Managing Major Sales

The first book on managing major sales from the bestselling author of SPIN® Selling.

An Arsenal of Shrewd Tactics and Winning Strategies to Make You a Major Account Sales Success Knowing how to get to the decision maker, deal with the competition, understand buyer psychology, and service the client--these are the keys to success when you need to nail down major accounts. Now, for the first time, here's a book of practical, proven-effective strategies and tactics for the entire major account sales cycle. Based on Neil Rackham's exhaustive research, the strategies you'll find here will enable you to . . . Tailor your selling strategy to match each step in the client's decision-making process. Ensure that you won't lose your customers because you'll know the psychology of the buyer and how to respond to their doubts. Gain entry to accounts through many different windows of opportunity. Deal with competitive situations, take on bigger competitors, and win using strategies that the author's meticulous research shows are employed by the most successful salespeople. Handle negotiations, concessions on price, and term agreements skillfully and effectively. Offer the ongoing technical and maintenance support that keeps your major accounts yours. From a world-renowned sales innovator, this first-of-a-kind A-to-Z presentation of major account strategy puts sales success in your hands. Make it yours today. Read Major Account Sales Strategy.

Considers the management strategies, techniques and skills necessary for major sales and aims to show how these can be developed to improve sales performance, outlining alternative strategies for increasing sales effectiveness and using real-life case studies throughout.

The sudden transformation from player to coach is a dramatic one, and managers are usually expected to make the transition under their own steam. This dilemma is faced by many high-powered salespeople. A compact primer on making the difficult move from a narrow independent workstyle to a host of diverse responsibilities, this guidebook is written in a quick-grasp, conversational style perfect for the new sales manager. In clear, simple terms it shows how to:* Plan sales force operations efficiently* Implement the plan* Appraise the sales force and operations* Control operations* Communicate up and down in the organization* Recruit and maintain the sales forceFrom Selling to Managing gives the newly appointed manager everything he or she needs to be a success -- again.

Boost sales results by zeroing in on the metrics that matter most “Sales may be an art, but sales management is a science. Cracking the Sales Management Code reveals that science and gives practical steps to identify the metrics you must measure to manage toward success.” —Arthur Dorfman, National Vice President, SAP “Cracking the Sales Management Code is a must-read for anyone who wants to bring his or her sales management team into the 21st century.” —Mike Nathe, Senior Vice President, Essilor Laboratories of America “The authors correctly assert that the proliferation of management reporting has created a false sense of control for sales executives. Real control is derived from clear direction to the field—and this book tells how do to that in an easy-to-understand, actionable manner.” —Michael R. Jenkins, Signature Client Vice President, AT&T Global Enterprise Solutions “There are things that can be managed in a sales force, and there are things that cannot. Too often sales management doesn’t see the difference. This book is invaluable because it reveals the manageable activities that actually drive sales results.” —John Davis, Vice President, St. Jude Medical “Cracking the Sales Management Code is one of the most important resources available on effective sales management. . . . It should be required reading for every sales leader.” —Bob Kelly, Chairman, The Sales Management Association “A must-read for managers who want to have a greater impact on sales force performance.” —James Lattin, Robert A. Magowan Professor of Marketing, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University “This book offers a solution to close the gap between sales processes and business results. It shows a new way to think critically about the strategies and tactics necessary to move a sales team from good to great!” —Anita Abjornson, Sales Management Effectiveness, Abbott Laboratories About the Book: There are literally thousands of books on selling, coaching, and leadership, but what about the particulars of managing a sales force? Where are the frameworks, metrics, and best practices to help you succeed? Based on extensive research into how world-class companies measure and manage their sales forces, Cracking the Sales Management Code is the first operating manual for sales management. In it you will discover: The five critical processes that drive sales performance How to choose the right processes for your own team The three levels of sales metrics you must collect Which metrics you can “manage” and which ones you can’t How to prioritize conflicting sales objectives How to align seller activities with business results How to use CRM to improve the impact of coaching As Neil Rackham writes in the foreword: “There’s an acute shortage of good books on the specifics of sales management. Cracking the Sales Management Code is about the practical specifics of sales management in the new era, and it fills a void.” Cracking the Sales Management Code fills that void by providing foundational knowledge about how the sales force works. It reveals the gears and levers that actually control sales results. It adds clarity to things that you intuitively know and provides insight into things that you don’t. It will change the way you manage your sellers from day to day, as well as the results you get from year to year.

True or false? In selling high-value products or services: 'closing' increases your chance of success; it is essential to describe the benefits of your product or service to the customer; objection handling is an important skill; open questions are more effective than closed questions. All false, says this provocative book. Neil Rackham and his team studied more than 35,000 sales calls made by 10,000 sales people in 23 countries over 12 years. Their findings revealed that many of the methods developed for selling low-value goods just don‘t work for major sales. Rackham went on to introduce his SPIN-Selling method. SPIN describes the whole selling process: Situation questions Problem questions Implication questions Need-payoff questions SPIN-Selling provides you with a set of simple and practical techniques which have been tried in many of today‘s leading companies with dramatic improvements to their sales performance.

