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Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success

This is a book that surprised me. Based on the age of this book I expected tired and old advice on cold calling and other overworked concepts discussed ad nauseam in every sales book. Instead I got a solid system of prospecting with excellent advice, techniques, and tools. This book covers all the bases from list acquisition to script writing and record keeping but most importantly the author changes prospecting from grueling to pleasurable. “Old School” prospecting was hard because it was based on overcoming rejection and a mind-numbing process of quantity over quality. Old School Prospecting was about verbally beating on a prospect until they capitulate: that buyers are liars, each no leads to a yes, and that you need at least 10 no’s to get a yes.

Bill Good says, “Prospecting and selling are two entirely different subjects. Prospecting gets rid of; selling keeps. Prospecting takes an easy no. On the other hand, once a salesperson is convinced someone is a good prospect and should own the product or service, selling does not take an easy no.” Good has a better system: that buyers tell the truth and if they’re not interested simply say “Thankyouverymuch” and call the next person. Bill Good writes with humor and warmth. He has been in the trenches with us and his savvy, wisdom, experience all come through.

While an update of the book to include CRM instead of index cards might be useful, this is a solid helpful book on prospecting. Very few books exist on prospecting which is what I consider the most important part of selling. This book sits on my short shelf of must have sales books, along with “Selling Against the Goal,” “Value Forward Selling,” and “Selling to Big Companies.” There are many books on cold calling such as “Red Hot Cold Calling” and “Cold Calling for Dummies”, even books on “Never Cold Call Again. Bill Good’s book “Prospecting” is the best–the best by far!
Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

If you want to learn how to change behaviors that seem intractable this book will give you powerful change tools. Influencers will help managers and leaders with organizational change, parents with their children’s behaviors. This book isn’t about quick fixes, self-help, or even the “persuasion techniques” that salesmen need to close a deal or managers need to get their orders followed. This book is about influencing behavior over the long view. This is an important book.

Let me address some criticisms I’ve heard about this book. The principle complaints seem to be: the book is poorly written, there are 5 authors, the book mocks the `Serenity’ prayer, and lastly it is not a self-help book. The reading level of this book is probably greater than the 8th grade level most books are written at. However the book is well organized, threads its various stories and points throughout and kept me involved to the end. The joint efforts of these authors has produced two other fine books (Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations) so their writing skill and collaboration are proven.

Serenity has become apathy: the acceptance of things that we can change–a substitution for courage. This book calls readers to challenge the status quo and to lead change where possible. Lastly, this is NOT a self-help book. This is not a book for salespeople or others looking for persuasion techniques. If you want to learn about those things read Tipping point, anything by David J. Lieberman (such as “Get Anyone to Do Anything”). Read “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B. Cialdini or “The Psychology of Persuasion” by Kevin Hogan. This is a book on how to help others.

“Influencers” creates an entire change model based on the fact that people choose their behaviors based on what they believe works and only change after answering two questions: can I do it and is it worth it? Those two dimensions of desiring change–motivation and ability–have personal, social, and structural elements, resulting in 6 strategies influencers can use to leverage change.

The book solves the paradox of having so much information but little change, for example dieting or smoking. We know what to do but we don’t do it: we need people who are Influencers. Influencers know that behaviors are not changed through verbal persuasion but through personal experience. When experience can’t be had Influencers need to create profound visceral experiences. Change “takes a combination of strategies aimed at a handful of vital behaviors to solve profound and persistent problems” (76). This book will teach you how to do this! If you are the kind of person that reads books like Rick Warren’s “A Purpose Driven Life” or John Maxwell’s “Becoming a Person of Influence” you will like this book. If you want to be effective in helping others without force or by power you should read this book.
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion

The Art of Woo” hits on all cylinders, except perhaps its title. This book offers practical advice and a clear roadmap on how to persuade others, that is the selling of ideas. The book is entertaining, well written, and full of good stories, quotes, and historical personalities and business greats. I highly recommend this book for everyone because all of us has to sell our ideas: to our families, co-workers and clients. As Lee Iacocca said “you can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”

What makes “The Art of Woo” so good is its emphasis on relationships and people skills. Woo is about “relationship-based persuasion, a strategic process for getting people’s attention, pitching your ideas, and obtaining approval for your plans and projects.” In our manically fast email impersonal technology driven world “woo is about people, not saving time.”

The book includes self-tests, practical tips, and a clear strategy: 1) survey your situation 2) confront the five barriers 3) make your pitch, and 4) secure your commitments. The barriers include relationships, credibility, communication mismatches, belief systems, and interests and needs. The authors recommend other books and have documented their research.

Lastly, this book pulls together much of the famous material of other persuasion books, such as Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion,” “Soft Selling,” and “Blink”. The book quotes Steven Covey, Marcus Buckingham, and dozens of business and historic leaders (Churchill, Franklin, Andy Grove, Sam Walton, etc.) If you only have time to read one book on persuasion this is an excellent choice.
The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

If You’re Not Out Selling…

This book is all about attitude and motivation. Don’t look for any ‘on the street’ strategies or sales methodologies here. The book isn’t ‘deep’ but rather is high energy and motivational, kind of like Tony Robbins applied to selling. It applies many of Jack Welch’s ideas of “Winning” directly to sales. If you need to be pumped up and recharged this is a great book to read.

This book also offers wisdom in the area of having a sales career. If you aren’t enthusiastic, can’t maintain high energy, and don’t realize that getting the job done ultimately falls to you then perhaps sales isn’t for you. The title says it all: you’re either selling or being outsold. Stop blaming price, competition and the world for loosing deals. If it was easy they wouldn’t need salespeople in the first place.

This book is about the attitudes and work needed to become a sales champion: that we need to hunker down and overcome. As the author says we have one life and one boss: ourselves.
If You’re Not Out Selling, You’re Being Outsold

Accelerants - Sell, Close and Grow Faster

A good strategic framework to implement and consider

This book’s overall message is so important that I’ve given away many copies. Sales messages are often too long, driven by PowerPoint, and unfocused. Boylan’s constraints are necissary to understand before any sales or marketing effort, for example how does the market perceive your product and your company? How do your employee’s view you and the product they are trying to sell? Perception is reality, especially engrained beliefs in prospect’s minds. Acceleratants reminds us to think about these things when we craft all of our interactions, communications, and market messages.

The critical reviews here correct here: the author spends far too much time pitching himself, offers little on the `how to’ side, and gives us no help outside the book (such as a good website or further reading references,like other books. However if the structure and content of this book are only good enough to make us think about our restraints and how to overcome them, then for me it was valuable.

Most companies really make the same claims, few offer proof. Accelerants’ message about “metric the message” is just one example of some good advice. Cut sales “canned” presentations by half and encourage interactions and questions. Target decision makers and address their needs before your own. None of this advice is new or earth shattering, but these items are seldem followed, at least consistently. Follow this book up with “ROI Selling” and other targeted `how to’ books, e.g. “Value Forward Selling,” and you’ll have not only the strategic view but also the tactical tools needed for success.

Accelerants: Twelve Strategies to Sell Faster, Close Deals Faster, and Grow Your Business Faster

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