The Challenger Sale; Recommended Read

19 replies
Guys,

I'm about half way through The Challenger Sale. The last thing I need is another book on selling. But there are some breakthrough books that set the bar higher. Spin Selling did. Pitch Anything did.

Of the (close to) 1,000 books on selling I've read, this is already in the top three.

So far, one of the things that has struck me is that, after doing research in 2009 during the terrible recession, the "relationship" type salesperson was getting the worst results. And the salesperson that completely matched the product/service to the prospect's business, was killing it.

And for selling online services to business owners, it's a must. It's similar to Spin Selling, in that it is based on tons of research, but takes the training a step further, I think. It's useful for higher end sales. Anyway, for less than $20, your eyes will open wider.

I'm not reading the book, I'm studying it.



The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the...The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the...
(I swear to God...this is not an affiliate link)
#challenger #read #recommended #sale
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Interesting cover copy...that relationship-building is #1 for most sales leaders. These things come and go in cycles and relationships were popular in the last decade.

    Challenging prospects IS valuable, and you have to be willing to make someone upset. Yes. Upset. I do it all the time...and it results in sales. Jarring their comfort zone a bit is quite valuable. And then you have to patch 'em back up, of course. I'll check this book out (just bought on Kindle) and see what it has to say. Thanks. Claude.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8704165].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
    If Sir Claudius recommends it,
    then I'm checking it out!

    Here's a group of people who match the
    business's problem exactly with the solution.

    Starting from Nothing - The Foundation Podcast | The Foundation

    They have no product, no product idea,
    no money and build software as a solution.

    They have had no previous experience in
    software.

    The business owners who are surveyed,
    help in the design of it and pre pay to fund
    the development of the software.

    You can't get a tighter market match
    than that.

    Best,
    Ewen
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8704166].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Found this book reader's summary of the main points...

      http://www.customerthink.com/blog/th...han_10_minutes


      One of the best sales books I read last year was The Challenger Sale. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone directly or indirectly in a position to sell. It addresses not only a better way to approach your customers and the sales process, but also how organizations and managers can improve their coaching, sales training and overall customer loyalty in the process.

      I read the book again last week, highlighting some of what I thought were its most important points. What resulted is this approximately 1800-word summary of direct quotes and other important points from the book.

      Reading this summary can give you the gist, but if you haven’t read the full book I hope this pushes you in that direction. Well work the time.

      Direct Highlights & Quotes from The Challenger Sale:

      How you sell has become more important than what you sell.

      If you’re going to win going forward, you’ve got to equip reps to generate new demand in a world of reluctant, risk-averse customers.

      (Challengers have) a deep understanding of the customer’s business and use that understanding to push the customer’s thinking and teach them something new about how their company can compete more effectively.

      A Challenger is really defined by the ability to do three things: teach, tailor, and take control.

      As the Challenger is focused on pushing the customer out of their comfort zone, the Relationship Builder is focused on being accepted into it.

      While the Challenger is focused on customer value, the Relationship Builder is more concerned with customer convenience.

      The world of solution selling is almost definitionally about a disruptive sale.

      If you’re on the journey to more of a value-based or solutions-oriented sales approach, then your ability to challenge customers is absolutely vital for your success going forward.

      In a time when consensus is more important than ever to get the deal done, it’s no surprise that the rep who wins in this environment is the one who can effectively tailor the message to a wide range of customer stakeholders in order to build that consensus.

      The key, of course, is to do this with control, diplomacy, and empathy.

      Shift the discussion from price to value.

      Challengers aren’t so much world-class investigators as they are world-class teachers. They win not by understanding their customers’ world as well as the customers know it themselves, but by actually knowing their customers’ world better than their customers know it themselves, teaching them what they don’t know but should.

      Selling a well-branded, highly differentiated product, supported by higher-than-industry-average service will undoubtedly get you more loyalty.

      Customers, generally speaking, see significantly less difference between us and the competition than we do ourselves.

      Over half of customer loyalty is a result not of what you sell, but how you sell.

