Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Released August 2010
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470617861

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Book description

Of the 17 million people in the U.S. who are involved directly or indirectly in sales, many repeatedly acknowledge facing four major challenges:

  1. No prior sales education or training

  2. Lack of formalized sales training, resources, and methodologies provided by their companies

  3. Due to the recession and downsizing era, lack of 12-18 month professional sales training for new hires provided by Fortune 500 companies

  4. A consistent struggle to keep their sales force, distributors, manufacturers reps and affiliates motivated and focused on effectively selling their products and services

Mastering the World of Selling helps companies and entrepreneurs overcome these four major obstacles with candid advice and winning strategies from the leading sales trainers and training companies in the world:

  • Acclivus

  • AchieveGlobal

  • Action Selling

  • Tony Allesandra

  • Brian Azar

  • Baker Communications, Inc.

  • Mike Bosworth

  • Ian Brodie

  • Ed Brodow

  • Mike Brooks

  • Bob Burg

  • Jim Cathcart

  • Robert Cialdini PhD

  • Communispond, Inc.

  • Tim Connor

  • CustomerCentric Selling

  • Dale Carnegie

  • Sam Deep

  • Bryan Dodge

  • Barry Farber

  • Jonathan Farrington

  • Jeffrey Fox

  • Colleen Francis

  • FranklinCovey Sales Performance Solutions

  • Thomas A. Freese

  • Patricia Fripp

  • Ari Galper

  • General Physics Corporation

  • Jeffrey Gitomer

  • Charles H. Green

  • Ford Harding

  • Holden International

  • Chet Holmes

  • Tom Hopkins

  • Huthwaite, Inc.

  • Imparta, Ltd.

  • InfoMentis, Inc.

  • Integrity Solutions

  • Janek Performance Group, Inc.

  • Tony Jeary

  • Dave Kahle

  • Ron Karr

  • Knowledge-Advantage, Inc.

  • Jill Konrath

  • Dave Kurlan

  • Ron LaVine

  • Kendra Lee

  • Ray Leone

  • Chris Lytle

  • Paul McCord

  • Mercuri International

  • Miller Heiman, Inc.

  • Anne Miller

  • Dr. Ivan Misner

  • Michael Macedonio

  • Sharon Drew Morgen

  • Napoleon Hill Foundation

  • Michael Oliver

  • Rick Page

  • Anthony Parinello

  • Michael Port

  • Porter Henry

  • Prime Resource Group, Inc.

  • Neil Rackham

  • Revenue Storm

  • Linda Richardson

  • Keith Rosen

  • Frank Rumbauskas

  • Sales Performance International, Inc.

