Sales Force Automation Inside Outlook

What is Sales Force Automation (SFA)?

Sales Force Automation (SFA) is one of many newer buzz-words in business today. SFA is essentially a system of managing and tracking the sales activities for an individual or for a group of sales professionals. This system allows easy review and retrieval of sales related activities and communication for a specific person, company, or even a specific transaction. The system itself is an established series of steps or business rules designed to provide a structured, repeatable process for managing sales. In the grand scheme of business processes, Sales Force Automation typically falls between Contact Management (the managing of contacts and related information) and Customer Relationship Management (managing all customer information including ordering, invoicing, accounting, support, etc.). When talking about Sales Force Automation you will often find the discussion moves directly to software programs designed for the purpose. In our business environment today Sales Force Automation and Sales Force Automation Software are so closely linked they often become the same topic.

Why use Sales Force Automation for my business?

Sales Force Automation provides your business the ability to review all the sales related activities and communications for the sales professionals you employ. A good SFA system will allow you to review this history for a certain Company account, a specific customer, or even for an individual transaction or deal. SFA gives you a look at your complete sales history as well as a granular look down to a specific deal for a specific salesperson. For a Management team this can be vital in reviewing sales trends, forecasting future business, planning Marketing strategies, and evaluating successes and failures. Sales Force Automation provides a repeatable process for a sales team, allowing the salespeople to easily track the deals they have going with their clients. This typically involves the creation of steps, or Sales Stages, in your sales process which can be followed through to completion of the transaction. There are often action items related to the Sales Stages of a SFA process. All this together creates a familiar and repeatable process which can be refined to improve and streamline sales. For the sales professional it makes tracking the sale easier, and provides a framework of logical "next steps" as they work with their clients. It also allows both the sales professional and Management to analyze each sale to see where it may have gone wrong, or how it went right.

What makes a good Sales Force Automation Software?

There are literally hundreds of products on the market that provide Sales Force Automation functions. Some are designed specifically for that task, while others provide SFA features as part of a larger or associated program. Many companies go in search of Sales Force Automation Software, and find themselves looking at products that do much more than what they need. When looking for SFA software, keep in mind what your goal is: to automate and optimize the sales process. Good Sales Force Automation software focuses on the functions related to this goal, and leaves out the fluff. As mentioned earlier Sales Force Automation software includes more than Contact Management, but is not as overloaded with function and feature modules as Customer Relationship Management.

Managing contact information is an important part of SFA; you must be able to review a history of communication and activity at both the company and contact level. Sales Force Automation software provides advanced Contact Management and focuses on the features and functions related to daily sales activities such as opportunity management, tracking Sales Stages, journaling sales activities, creating follow up actions, and reporting on the Sales Pipeline. Many companies get involved with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) when they are really looking for SFA. The complexity and vastness of many CRM programs quickly becomes overwhelming, and the salespeople stop using it. In order for a Sales Force Automation program to work, the salespeople must be willing to use it. Perhaps even like using it.

How do I choose a good Sales Force Automation Software?

Keep in mind your goal: managing your sales and the related information. Sales Force Automation software should allow you to organize and track your customer information at the individual contact level and at the Company level. It should create a relationship between your contacts and the companies they work for. Reviewing a history of the communication and activities (such as appointments and follow-ups) should be easily done for the contacts and companies. This is all part of good Contact Management, which is part of a strong SFA program. The most vital part of Sales Force Automation Software is the ability to track your sales opportunities. A SFA program should track each deal, the contacts and companies associated with that deal, and all the related communication and activities. When reviewing the emails you sent to a client, it can be very important to know which deal it relates to, and to have a history of the deal when working with the client. This is particularly important if you have multiple sales occurring with the same contact and/or company.