      You’ve got to build a network of advocacy along the way or risk losing the deal altogether due to weak support across the organization.

      (Prospects are) looking to suppliers to help them identify new opportunities to cut costs, increase revenue, penetrate new markets, and mitigate risk in ways they themselves have not yet recognized.

      What sets the best suppliers apart is not the quality of their products, but the value of their insight—new ideas to help customers either make money or save money in ways they didn’t even know were possible.

      The best reps win that battle not by “discovering” what customers already know they need, but by teaching them a new way of thinking altogether.

      They teach customers new perspectives, specifically tailored to their most pressing business needs, in a compelling and assertive enough manner to ensure that the message not only resonates, but actually drives action.

      What data, information, or insight can you put in front of your customer that reframes the way they think about their business—how they operate or even how they compete?

      There’s vastly greater value in insight that changes or builds on what they know in ways they couldn’t have discovered on their own.

      Rapport and reframe are not the same thing.

      The best indicator of a successful reframe, in other words, isn’t excited agreement but thoughtful reflection.

      If you’re going to build an ROI calculator, make sure it calculates the return on pursuing the reframe, not purchasing your products.

      Customers are looking to suppliers to challenge their thinking and teach them something they don’t know.

      Logic alone is rarely enough to overcome the status quo.

      Rather than leading with open-ended questions about customers’ needs, you lead with hypotheses of customers’ needs, informed by your own experience and research.

      Rational Drowning is the numbers-driven rationale for why your customer should think differently about their business, but presented specifically in a way designed to make them squirm a little bit.

      A good ROI calculator calculates the ROI on solving the challenge you’ve just taught your customer they have, not the ROI on buying your solution.

      You’ve got to show them something new, and then show them why it matters.

      You’ve got to paint a picture of how other companies just like the customer’s went down a similarly painful path by engaging in behavior that the customer will immediately recognize as typical of their own company.

      The best sales conversations present the customer with a compelling story about their business first, teach them something new, and then lead to their differentiators.

      By helping customers think differently about their company, you ultimately want them to think differently about your company.

      “What’s currently costing our customers more money than they realize, that only we can help them fix?”

      Marketing must serve as the “insight generation machine” that keeps reps well equipped with quality teaching material that customers will find compelling.

      A move from leading with your unique strengths to one where carefully constructed teaching interactions very deliberately lead the customer to your unique strengths.

      The single biggest incremental opportunity to drive growth isn’t in the products and services you sell, but in the quality of the insight you deliver as part of the sale itself.

      53 percent of B2B customer loyalty is a product of how you sell, not what you sell.

      When it does come time to decide, the decision maker wants to know he’s got the strong backing of his team.

      You can’t just elevate the conversation and cut everyone else out because it’s exactly that team input that the decision maker values most when it comes to loyalty.

      End users don’t think of themselves as buying from organizations; they buy from people.

      For non–decision makers, loyalty is much less about discovering needs they already know, and much more about teaching them something they don’t know.

      Customers will repay you with loyalty when you teach them something they value, not just sell them something they need.

      It’s not just the products and services you sell, it’s the insight you deliver as part of the sales interaction itself.

      Nearly two-thirds of suppliers report using customer stakeholder interactions to extract insight, rather than provide it.

      The best way you sell more stuff over time isn’t by going directly to the person who signs the deal, but by approaching him or her indirectly through stakeholders able to establish more widespread support for your solution.

      The rep’s ability to influence the sale in the executive suite is nowhere near as strong as stakeholders’ ability to do the same thing.

      Marketing can add a tremendous amount of value simply by helping sales reps to tailor at the industry and company levels.

      Two things Challenger reps tailor to are their knowledge of an individual stakeholder’s value drivers and an understanding of the economic drivers of that person’s business.

      Instead of asking, “Who needs to be involved?” Challenger reps coach the customer on who should be involved.

      Commercial Teaching puts the Challenger in a position to take control by bringing new ideas to the table.

      If the rep isn’t willing to convince the customer that the problem is urgent, then he won’t be able to convince the customer it’s worth solving.

