Selling the Hug Your Customers Way

“I don’t know a lot about selling, but I do know a few things about delivering legendary service—and so does Jack Mitchell. The heart of Jack’s approach is the same as my own: the key is to CARE. Read this book and start selling with positive passion!”

— Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The New One Minute Manager® and coeditor of Servant Leadership in Action

“Whether you’re just starting out as a salesperson or a veteran, Selling the Hug Your Customers Way will give you the insights you need to help you take your career to the next level.”

— Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“Jack Mitchell’s book documents what we all know to be true, but rarely practice. The winning formula is knowing your customers and helping them make a purchase—versus being sold. Customer-centricity is at the heart of the Mitchell’s success and translates beautifully into the selling process.”

—Anne Mulcahy, former chairman and CEO, Xerox

“Jack Mitchell has done it again. This clothing store legend both humanizes and systematizes ‘selling’ in this interesting and readable book. And best of all, he links sales to genuinely caring about the customer’s goals, an important link for those who sell—really all of us!”

—Glenn Hubbarb, Dean, Columbia Business School

“This is a must for everyone who is interested in sales—not just in selling things but in selling yourself to people in a way that they will support you and never forget you. Read it!”

— Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of the Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

“Both salesmen and customers will benefit from reading Jack Mitchell’s book on how to benefit from buyer and seller relationships.”

—Arthur Levitt, former chairman SEC

“In the world of high-end clothes and jewelry, Jack Mitchell is a superstar. In the world of salesmanship, he’s a modern-day Dale Carnegie. And in the world of business how-to books, his Selling the Hug Your Customers Way is the inspirational equivalent of How to Win Friends and Influence People. For Jack, ‘hugging your customer’ is a metaphor for showing that you care and for making a human connection. It creates an experience that customers revere and reward. His mantra—‘think people’—translates into a six-step process that can fit on an index card. But I recommend that you read the whole book. It’s full of wisdom, humor and practical advice that can benefit anyone, regardless of their calling.”

—Andy Sieg, Head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

“The great Spanish writer Baltasar Gracián wrote that ‘metals can be recognized by the sound they make, people by the words they say. If it is true that integrity can be read in words, actions will reveal it even better.’ This is all the more true for work, where human dignity must be especially safeguarded. Secondly, quality of relations as well as products enables us to strike true and long-lasting bonds.

For this reason, Jack Mitchell’s book testifies to the work performed for half a century by a passionate family of idealists, a family who found in the soul the source of its great thoughts and steadfast human relationships.”

—Brunello Cucinelli, CEO, Brunello Cucinelli

“This book will change you! Selling the Hug Your Customers Way will bring you closer to your customers, strengthen the power of your team, and transform the way you sell. Anchored to wisdom born from Jack Mitchell’s business success, you’ll find practical and impactful tools on how to authentically personalize emotional connections. Jack says ‘everything is selling,’ and I’ll add ‘every-thing is personal.’ This book brings those concepts together, as it teaches the art and skill of ‘personal selling.’”

— Joseph Michelli, PhD, New York Times #1 bestselling author of The New Gold Standard, Driven to Delight, and Leading the Starbucks Way

“Selling wisdom from a real professional who loves his business and his customers.”

— Jim Kilts, founder and partner, Centerview Capital, former CEO Gillette Company

“Jack absolutely nails it . . . again. Selling the Hug Your Customers Way not only provides a pragmatic guide to the mechanics of selling, it also highlights the fundamental dignity of selling. Selling is an honored profession and the fundamental building block of any business. As a ‘life-long salesman,’ I think this book should be required reading for every salesman and executive.”

—Marc Lautenbach, CEO, Pitney Bowes

"Jack’s books always deliver messages to its readers that are never elling the Hug Your Customers Wayelling the Hug Your Customers Waya surprise but always wise. His books tell you what you already know but in a way you will never forget. Selling the Hug Your Customers Way is quintessential Jack. Net, it is all about enabling your customers and clients to be successful buyers. In the eyes of the customers and clients, the bestsellers are the most positive, the most passionate, the most personable, the most enabling and as a result, the most successful.”

— Nick Donofrio, IBM Fellow Emeritus; IBM Executive Vice President Innovation and Technology

“In true Jack Mitchell fashion, Selling the Hug Your Customers Way is honest and energizing; in fact it’s game changing. Out of over 1,000 business books I’ve read, this is the first to capture the elegant process of allowing people to buy. I’ve witnessed the hug philosophy in Jack’s keynotes, where the audience is frankly glued to the message.”

—Robert Reiss, host and CEO, The CEO Forum