  • Sandler Training

  • Dr. Tom Sant

  • Stephan Schiffman

  • Dan Seidman

  • Blair Singer

  • Terri Sjodin

  • Art Sobczak

  • Drew Stevens, PhD

  • STI International

  • The Brooks Group

  • The Friedman Group

  • The TAS Group

  • Brian Tracy

  • ValueSelling Associates

  • Wendy Weiss

  • Jacques Werth

  • Floyd Wickman

  • Wilson Learning

  • Dirk Zeller

  • Tom Ziglar

  • Zig Ziglar

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Foreword
  4. Introduction
    1. Everyone Sells
  5. Your Past and Present Hold the Key to Your Future
  6. 1. Collaboration: Changing the World
  7. 2. Living Your Vows in a Whirlwind Economy
    1. 2.1. FIND THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS
    2. 2.2. DEFINE A RELATIONSHIP PROCESS
    3. 2.3. BUILD A WELCOMING HOME
    4. 2.4. LEARN FROM EACH OTHER
    5. 2.5. TO HAVE AND TO HOLD
  8. 3. Ninety Percent of All Sales Force Training Fails
    1. 3.1. SALES TRAINING'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
    2. 3.2. BUT YOU STILL NEED TO PROVIDE TRAINING
    3. 3.3. WHY DOES SALES TRAINING FAIL?
      1. 3.3.1. A. Wrong Content
      2. 3.3.2. B. Rejected by Salespeople
      3. 3.3.3. C. Ineffective Transfer
    4. 3.4. LOTS OF TALK AND FAILED ATTEMPTS
    5. 3.5. THE VISION FOR EFFECTIVE SALES TRAINING
  9. 4. Eleven Telephone Tips to Effectively Reach Out and Touch Others
  10. 5. The "At-Leaster" Phenomenon
    1. 5.1. THE COMFORT ZONE
    2. 5.2. REVERSING THE IMAGE
  11. 6. Confronting the CRM Challenge
  12. 7. Rethinking Sales Success: Storytelling
  13. 8. Selling for the Independent Professional
    1. 8.1. DEVELOPING A POSITIVE MIND-SET
    2. 8.2. BECOMING SKILLED AT A SALES METHODOLOGY
    3. 8.3. GROW THE CONFIDENCE AND CAPABILITY TO CLOSE
    4. 8.4. MY ONE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE
  14. 9. Ten Tips for Convincing the Buyer to Pay More
  15. 10. How to Sell a Pencil—and Your Product or Service
  16. 11. Cultivating Endless Referrals: An Introduction
  17. 12. Twenty-One Ways to Increase Sales This Year
  18. 13. The Psychology of Persuasion
  19. 14. The Virtual Presentation: Mastering the Medium
    1. 14.1. APPLYING THE FUNDAMENTALS
    2. 14.2. ASSUME YOUR AUDIENCE IS BORED AND DISTRACTED
    3. 14.3. IDENTIFY YOUR GOAL AND SCOPE OUT YOUR AUDIENCE
    4. 14.4. WHAT'S THE TWAIN/POE RULE?
    5. 14.5. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
    6. 14.6. READY OR NOT, HERE IT IS
  20. 15. Do You Have an Effective Closing Strategy?
    1. 15.1. ARE YOU ASKING YOURSELF ENOUGH OF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
  21. 16. Sales Manager or Administrator?
    1. 16.1. AVOIDING TRAIN WRECKS
    2. 16.2. REMOVING THE ROSE-COLORED GLASSES
    3. 16.3. SPRING CLEANING
    4. 16.4. QUALITY OF ACTIVITY
    5. 16.5. AVOID THE RFP TRAP
    6. 16.6. PROACTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT
  22. 17. Uncover Sales Opportunities
    1. 17.1. OPPORTUNITY CHART
    2. 17.2. REFERRALS AND CENTERS OF INFLUENCE
    3. 17.3. CHAMPIONS
    4. 17.4. NETWORKING
  23. 18. How Can I Wow the Audience When Speaking?
  24. 19. The Good Life Rules
  25. 20. Five Traits of a Great Sales Leader
  26. 21. Reconstructing the Pieces of the Sales Puzzle
    1. 21.1. BUSINESS CONSULTANT
    2. 21.2. STRATEGIC ORCHESTRATOR
    3. 21.3. LONG-TERM ALLY
  27. 22. Manage Salespeople as You Would Invest
  28. 23. The Amazing Power of Testimonials
    1. 23.1. KEEP YOUR EARS OPEN WIDE
    2. 23.2. ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE
    3. 23.3. NEWER CUSTOMERS ARE PASSIONATE