Most importantly, a good Sales Force Automation Software should be easy to use and familiar. As Microsoft Outlook is the default email and calendaring program in business today, those SFA programs that are integrated in Outlook are often the most successful. These programs are similar in appearance and layout to Outlook, offering an immediate familiarity with the application. The ability of a program to use the existing Outlook forms (email, appointment, and task) shortens the learning curve for users and makes acceptance of the new functions much higher.

Creating an effective Sales Force Automation system can be an ever evolving process. Many companies find their SFA system in a constant state of small change. In a constantly changing business environment, this is often a very good thing. Using a well designed and easy to use Sales Force Automation Software can make the development and evolution of this process a much more organized undertaking.

Many of today's most successful large and small businesses have chosen Avidian's CRM Software as their sales management and contact management software.

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Inside Sales Vs Outside Sales - Which One Is For You?

I think at some point in our salesperson lives, we've all been confronted with making the decision of whether or not we want to be in either inside or outside sales. I wanted to address this issue based on my own experiences in order to stimulate your thinking when deciding on which direction you want to go. I have worked on both sides of the sales world in several different endeavors, and usually did pretty well either way. So, to start off, I want to define both concepts as I see them before I deal with the positive and negatives of each.

According to Wikipedia, sales are defined as "the activities involved in providing products or services in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity." There are all types of methods that exist today besides inside and outside sales, but that is the focus of this article so I won't stray from the subject matter at hand.

Basically, with inside sales the customer comes to you at a fixed location of business. The opposite holds true with outside sales. You travel to the customer's residence or place of business. The following is a comparative list of the differences of the two concepts. Though it may not be as complete as it could be, I have covered the critical differences for the purpose of this article.

Inside Sales

--- the customer comes to your business

--- the only travel involves driving to work and then home

--- sales involve products or services, or both, and the sale of an extended warranty sometimes comes into play, and sometimes these warranty issues get handled at store level

--- you usually work a fixed schedule and your place of business has fixed hours of operation

--- the customer comes to you at anytime during hours of store operation and in most cases without an appointment

--- you are usually compensated with an hourly wage or salary depending on your position in the company

Outside Sales

--- you go to the customer's residence or place of business

--- you are constantly traveling to and from an office or place of business and in some instances, out of town

--- sales involve products or services, or both, and the sale of an extended warranty sometimes comes into play

--- your hours are flexible and do not normally involve a schedule, despite the hours of operation of your main office or headquarters

--- you see the customer at a time that is convenient to them as a scheduled appointment

--- you are usually compensated on a commission basis once your sales training period is completed

There may be other differences as I mentioned, but for the sake of this article, I'm going to elaborate on these six that I have listed. Hopefully, this will give you some food for thought when trying to choose the direction you want to go.

Critical Difference #1:

In inside sales, the customer comes to you. You never get to leave the store unless you take a break or go out to get your lunch. In most cases, you're only given a 30 minute lunch break, so you usually end up either bringing your meal back to the store (and hopefully get to eat it without interruption), or you bring a lunch from home or "brown bag" it as it's often called.

With outside sales, you spend the majority of your day away from your office or headquarters. Your time is basically your own, depending on your scheduled appointments, so you can take your breaks and your lunch whenever you see fit, or when your schedule permits. In some cases, outside sales people will brown bag a lunch and find a park or a spot on the side of the road to eat. But most of the time, you are in the fast food line or at a restaurant possibly entertaining a client for their business.

Critical Difference #2:

In inside sales the only traveling you generally do is from your home to your place of work and back when your workday is over. With outside sales, you are always driving from one place to another. You usually start your morning at the office, schedule your appointments, and then you're out of there until your day is finished. In some instances, when you are in territory sales, you travel out of town and stay overnight in hotels and motels.

Critical Difference #3:

It's almost an identical comparison on this one except for the fact that inside sales (specifically in retail) oftentimes involve going out to the customer's house or business to touch up or repair an item that was purchased from your store. Major warranty issues in the retail industry wind up being handled at the manufacturer's level, depending on the item. And the manufacturer usually informs you that it's up to their discretion as to whether they repair or replace the item for you.

