simple, easy to search, easy to keep open. Journler would work, but it has so many other features. Interesting how craving a simple purpose makes me steer clear of complex offerings. Hey, Highrise could still work.

I’ll think about it for awhile.

“Marriages don’t fail because couples get bored. They fail because while they’re dating people pretend to be the person they think their partner wants and then, well, there’s only so long you can keep that up.”

~ chick in a random episode of House, “Clueless”