    4. 23.4. REPEAT CUSTOMERS ARE WISE AND INSIGHTFUL
    5. 23.5. MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE
    6. 23.6. DO UNTO OTHERS
    7. 23.7. MAKE TESTIMONIALS NOTICEABLE
  29. 24. Want More Sales? Stop "Selling" and Start Helping Clients Succeed
    1. 24.1. THE REASONS PEOPLE BUY
    2. 24.2. INTENT COUNTS MORE THAN TECHNIQUE
  30. 25. Your Next Job Interview
  31. 26. Nine Biggest Mistakes Salespeople Make in Their Presentations
  32. 27. Seven Cold-Calling Secrets Even the Sales Gurus Don't Know
  33. 28. Learn More, Sell More
  34. 29. Are You a Sales Rock Star, or Just a Member of the Band?
  35. 30. Selling Professional Services
    1. 30.1. HOW THINGS REALLY WORK
    2. 30.2. TRADITIONAL SALES MODELS
      1. 30.2.1. Assumption 1: The Seller Aspires to Sell Better
      2. 30.2.2. Assumption 2: The Buying Process Is Rational
      3. 30.2.3. Assumption 3: Selling Is Different from Delivering
    3. 30.3. THE ALTERNATIVE: TRUST-BASED SELLING
    4. 30.4. TRUST AND SALES
  36. 31. Dealing with Unreturned Phone Calls
  37. 32. Engaging and Defeating Competition: Competitive Strategy and Political Alignment in World-Class Selling
  38. 33. How to Double Sales in 12 Months Flat
    1. 33.1. THE BEST BUYER CONCEPT
    2. 33.2. LESSONS FOR YOU
  39. 34. Developing the Thank-You Note Habit
  40. 35. Escaping the Price-Driven Sale Selling to Clients at a Premium
    1. 35.1. WHERE THIS NEW DEFINITION OF VALUE CAME FROM
    2. 35.2. THE FOUR VALUE DRIVERS
    3. 35.3. HOW IT'S DONE
      1. 35.3.1. Part One: You Can't Just Tell 'Em
    4. 35.4. PART TWO: YOU GOTTA KNOW WHERE THE BUYER IS
    5. 35.5. CONCLUSION
  41. 36. Creating Client Value: A Practical, Modern Approach to Building Business
    1. 36.1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
    2. 36.2. AWARENESS OF NEEDS
    3. 36.3. ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATIVES
    4. 36.4. ALLEVIATION OF RISK
    5. 36.5. DECISION
    6. 36.6. ACHIEVEMENT OF RESULTS
    7. 36.7. CHANNEL VERSUS DIRECT
    8. 36.8. TAILORING THE APPROACH
  42. 37. Selling through the Eye of the Buyer
    1. 37.1. TECHNOLOGY IS OUR CUSTOMER'S FRIEND (AND OURS, TOO, IF WE USE IT)
    2. 37.2. KNOCK DOWN THE WALLS BETWEEN MARKETING AND SALES
    3. 37.3. QUIT WASTING MONEY ON BROCHURES —WHO NEEDS 'EM?
    4. 37.4. YOUR SALES PROCESS DOESN'T MATTER
    5. 37.5. "SUCCESS" IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN "SOLUTIONS"
    6. 37.6. GET BEYOND YOUR CRM
  43. 38. Building a Bridge between Service and Selling
    1. 38.1. SERVICE VERSUS SELLING
    2. 38.2. TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
    3. 38.3. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
  44. 39. Developing and Implementing a Structured Sales Process
    1. 39.1. WHY HAVE A STRUCTURED SALES PROCESS?
    2. 39.2. DEVELOPING A STRUCTURED SALES PROCESS
    3. 39.3. IMPLEMENTING A STRUCTURED SALES PROCESS
  45. 40. How to Present with Mastery, So People Take Action
  46. 41. Biggest Time Wasters for Salespeople
    1. 41.1. ALLURE OF THE URGENT/TRIVIAL
    2. 41.2. THE COMFORT OF THE STATUS QUO
    3. 41.3. LACK OF TRUST IN OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ORGANIZATION
    4. 41.4. LACK OF TOUGH-MINDED THOUGHTFULNESS
  47. 42. The Key to Growing Your Sales: Work on Your Openings, Not Your Closings!
  48. 43. How, What, and Why Projects Fail
    1. 43.1. HOW PROJECTS FAIL
    2. 43.2. WHAT PROJECTS FAIL
    3. 43.3. WHY PROJECTS FAIL
  49. 44. Making a Difference
    1. 44.1. FINDING THE DIFFERENCE
    2. 44.2. QUANTIFY THE DIFFERENCE
  50. 45. How to Overachieve