Critical Difference #4:

Inside sales is a very predictable animal in the fact that you follow a weekly and hourly schedule. Unless you are salaried and in management, you show up for your shift and then stop for the day based on the schedule prescribed by your supervisor or manager.

It's totally the opposite with outside sales. Your hours are flexible and based on the appointments that you have made for each day that you work. And herein lays another critical issue, namely efficient time management and scheduling. When you're traveling from one appointment to another, you need to be aware of variables here that are non-existent in inside sales (e.g. weather and road conditions, stopping for gas or lunch, etc.). These are variables that you take care of either before or after work, or during your lunch break when you're employed in inside sales.

Critical Difference #5:

Inside sales rarely work on an appointment basis. Whenever a customer walks into your store, and it's your turn to help someone, consider that an appointment. That is why I have always referred to that as an opportunity, not an "up" or a turn on the sales floor. Not so with outside sales. Your sole existence is predicated by that customer or client's desire to meet with you at their convenience and on their turf. Just remember that with outside sales you could be meeting with a client at the crack of dawn or late at night. Your inconvenience is what creates convenience for the customer.

Critical Difference #6

This is the major point of the six issues, and lots of times the determining factor between staying inside and going outside. With inside sales, one of the positives here is that you know that every payday you're getting a check, and you can assume what the amount is going to be. The negative side of this is that's what the paycheck will always be. Some people see this as a security issue to offset the negative, but the only way your income will grow is if you keep climbing the ladder to management. And believe me, that is not for everybody.

With outside sales, the positive is that there is no limit to your earnings, unless your company puts a ceiling or a cap on those earnings. If they do, that's not a company you want to stay with. The negative side to commission sales is that you get what you put into it. There will be paychecks that put you on top of the world. And then there will be paychecks that make you wonder how you're going to get through until the next one. It's sort of the feast or famine syndrome here. Real Estate and auto sales are the first two types of jobs that come to mind in that area.

My best experience in outside sales was in the advertising world. I was an account executive in a couple of printed publications, and also for a local television station. In advertising, your money is made by the contracts you sell and the length of those contracts. Standard contracts are 3-month, 6-month, and annual. I always considered the 6-month and annual contracts to be my bread and butter or my staple income. Any 3-month contract to me was icing on the cake. An interesting note here is that the shorter the length of the contract, the more difficult it is to renew them.

No matter what outside venue you choose, it will require a tremendous amount of due diligence on your part. You have got to be very good at time management and rigorous when it comes to maintaining your appointment schedule. The rule of thumb in sales is that the client keeps you waiting, not the other way around. Is this inconvenient? Sometimes it is. Deal with it. If you're going to make it in outside sales, it is a necessary evil.

Over and above everything else I have mentioned prior to this point, before you even consider a career in either inside or outside sales, you have got to know that you have the mentality and the skills to succeed at this. Believe me, there are some people out there who think they can be a salesperson or an account executive. But in about 90% of the cases, they're better off with a shovel in their hands.

This trade requires talent, and very few people out there have that talent. You have to be able to deal with the highs and lows, so if you have the tendency to snivel when your ego gets bruised, sales are not for you. When you get kicked to the curb, you have to be able to get up, dust yourself off, and go get another one. If you can't see yourself doing this, sales will never be your cup of tea.

Be very careful in your decision making process. If you want security, stick with inside sales. But if you can handle a little risk, and are willing to invest effort, the rewards can be astounding in outside sales. As always, please feel free to e-mail me your comments and questions at no1nyyfan@yahoo.com and I will respond to them as quickly as possible. Happy selling!

http://en.wikipedia.com

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Inside Sales and Service: Your Frontline to Gaining Competitive Advantage

The Evolving Role of Inside Sales and Customer Service Personnel

What role does Inside Sales/Customer Service (IS/CS) play in today's sales process? How does the company leverage the existing relationships between IS/CS and the customer? The answer to this question plays a key role for upper quartile performers. Upper quartile performers understand the important role played by the inside sales person, customer service and counter personnel. "A Player" field sales reps are not threatened by the fact that the majority of inbound calls are handled by IS/CS personnel because the majority of these calls represent a sales opportunity for the company. Customers who call in do so for the main purpose of fulfilling a need, which often leads to the placement of an order. Customers are very dependent upon inside sales personnel for information, suggestions about products, substitution products, application help and expertise, new product information, new services, delivery information and promotional opportunities for cost savings.

