FREDERICKSBURG, Va., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Who is the world's richest salesman? And how did he get there? Read the October issue of Selling Power to find out how Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, grew the software giant to the pinnacle of success. From the very start of Oracle, Ellison has been the company's best sales rep, selling the company and its strategy to investors and to the business world at large.

If you asked Oracle's CEO the dominant theme of his life's story, he might very well say it was "innovation." But that's only half right. Ellison's story is as much about salesmanship as it is about innovative software. Even as CEO, he spends a large percentage of his time in front of Oracle's customers. He is known as the ultimate closer for Oracle's biggest corporate deals, a sales role that leverages his unique combination of sales acumen and personality.

Ellison's take on how to do business is "top down," meaning that new technology requires structural and organizational change which needs to be driven from the top. Rather than customizing his product, Ellison firmly believes that the customer should adapt their organization to the product. This is anathema in the sales community, but one cannot argue with the fact that it works for Ellison and for Oracle.

"The most important company in the world" -- that is Ellison's vision for Oracle. And it's not just executive puffery. Oracle is already the spinal cord of the business world. If Oracle's software suddenly disappeared, the Internet would fall silent. E-commerce would grind to a halt. Entire sectors of the economy would collapse. That spells a lot of power, wielded by a CEO who some have described as "ruthless."

See the October issue of Selling Power for the full article on Ellison, PLUS a completely up-to-date listing of the SP 500 -- the 500 largest sales forces in America. The manufacturing industry, the service industry, insurance companies, and automotive megadealers are covered in the magazine.

Selling Power magazine is available in print by subscription and it is sold through 2,200 newsstands and Barnes & Noble bookstores. Selling Power also publishes the entire magazine online. For details, go to http://www.sellingpower.com/.

CONTACT: Helen Moriarty of Selling Power, +1-540-752-7000,
HelenMoriarty@sellingpower.com

Web site: http://www.sellingpower.com/

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