      The rep pushes the customer, but does so with respect and sensitivity to how the customer is reacting.

      75 percent of reps believe that procurement has more power, while 75 percent of procurement officers believe that reps have more power!

      While companies have been emphatic about their customer-centricity, they’ve been equally vague with their sales organizations about how to actually do that.

      While you can’t realistically change human behavior, you can help make reps aware of their natural tendencies and give them some practical tools for making sure that they don’t prematurely cave when it comes to intense value discussions.

      One of the biggest differentiators of high-performing reps is the amount of time they spend planning.

      Teach reps the importance of clarity of direction over quick closure, and teach them how to create real value within the sales process.

      The frontline sales manager in any sales organization is the fundamental link between strategy and execution—this is where change initiatives and sales force transformations live or die.

      Sales leadership is mostly about how innovative sales managers are.

      What we’re referring to here is managers collaborating with reps to understand as deeply as possible what’s holding up a deal, figuring out why and where a deal is running into trouble at the customer, and then finding innovative ways to move it forward.

      It is about creatively modifying deal-level sales strategy to adapt to the specific customer context—the “reality on the ground,” as it were.

      Innovation, on the other hand, is about driving performance through unforeseen obstacles.

      Sales innovation is the single biggest sales-related attribute contributing to world-class sales manager performance—more important than selling skills and much more important than a manager’s ability to allocate resources.

      Coaching isn’t just a huge driver of sales performance—it’s also a major factor in employee retention and what we call “discretionary,” or extra, effort.

      Good coaches make people want to stay.

      Coaching is about behaviors, not outcomes.

      Managers need to be taught how to emphasize development by separating performance management from coaching interactions.

      It’s about co-creation (i.e., thought partnership) without value judgment, about working together collaboratively to find a better way to advance a deal.

      Innovative managers are all about sharing best practices, developing and sustaining a strong relationship network inside the organization, and passing new ideas and solutions to the rest of the team.

      World-class managers today are defined not just by their ability to coach to the known, but by their ability to innovate around the unknown.

      “If we had religiously followed our sales process last year, our three biggest deals would have never gotten done.”

      Sales success today is much less about getting better at what you already know and much more about creating an ability to tackle what you don’t know.

      Your organization is designed for efficiency at a time when effectiveness is going to win the day.

      We can train managers to ask themselves (and their reps) specific questions to prompt thinking from alternate perspectives.

      Research by Neil Rackham has shown that 87 percent of sales training content is forgotten by reps within thirty days.

      Coaching is a principal lever for boosting training stickiness.

      Ironically, the more we try to play up our differences, the more things sound the same.

      Be memorable, not agreeable.

      Build a pitch that leads to your solution, not with it.

      Before even talking about your capabilities, teach customers about a problem they didn’t even know they had—one that you can solve better than your competitors.

      We’ve found that the best companies shoot for 80 percent adoption of any change—whether a new skill, tool, process, or system.

      In order to get the organization to pay attention to the change you are driving, you must create cognitive dissonance.

      Republished with author's permission from original post by Matt Heinz.

      Matt Heinz
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8704274].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    I'm about 16% (kindle %) into the book and I know I should finish before giving my thoughts but some things have really stuck out so far.

    First I agree with Claude on recommending this books. But I'm not sure I agree with the conclusions the authors have reached for a variety of reasons.

    For those who have not read this book they place sales people into five categories based on surveys.
    • Relationship Builders focus on developing strong personal and professional relationships and advocates across the customer organization. They are generous with their time, strive to meet customers' every need, and work hard to resolve tensions in the commercial relationship.
    • Reactive Problem Solvers are, from the customers' standpoint, highly reliable and detail-oriented. They focus on post-sales follow-up, ensuring that service issues related to implementation and execution are addressed quickly and thoroughly.
    • Hard Workers show up early, stay late, and always go the extra mile. They'll make more calls in an hour and conduct more visits in a week than just about anyone else on the team.
    • Lone Wolves are the deeply self-confident, the rule-breaking cowboys of the sales force who do things their way or not at all.
    • Challengers use their deep understanding of their customers' business to push their thinking and take control of the sales conversation. They're not afraid to share even potentially controversial views and are assertive--with both their customers and bosses.
    Surveys were given to supervisors from how I read it. And that brings me to the first problem with the methodology/findings. They didn't study sales people they studied and surveyed how Sales Manager view their people. Now I'm not saying a manager doesn't know his people. Yet it is clear we are seeing this data through a biased lens. That lens being the Sales Manager.

