By Ed McLaughlin and Wyn Lydecker

We can’t believe that we are actually writing and editing Chapter 9! That means we are two-thirds done with the creation of our book, “The Purpose Is Profit.”

Over the years I (Wyn) have read many articles on the process of writing, and it seems that every author – from Stephen King to John McPhee – has different advice. Our process began with an outline of the book. From there, we started writing down the information that would go into each chapter. Then we created outlines of the individual chapters.

Our aim was to create a book that told a story – Ed McLaughlin’s story of bootstrapping a business, USI; growing it into an Inc. 500 company; and selling it to a Fortune 100 company – while also imparting valuable information to readers in the form of business principles Ed learned along his journey. We’re including both the failures and successes. You can learn from either.

As we worked, we realized that anyone who wanted to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey could benefit from a roadmap. We’re determined to include one everyone can use, but we also want to readers to be engaged in the story. Striking the right balance is a challenge we struggle with as we write, edit, and rewrite. We ask ourselves questions and try to think of our readers’ varying backgrounds and perspectives.

Chapter 9: Sales is a Contact Sport is a case in point. USI was a marketing and sales-driven organization. “Sales is a contact sport,” was a mantra at USI.

• Why?
• Where did the mantra come from?
• How did the managers and other employees at USI apply that saying?
• How did the focus on sales and marketing affect the company’s success?
• What can you, the reader, learn from the USI’s accomplishments?
• What makes for a great salesperson?
• How do you motivate your salesforce?
• How do you hire great people?
• How do you sell effectively?

We’re tackling all of these topics in Chapter 9.

What questions do you have that you’d like us to answer? Post a comment or email us.

 Ed McLaughlin is currently co-writing the book “The Purpose Is Profit: Secrets of a Successful Entrepreneur from Startup to Exit” with Wyn Lydecker and Paul McLaughlin.

 

Copyright © 2014 by Ed McLaughlin   All rights reserved.