The challenges facing today's sales executives and their organizations continue to grow, but so do the expectations that they will find ways to overcome them and drive consistent sales growth. There are no simple solutions to this situation, but in this thoroughly updated Second Edition of Sales Growth, experts from McKinsey & Company build on their practical blueprint for achieving this goal and explore what world-class sales executives are doing right now to find growth and capture it—as well as how they are creating the capabilities to keep growing in the future. Based on discussions with more than 200 of today's most successful global sales leaders from a wide array of organizations and industries, Sales Growth puts the experiences of these professionals in perspective and offers real-life examples of how they've overcome the challenges encountered in the quest for growth. The book, broken down into five overarching strategies for successful sales growth, shares valuable lessons on everything from how to beat the competition by looking forward, to turning deep insights into simple messages for the front line. Page by page, you'll learn how sales executives are digging deeper than ever to find untapped growth, maximizing emerging markets opportunities, and powering growth through digital sales. You'll also discover what it takes to find big growth in big data, develop the right "sales DNA" in your organization, and improve channel performance. Three new chapters look at why presales deserve more attention, how to get the most out of marketing, and how technology and outsourcing could entirely reshape the sales function. Twenty new standalone interviews have been added to those from the first edition, so there are now in-depth insights from sales leaders at Adidas, Alcoa, Allianz, American Express, BMW, Cargill, Caterpillar, Cisco, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Deutsche Bank, EMC, Essent, Google, Grainger, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intesa Sanpaolo, Itaú Unibanco, Lattice Engines, Mars, Merck, Nissan, P&G, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Salesforce, Samsung, Schneider Electric, Siemens, SWIFT, UPS, VimpelCom, Vodafone, and Würth. Their stories, as well as numerous case studies, touch on some of the most essential elements of sales, from adapting channels to meet changing customer needs to optimizing sales operations and technology, developing sales talent and capabilities, and effectively leading the way to sales growth. Engaging and informative, this timely book details proven approaches to tangible top-line growth and an improved bottom line. Created specifically for sales executives, it will put you in a better position to drive sales growth in today's competitive market.

The first year of developing a new sales territory is a daunting task—especially in dog-eat-dog industries. The traditional advice is to train quickly on product, grab a customer list, start calling for appointments, discover opportunities, and close deals. In fact, almost every sales model out there is based on nothing more than "opportunity" management. But jumping straight to opportunity will have new salespeople—or veterans developing new territories—chasing their tails for the first year or two. As Sales Hunting: How to Develop New Territories and Major Accounts in Half the Time Using Trust as Your Weapon details, there is a significant problem you must overcome when opening up new accounts and territories. No matter what you are selling, your prospect already has a trusted relationship with an incumbent vendor and will continue to buy from that vendor even when you have the better solution. The playing field is not level—and you’re on the wrong side. So how can you compete to win? "Trust is the grease that makes business sales effortless," writes sales pro and trainer Dave Monty. Opportunity metrics are important, but trust—and a few sharp insider tactics Monty reveals—is the guidepost that leads to success. His sales model therefore incorporates metrics based on trust along with traditional sales measures. That is the fuel that helps you not just turn virgin territory into a consistent revenue generator, but helps you win over potential accounts that now use competitive products. Sales Hunting helps you start establishing trust before you step foot in a prospect’s door, and it shows you the tactics necessary to penetrate new accounts. Once you gain access, trust can be used as systematic way to build long-lasting relationships that pay dividends well beyond that first sale you make. Among other things, this book explains: Why most customers don’t want to buy from you . . . yetWhy trust-based relationships enable you to open up territories and bag the biggest customers quicklyHow to qualify and rank customers based on traitsHow to get in step with the customer’s buying cycleHow to establish trust-based and traditional sales metrics to guide your efforts With advice based on Monty’s twenty years of IT sales and sales management experience—along with principles confirmed by academic research—Sales Hunting is an easy-to-read book that is packed with real-life examples and prescriptions for achieving sales success. It will prove a lifesaver for any salesperson or sales manager developing a new territory or trying to penetrate new accounts. What you’ll learnWhy traditional sales models do not work for new account acquisition. Why long-term sales success is built on developing a trusted relationship with the customer.The best methods for achieving first meetings.The best solutions to lead with.How to qualify customer and opportunities. Where to best spend your time.How to measure and track your success.Who this book is for Salespeople and sales managers opening new territories or trying to penetrate new accounts. Table of ContentsHunting MisunderstoodIdentify the Silent Sales KillersThe Buyer ProcessThe Sales ProcessTrustTrust Sales CycleBuild Business RelationshipsUnderstand the Sales EquationPreplanning: Prepare YourselfNiche SellingRich Hunting GroundsWhere to Find CustomersCold CallingOn the Phone for the First TimePower in SalesSelling StrategiesQualify the CustomerBuilding Trust before OpportunityQualifying and Developing OpportunitiesAre You Winning or Losing?Wrapping UpSummary