    This leads to my second problem with the methodology/findings. That being that I think they really only found 4 types. The problem is one type was viewed in both a positive and negative light. Really stop and think about what the Lone Wolf and the Challenger are. Are they not just opposite sides of the same coin. One viewed in the positive light and the other in the negative.

    In an environment where Managers are open to hearing the thoughts and ideas of their staff one would likely be seen as a Challenger. On the other side of the coin in an environment where questioning your Manager is not allowed and rules are strictly enforced you would be a Lone Wolf. Of course it is not always on the company. Some in this group are more antagonistic than others. And of course even in the same company one might be favorite with one manager but hated by another due to personality clashes.

    So why am I personally so sure they are the same group? Because it is the group I would put myself into. Some managers have been open to my challenging of authority and others have hated it. I didn't change the environment did. I know full well that people like myself who love debate and pushing ideas can be viewed with a love/hate relationship. As long as we get results and don't rock the boat too much we are allowed to stay.

    The third problem I have with the methodology/findings
    is the fact they decided the stars by taking the top 20% in performance as judge by sales compared to goal. The top 20% were the higher performers and the rest (minus the failures) was considered core performers. Well if you know numbers I am sure you can see the issue but let's look at some examples.

    Salesman 1: 500 Sales; 510 Goal; Rated as Core or Fail (thus not included)
    Salesman 2: 80 Sales; 50 Goal; Rated High Performer due to exceeding goal by 60%
    Salesman 3: 210 Sales; 200 Goal; Rated Core due to exceeding goal by 5%

    Now which one do you want on your team? That's the problem of using only percentage to goal. Your more seasoned and better sales people will have higher goals but if you set a goal too high they may simply not be able to exceed it. And even if they do it is harder to exceed it by a high percentage as the number gets bigger. A bad salesperson having a great quarter will likely have the best percentage above goal.

    Without knowing more about their methodology I can't be sure but based on what they said they very likely could be grouping the wrong 20% as Top Performers. And that would ruin completely the findings and the premise of this book. A book I might add that overhypes itself in a way I have not seen since reading The 4 Hour Work Week.

    Now to the fourth problem I have with the methodology/findings. That being that they would expect us to be surprised by who came out on top. Now perhaps their "Members" were surprised by this data. And if so in my personal opinion the people that promoted them to be managers should be fired. But let's look at each on again as they describe them.
    • Relationship Builders focus on developing strong personal and professional relationships and advocates across the customer organization. They are generous with their time, strive to meet customers' every need, and work hard to resolve tensions in the commercial relationship.
    Now I know Relationship Selling is a buzz word that everyone wants to hear. And a relationship is an important part of selling. But I'm selling not trying to find a driving buddy. Look at the way they describe these people. Are these high performers? Of course not.

    Higher performers don't waste time on people not buying and yet these guys are "generous with their time". You know what that says to me? They waste time chatting not selling which hurts their paychecks and may ultimately piss off the prospects who have better things to do. At best their time per sale will be longer and thus they will perform worse than others. Yet since their customers like they they still make sales. They are simple average and they will never be more.


    Also the way they work to resolve tensions makes them sound like they are afraid of confrontation. And selling is not for the meek. These are the guys who will run from objections. But at least they will write up sales. The problem is they find sales not make them. And that once again leads to average not super star.