Inside sales and customer service personnel have more customer contact than anyone else in the organization. IS/CS people take more than 80% of all orders placed. This means that the IS/CS are in a better position to influence buying behavior than the field sales person. Progressive managers truly understand what that means in regard to market share growth. They know that the consistent use of suggestive selling techniques, up selling and promotions can have a dramatic impact on average order size and increase share of spend in each account. IS/CS personnel traditionally build relationship equity, and many customers would give up their contact with field sales before giving up their relationship with inside sales and customer service personnel. This is the frontline in the battle for success. Customers have not only come to expect it, they demand it. It can become a competitive edge, the differentiator for your business compared to the competition. It's about the commitment the company has made to customer demands for world-class service.

Equal and Critical to the Success Formula

This demand for world-class service makes IS/CS just as important, if not more important, than the outside sales force in driving growth and creating success. Many companies, however, do not fully understand the critical role IS/CS plays in the success formula for increased sales, market share growth and profitability. The reason for this lack of understanding is primarily due to the lack of adequate measurement systems to determine the full scope of work and specific roles of the IS/CS service group. This lack of adequate measurement systems leaves department managers in the dark when trying to determine departmental activity, direct contributions to success and individual productivity. These metrics are necessary to properly design productivity tactics and compensation plans, making sure to consider the group's contribution to the success of the organization as well as their short and long term impacts on customer relationships.

Many companies have not upgraded phone systems to determine the number of inbound calls taken daily by sales people, in addition to measuring call abandonment, average time per call, transfers, voice mail and other metrics important to creating an effective IS/CS support strategy. However, even at those firms that lack these essential metrics, demands are often placed on IS/CS to utilize suggestive selling and up selling techniques on inbound calls. Additionally, many companies assign outbound call responsibility to IS/CS and some even create quotas for these calls.

On an additional note regarding phone systems, some executives were sold on the idea that voice mail could improve IS/CS productivity and address the issue of peak time inbound call burden. Failure to consider the customers' perspective can be a critical mistake. Voice mail cannot enter orders or answer questions. In other words, customers' needs are not handled efficiently at their convenience. It does, however, give the customer some options. Those options include: waiting for the return call, faxing the order or request, or calling a competitor who is better organized and more efficient. Voice mail cuts the customer off and inhibits building relationship equity. It just can't provide analysis and solutions to even the tiniest problem.

Let's Get Real

The reality that exists in most companies today is that IS/CS personnel are extremely busy just handling inbound calls. Some IS/CS personnel may handle up to 100 calls per day and the related task that each call may entail. With the volume of traffic exceeding reasonable expectations regarding their ability to build on relationship equity, most IS/CS personnel are motivated to end each call as quickly as possible to get off the phone and take the next call in the queue. The time they spend with each call is more than just taking orders. These calls may include requests for literature, quotes, expediting, logging and entering claims and complaints, checking inventory, and even fielding calls from outside sales personnel. And on top of the demands that these calls place upon these people, we expect them to take the time to create and maintain relationship equity with the customer, apply suggestive selling techniques, up sell and create a pleasant experience for the customer. And dinosaurs still roam the streets of New York.

