After giving ten years of seminars and personal counseling on the art of interviewing for a job, author Tom Payne has concluded: Most interviewees are running in the wrong direction. This is because they are guided by assumptions that are wrong. For example, most seminar attendees believe the hiring decision is rationally made, because the hiring process seems so deliberate and rational in its design. However, the hiring process does not make the decision, a person does. And this person is influenced more by emotions than by reason. They want to hire someone they like, who makes them feel comfortable. Unfortunately, the interviewee, acting on the assumption that this decision is rational, offers up dozens of reasons why they are the best candidate. These reasons, like most catalogues of facts and data, are soon forgotten and they end up finishing in second place. And in the brutal sport of job interviewing there is no medal for second place. This system of interviewing is radically different in its approach and it has resulted in people who could not get hired being hired the very next interview. The author has also experienced the power of this system by out-interviewing far more qualified candidates. If you are tired of finishing second, then read a training manual that will help you finish first.

Neil Rackham, one of the foremost authorities on sales and author of numerous bestsellers, including "SPIN Selling," writes the following about Tom Payne's new book, "The Causes of Sales Success" "This eminently practical and useful book has something for everyone in sales, from new entry to the most experienced key account executive. Its mix of ideas, examples, cases and quotes from history and literature make it fun to read." "The Causes of Sales Success" poses the question, "What causes the sale to close?" Is it features and benefits? Do consultative solutions, relationships, asking the right questions close sales, or is it all of the above and then some? The answer is important because until we know what causes a customer's buying decision, then how can we cause one? Without this knowledge we end up trying this and that, and sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. Until we know what causes the buying decision, and apply it systematically, we are wandering lost in the maze of sales. This book reveals the causes, confirms that they are real, and then describes a field-tested, classroom-taught system based on what causes sales to close. The results of this system were remarkable. They enabled a relatively unknown, small Midwestern company to vault ahead of well known, multi-billion dollar competitors to become the market leader in the sales and installation of specialized, hospital communication systems that cost well over $1 million installed. This system that works so well for salespeople also works well for people who are interviewing for a job. Its strategy and tactics have also been extensively tested by the author and students of his seminars. It is so basic: every effect has a cause. Once we discover and apply the causes of the buying decision this basic insight becomes transformational. It leads to the modification of most of the current sales approaches, and it introduces new ones.