    • Reactive Problem Solvers are, from the customers' standpoint, highly reliable and detail-oriented. They focus on post-sales follow-up, ensuring that service issues related to implementation and execution are addressed quickly and thoroughly.
    I have seen and managed this type of "salesperson" before. If you have been in sales you know the type. They will do everything but their job, which is selling. These guys think they have to take every customers call even if it is about something they can't fix. Instead of passing it on to Service for example they stay involved and just slow down the process by getting in the way. Personally these guys need to be fired unless they change fast. You don't need people like this on your floor.

    • Hard Workers show up early, stay late, and always go the extra mile. They'll make more calls in an hour and conduct more visits in a week than just about anyone else on the team.
    Managers tend to like Hard Workers because they were Hard Workers. These are the guys who follow the book. They are numbers sellers. And some do become high performers because they simply put in the motions for high performance. But the vast majority become the upper part of the average. These guys are not wasting time in the huddle but they don't think outside the box either.

    This may offend people but in my experience the best sales people are just the right kind of lazy. The same goes for the best managers. Sales and Management both require someone who is able to work very little but perform well.

    Managers do this by delegating to the people under them. Even if they can do it better or faster. They know in the long run this is smarter because 4 people working at a level 7 will always beat one working at a level 10. "Hard Workers" tend to get promoted but make horrid managers because they never learn to delegate properly. They also tend to value "hard work" over results. Would you rather have the guy working 20 hours a week and making 50 sales or the guy putting in 50 hours to get 20 sales? I know which I want but the first tends to get fired for not working hard enough.

    Sales people on the other hand do this by maximizing sales and qualifying well so they only talk to high potential prospects. "Hard Workers" on the other hand simply follow the motions. Yeah they might only close 10% but they stay so busy that they make the sales.
    • Lone Wolves are the deeply self-confident, the rule-breaking cowboys of the sales force who do things their way or not at all.
    • Challengers use their deep understanding of their customers' business to push their thinking and take control of the sales conversation. They're not afraid to share even potentially controversial views and are assertive--with both their customers and bosses.
    Like I said I group these two together. Now really do you think people who worry about making sales vs. following the rules are not going to perform well? There is no shock here. If they didn't perform well they would be gone. The fact that don't like rules and managers get in their way just means they sell in spite of the organization.


    Now they smart organizations listen to these people and thus you have the other side where the managers see their positives. You know basics of good selling like a "deep understanding of their customers' business" and the ability to "take control of the sales conversation". Is anyone here shocked that these are traits of High Performers? If you are please leave selling to others.This is Selling 101 stuff.


    What I suspect happened is this group placed these labels on the sales people and when they showed the managers the results they were shocked that relationship builders were not the best. Not because of who was in the group but because of what they thought the label would mean vs. what it actually means. It's easy to lie with statistic. Everyone should remember that.



    Finally I have a fifth problem with the methodology/findings. And that is the fact that the groups are relative even with simple sales but the Lone Wolves & Challengers do so much better in complex sales. Now I will agree that as I pointed out above it is clear why they are better sellers.

    But what this book fails to look at is rather complex "solution" selling is smarter for companies vs. simple transactional selling. The fact that in complex sales the vast majority of your sales people suck should give you pause. Complex "solution" selling only works if you have the right staff and it seems clear that companies do not.

    Or perhaps they do and the percentages of each group merely correlate to how many are in the group. But that kinda sounds like a sixth problem with the methodology/findings, doesn't it?

    Now I could go into more details about each of these 5/6 points but I think you understand the basics.

    So I don't think this book will change the sales world. Personally so far all it has done for me is...

    • Prove that Most Sales Managers Suck & don't know how to Identify a Great Sales Person
    • Prove that Most "Sales Professionals" are anything but professional. Sales is full of people who can't sell. Average is the Norm and the truth is the Average is way too low because of all the bad ones.
    • Prove that Statistics can be used to prove any point.
    • Prove that you can put a new spin on classic ideas and people will pay you for it. (This is valuable to me and to you if you look & learn)
    • Reenforce what I Personally look for in Sales Professionals.
    The truth is that no matter how much people try to make it sound like sales have changed and we've had breakthroughs (I won't bore you with my breakdown of how silly & egotistical Rackham's breakthroughs are) what worked for selling 100 years ago is still basically what works now. Yes the words and mediums have often changed and prospects are smarter now. But the basics are still the same. he only reason it is shocking now is organizations are full of bad managers who couldn't tell you what makes for great selling if their life depended on it. Sadly if you are a stockholder your investment replies on them being able to.

