What Works

What Works

Released January 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118391693

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Book description

Praise for What Works

"What Works is essential reading for any businesspeople who want to improve their organizations and their own abilities. This is not a tome of pie-in-the-sky, fluffy how-to advice but is an easy read, crammed with great advice—from improving sales ability to learning how to manage people. Not to be missed."

—SHAUN REIN, founder of China Market Research Group and author of The End of Cheap China

"Focus, focus, and more focus. That is the incredible theme here of What Works. Robert Cornish and Wil Seabrook hit a true homerun in their message: knowing what you are and what you are not, knowing what works and what doesn't, and knowing when to walk away and when to stay, but hold firm—are the keys to success in business and in life. What Works is more than a sales book. It's as much about the internal sale to your employees and colleagues, as it is to the customer and the prospect. If you want to improve not just your sales, but your business, What Works is a must-read."

—TODD NATENBERG, author of "I just got a job in sales! Now what?" A Playbook for Skyrocketing Your Commissions

"Robert Cornish has gone beyond the usual fluff and trendy ideas and concepts and taken what actually works in the world, which is what's most important after all. The book is easy to understand with lots of real life examples, and the ideas are very practical and useable. If you want what you are doing to 'work' or to turn your ideas into effective action: read this book."

—Robert J. Kriegel, PhD, New York Times and BusinessWeek bestselling author; Commentator, NPR's Marketplace; pioneer in sports psychology, Olympic and professional athlete coach

"Robert and Wil have written a wonderful no-nonsense playbook for today's CEO. There's no theory here, but rather a collection of bite-sized, pragmatic ways of thinking and doing that you can put into action right away and see immediate results in your business. This is a great one to keep close to your desk to reference often!"

—David Hassell, CEO of 15Five

"While many business books and theories comb through what it takes to succeed, What Works has taken hard-won knowledge from the trenches—knowledge that has been tested and applied—resulting in practical information that can be used now. Being a successful entrepreneur myself, I know what it takes to succeed, and this book dives into what works in the real world."

—Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble.com and founder of GoldMine

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Introduction
  7. Chapter 1: On Sales
    1. Care
    2. Pipeline Comes before Sales
    3. Sales, Selling, and Getting Your People to Sell
    4. Saying No and Walking Away
    5. The Art of the Follow-up
    6. The Sales Team's Role
    7. The Tough Part of Sales
    8. Asking
    9. Long Sales Pitches
    10. If They Were Sold, It Would Be Done
    11. Decide for Them
    12. Hold Your Position
    13. Time to Cut the PR and Hit Them Straight
    14. Taking Money Is Good for Them
    15. It's Your Consideration or Theirs
    16. Sales Is a Game of Intention
    17. Considerations Bog Sales
    18. Order Taker versus Salesperson
    19. Two Comments on Sales
    20. Additional Sales Tips
    21. How to Fill Your Day
    22. Causative Sales
  8. Chapter 2: On Operations
    1. A Note on IKEA
    2. Fast Decisions Make Time
    3. Excitement Fuels a Company
    4. Can I? Yes. Should I? No.
    5. Time Is Not Your Friend, But Speed Is an Ally
    6. Basic Operating Basis Rules
    7. Getting into Communication
    8. Getting Organized
    9. Introductions
    10. Speed
    11. Client Prediction
  9. Chapter 3: On Focus
    1. Successful Principles
    2. Identifying the Common Denominators
    3. Goal Attainment
    4. Learn to Hate Butterflies
    5. Look
    6. Work Ethic (Hustle)
    7. Do It Now
    8. All Things to All People
    9. What Does It Take?
    10. Be Focused to Drive Statistics
  10. Chapter 4: On Marketing
    1. A Lesson from Red Bull
    2. Proactive versus Reactive
    3. Speaking Human
    4. Communicate to Impinge
    5. Focus on Help
    6. Why Illusions Help Solidify Sales
  11. Chapter 5: On Management
    1. Increasing Production by Defining What to Do
    2. Knowledge and Management
    3. Contraction and Expansion
    4. Order and Expansion
    5. Shed Duties
    6. People
    7. What Makes a Group
    8. Get Rid of Bad Apples
    9. Remove Nonproducers off the Line
    10. True and Accurate Management
  12. Chapter 6: On People
    1. Client Needs, Not Wants
    2. How to Handle Critical Clients
    3. Customers Aren't Always Right
    4. The Best Time to Fire Them Is Before You Hire Them
    5. Criticism and Considerations
    6. On Being Promoted
  13. Chapter 7: On Viewpoint
    1. Aim Small, Miss Small
    2. Busy or Disorganized
    3. Dreams and Goals
    4. Focus
    5. What You Did Yesterday Doesn't Matter
    6. Second Wind
    7. Isn't It a Sport?
    8. Be Honest with Yourself
    9. The Buck Stops with You
    10. Find Inspiration
    11. Staying the Course
    12. Dragging Decisions Is Bad Business
    13. Adding Time
    14. Decision Comes First
    15. Doubt
    16. Spend More Time Planning
    17. Simple Is Smart
    18. Write It Down
    19. You Have to Love Feeling Causative
    20. Pushing Purpose
    21. Making Friends
    22. Title versus Task
    23. Be a Ball Hog
    24. Being a Martinet about Neatness
    25. Manage Objectives Like LEGO Instructions
    26. Why You're Unique
    27. Don't Get Too Serious
    28. Genuine Interest and Care
    29. Damn the Torpedoes … They'll Swerve First
    30. Money Motivation and Caring about What You Do with Passion
    31. Know Who You Are
    32. Push Yourself
  14. Conclusion
  15. Acknowledgments
  16. About the Authors

Product information

  • Title: What Works
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: January 2013
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118391693