James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner and Deb Calvert
Stop Selling and Start Leading
How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen
Wiley, 2018
Aperçu
To impress buyers, B2B salespeople should behave like leaders, not salespeople.
Recommendation
Business-to-business (B2B) selling can be an uphill fight. Many buyers automatically assume that all salespeople will fulfill a negative stereotype of being high-pressure, manipulative know-it-alls. Buyers are wary of hucksters. The solution? B2B salespeople must stop acting like sellers and start acting like leaders. Moreover, they must actually become leaders. Authors and sales experts James Kouzes, Barry Posner and Deb Calvert base their guidance on research they conducted with B2B buyers. The primary finding is that these decision makers prefer to buy from salespeople who exhibit leadership characteristics and behaviors. Salespeople confirm they do best when they perform as leaders. Kouzes, Posner and Calvert’s instructive, original and well-documented manual shows all B2B salespeople – with any level of experience – how to make that crucial, career-transforming transition.
Summary
About the Authors
James Kouzes is the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership for the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, where leadership professor Barry Posner holds the Accolti Chair. Deb Calvert is the president and founder of People First Productivity Solutions.
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