    You might not believe this but despite all of this would still say even with just 16% done I would recommend this book. It won't change sales and it likely will not change your life. But if you stop listening to how they say things and start listening to the underlying meaning their is gold in these here pages. Just please and I beg you seriously please don't buy into the hype that this is new. This isn't new. This is merely a book about a study that confirms what you should have already known. If you did it's a great reminder and if you didn't take a long hard look so you don't end up as one of those who were "shocked" by their findings.


    PS Please take time and truly look at point 5 above. If your sales offer is so complex that customers and many of your sales people don't understand it that doesn't mean get better sales people. It means make a better and likely less complex offer. "Solutions" are great but they shouldn't be about holding price and avoiding commoditization. They should be about providing done for them solutions to your clients that are simply to understand even if behind the scenes they are complex. And that is my final thought.

    Good night Cleveland.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8705623].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      I'm about 16% (kindle %) into the book and I know I should finish before giving my thoughts but some things have really stuck out so far.

      First I agree with Claude on recommending this books. But I'm not sure I agree with the conclusions the authors have reached for a variety of reasons.

      For those who have not read this book they place sales people into five categories based on surveys.
      Aaron; First..WOW! That was a fantastic breakdown.

      Yeah, I'm getting through the book. And while I'm still impressed with the book, it reads an awful lot like Spin Selling, although not as in depth. If you are only going to read one book on selling, Spin Selling is the one I would recommend.

      What I'm getting out of it is that the "Challenger approach" (pretty much what we do now) works regardless of the economy, while the other approaches aren't as effective in a down economy.

      There is a slight difference between the Lone Wolf and the Challenger. I used to be 100% Lone Wolf, and now I tend to be more Challenger. The Challenger concentrates more on fitting the solution to the prospect's business more...ad "educating" the prospect more. It's a slightly more high end approach ...version of Lone Wolf. And a Challenger approach would better fit a higher end, more complex sale. My Lone Wolf approach worked great selling vacuum cleaners, even life insurance...but I had to up my "integrating my offer into the prospect's business" game when selling online marketing to business owners. It wasn't the dollar amount, just that it took more effort for the prospect to see the connection between what I offered, and their business prospering.

      I think one problem here is that "educating" the prospect doesn't mean what most people will think it means. It means educating the prospect as to how your offer can perfectly merge with the prospect's business, and actually get the prospect to accept a new idea, rather than just fit your offer to their existing ideas.

      Yeah, the "Percentage of goal" thing had me a tad confused. Is it the % of the company goal? Or % of the past performance of the rep?
      I think if you merge Spin Selling with Pitch Anything...you'll have this book.

      And their research wasn't anywhere near as complete as in Spin Selling.And although I still think this is a great book, I like sales books written by high producing salespeople, not researchers.
      Signature
      One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

      What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8706580].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        I'm reading more of it. It's now including more of the "Create opportunities in the prospects business where your offer would be instrumental" stuff.

        I think there is more to this book, than we first thought.
        Signature
        One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

        What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8709853].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          I'm reading more of it. It's now including more of the "Create opportunities in the prospects business where your offer would be instrumental" stuff.

          I think there is more to this book, than we first thought.
          Hoping to get more of it read this week while I am in Indiana but the boys like to party so who knows lol
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8710220].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    This book is definitely making an impact on the corporate sales level.

    At my quarterly sales meeting, the Director of Sales really hyped up this book as a "must read."

    My surface-analysis pretty-much boils down to what Aaron already stated (I didn't read it).