Some IS/CS personnel are better than most at using different selling techniques and creating customer relationship equity. It requires specific skills that depend upon product knowledge, probing communication skills, effective listening, and training in both suggestive selling techniques and offering the customer options. However, even the best IS/CS people will stop these practices when the inbound burden becomes too great because they can't take the time to leverage their relationship equity by talking with the customer, exploring options and identifying needs and interests. They go into an expeditious call turnover mode just to keep up with the inbound traffic.

If We Are Lost, How Can We Be Found?

There is no magic answer if you don't have the process and measurements in place to develop an IS/CS initiative that is in alignment with your company strategy. That does not mean you give up. There are alternatives if you are willing to put forth an effort and make an investment. Start slow and minimize your exposure by creating a pilot project. Select one or two of your best IS/CS people to test a systematic approach to increase productivity. Hire a replacement for your IS/CS people that are in the pilot project. This is your investment. This creates adequate staff to handle all inbound traffic. They will handle the entire overflow to allow the pilot personnel to utilize their skill sets to increase sales with suggestive selling techniques and even proactive outbound follow-up calls. That means that the pilot personnel must receive extensive training that includes the items listed below. Management must also understand that call length will increase dramatically.

o Up selling techniques

o Suggestive selling techniques

o Outcall training

o Product training

o Communication and questioning skills

o Needs satisfaction selling that includes:

1. Features and benefits training

2. Value propositioning and value added selling

3. Promotional selling

4. New product and new source introductory selling

5. Service and warranty selling

The results of your pilot project may be surprising. You may conclude that IS/CS can generate opportunistic sales that will increase your share of customer spend. Growth and increased market share may also improve based on the contribution made by IS/CS. Customers respond well to recommendations and suggestions. Given the time needed, IS/CS can provide the kind of information that many customers need to know about your products and services.

However, make no mistake about it, your success will depend on changing management's existing mindset regarding the support necessary to allow for this type of proactive selling. IS/CS cannot effect change on their own as it must be driven and supported by management. Appropriate staffing is a key component to handling inbound calls at a level of adequacy to allow for time to employ proactive selling techniques. Having competent, aggressive and talented people is also an essential ingredient.

As mentioned earlier, metrics are also a necessary ingredient because you can't manage it if you can't measure it. Adequate measurement systems will help identify individual performance and productivity in order to recognize contributions toward success and offer appropriate financial reward. You must evaluate what exists within the IS/CS department and how they function, not only in the normal course of business, but especially during peak times of inbound call frequency. Management must determine if the mindset in IS/CS has gravitated to getting off the phone as quickly as possible. (Some uninformed distributors actually have inbound call quotas.) A study is needed to determine if time is available to allow for selling on inbound calls based on staffing levels and other demands. A technology audit may be necessary to determine what kind of support is built into the existing system in regard to selling prompts for associate parts and other product line suggestions. E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a list of six key measurements that support proactive selling.

Conquering the Counter Conundrum

Counter sales personnel face many of the same issues that IS/CS people face. In fact, the counter sales life becomes one of juggling several balls in the air at the same time and becoming skilled at multi-tasking. Dealing with "will call," customers at the counter, inbound phone calls and whining salesmen creates quite a challenge for the professional counter person. More importantly, this counter conundrum puts customer retention and value at risk.

Again, there is no magic formula to conquer this conundrum and answer the tough questions. These questions include:

o How do you effectively staff the counter?

o How should incoming calls be handled?

o Should a prioritization policy be developed?

o Should the will call counter be separate?

o Should inbound calls from sales people be handled by someone else?

The sales evolution on the customer side of the equation has changed customer awareness, which has led to different service output demands (SODS). These demands now focus on immediate response, cost savings opportunities and an expectation that distributor knowledge and support of their business initiatives go beyond the traditional business model. Counter distractions such as donuts, coffee or popcorn are just not enough to overcome sub-par service standards at peak times. Nothing short of service excellence is acceptable today to retain customers and create competitive advantage.

