From the Publisher
Adrian is a deep friend and business partner. Here, his true depth of wisdom wrapped in narrative and metaphor is on full display. This book will fundamentally reframe your perspective and approach to how you “occupy your space” in the future of strategic selling. He has drawn on the wisdom of the ages and made it consumable for all of us to be a “special resource” in our personal and professional lives. This book is a true gift for you to unwrap and then give away as you make resulting changes to how you engage with others in life and work. Unpack, unwrap, and unleash the tools and design principles Adrian has curated and created for us all.
—Phil Styrlund
CEO, The Summit Group
Hero’s, Villain’s, and the Thrill of Professional Selling is the type of book that can transform the way you interact with others. Adrian has developed a framework based on proven neuroscience concepts that is a meaningful, compelling, and enjoyable concept. Stories have nurtured our lives since our childhoods. In this book, Adrian shows us how to leverage the full potential of stories thru an analogy that speaks to anyone. It’s a very powerful tool that can be applied even in your personal life (try it with your kids, it works!).
—Florent Bühler
Digital Marketing Innovation Director, MSD France
Adrian uses the very relatable analogy of moviemaking to describe how salespeople can go from good to great. If you’re looking for a compelling, punchy read that will challenge your assumptions about your role in sales, the role of your customers, and the companies you’re targeting, you’ve found the right book. We all want to be heroes in our own organization. This book shows you how, if you’re prepared to side-step that role in your customers’ own stories, you can achieve exactly that.
—Catherine Grainger
Development & Education Manager, 3M
This is a great piece of work! In this book, Adrian succeeds in drawing a parallel between selling and making a movie. A must-read for understanding who the real “hero” in the sales process should be.
—Lonnie Essex
VP of Global Accounts, AVI-SPL
I was blown away by the innovative approach taken in this book. The use of movie analogies to illustrate key points made it not only relatable and easy to follow, but also highly memorable. As a sales leader, I found this book to be an invaluable resource for inspiring my team and helping us stay relevant to our customers. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to take their sales strategies to the next level.
—Susan Milwit
Global Account Manager, AVI-SPL
I’m a huge film buff, and I write about sales and marketing. If anyone had told me movie production was like sales, I would have waved them away. And then I read Heroes, Villains, and the Thrill of Professional Selling. In his book, Adrian Davis uses stories to reveal their power in sales settings. Through movie metaphors, readers learn how the hero’s story applies to sales and how to craft emotional, personal stories that guide buyers on a journey in which they emerge as the hero in their new world. (Yes, that C-suite decision maker is like Tom Hanks’s role in Captain Philip.) More than that, though, Davis gives readers concrete strategies and methods to help salespeople write and direct their own winning buyer experiences. If you are a salesperson or manage a team of sellers, add this book to your reading list.
—Michelle Davidson
Marketer and Media Strategist, Allego
I absolutely love this book! The concepts and tools that Adrian shares are all so logical and easy to comprehend. Adrian takes us on a journey through the process of selling, which is truly like a movie, with a hero, characters, cast members, and a villain. As we go through this journey, Adrian tells it in such a relatable and engaging way, all the while sharing his own story, as well as tips, techniques, and tools that have helped him to be successful. I was immediately drawn in and can easily apply the concepts to any sales situation!
—Kat McQuade
Director of Technical Training, TPL Composites, Inc.
Adrian Davis should be locked up in chains for giving away the keys to the customer centricity castle! Davis’s inspiring approach is elegant but refreshingly simple. He replaces hardwired product-focused selling—the kind of old school sales mindset that's nearly everybody's default—with what he calls the Hero’s Journey. As a commercial sales leader and serial life-long learner, Adrian teaches his own special innovation that has been crafted over thirty years; it's a nonjudgmental, nonreactive way of developing key skills for account development and management through lessons of listening, storytelling, relationship building, and most importantly, recognizing who the hero is in your personal movie. While most reads can feel like they are written in an ivory tower, Adrian’s real-world application offers clarity and calm in the critical moments before taking decisive action as we work to close the first of many opportunities with must-win customers.
—Paul Lazzaro
Director of Talent Management and Leadership Development, Otsuka
I highly recommend Heroes, Villains, and the Thrill of Professional Selling for anyone looking to improve their sales skills. Adrian Davis provides valuable insights, strategies, and techniques to effectively communicate with potential customers, build lasting relationships, and close deals. The book is filled with compelling stories that are relatable and easy to understand along with practical tips and real-world examples. Whether you're a seasoned sales professional or just starting, this book is packed with valuable insights and actionable advice that will help you close more deals and boost your sales performance. It's a must-read for anyone looking to take their sales game to the next level.
—Mark Wickware
SVP and NA Leader, GrowthSpace
True to his message, Adrian shares a comprehensive set of tools and proven sales methodologies by applying the book’s own underlying theme—the power of storytelling. Each page feels like a personal conversation with Adrian himself, approachable, emotional, engaging. Behind every concept shared are our own real sales successes, heroic journeys, and lessons learned. Adrian brings honour and meaning to the science and art that is professional selling, and he has provided us with a book to be read and revisited as a compass for anyone with a vision, a message, or a purpose they are seeking to advance.
—Brett Bailey
VP Sales, WBM Technologies
It’s time to refresh your thinking and update your approach! Hero’s, Villain’s, and the Thrill of Professional Selling will take you to the next level. New to your role? This book is a must-read to jump start your career in strategic account management. Adrian Davis’s creative approach with practical application includes proven methods and processes that align with today’s strategic business visions, allowing you to attain your personal and professional goals.
The Hero’s Journey is outlined perfectly and is reiterated throughout the book for continued understanding. This provides the opportunity to create and live out your own “story.”
This book offers a multitude of resources to assist you throughout your sales and strategic account management journey. Utilize these resources to enhance your engagement with a capital E!
—Debbie DeBolt
Senior Key Account Manager, Bellevue University– Corporate Learning Solutions
Adrian changed my sales team’s mindset and our approach to our customers. By implementing his methods, we changed our relationship with key accounts from being just another vendor to a valued strategic partner. We’ve also renewed numerous, very large agreements as a result. Engaging Adrian Davis is one of the best investments we’ve ever made.
—Blake Jarrell
Director, Customer Success,TRIOSE, Inc.; Former operations manager, AmerisourceBergen