    This blog post here (Thoughts on the Five Seller Profiles in The Challenger Sale - RAIN Group) sums up my thoughts on the book.
    Signature
    David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8711007].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
      Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

      This book is definitely making an impact on the corporate sales level.

      At my quarterly sales meeting, the Director of Sales really hyped up this book as a "must read."
      One of my biggest problems with sales training (in general) is that it is designed to sell to Sales Managers and VPs of Sales. This is a perfect example of how such a design makes for a Perfect Storm of Sales for the book or training being promoted.

      All you need to do is convince them it is the next big thing and you are golden. Always makes me wonder if there is a niche selling against the Sales Manager and that kind of corporate sales training. Something like this..

      Don't sit through another boring "training" that focuses more on selling to your boss vs. helping you sell more. Learn what your Sales Manager doesn't know. Hard work doesn't pay off. So let me teach you how to be a better sales person. How to blow past your sales goals while working way less than you would expect.

      If you are making $50,000 or less per year let me show you how you can double, triple or even more than quadruple your earnings all while working the same or even less hours.

      You don't need more training that teaches the you to make more calls.
      You don't need more training that teaches you to "take control" of the sale.
      You don't need more training on 1001 Arabian Closes.
      You don't need the new game changing training.

      Here is a secret that those trainers won't tell you. Hell they might not even know it. Do you know what those sales trainers will never tell you because if they did the suits in the corporate office would never hire them?

      This Secret is Simple. It is so simple that anyone can learn it. Yet in so many cases it is the exact opposite of what you have been taught by the revolving door of sales trainers.

      What is this Secret?

      Selling is Simple and What Worked in 1920 Will Work in 2020.

      I won't teach you the next big thing.
      I won't give you a new 31 step sales process.

      Would you like to learn why Selling is Simple?
      Would you like to learn how Mastery of its Simplicity is your key to earning more and being the most valuable employee in your company?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722651].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
        Alright, Aaron!!

        You just wrote the introduction for Claude's new book!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722697].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        My God, Aaron. I may just use it as is. Brilliant copywriting, absolutely brilliant insight.

        Originally Posted by Ron Lafuddy View Post

        Alright, Aaron!!

        You just wrote the introduction for Claude's new book!
        In fact, that's a great idea. Aaron? Do I have you permission?
        Signature
        One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

        What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722704].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
        Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post


        Don't sit through another boring "training" that focuses more on selling to your boss vs. helping you sell more. Learn what your Sales Manager doesn't know. Hard work doesn't pay off. So let me teach you how to be a better sales person. How to blow past your sales goals while working way less than you would expect.

        If you are making $50,000 or less per year let me show you how you can double, triple or even more than quadruple your earnings all while working the same or even less hours.

        You don't need more training that teaches the you to make more calls.
        You don't need more training that teaches you to "take control" of the sale.
        You don't need more training on 1001 Arabian Closes.
        You don't need the new game changing training.

        Here is a secret that those trainers won't tell you. Hell they might not even know it. Do you know what those sales trainers will never tell you because if they did the suits in the corporate office would never hire them?

        This Secret is Simple. It is so simple that anyone can learn it. Yet in so many cases it is the exact opposite of what you have been taught by the revolving door of sales trainers.

        What is this Secret?

        Selling is Simple and What Worked in 1920 Will Work in 2020.

        I won't teach you the next big thing.
        I won't give you a new 31 step sales process.

        Would you like to learn why Selling is Simple?
        Would you like to learn how Mastery of its Simplicity is your key to earning more and being the most valuable employee in your company?
        Man Aaron, that's some serious "salting on the hay"!

        You've made them so thirsty they'll have to drink
        your magical water you've got for them.

        Well done!

        Best,
        Ewen
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722856].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    My book review: Meh. It's stuff we're already doing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722741].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Honestly what I wrote there was a free hand version of an idea I have considered for an approach to Sales Training. And not just a book but the whole gambit from books to audio CDs to online training to seminars.

    I've just questioned rather that market makes sense. IE should you target the sales people directly or should you follow what works and sell to the Sales Managers and VPs. IMO this would alienate a lot of those people but it could turn into marketing gold since that niche is left virtually untouched. Even those who seemly sell sales training materials to the individual really don't.

