Abc's Of Relationship Selling Through Service - 2026 Release
PART 1 SELLING AS A PROFESSION
Chapter 1: The Life, Times, and Career of the Professional Salesperson
Chapter 2: Ethics First . . . Then Customer Relationships
PART 2 PREPARATION FOR RELATIONSHIP SELLING
Chapter 3: The Psychology of Selling: Why People Buy
Chapter 4: Communication for Successful Selling: How to Build Relationships
Chapter 5: Sales Knowledge: Customers, Products, Technologies
PART 3 THE RELATIONSHIP SELLING PROCESS
Chapter 6: Prospecting—The Lifeblood of Selling
Chapter 7: The Pre-approach—Planning Your Sales Call and Presentation
Chapter 8: The Approach—Begin Your Presentation Strategically
Chapter 9: The Presentation—Elements of Effective Persuasion
Chapter 10: Objections—Address Your Prospect’s Concerns
Chapter 11: Closing—The Beginning of a New Relationship
Chapter 12: Follow-up—Maintain and Strengthen the Relationship
PART 4 SELLING ENVIRONMENTS
Chapter 13: Retail, Business, Services, and Nonprofit Selling
Appendix A: Sales Arithmetic and Pricing
Appendix B: Personal Selling Experiential Exercises
The Canadian 2026 Release of ABC’s of Relationship Selling through Service reflects the evolving nature of sales in a post-pandemic world, where professionals navigate between remote, face-to-face, and hybrid approaches to building client relationships. The 2026 Release emphasizes technological advancements, showcasing innovative tools like CRM systems, social media platforms, and artificial intelligence that are reshaping the sales landscape. Agnihotri highlights the importance of ethical behavior, emotional intelligence, and predictive analysis in fostering trust and long-term business relationships.
Guided by feedback from sales experts, educators, and students, the 2026 Release incorporates updated objectives, expanded topics, and practical selling tips. Ethical dilemmas and professionalism are central themes, encouraging students to reflect on their own values while learning actionable strategies. The text also features updated success stories and career profiles from industry professionals, inspiring students to explore diverse career pathways in sales. Enhanced discussions on social media tools like LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube provide insights into their application in professional selling.
Written by experienced salespeople turned educators, Agnihotri et al combines real-world expertise with academic rigor to prepare students for today’s competitive and increasingly digital marketplace. With decades of teaching and industry experience, the authors have refined the strategies and techniques presented in the text, ensuring relevance and practicality. ABC’s of Relationship Selling through Service equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the dynamic world of professional sales.
New and Current Canadian Content. The 2026 Release of Agnihotri ABC’s of Relationship Selling through Service delivers fresh and relevant Canadian content tailored to today’s evolving sales landscape. With updated statistics, real-world examples like Cineplex’s pricing practices, and expanded coverage of ethical responsibilities in Canadian companies, the 2026 Release reflects the unique challenges and opportunities within the Canadian market
Real-World Applications and Success Stories
13 new or updated Sales Success Stories spotlighting career pathways and advice from sales professionals. The 2026 Release also features new cases and application questions added across chapters to provide hands-on learning opportunities.
Application-Based Activities
Available in Connect, these highly interactive brief simulations that bridge the gap between theory and real-world application, challenging students to apply multiple concepts and make data-informed decisions in qualitative or quantitative contexts.
Focus on Virtual Selling and Ethical Sales Practice
The 2026 Release showcases expanded emphasis on virtual selling techniques and best practices for video meetings. There is new content highlighting ethical behavior in sales, including examples of ethical dilemmas and racial discrimination reports. This release reinforces sales philosophy of treating other unselfishly, aligning with ethical principles.
Enhanced Sales Tools and Technology Integration.
The new 2026 Release has added coverage of AI, analytics, CRM, automation and conversational intelligence software to reflect industry trends.
Focus on Selling through Service. Agnihotri focuses on taking care of the customer through exceptional customer service.
Practical Approach. A practical approach to selling helps students build and advance their selling skills in today's business environment. Practical applications include sales application questions, sales online exercises, and student application learning exercises.
Real World Relevance. Expert industry perspectives, sales success stories, cases, and ethical dilemma exercises are included in each chapter.
Sales Application Learning Exercises (SALES). At the end of appropriate chapters, this multipart, sequential exercise guides students through the process of preparing an effective sales presentation. Cases for Analysis: Each chapter ends with one or more brief but substantive cases for student analysis and class discussion. These cases provide an opportunity for students to apply concepts to real events and to sharpen their diagnostic skills for sales problem solving.
Playing the Role. At the end of most chapters, students are presented with a real-life sales problem. They are then asked to assume a particular role and dramatize their solution to the problem. Sales Application Questions: The sales application questions are a complementary learning tool that enables students to check their understanding of key issues, think beyond basic concepts, and determine areas that require further study.
Further Exploring the Sales World. These projects ask students to go beyond the textbook and classroom to explore what’s happening in the real world. Projects can be altered or adapted to the instructor’s school location and learning objectives for the class.
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SmartBook®. Within Connect, students have access to SmartBook, McGraw Hill’s adaptive learning and reading resource. SmartBook creates a safe space for learning and confidence building, as students receive immediate and meaningful feedback to help guide their study. By prompting students with questions and assessing individual answers, SmartBook learns what a student knows and identifies which topics they need to practice, giving each student a personalized learning experience and path to success.
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