ProActive Selling, 2nd Edition

ProActive Selling, 2nd Edition

by William Skip Miller
Released July 2012
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: 9780814431962

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Book description

Most sales professionals make the mistake of using the same sales patterns over and over. But since all customers are different, true pros know they must tailor their methods to the buyer if they want to make their numbers every year. ProActive Selling gives readers the tools they need to adapt their approach and maintain control at every stage of the sale. Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition shows salespeople how to: • Qualify and disqualify prospects sooner to focus on the most promising accounts • Examine buyers’ motivations from every angle • Quantify the value proposition early • Double the number of calls returned from prospective customers • Appeal to the real decision-makers • Use technology (e.g. cloud, video, social media, and more) to generate leads and shorten sales cycles • Increase the effectiveness of every interaction Featuring dozens of enlightening examples and the author’s 17 exclusive, practical selling tools, ProActive Selling gives sales professionals the edge they need to exceed their goals—with any company, in any industry.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half title
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Chapter 1: ProActive Selling: Having the Right Tools at the Right Time to Be a Step Ahead
    1. Tool-Based ProActive Selling
    2. The Customer’s Perspective
    3. What Is a Buy/Sell Process?
      1. Towards/AwayTool
    4. Matching the Sell Process to the Buy Process
    5. The Length of a Sales Cycle
    6. Why Follow a Process?
  9. Chapter 2: The Buy/Sell Cycle Differences
    1. Feature/Benefit/Value Selling vs. Feature/Benefit Selling
      1. Feature/Benefit/ValueTool
    2. The Split
      1. Cause/EffectTool
  10. Chapter 3: The Language of Value
    1. Speak the Right Language
      1. Three LanguagesTool
    2. The Five Ways of Creating Value
      1. ValueStarTool
      2. TimeZonesTool
  11. Chapter 4: Initiate
    1. Goals of Initiate
    2. Homework Before the Sale
    3. Initial Sales Calls: Overcoming the Fear of Prospecting
    4. The Prospector’s Perspective
    5. The Prospect’s Perspective—Something to Keep in Mind
  12. Chapter 5: How to Begin and End Every Sales Call
    1. Goal 1: Introduce Yourself—The Beginning
      1. The 30-Second SpeechTool
      2. FlipTool
    2. Goal 2: Introduce Your Product/Service—The Middle
    3. Goal 3: Do We Continue on Through a Buy/Sell Process?—The End
      1. Summarize, Bridge, and PullTool
  13. Chapter 6: Additional Sales Call Introductions
    1. Voice Mail
      1. 20-Second Help SpeechTool
      2. 20-Second Pattern Interrupt SpeechTool
    2. E-Mails
    3. Beyond the First Call
      1. 30-Second Speech: Second Call and BeyondTool
  14. Chapter 7: Control the Middle and the End
    1. Turn Sales Education into ProActive Sales Presentations
      1. Ask ’em/Tell ’em/Ask ’emTool
    2. It’s All About ME!
    3. The Danger in the Unspoken Feature
    4. The Right Order
      1. GAP ChartTool
    5. Road Map to the Deal
      1. SalesMapTool
  15. Chapter 8: Educate the Customer Using Two-Way Learning
    1. Creating Value Early
    2. Getting Their Attention
    3. Selling Solutions and Finding Trains
      1. Solution BoxTool
      2. Finding TrainsTool
  16. Chapter 9: Qualify: Not a Phase but a Process
    1. Qualification and Disqualification Skills
    2. How You Should Spend Your Time
    3. Qualifying Goals
    4. MMM: The Qualification Process
    5. The Seven Questions
      1. Implementation DateTool
      2. BBB—Buyers Buy BackwardsTool
      3. PPPIITool
      4. Three Levels of WhyTool
    6. MMM: The Seven Questions Reviewed
  17. Chapter 10: Validate
    1. The ProActive Initiation of Transfer of Ownership
    2. It’s Validation, Not Education!
    3. Let the Buyer Drive: ProActively Inducing the Transfer of Ownership
      1. TimeDemoTool
    4. Homework Assignments
      1. Gives/GetsTool
  18. Chapter 11: Justify
    1. Reasons for Justification: Institutional and Individual
    2. Helping the Customer Justify
    3. The Implementation PlanTool
    4. The Drop/Push/PullTool
    5. CliffDiveTool
    6. STT—Short-Term TransferTool
  19. Chapter 12: The Skill of Closing the Deal
    1. What Is a Close?
    2. Defining the Process
    3. Use the Tools
    4. The Real Art of Closing Is in the Definition: Think Like a Buyer
    5. Celebrate Success
  20. Chapter 13: Using Technology to Sell
    1. Sales Touches
    2. Social Media: Getting Involved
    3. Technology Trends
  21. Chapter 14: Applying the ProActive Selling Process
    1. Implementing the New Rules
    2. The Three Languages
    3. The Final Word
  22. Appendix: ProActive Selling Tools
  23. Index

Product information

  • Title: ProActive Selling, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): William Skip Miller
  • Release date: July 2012
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: 9780814431962