|
|  |
|
|
Stop Acting like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer
Author: Jerry Acuff, with Wally Wood
by Reviewer Renie McClay
One thing I have come to expect from Jerry Acuff is very practical, straightforward ideas. This book is no disappointment.
Two very key take aways are the 5 Rules of Buying (which get us out of the mode of selling, a place that many of us live everyday) and 8 Laws of Sales Intent (rules to follow everyday).
The paradox is, the less you care about the sale, the more you will sell. Relaxing that buying tension creates an environment where you are helping the buyer find what they truly need. I recently was appliance shopping and I witnessed shoppers dodging sales people. I felt my own tension rise as a sales person tried to get me to commit to something when I wasn’t ready. There is something to this concept of relaxing the buying tension.
If you are working with “don’t leave without the sale” sales management, this book is not for you. We are taught there are times when we should not sell. Your job is to find out what your customer wants and help them get it. There are times when you should not make the sale. Jerry says every time you tell a customer honestly your product isn’t the right fit, you open the door for the future. You build trust that you are truly acting in their best interest rather than just being there to sell something.
A great part of this book is the importance of building knowledge, messaging and relationships. Knowledge being what you know, messaging being how you express it, relationship being how you connect with people. We know that relationships are important and learned about them from the first book, “The Relationship Edge in Business.” So why do sales people need all three? If you leave out any one piece of this triangle, what do you have? Great product knowledge, but no ability to communicate it in a meaningful way. A great message, but not the right people to tell. Having all three gives you the confidence to be successful.
I give this book a big thumbs up. I would suggest sales leadership make this book available for each person interacting with the client - sales, sales management and maybe even customer service.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
|
|
| |
|
|
September 2007
Give Your Sales Training a Second Life!
There Is No Place Like Work: Seven Leadership Insights For Creating a Workplace to Call Home
Authors: Dr. Sheila L. Margolis and Dr. Ava S. Wilensky
By Book Reviewer: Robert Klein
Stop Acting like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer
Authors: Jerry Acuff, with Wally Wood
By Book Reviewer: Renie McClay
SMT Annual Conference
November 12 - 14, 2007
Fairview Park Marriott
Falls Church, VA
Click Here to Join the SMT Family
SMT Welcomes Our New Members
Acclivus Corporation
Arrow International, Inc.
Express Scripts
Sales Momentum
Sony Electronics, Inc.
WellPoint
"Being a member of SMT provides me with an invaluable network of sales and marketing training professionals that have an incredible amount of experience and knowledge to share... I rely on this prestigious group to support me in dealing with business challenges unique to our profession...
SMT members are my peers, my mentors, my friends... SMT is the only professional organization I belong to..."
Mary Elliott Bassett, Worldwide Director, Sales and Customer Training, Entertainment Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company
|