Creating appropriate solutions to conquer the counter conundrum must be based on branch operational metrics. The starting point is to evaluate this branch data. Increasing counter staff may seem like the obvious solution, but it may do nothing more than increase costs without solving the problem. Through the analysis of these metrics, you must diagnose the real disease and treat it, not the symptoms. Branch data analysis must include determining the pattern of peak times during the day and week for counter sales, incoming calls, will call and other specific counter responsibilities. Sales transactions and line item order entry information by counter sales people are relevant to the diagnosis. Faxes, e-mails, sales and profit trends, inactive and active account trends, average call time, call on hold time, call abandonment and the voice mail connection are all part of the situational analysis.

This analytical diagnosis should help you determine peak activity patterns and sales growth trends by segment, such as will call, phone orders and walk-in trade. Staffing levels and scheduling may then be matched more appropriately according to these patterns. This analysis should also help you determine overtime needs, whether new account development is successful and what your track record is on customer retention. Keeping track of transaction errors and when they occur will also help in conquering the counter conundrum. Don't lose focus on those specific patterns that have the biggest impact on direct customer service. These include: the average wait time at the counter during peak periods, average on-hold time for call-in customers and the percentage of call abandonment. Very specifically, what are the sales trends telling you?

Lastly, don't rely on metrics alone. Talk to your counter pros. You may find out that a large percentage of their time is utilized on activities that don't directly impact customer service and increased sales, such as those activities directed by field sales requesting prices, availability, order status, expediting or other requests that take up time.

Once your analytical diagnosis is complete, you should have a clearer picture of the issues that hinder the ability of your counter pros to maintain world-class service and continuous sales growth. This should lead to a well thought out strategic initiative to address the critical constraints. Possible solutions may include the following:

o Call forwarding to other branches or other personnel during peak periods

o An inbound prioritization schedule

o A separate procedure for handling will call, fax and e-mail orders and field sales requests

o Separating the will call from counter sales

o Training, which can always have an impact on critical constraints

o Improved technology solutions to support field sales and other customer demands

Customers must always come first. This must become a culture, not just a slogan. World-class service must become a core competency if you are going to create competitive advantage and differentiate yourself from the competition. Evaluate cross-functional activities, reporting relationships and tear down any potential silos you uncover. The goal is to leverage the IS/CS sales opportunity and to provide the field sales force with the kind of sales support essential for overall company growth.

Conquering these conundrums is possible, but it takes hard work, analytical diagnosis and a commitment by executive management to address critical constraints and create the systems and processes that make world-class service one of the company's core competencies.

Note: Some information and research for this article was provided by Peg Fisher & Associates. Peg Fisher has since retired but she was one of the early pioneers in the field, paving the way on innovations in inside sales.

Dr. Eric ?Rick? Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in Distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com

Rick received an MBA from Keller Graduate School in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelor's degree in Operations Management from Capital University, Columbus Ohio. Rick recently completed his dissertation on Strategic Leadership and received his Ph.D. He?s also a published book author with four titles to his credit: ?The Toolkit for Improved Business Performance in Wholesale Distribution,? the NWFA & NAFCD ?Roadmap?, Lone Wolf-Lead Wolf?The Evolution of Sales? and a fiction novel about teenagers called ?Shattered Innocence.? Rick is an accomplished speaker and member of NSA. Download sample speaking contract @ http://www.ceostrategist.com

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Janet Reitman's 'Inside Scientology' is well-researched and compelling

