Selling & Sales Management
How to Win in Any Sales Situation
By Geoff King
August 2007
Financial Times / Prentice Hall
Distributed By Trans-Atlantic Publications
ISBN: 9780273713005
224 Pages, Illustrated
$47.50 paper original
Does your job involve selling services? Would you like to increase your numbers so that you regularly meet, and indeed beat, your sales targets?
Of course you would. And this is the book that will help you make that happen. It will give you all the practical skills you need to excel in selling your company's services. It offers a whole host of tips, guidelines and background information that is useful, immediately applicable, grounded in common sense but not commonly known. The Secrets of Selling is the first book to bring this vital knowledge together in one place. Clearly, concisely and engagingly written, you will wonder what you ever did without it.
No one would deny that selling is hard. But if you get it right, you can really shine. This book shows you how to win work consistently, from new clients as well as existing ones. If you follow the advice in The Secrets of Selling,, you will have as much sales knowledge as the very best and most experienced sales people. And your life will be a whole lot easier.
This essential companion for every salesperson reveals the secrets of successful selling at every stage, giving you tips and techniques on:
· How to approach sales meetings and sales proposals
· How to find new business
· How to be a top flight sales person
Contents Include:
Introduction: The Secrets of Selling ServicesSection 1: Sales meetings and sales proposals
1. What to say in sales meetings
Preparing for sales meetings ◦ The structure of a typical sales meeting ◦ Dealing with objections ◦ Closing
2. How to quickly and accurately assess the character of your prospect
How to make these judgements ◦ The most common reasons why people misjudge the characters of others
3. Using emotion in selling
Charm ◦ Using emotion correctly ◦ The emotions behind buying decisions
4. Body language in sales meetings
The importance of body language in selling ◦ Persuasive and non-persuasive body language ◦ What to look for in others
5. How to write proposals
The best way to write a proposal ◦ The management summary ◦The introduction ◦ Your understanding of their requirements ◦ Your company’s suitability for the work ◦ The proposed way forward ◦ The costs ◦ Possible next steps
6. Writing words that sell
The rules for writing good English ◦ How to write case studies ◦ How to write one page summaries
Section 2: How to find new business
Choosing your targets ◦ The theory behind finding new business ◦ Maximising the efficiency of your lead-searching ◦ The four main ways to find new business
7. Finding new business through mailshots
How to get good lists ◦ The message in your mailshot ◦ Knowing how many to send ◦
E-mailshotting ◦ Measuring the success of mailshots ◦ The mailshot idea that usually fails ◦ Running newsletters
8. Finding new business through seminars
Attending other people’s seminars ◦ Speed networking events ◦ Running your own seminars ◦ Alternatives to full blown seminars ◦ Following up after seminars
9. How to use the telephone to make appointments
The secret to successfully selling on the phone ◦ The four possible responses to your call ◦ The words you should use ◦ Getting past gatekeepers ◦ Common issues when phoning
10. Finding new business through partners
The three types of partner ◦ How to make your partnerships effective ◦ How to choose the right partners for you ◦ How to spot the partners you should avoid ◦ Keeping your partnerships healthy
Section 3: Becoming a complete salesperson
11. How to brand and advertise your company effectively
How to create a brand ◦ Colours and branding ◦ Advertising ◦ How to choose a tagline ◦ How to place your adverts
12. Presentations, away days and exhibitions
The best ways to use PowerPoint ◦ Things to remember when you are preparing to present ◦ Things to remember when you are presenting ◦ How the size of the audience affects your presentation ◦ Client away days ◦ Manning an exhibition stand ◦ Following it all up
13. Getting the most from the media
Getting articles into the press ◦ Finding journalists and publications that specialise in your area ◦ Press releases ◦ Other ways of contacting the press ◦ Doing media interviews ◦ Dealing with adverse publicity ◦ PR agencies ◦ Professional associations
14. Tips on beating the competition
What buyers are looking for ◦ Avoiding the biggest waste of a salesperson’s time ◦ Four general rules for competitive situations ◦ Dealing with specific types of competition ◦ Timing your visits when you are part of a formal bid process ◦ The waiting room
15. How to measure performance
Measuring your performance against the competition ◦ Measuring your own performance ◦ Your real chances of winning the work ◦ Sales reporting ◦ Rewarding sales achievement
16. Tips on managing your contacts
Why you need a contact management system ◦ How to choose the right one
17. Tips on managing large accounts
How to network around an account ◦ How to get extra work from the account ◦ Shaping the strategy of their senior managers ◦ When a team runs the account
18. Tips on negotiation
Five rules for preparing negotiations ◦ Nine rules for the actual negotiations ◦ Group negotiation ◦ Common situations when negotiating ◦ How professional buyers buy
19. How to sort the contract stage painlessly
What you need in a heads of agreement ◦ Some general considerations for contracts ◦ Tips for dealing with lawyers ◦ Frequently occurring problems with commercial contracts ◦ Getting the legal side right in the real world
20. So what makes the difference between average and top flight sales performance?
Motivation and goals ◦ Then end by referring to what I said at the beginning
About the Author
Geoff King started at the bottom of the sales ladder, selling pest control products on the streets of south London. After this inauspicious start, he climbed steadily through the ranks of professional service organisations until he reached the top of the ladder. By the end of his in-house career, he was routinely selling multi-million pound deals in outsourcing services for multinationals. He now lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and children and works as a freelance consultant on sales methods and strategies.
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