Within the ocean of well-written sales books with future-proof advice, “The Wentworth Prospect” stands out as a clever novel showing an holistic sales approach called EDVANCE along a structured way to succeed in complex B2B opportunities.

The two Australian sales veterans John Smibert and Wayne Moloney used their first-hand experience in sales leadership roles over decades to tell a comprehensive story on how to win a large deal as a smaller vendor. Novelist and communication specialist Jeff Clulow crafted relatable characters and a realistic story flow to achieve an excellent narrative.

The Sales Director of a fictive software vendor dies in a car accident leaving behind a draft of a new methodology to win complex opportunities in the tech sector for the main character, sales representative Sue Novak. She uses his script for a prospective case to solve a cyber security attack of a large bank against a leading firewall competitor.

Following the hero’s journey around the letters of the acronym EDVANCE, Sue demonstrates the need for a detailed discovery aligning on the problem to solve. Paired with insights about the different archetypes involved, their own motivation and individual power battles, the book shows how to navigate modern deals (and how not). With plenty of Aussie expressions and anecdotes, it is a joy to follow the entertaining story from cliff-hangers to obstacles, from ignorance to change and from trial to proof.

Some sentences appear like wakeup calls for the characters – and for the reader. Here are some examples: “Pitching too hard and too fast can create distrust”, ”You don’t set yourself the hard task of trying to gain consensus on the solution, you gain consensus on the problem to begin with?” and “When these deepest needs and realisations are evident, this will be their discovery.” Compared to other sales books, those quotes are often placed in dialogues and allow the reader to witness the change approach within the involved people.

Paired with the online resources mentioned after most chapters, this book is adaptable for every serious sales representative and sales manager. The way to Engage as the start of this authentic methodology includes Sue’s Social Selling activities as a well-perceived expert in her industry. The detailed Discovery process turns into a consensus with relevant stakeholders – at a moment when old-school sales reps would already send an offer.

The following steps Value, Authenticate and Negotiate lead the protagonists through a realistic rollercoaster while the page-turning Commit stage leads into an exciting showdown. Beyond the story itself, the authentic selling structure is shown as a simple step-by-step process for every salesperson to apply.

Compared to most sales books out there, “The Wentworth Prospect” has a unique approach to demonstrate how a smaller vendor can win a large deal, told as a wonderful story. Most professionals in the B2B sales arena will relate to the behaviour of some characters with people they know. This book works for sales managers and sales reps alike, for decision makers on the buying side, and for C-Suite executives to better understand the challenges of their sales teams.

Good stories last much longer in our memory than non-fiction books in their rather “dry” way to teach whatever topic. Every aspiring author can learn from this book how to describe scenarios and characters in a realistic way. Future book writers might be warned though that writing a fictional story like “The Wentworth Prospect” needs time and help from experienced authors.

We like to do business with people (or read books from authors) we know, like and trust. Witnessing the work of Wayne and John for many years in person, I might add to this sentence: the three authors of “The Wentworth Prospect” also educate, entertain and inspire with quite a bit of magic!

Q&A with Wayne Moloney and John Smibert

1. What was the deciding moment to write this book?

As partners and sales professionals, we spent many years throwing pebbles into the ocean of B2B selling organisations hoping for positive change.

The impact for the few companies close to us and their customers, has been gratifying. Many have achieved significant sustainable growth in sales and revenue. Deep partner relationships have developed with customers that are highly valued by both parties.

However, a pebble does not cause a tsunami. So, the deciding moment was when we realised we needed to create an earthquake to drive this tsunami of widespread sustainable change in the B2B sales world. In short, our vision for a ground-breaking book emerged.

That said, another sales book was never going to be the answer. There are already thousands of these, and more being published every week. We felt the best way to change people's thinking and behaviour is with stories. So, we decided a sales novel was the way to go. We tried for years to write it yet were never satisfied.

And then along came Jeff Clulow, advertising writer and novelist. And our vision came alive.

2. How long did it take from concept to launch?

It was a very, very long process. Had we simply written a handbook or textbook style sales manual it would have been much shorter than the six years we invested. But then we wouldn’t have had an award-winning, best-selling sales novel that portrays great selling practices in a good story. We took this approach as stories are one of the best ways for people to learn.

3. How did you perform the research to create the practical content?

It is largely born out of the business and sales leadership experiences of the three of us. None of us are strangers to boardroom politics and corporate chicanery, which forms a large part of the content of this book.

John and Wayne also studied many sales and strategy frameworks and processes that led to the development of the EDVANCE framework. We also leveraged research into how decisions were made in organisations which led to the development of the Stakeholder Archetypes that are demonstrated in the story. These help the hero salesperson, Sue Novak, to strategically assist the buying unit to reach consensus.

4. What was the biggest challenge along the process (and how did you overcome it)?

The greatest challenge was transforming a sales manual into a riveting novel.

We had to turn our practical, informative 'how-to' aspects of strategic B2B sales into a page-turning story complete with conflict, emotions, successes, defeats, and compelling characters.

After a few failed attempts, we (John and Wayne) realised we were good writers but weren’t great novelists. Bringing Jeff Clulow into the collaboration solved this.

5. What was your own reflection along the journey?

This was a great collaboration and blending of skills. A real team effort. We honestly doubt whether three other writers could ever have complemented each other so effectively or arrived at such a result.

We all learned so much from each other during this process. For instance, Jeff had to learn how to become an effective salesperson before he could block out the story, and John and Wayne had new things to learn about crafting effective fiction. In the end, it gave us all a greater respect for each other's expertise.

6. What is the outcome in having this book available?

It's something all three of us can point to and feel proud of. We are excited that it’s helping make a transformational difference to many organisations and their sales team members.

The greatest buzz is having people tell us they are using this book in their own training programs, and others tell us this book helped them land the deal of their life.

7. What would you advise others about writing their book?

Have a tested idea. Have a viewpoint. Look at overlooked or misunderstood areas. Be topical, address current trends and needs. If your book isn't different, wildly different, yet authentic it’ll never find a readership.

John Smibert, Wayne Moloney, Jeff Clulow: “The Wentworth Prospect”, MoshPit Publishing August 2021, ISBN 978-1-922628-52-7 (Paperback), 978-1-922628-53-4 (Audiobook), 978-1-922628-54-1 (Kindle)

More about book and authors: www.edvance.sale