Janet Reitman's 'Inside Scientology' is well-researched and compelling - latimes.com p.content-nav { margin:-15px 0px 0px 0px; }#commentsArchive { display: none; visibility: hidden; }#archiveShow, #fbShow { cursor:pointer; } body {background-color:#ffffff !important;}ul#root li.navLink a {padding-top:17px; padding-right:4px; padding-bottom:16px; padding-left: 5px;} Subscribe/Manage Account Place Ad LAT Store Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals Classifieds Custom Publishing Books HOME LOCAL L.A. Now Politics Crime Education O.C. Westside Neighborhoods Environment Obituaries Findlocal U.S. Politics Now Top of the Ticket Science & Environment Obituaries Religion WORLD Afghanistan & Pakistan Africa Asia Europe Iran Iraq Latin America Mexico Under Siege Middle East Business Money & Co. Technology Personal Finance Small Business Company Town Jobs Real Estate Autos SPORTS Lakers Clippers Dodgers Angels NFL Ducks/Kings USC UCLA Soccer High Schools Scores/Stats ENTERTAINMENT Movies Television Music Celebrity Arts & Culture Company Town Calendar The Envelope Findlocal Health Booster Shots Fitness & Nutrition Medicine Behavior Healthcare Reform Hospitals Living Home Food Image Books Findlocal Brand X Magazine Your Scene Cars Travel California Hawaii Mexico Las Vegas Europe Travel & Deal Blog Destinations Opinion Editorials Op-Ed Letters Opinion L.A. Deals Save: Deals Go: Travel Eat: Food Wear: Apparel Live: Everyday Needs Play: Electronics Drive More Mobile Site Subscribe / Manage Account Print Ads Place an Ad LAT Store Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals More Classifieds Weekly Ad#inTheNews {min-height:20px;} Advanced Search Advanced Search X include all of these words: include any of these words: include this exact phrase: exclude: Select a date range this week past 30 days past 3 months past year Create a custom date range From: To: Jacket CopyBooks, authors and all things bookish« Previous |Jacket Copy Home| Next»

Janet Reitman's 'Inside Scientology' is well-researched and compellingJuly 5, 2011 | 11:28am

Many religions are built around spreading their gospels, on sharing the good word and telling their stories. Not so with Scientology, the religion founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s, which has kept its core beliefs under wraps except for the core few who reach a state worthy of enlightenment.

Janet Reitman, who wrote about the Church of Scientology for Rolling Stone, expanded that piece for the book "Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion," out now. Kim Christensen writes that the book, which tells the story of Hubbard and his successor, David Miscavige, is "a well-researched and compelling read." Our review continues:

Intertwined with the church's history is that of Miscavige, who spent his teenage years as one of Hubbard's cadre of young aides. He was 25 when he assumed control in 1986, when "LRH" died as a paranoid recluse on a ranch in Creston, Calif., under investigation by the IRS. Miscavige went on to be instrumental in ending "the war" with the IRS and securing the tax-exempt status that deemed Scientology a church, a financial boon.

Sometimes called "the pope of Scientology," Miscavige in the book lives up to previous reports depicting him as a small but intimidating leader, an occasionally unhinged little tyrant alleged to have frequently whomped his top execs....

Some of the material comes from previously published reports, including a 1990 L.A. Times series and a 2009 series in the St. Petersburgh Times, which Reitman credits. She also includes new research;  Scientology watchers may be interested to see the results of her new research, Christensen writes, singling out the details on the death of Lisa McPherson, a "clear" church member who died in the church's care after suffering a breakdown. Christensen continues:

It would be easy to deride or dismiss many of Scientology's more eccentric elements, such as the long-held secret story of Xenu, the evil tyrant leader of the "Galactic Confederation." Only after reaching an advanced level are Scientologists taught that he killed his enemies with hydrogen bombs 75 million years ago and then captured their souls, or thetans, and electronically implanted them with false concepts. These altered thetans later glommed on to human bodies, the story goes, causing spiritual harm and havoc for mankind.

Even Tom Cruise, the most famous Scientologist, "freaked out" and was like, 'What the …?''' when he learned of it, according to one former member. But in a nice touch of fair play, another ex-member reminds readers that more mainstream religions also have stories that require a long leap of faith. Water into wine? Raising the dead? How plausible are those?

Although the stories of Xenu have been a closely guarded secret, Scientology does spread some of its lessons far and wide. L. Ron Hubbard's book "Dianetics" has been a longtime bestseller.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

 

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