  51. 46. How to Make Successful Cold Calls
    1. 46.1. STEP 1: ESTABLISH CALL OBJECTIVES
    2. 46.2. STEP 2: FIND THE DECISION MAKER(S) FIRST
    3. 46.3. STEP 3: ASK FOR PERMISSION TO SPEAK
    4. 46.4. STEP 4: USE DIRECT, OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
    5. 46.5. STEP 5: SUMMARIZE YOUR CONVERSATION
    6. 46.6. SUMMARY
  52. 47. Create E-Mail Subject Lines That Draw Prospects In
  53. 48. The Sales Funnel
  54. 49. Having a "Great Meeting" Is Not the Objective
  55. 50. "Referrals" Are a Waste— Introductions Are Golden
  56. 51. Increasing Sales Quickly
  57. 52. Seven Myths and Misconceptions about Top-Performing Salespeople
  58. 53. Magic Moments in Selling: Subtle Yet Crucial Actions to Advance the Sale
    1. 53.1. THE FIRST TWO MINUTES
      1. 53.1.1. Opening One
      2. 53.1.2. Opening Two
    2. 53.2. MASTER THIS CRITICAL MAGIC MOMENT
  59. 54. Truth or Delusion: Busting Networking's Biggest Myths
  60. 55. Buying Decisions: What Happens behind the Scenes?
    1. 55.1. WHEN DO BUYERS START FIGURING OUT HOW TO BUY?
    2. 55.2. HOW SALES FAIL
  61. 56. Your "Needs" May Not Be Your "Rights"*
  62. 57. The Real Secret to Effectively Enrolling and Selling
    1. 57.1. ASKING QUESTIONS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL ENROLLING AND SELLING
    2. 57.2. THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BUSINESS
    3. 57.3. THE REAL PURPOSE OF A BUSINESS
    4. 57.4. THINKING DIFFERENTLY
  63. 58. Qualifying Your Sales Process
  64. 59. Selling to VITOs (Very Important Top Officers)
    1. 59.1. VITO CREATES EVERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE
    2. 59.2. CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT IS VITO'S RESPONSIBILITY
    3. 59.3. VITO OWNS ALL BUDGETS
    4. 59.4. VITO KNOWS WHO'S WHO
    5. 59.5. VITO DEFINES THE CRITICAL BUSINESS CRITERIA
    6. 59.6. VITO GETS PAID TO MAKE DECISIONS
  65. 60. The "Book Yourself Solid" Simple Selling System
  66. 61. Managing Sales Success: 10 Critical Performance Factors That Drive Revenue and Sales Team Growth—A System for Improving Both Sales Manager and Sales Team Performance
    1. 61.1. BENEFITS OF A MANAGING SALES PERFORMANCE SYSTEM
    2. 61.2. OVERVIEW OF THE SALES PERFORMANCE SYSTEM
    3. 61.3. COMMUNICATE/MONITOR CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
    4. 61.4. IDENTIFY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (GAINS/GAPS)
    5. 61.5. DETERMINE CAUSES
    6. 61.6. TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS
    7. 61.7. IMPLEMENTING THE MANAGING SALES PERFORMANCE SYSTEM
  67. 62. Value Clarity: The Optimal Source of Differentiation
    1. 62.1. DIAGNOSING COMPLEX PROBLEMS TO ACHIEVE VALUE CLARITY
  68. 63. Selling in Harder Times
    1. 63.1. WORKING HARDER ISN'T AN ANSWER
    2. 63.2. THE "BETTER" BUTTON
    3. 63.3. A QUESTION OF CONFIDENCE
  69. 64. Advanced Questioning Techniques: Utilization of Questioning Techniques for Consultative Selling
    1. 64.1. LISTENING MODES
    2. 64.2. CLASSIFICATION LIST OF QUESTIONS
      1. 64.2.1. Closed-Ended Questions
      2. 64.2.2. Open-Ended Questions
      3. 64.2.3. Leading Questions
      4. 64.2.4. High-Gain Questions
      5. 64.2.5. Reveal Questions
    3. 64.3. THE FOUR-STEP FLOW OF A CONSULTATIVE DISCUSSION
    4. 64.4. MORE QUESTIONING TIPS
  70. 65. Sales Coaching Increases Sales Performance
  71. 66. Mismanaging Expectations: Are You Preparing Your Sales Team for Change?
  72. 67. Use Social Dynamics to Control Sales Appointments
  73. 68. The Successful Sales Formula: Why 50 Percent of Deals Fail to Close
