What do winners of major sales do differently than the sellers who
almost won, but ultimately came in second place?
Mike Schultz and John Doerr, bestselling authors and world-renowned
sales experts, set out to find the answer. They studied more than 700
business-to-business purchases made by buyers who represented a total of
$3.1 billion in annual purchasing power. When they compared the winners
to the second-place finishers, they found surprising results.
Not only do sales winners sell differently, they sell radically
differently, than the second-place finishers.
In recent years, buyers have increasingly seen products and services as
replaceable. You might think this would mean that the sale goes to the
lowest bidder. Not true! A new breed of seller--the insight seller--is
winning the sale with strong prices and margins even in the face of
increasing competition and commoditization.
In Insight Selling, Schultz and Doerr share the surprising results of
their research on what sales winners do differently, and outline exactly
what you need to do to transform yourself and your team into insight
sellers. They introduce a simple three-level model based on what buyers
say tip the scales in favor of the winners:
Level 1 "Connect." Winners connect the dots between customer needs
and company solutions, while also connecting with buyers as people.
Level 2 "Convince." Winners convince buyers that they can achieve
maximum return, that the risks are acceptable, and that the seller is
the best choice among all options.
Level 3 "Collaborate." Winners collaborate with buyers by bringing
new ideas to the table, delivering new ideas and insights, and working
with buyers as a team.
They also found that much of the popular and current advice given to
sellers can damage sales results. Insight Selling is both a strategic
and tactical guide that will separate the good advice from the bad, and
teach you how to put the three levels of selling to work to inspire
buyers, influence their agendas, and maximize value. If you want to find
yourself and your team in the winner's circle more often, this book is a
must-read.
