Technical Sales Services
The Novel
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Technical Sales Services |
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The Novel |
| "It's a page turner! I couldn't leave the bathroom!"
- David Lawrence of... 
Listen to the interview with David Lawrence (9mb mp3 file) |
"It's the first, and, to our knowledge, only novel ever written about the software industry that gets it 'right.'"
Download the interview (PDF) with Rick Chapman, author of In Search of Stupidity |
"It's the first, and, to our knowledge, only novel ever written about the software industry that gets it 'right.'"
Download the PDF  |
"Selling AirTM is the definitive chronicle of startup culture during the tech bubble.
Anyone who wants to learn about the inner motivations and personalities of software companies
- and be entertained at the same time - should read Selling Air."
"If you've ever worked in the software or high-technology industry as a software salesman,
sales engineer, product manager, coder or business development type,
I guarantee that once you dive into Selling AirTM you won't come UP for air until you reach the last page.
The hero of the book is a stalwart, battle-hardened software salesman who,
accompanied by his naive, idealistic, but loyal sales engineer, sallies forth everyday in pursuit of that elusive Grail
pursued by every member of every sales force worldwide: his "Number" (know more prosaically to most of us as a quota).
Standing in our heroes' path are a Dickensian cast of characters who include psychotic MIS types, evil CEOs, clueless customers,
compulsively foul-mouthed members of upper management, dreamy-eyed engineers, parasitic ne'er do wells from business development
and an arch villain from a rival firm, an unscrupulous, sell-your-mother-type sales pustule who will say or do
anything to get your signature on that purchase order. (You know, like the guy who was in your office last week.)
The first in a projected trilogy, Selling AirTM is also a powerful educational tool.
If you want or need to understand the technical, psychological, and business issues and problems that
drive the world of high tech, this book provides them in an accurate and fun- to-read framework.
CEOs, entrepreneurs, and managers of all stripes, you need some Air."
- Merrill R. (Rick) Chapman
"Selling AirTM is a totally fascinating not-very-fictitious saga of life inside a high tech start-up.
It describes all at once why high technology succeeds and fails at the same time, and why those who get close enough to participate have their lives wrecked,
transformed, and enriched in ways that they could not at all predict.
This inside look at a modern runaway train explains why traditional ethics and truthfulness become increasingly difficult to maintain, and after a while makes you want to hide someplace quiet.
For those of you who imagine that this is too wild to be true, it's not. For those of you who suspect that this life is too hectic and confusing to be real,
it's not.
For those of you who long to participate in the excitement of a high technology start up, read the book.
It's as exciting as experiencing it personally, and you'll live a lot longer." - Jim Green, CEO, Composite Software; founder and ex-CEO, Active Software
“Dan Herchenroether has written the first novel to capture the reality of Silicon Valley: a weird cast of characters all in pursuit of 'the number'.
Selling AirTM works on a number of levels: it's a tale of the roller coaster economics of Silicon Valley, but it's also a tale of pursuit." - Zack Urlocker, VP Marketing, MySql; founder and editor, ValleyOfTheGeeks.com
"Selling AirTM is a great read that is as close to the real world of selling
technology software as it gets! This inside look of selling software to the
Fortune 2000 companies during the dot com craze brings to light the hidden
motivating factors that drive technology software companies. After you read
the book it becomes easier to understand the motivations that lead to the
breakdown within the walls of Enron and MCI occurred."
- Patrick B. Stewart, Managing Director, Idea Foundry
“Funny, after finishing Selling AirTM, I often think about the characters as situations in my real life go flying by.
Everything is too close to reality!”
- Gary Limongello, Veteran sales manager: Informix, Platinum, Active Software, Ariba (among others)
- M. R. Rangaswami, co-founder, Managing Director, Sand Hill Group
"Selling AirTM is a page turning, high-tech blast!"
Author,
In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disaster
and
The Product Marketing Handbook for Software