    1. 68.1. THE BIGGEST MYTH OF QUALIFICATION
    2. 68.2. THE SUCCESSFUL SALES FORMULA
    3. 68.3. THE SALES FORMULA ADDS VALUE FOR THE CUSTOMER
  74. 69. The Up-Front Contract: Adding Control and Predictability to Your Sales Calls
  75. 70. How to Write a Winning Proposal
    1. 70.1. WHY DO CUSTOMERS WANT PROPOSALS?
    2. 70.2. WHAT GOES INTO A WINNING PROPOSAL?
  76. 71. The 11 Biggest Sales Lies
  77. 72. One Great Opening Is Worth 10,000 Closes
    1. 72.1. FOOT-IN-MOUTH KILLS SALESMAN
    2. 72.2. POSTMORTEM
  78. 73. Life = Sales
  79. 74. What Are the Biggest Sales Presentation Mistakes That Professionals Make and How Can You Avoid Them?
  80. 75. It's Not a Numbers Game, It's a Game of Numbers
  81. 76. Optimizing Sales Leads: Moving Quickly from Inquiry to Lead to Closure
    1. 76.1. CONTENT IS KING
    2. 76.2. MOM ALWAYS LIKED YOU BEST
    3. 76.3. TECHNOLOGY FOR TECHNOLOGY'S SAKE
    4. 76.4. ANALYSIS, NOT PARALYSIS
    5. 76.5. NO PAIN, NO GAIN
  82. 77. Unmanaged, Telling Tensions Cost You Sales
    1. 77.1. TELLING TENSION: THE COMPELLING NEED TO TALK
      1. 77.1.1. Causes of Telling Tension
      2. 77.1.2. Symptoms of Telling Tension
    2. 77.2. CONCLUSION
  83. 78. Twelve Things Your Buyers Want Other Than Lowest Price1
  84. 79. No Thanks, I'm Just Looking!: Professional Retail Sales Techniques for Turning Shoppers into Buyers
    1. 79.1. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF OPENING THE SALE IS TO GET PAST RESISTANCE
    2. 79.2. ESTABLISH A PERSON-TO-PERSON RELATIONSHIP RATHER THAN A SALESPERSON-TO-CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
    3. 79.3. OPENING LINES
    4. 79.4. OPENING LINES MUST HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH BUSINESS
    5. 79.5. THE MERCHANDISE APPROACH IS INEFFECTIVE AND RUDE
    6. 79.6. OPENING LINES SHOULD BE QUESTIONS TO ENCOURAGE CONVERSATION
  85. 80. The Keys to Successful Pipeline Management
    1. 80.1. BEST PRACTICE #1: MAP THE PIPELINE STRUCTURE TO A SALES PROCESS
    2. 80.2. BEST PRACTICE #2: KEEP THE FUNNEL FULL
    3. 80.3. BEST PRACTICE #3: ROCKS AND STONES AND PEBBLES
    4. 80.4. BEST PRACTICE #4: KNOW HOW MUCH YOU NEED IN THE FUNNEL
    5. 80.5. SUMMARY
  86. 81. Superior Sales Management
    1. 81.1. THE PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE SALES TEAM
    2. 81.2. THE KEY TO SALES SUCCESS
  87. 82. Jump-Starting a Stalled Sales Opportunity
  88. 83. All Salespeople Use Scripts
  89. 84. Top 10 Reasons Sales Managers Fail and What to Do about It
  90. 85. Become the Duke or Duchess of Dialogue: Three Keys to Successful Dialogue Selling
  91. 86. Is Your Customer Base at Risk?: Protecting Your Existing Business in Tough Times
    1. 86.1. WHAT ARE THEY BUYING AND WHY?
    2. 86.2. STRATEGIES FOR PROTECTING YOUR BASE
  92. 87. Become a Champion Performer
  93. 88. Timeless Truths in a 2.0 Sales World: Ownership, Integrity, and Amplification
    1. 88.1. OWNERSHIP
    2. 88.2. INTEGRITY
    3. 88.3. AMPLIFICATION
  94. 89. Your Best Sales Year Ever!
    1. 89.1. CHALLENGE #1: EVALUATE YOUR PERSONAL ENERGY
    2. 89.2. CHALLENGE #2: EVALUATE YOUR SELF-BELIEF
    3. 89.3. CHALLENGE #3: EVALUATE YOUR GOALS
    4. 89.4. CHALLENGE #4: EVALUATE YOUR TIME
    5. 89.5. CHALLENGE #5: EVALUATE HOW YOU COMMUNICATE
  95. 90. More World-Class Sales Training Resources
    1. 90.1. ONLINE SALES TRAINING RESOURCES
  96. About the Authors
    1. 90.2. ERIC TAYLOR
    2. 90.3. DAVID RIKLAN

Product information

  • Title: Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: August 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470617861