The sad case of Bob Beck: author of Mutual Respect, founder of the "Quid Pro Quo" sales training.
When my colleagues began posting last week about Bob Beck's plagiarism, I was stunned. I couldn't believe any professional would stoop that low.
But the proof was overwhelming. You can read about it here:
So tonight I decided to investigate if Bob Beck had taken any of my content. Within moments, I discovered an article of Kelley Robertson's that had been co-opted and immediately notified him.
Then seconds later, I found the smoking gun! His article called Low Hanging Fruit was a mirror image of my article on The Seduction of Low-Hanging Fruit.
Here are the first six paragraphs from my article:
I remember the first time it happened. It was on a Thursday, about 4 pm, and I was worn-out after a day of cold calling. I hadn't uncovered even one viable prospect. Enough was enough! Time to go back to the office and do some paperwork.
When the phone rang, I answered it tiredly. But by the time I hung up I was a new person. I had just talked to one hot prospect!
Her company was BUYING! Not just looking - BUYING! They needed several new systems to handle their growth. And they wanted to make a decision quickly.
"Can we come in for a demonstration," she asked.
How could I refuse! They came in the following Monday and we spent about two hours together. We discussed their needs and I showed them several possible options. Things seemed to go really well. In parting, they asked me to call back early the next week.
Tuesday morning I left a message. Wednesday and Friday too. My calls were never returned. It wasn't till a week later that I finally got my prospect on the phone. She thanked me for my hard work, fast service and excellent demonstration. Then, very apologetically, she told me they'd selected another vendor.
He writes (or should I say copies) this on his The CEO's Trusted Advisor (ha ha!) blog:
(Note: His blog is no longer on line, but is still viewable in Google's cache.)
I remember the first time it happened. It was on a
Thursday, about 5 pm, and I was worn-out after a day of cold calling. I
hadn't uncovered even one viable prospect. Enough was enough!
When the phone rang, I answered it tiredly. But by the time I hung up I was a new person. I had just talked to a hot prospect!
Her company was BUYING! Not just looking - BUYING! They needed several
new systems to handle their growth. And they wanted to make a decision
quickly.
"Can we come in for a demonstration," she asked.
How could I refuse (not applying the Quid Pro Quo Sales approach)! They
came in the following Monday and we spent about two hours together. We
discussed their needs and I showed them several possible options.
Things seemed to go really well. In parting, they asked me to call back
early the next week.
Tuesday morning I left a message. Wednesday and Friday too. My calls
were never returned. It wasn't till a week later that I finally got my
prospect on the phone. She thanked me for my hard work, fast service
and excellent demonstration. Then, very apologetically, she told me
they'd selected another vendor.
The only difference? He inserted 6 words about his company. The rest of the article is virtually identical. He never identifies me as the author. In fact, he ends the article with:
You will find more stories and tips like this in the book Mutual Respect www.MutualRespect.net To learn more about the Quid Pro Quo Sales Approach visit www.SalesBuilders.com
If it was a singular happening, I'd let it go with an admonition to add attribution. But it's not. It's a clear pattern of behavior. I suspect if I searched more, I'd find other articles that have been plagiarized.
I'll be sending Bob Beck a note shortly. If necessary, I'll get my attorney involved. In the meantime, I don't want any of you to be fooled.
Here are all the links I could find for Bob Beck's sales training business:
Also, besides billing himself as a "sales trainer" of Quid Pro Quo selling, Bob Beck also calls himself an international keynote speaker, sales guru, best selling author and trusted advisor.
What makes this so sad is that Bob Beck is probably good at what he does. He didn't have to do use other people's words as his own. But he did - and it totally destroys his credibility.
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Key words: Bob Beck, sales training, sales trainer, customized sales training, solution selling, executive selling, strategic selling, lead generation, sales prospecting, sales force training, sales training program.