University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There in Sales
Book

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There in Sales

How Successful Salespeople Take It to the Next Level

Marshall Goldsmith, Bill Hawkins and Don Brown
McGraw-Hill, 2011
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Sales success today depends more on an empathetic understanding of your customers’ needs than on your self-confidence and self-regard as a salesperson. Motivational experts Marshall Goldsmith (best-selling author of Triggers), Don Brown and Bill Hawkins explain what salespeople must do to win the favor of their customers and what they should not do that might lose clients. getAbstract recommends their supportive rundown on how to get on the right side of cynical, seen-it-all customers – and stay there.

Summary

Empathy, Not Ego

Salespeople once needed big egos to succeed. They could convince strangers – their customers – to buy what they had to sell. For many salespeople, their gold-plated egos got them where they wanted to be in sales.

Today, a dominant, ain’t-I-great, overarching ego will kill you professionally. Salespeople now need something more and better: They need empathy. Being empathetic shows your prospects and customers that you care about them. It enables you to connect and communicate effectively.

“The Selling Context”

Everything about sales has radically changed, including the context of sales – the selling process, the buying process and the customers. Selling has become much tougher. What worked for salespeople in the past won’t work today or in the future. To stay current, salespeople must change, too. As salespeople change, they can become more productive and close more sales.

This matters to companies. About 90% of the time, customers’ satisfaction rests on their salespeople, the fulcrum upon which sales depend. Salespeople must become expert at understanding how and why people connect and, particularly...

About the Authors

Marshall Goldsmith’s business books – which include Triggers and How Women Rise – have sold more than two million copies in 30 languages. Don Brown is an organizational consultant. Bill Hawkins is a leadership coach.

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