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Exceptional Selling

How the Best Connect and Win in High Stakes Sales

Jeff Thull

Wiley, 2006

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Recommendation

Every book jacket sales guru disparages "traditional" sales methods to promote his or her revolutionary approach, and Jeff Thull is no exception. However, Thull adds substance to his claim as he examines the arena of the complex sale and espouses his four-step sales sequence: "Discover, diagnose, design and deliver." In his sales system, every stage is a collaborative effort between the salesperson and the decision makers at the prospective client company. By working together, both prospect and salesperson identify a problem, research its financial impact, decide to make a change and design a solution. This system relies on gaining access to all the necessary players and getting them to participate throughout. Thull tends to gloss over the difficulty of clearing this daunting hurdle, though it may be harder to manage than he proposes. However, for those working in high stakes sales, this text is certainly worth studying. getAbstract particularly recommends its advice regarding orchestrating productive sales conversations.

Summary

Out with the Old

Traditional selling strategies often create situations that are counter productive in high-stakes sales. In fact, the conventional approach to sales can actually block you from making a sale by creating an adversarial dynamic between you and the prospect. No matter how complex your sale is, you need to communicate well, build credibility, add clarity, and earn trust and respect.

Communication Breakdown

You thought the meeting went great, but now the prospect won't return your phone calls or e-mails? What happened? As the warden says in the movie Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." When you lose a sale, the likeliest cause is a communication failure. To get the most out of your sales practice, you must be able to conduct productive, mutually beneficial discussions. Your conversational style should engage your customers and compel them to make a purchase. Most salespeople work on their communication skills for presentations, handling objections and closing. However, this approach often alienates rather than collaborates.

Your Emotional Mindset

Your communication style reflects your emotional mindset, ...

About the Author

Jeff Thull is president and CEO of a sales and marketing consulting company. He also wrote The Prime Solution and Mastering the Complex Sale.

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B. W. 5 years ago

Great ideas!