No matter what, where, and to whom you sell, everything you do fits into
one of three phases of the sales process: Planning, Execution, and Closing.
True red-hot sellers know exactly what each phase encompasses, and the
rest of us can learn in the time it takes to read this ultra-practical book.
Red-Hot Selling presents a simple, start-to-finish sales process for new sales
professionals and veterans alike that shows how to:
Eliminate the peaks and valleys in your sales cycle • Manage your time for
optimum results • Ask your customers and prospects the six most powerful questions •
Find and penetrate the best accounts • Create and deliver dynamic sales presentations
and winning proposals • Beat back objections • And much more
Red-Hot Selling also includes the author’s powerful three-tiered planning
process, proprietary tools including the Meeting Management Worksheet™, and the best
closing techniques in the business—plus can’t-miss secrets for distinguishing your
product or service in a competitive market. Selling may be tough, but it’s not
complicated.
With this one-of-a-kind guide, you can streamline your job, kick-start your career, and
send your earnings sky-high!
Table of Contents
Introduction: So you Want to be a Sales Professional xi
Part I World-Class Sales Planning 1
Chapter 1 Prospecting Plans: Keeping the Pipeline Full 3
Planning Is a Natural Part of Living 3
You Are the CEO of Your Own Territory 5
Sales Planning Essentials 6
Your Prospecting Business Plan 7
Apportion Your Time 9
The Model for the Plan and Its Variants 11
Now, an Example 12
Final Thoughts 17
Chapter 2 Territory Plans: The Heart of the Sales Planning Process 19
The Large-Account Strategy 20
The Large-Account Strategy in Action 22
The Secret of Sales Success 22
How the Large-Account Strategy Works 25
Some Common Mistakes in Setting Up Your Territory 26
Why the Large-Account Strategy Works 28
Implementing the Large-Account Strategy 28
Take the Measure of Your Prospects 29
What if I Don't Work at the Top End of a Market? 32
Determine Your Account Load 33
The 80/20 Rule to Estimate Territory Size 34
Create the Account List 35
Going from Here 37
Chapter 3 Account Plans: The Third Leg of the Triple Crown 39
Your Account Plan 39
How Many Account Plans Should you Maintain? 40
What About Prospects? 40
What About the Workload? 41
The Account Development Cycle 42
Identify Customer Needs and Position Yourself 43
Start with Small Sales 43
The Move to Larger Sales 48
The Primary Provider-But Not So Fast . . . 49
Expand Your Account Penetration 50
The Trusted Adviser 51
The Sales Discovery Process 52
Procurement and Purchasing 52
Technical Review 53
The Originating Executive 54
The End Users 56
The Triple Crown Winner 56
Part II High-Performance Sales Execution 59
Chapter 4 Prospecting: Eliminating the Peaks and Valleys of Selling 61
Stay Current! 61
Prioritize Your Prospects 62
The ABC Call Cadence 63
The Call Script 65
A Nice Greeting 67
The Business Issue 68
The Open-Ended Follow-Up Question 69
Closing the Prospecting Call 71
Monitor Your Progress 71
Types of Completed Calls 74
The Invitation to a Meeting 75
The Opportunity Realized 76
Compelling Reasons to Persevere 76
Chapter 5 Sales Discovery: The One Thing That Does It 79
An Overview of the Discovery Process 81
The Necessity of Getting Beyond Yes or No 81
Preparation Is the Key 84
The Meeting Management Worksheet 85
Your Objective 85
Your Strategy 86
Your Meeting Agenda 88
Your Unique Selling Points 104
Your Next Step 106
Chapter 6 Handling Objections: The Easy Way! 107
There Are a Limited Number of Objections 108
The Right Model for Handling Objections 109
The Price Objection 110
The Competition Objection 110
Reference Examples, Both Actual and Synthesized 113
The Limitations of "Supplementing" 114
The "Will It Work?" Objection 115
The "Not Now" Objection 119
The Objection-Handling Matrix 124
Part III Closing Strategies That Win the Business 127
Chapter 7 Closing the Sale: The Best-Kept Secrets 129
Sales Planning as a Closing Technique 129
Prospect Planning for Greater Leverage 132
Territory Planning at the Closing 133
The Account Planning Carryover Effect 133
The Leverage Effect on Overall Sales 134
Sales Execution as a Closing Technique 136
Nurture, Not Closure 138
A Step Toward Future Sales 139
The Consultative Sales Process 140
The Customer-Seller Partnership 142
Completing the Consultative Sales Process 143
The Closing Phrase 146
Chapter 8 The Recipe for Winning Proposals 149
The Introduction and the Customer's Needs 150
Your Solution 152
Holding Onto Your Reader 153
Competing on Price Is Not a Sustainable Strategy 154
Raise Your Visibility as a Supplier of Niche Needs 156
Paul's Rule of One and Rule of Many 158
Leverage the Cost of Switching Vendors 159
Not Always on the Outside Looking In 163
Manage Customer Perceptions 164
Why Select You? 165
Schedule of Events 166
Investment Summary 166
Comparing Investment Alternatives 168
The Only Way to Present Your Solution 169
Caveat: Avoid Customer Traps 172
Reference Stories 173
How to Synthesize a Story 173
The Best Reference Story of All 174
New-Product Reference Stories 175
One Last, Great Point: Limited-Access Proposals 175
Chapter 9 Winning Sales Presentations 179
To Go First, or Not to Go First: That Is the Question 179
Polish Your Presentation Skills 181
Always Be the Standard Bearer 182
First to Customer 183
Prepare a High-Impact Sales Presentation 184
Acknowledge Individual Interests 185
Allow for Customer Participation 186
Present your Solution 187
Customer Objections During a Presentation 188
Preparation Is Key 190
Summarize Why the Customer Should Select You 191
Acknowledge the Value Added 192
The Value in the Sales Relationship 194
One Important Word of Caution 196
Provide a Compelling Reason to Act 197
The Opportunity Costs of Slow Decision Making 198
Doing the Numbers 199
Remember Your Follow-Through 200
Chapter 10 The Ten Best Sales Strategies 203
1 Sales Is a Process 203
2 Sales Time Management 204
3 A Full Sales Pipeline 205
4 The Large-Account Strategy 206
4a The Corollary to the Large-Account Strategy 207
5 The Account Development Cycle 208
6 Planning: The Best Closing Strategy 210
7 Monitoring Your Progress 211
8 Managing Customer Perceptions 213
9 Being Prepared 214
10 The Roadmap to Success 214
Index 217
240 pages, Hardcover