    I posted this honestly to get a feel for what people thought. A market test of the concept basically. My reply seemed to lead into it so I thought, "what the hell let's free hand it and put it to paper and see if I get any feedback".

    As for using it feel free to take it and make it your own but please not word for word. Use it as inspiration. Use what fits your book. etc etc

    When I write a sales letter/etc for something like this I will polish the idea so I suspect in the long run no one would be able to tell they both started from this nugget of an idea.

    Also thanks for the compliments. I seem to be better at this copyrighting thing than I have ever thought I was.

    I am not joking when I say that I literally wrote that on the fly. That is pure first draft. I may have thought about the idea but I have never before put it to "paper" before.

    Edit: Another idea might be to have me convert that into an introduction to your book from me. Those are always fun. I'd need to read yours first to know how to tweak it to the content itself.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722782].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      Honestly what I wrote there was a free hand version of an idea I have considered for an approach to Sales Training. And not just a book but the whole gambit from books to audio CDs to online training to seminars.

      I've just questioned rather that market makes sense. IE should you target the sales people directly or should you follow what works and sell to the Sales Managers and VPs. IMO this would alienate a lot of those people but it could turn into marketing gold since that niche is left virtually untouched. Even those who seemly sell sales training materials to the individual really don't.
      I get what you are asking. You won't alianate anyone...because...

      You praise the management because they are one of the very few that don't teach these outmoded methods.

      I have a book that talks about "The seven myths ad reps tell you". And I gave that speech to ad reps. How? By positioning them as the solution to the problem other ad reps have, that are making their industry look bad.

      Ta Da!
      Signature
      One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

      What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722914].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        I get what you are asking. You won't alianate anyone...because...

        You praise the management because they are one of the very few that don't teach these outmoded methods.

        I have a book that talks about "The seven myths ad reps tell you". And I gave that speech to ad reps. How? By positioning them as the solution to the problem other ad reps have, that are making their industry look bad.

        Ta Da!
        Boom you just completed the puzzle. I did not expect this thread to turn into a focus group on the idea but I'm glad it did.

        I'm lazy (in a good way most of the time*) so I don't do any real work unless I see a real benefit. Remember I don't do anything anymore unless it gets me closer to driving multiple exotic cars.

        *I'm lying to myself and know that.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722925].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Darrin Bentley
          WOW! Some great thinkers in this thread!

          @Claude: No love for Gitomer?
          Signature

          A sucker MAY be born every minute, but that don't mean you have to take advantage of them.

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8722974].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            Originally Posted by Darrin Bentley View Post

            WOW! Some great thinkers in this thread!

            @Claude: No love for Gitomer?
            Jeffrey Gitomer? I think I have one or two of his books. But there are sooooo many sales books. There are probably a hundred great sales writers and trainers that I've either never heard of, or read one of their books...and have forgotten.

            It seems to me that I read one Gitomer book called "The Little Red Book Of Selling" or something like that. I remember that it had some good ideas.

            But again, if I haven't read it this year, most of these books kind of meld together in my memory. But I'm pretty sure I've read at least one of his books.
            Signature
            One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

            What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8723137].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Darrin Bentley
              Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

              Jeffrey Gitomer? I think I have one or two of his books. But there are sooooo many sales books. There are probably a hundred great sales writers and trainers that I've either never heard of, or read one of their books...and have forgotten.

              It seems to me that I read one Gitomer book called "The Little Red Book Of Selling" or something like that. I remember that it had some good ideas.

              But again, if I haven't read it this year, most of these books kind of meld together in my memory. But I'm pretty sure I've read at least one of his books.
              Yeah, Jeffrey Gitomer. For me, I found his "The Sales Bible" a very good read. I haven't read a whole lot of sales books but this is solid imo.
              Signature

              A sucker MAY be born every minute, but that don't mean you have to take advantage of them.

              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8723986].message }}

Trending Topics