I was shocked this morning as I reviewed last nights blog traffic on my site – one of the searches read, “Mack Hanan’s Obituary!  Almost a year after his death, and I am just now catching up….however, even if I am 11 months behind, it’s important to remember him for his contribution to our industry….

Mack, author of the well known book, Consultative Selling was an icon in the sales world, having written about ROI, value selling, and consultative selling long before his contemporaries – back in 1072 he published this book, and it remains in print today, having been updated at least 7 times, an 8th now in process.

I was fortunate enough to quote Mack in a workshop I conducted several years ago in New York, to which one of my attendees, Tom from Cisco Systems replied, “Do you know Mack?”  Only by his writings I replied.  I was then invited to join Tom for dinner along with Mack that evening!  We dined on the upper east side at Vagabondo, a unique restaurant featuring its own bocce ball court!  Mac was more than willing to share his insights on selling, review my materials, and provided excellent insights into what I was working on.  In the end he greatly encouraged me to pursue my work with enthusiasm.  If that wasn’t enough, Mack insisted on paying, asking me to keep in touch.

Mack was always responsive if I emailed him; he was dedicated to helping others and bringing new ideas to the sales community.  Even at 85 he continued to produce new ideas and updates to his initial concepts on consultative selling.  We’ll miss him!  Take this opportunity to pick up Mack’s book and read it, remembering the contribution he has made to our industry.

© 2011, David Stelzl