The Introvert's Edge

The Introvert's Edge

by Matthew Pollard, Derek Lewis
Released January 2018
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: 9780814438886

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Book description

An introvert? Great at sales? YES.

Sales is a skill anyone can learn and master — and introverts are especially good at it once they learn how to leverage their natural strengths.

Introverts aren’t comfortable with traditional tactics like aggressively pushing a product or talking over a customer’s objections. That’s the beauty of The Introvert’s Edge: it doesn’t focus on the sale itself but on a sales system that helps introverts feel sincere instead of sales-y. Powerful and practical, the book reveals how to:

  • Find natural confidence
  • Prepare for every situation
  • Present your value so that customers want to buy
  • Sidestep objections
  • Judge when the customer’s ready to buy
  • Ask for the sale — without asking
  • Continually adapt and improve
  • Profit from a process that doesn’t rely on personality
  • Enjoy sales

With stories of introverted entrepreneurs, salespeople, and business owners who went from stagnant to success, The Introvert’s Edge shows you how to succeed in sales — without changing who you are.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Contents
  4. Foreword
  5. 1 When Introverts Fail at Sales
    1. The Problem with Introverts
    2. What Happens Without Sales
    3. The Myth of the Salesman
    4. Knocking on Ninety-Three Doors
    5. There’s Got to Be a Better Way
    6. Alex Becomes a Sales Powerhouse
    7. 7 Steps to the Introvert’s Edge
  6. 2 Set the Stage (Step One: Trust and Agenda)
    1. The Power of Indifference vs. the Reek of Desperation
    2. The System Over the Sale
    3. The Importance of Trust
    4. Quickly Establishing Rapport
    5. Quickly Establishing Credibility
    6. No Hidden Agenda
    7. Show Them the Script
    8. Don’t Let Your Customers Run Your Machines
  7. 3 Mine for Gold (Step Two: Ask Probing Questions)
    1. Find the Bleeding
    2. Listen, Not to Answer but to Understand
    3. Find the Pattern in the Questions
    4. Asking the Right Questions
    5. Getting Strangers to Open Up
  8. 4 Speak to the Right Person (Step Three: Qualification)
    1. Getting Past the Gatekeeper
    2. Don’t Waste Your Time
    3. Be Nice to the Secretary
    4. Why Is This Step Three?
    5. People Love to Qualify
  9. 5 Don’t Sell—Tell (Step Four: Story-Based Selling)
    1. Embed the Solution in a Story
    2. The Science of Storytelling
    3. Crafting Your First Story
  10. 6 Don’t Argue—Augment (Step Five: Dealing With Objections)
    1. Sidestep Objections
    2. Don’t Sell Yourself as a Salesperson
  11. 7 Take Their Temperature (Step Six: Trial Close)
    1. Toe in the Water
    2. The Double-Bind
  12. 8 Ask Without Asking (Step Seven: Assume the Sale)
    1. How to Handle Price
    2. Don’t Treat Sales like Glass
    3. Find a Way, Not an Excuse
  13. 9 Perfect the Process
    1. Do an Eval on Yourself. Really.
    2. One Thing at a Time
  14. 10 The Introvert’s Edge in Real Life
    1. The Ghost of Business Past
    2. What I Did Then
    3. What I Do Now
    4. Why Bother?
  15. 11 Mastery
    1. Everyone Loves Options
    2. Preparing to Scale
    3. Don’t Surrender Your Business
    4. When Sales and Marketing Work in Unison
    5. The Introvert’s Edge
  16. About the Author
  17. References and Further Reading
  18. Index
  19. Acknowledgements
  20. Bonus: Your Exclusive Invitation
  21. Free Sample From Sell with a Story
  22. About AMACOM Books
  23. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: The Introvert's Edge
  • Author(s): Matthew Pollard, Derek Lewis
  • Release date: January 2018
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: 9780814438886