New Sales. Simplified.: The Essential Handbook for Prospecting and New Business Development

Overview

New Sales. Simplified. is a 12-year bestseller with over 2,000 five-star Amazon reviews. It removes the mystery from prospecting and provides a proven formula for finding, developing, and closing deals. No gimmicks, no manipulation—just fundamental sales skills that work.

The Core Message

Sales is simple, but not easy. Success comes from doing the fundamentals consistently:

• Target the right prospects
• Make effective contact
• Tell a compelling story
• Ask for the business

Key Principles

• Prospecting is Non-Negotiable: If you don't have prospects, you don't have a business
• Activity Drives Results: You can't manage outcomes, but you can manage activity
• Your Story Matters: Lead with business value, not product features
• Target Selection is Strategic: Focus on accounts you can win and that are worth winning
• Phone is Not Dead: Combined with email and social, it's your most powerful tool

The New Sales Simplified Framework

1. Selecting Targets

• Create a strategic list of target accounts
• Focus on prospects who need what you sell and can afford it
• Resist the temptation to chase everyone
• Quality over quantity in target selection

2. Creating Weapons

• Sales story: Why should prospects care about you?
• Phone voicemail script that gets callbacks
• Prospecting emails that get opened and responded to
• LinkedIn messaging that starts conversations
• Referral request scripts

3. Planning the Attack

• Monthly planning: set activity goals
• Weekly planning: schedule prospecting blocks
• Daily execution: protect your prospecting time
• Use a CRM to track everything

4. Making Contact

• Phone + email + social = the trifecta
• The "3x3" contact cadence
• Leaving voicemails that differentiate you
• Email subject lines that get opened
• LinkedIn techniques that feel natural, not salesy

5. Conducting Sales Calls

• Discovery: understand their business and pain
• Presentation: lead with business value, not features
• Handling objections without being defensive
• Trial closes throughout the conversation

6. Advancing and Closing

• Always leave with a next step
• Ask for the business (most salespeople don't)
• Handle price objections confidently
• Know when to walk away

What Founders Will Learn

• How to create a target prospect list strategically
• Crafting a sales story that resonates
• Prospecting techniques that actually work in 2026
• Balancing phone, email, and social outreach
• Conducting discovery calls that uncover real needs
• Presenting solutions that prospects want to buy
• Closing techniques that feel natural

Why This Matters for Founders

Most founders:

• Hate prospecting (Weinberg makes it manageable)
• Don't have a sales process (he provides one)
• Focus on product, not customer needs (he fixes this)
• Avoid asking for the business (he shows you how)

The "Sales Story"

Your sales story should answer:

• Who are we and why should you care?
• What business issues do we address?
• What results do clients get from working with us?
• Who specifically have we helped and how?

Lead with business outcomes, not your product's features.

On Prospecting Activity

Weinberg is blunt: Most salespeople fail because they don't prospect enough. He provides specific activity targets:

• Proactive prospecting time: 40-50% of your week
• New conversations started per week: specific targets
• Proposals sent per month: track it
• Pipeline coverage: 3-4x your quota

Common Mistakes Addressed

• Chasing unqualified prospects
• Talking about your product instead of their problems
• Not asking for the business
• Giving up after one or two attempts
• Letting inbound leads distract from proactive prospecting
• Over-relying on social media instead of picking up the phone

About the Author

Mike Weinberg is a sales consultant, speaker, and author. He's been named a Top Sales Influencer by Forbes and OpenView Labs. His approach is direct, practical, and proven across thousands of sales professionals.

Style

Weinberg writes like he talks: straight, no-nonsense, sometimes blunt. He has zero patience for excuses or sales "tricks." He believes in doing the fundamentals well and consistently.

Audience

Perfect for:

• Founders doing their own sales
• Sales leaders building teams
• Individual contributors who need to prospect
• Anyone in B2B sales or services

Published by AMACOM Books in 2013. ISBN: 978-0-8144-3177-1. Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook (narrated by the author himself).