Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 1: You Are Hurting Your Profit 5
What Is This Book Worth to You? 7
To Maximize Profit, Change How You View Your
Customers 8
It's Time to Look in the Mirror 9
Your Confidence Drives Your Attitude 11
Can a Company Asking a Higher Price Really Win? 12
People Don't Buy-They Only Invest 13
Forget About Your Competition 15
CHAPTER 2: ``Profit'' Is Not a Dirty Word 17
Are You Chasing the Shiny Object? 18
Do You Think ``Profit'' Is a Dirty Word? 20
How Do We Define Profit? 21
What Does ``Immediate Profit'' Mean? 21
What Is Your Customer Worth Down the Road? 24
Calculate Your Customer's Profitability Sustainability
Factor 26
A Big Order at the Wrong Price Isn't Worth It 28
Intellectual Profitability Adds Up 30
Minimize the Profit Takers 32
``Profit'' Is a Beautiful Word 34
CHAPTER 3: Use Needs and Benefits to Command a
Higher Price 36
Chasing the Shiny Object 38
Determining the Customer's Needs and Benefits 39
Separating Good Information from Bad 44
What We Can Learn About Needs and Benefits from
Apple 45
Using Follow-Up Questions to Categorize a Customer's
Needs 47
Needs? Benefits? What's the Difference,
Anyway? 47
CHAPTER 4: Creating Real Value Using Your Price
Point 54
Forming Real Value Around Price 55
Creating the Price Point 56
The Power of the Ultra-Price Package 57
Ultra-Prices and a Salesperson's Beliefs 60
The ``No Negotiation'' Philosophy 61
Sales Managers: Don't Empower Salespeople to Give
Away Profit 63
Where Does the ``No Negotiation'' Policy Work
Best? 64
Rules for an Effective ``No Negotiation'' Policy 65
Making the ``No Negotiation'' Policy Work, Despite So
Many Rules 70
Using Time to Drive Value 71
CHAPTER 5: Prospecting That Works 74
Past Growth Doesn't Guarantee Future Growth 75
Finding New Customers Is Not an Optional Job
Activity 76
Prospect or Suspect? Do You Know the
Difference? 77
Is Prospecting Ingrained in Your Daily Routine? 77
Can't Prospect? Then You Can't Sell 78
What Is a Prospect? 79
Not All Prospects Are Created Equal 80
Assumptive vs. Inquisitive 81
Tactical Comments and Questions: The Price
Squeeze 86
Strategic Questions Lead to Long-Term
Relationships 87
Aim High When Prospecting 88
Make Prospecting Part of Your Daily Routine 88
Holiday Prospecting 89
Just Do It 92
CHAPTER 6: Sell More by Talking Less 93
How Professional Buyers Use Silence 94
Give Control to the Customer 95
How to Use Your Personality to Ask Questions 96
Questions That Work for You 97
How Much Time Do You Talk on a Sales Call? 98
Tactics Buyers Use to Speed Up the Sales Call 99
Why Salespeople Fail 100
An Example of Not Listening 100
Learn Your Customer's Language 102
The Best Follow-Up Questions 103
Put the Pride Aside: It's Costing You Money 103
Expand Your Question List 104
Do You Respect Your Customer? 105
The Two-Second Pause 106
Close Too Fast and You Lose Profit 108
The More the Customer Talks, the More You're
Prepared for the Next Sale, Too 109
Keep Your Eye on the Prize 110
CHAPTER 7: Skip the Sales Presentation 112
Why Preparation Is Essential 115
Preparing a Sales Presentation Does Not Mean You
Will Use It 116
Do You Know Your Presentation or Do You Know Your
Content? 117
What About Skipping the Presentation on the
Phone? 119
Always Respect Time 120
Developing Your Presentation 121
How Many Calls to Close a Sale? 122
CHAPTER 8: Leverage Knowledge to the
Fullest 124
The Customer Is Seeking Knowledge, Too 126
Leveraging Knowledge 126
False Facts 127
How Do You Track Customer Information? 129
Visiting the Senior Officer 131
Using Information to Gather Opinions 132
Validating Information 133
The Power of Sharing Your Information 134
Knowledge Can Help Open the Next Sale 136
Knowledge vs. Information 136
Your Competitor May Have the Same
Information 137
Your Knowledge Helps Create Trust 138
Your Knowledge Can Create a Long-Term
Relationship 140
CHAPTER 9: Sell More Without Even Being
There 141
China and the Sales Catalog 142
How the B2B Selling Process Has Changed 144
Putting Your Information Online 145
Getting the Right Information on the Internet 147
``Vendor Validation'' 148
Becoming a Thought Leader 150
Time Well Spent 152
CHAPTER 10: Selling to the C-Suite 154
What Language Do They Speak? 155
Attributes Needed to Connect with the C-Suite 158
Connecting with the CEO Directly 163
The 12 12 Approach 165
Connecting with the CEO by Way of a Referral 169
Dealing with the Blockers 170
Meeting with the CEO 172
C-Suite Relationships Are Insurance Policies 174
C-Suites Are Research Departments 174
CHAPTER 11: How to Handle Price Objections 176
You Need to Be Blunt with the Customer 177
How Should You Respond to Objections? 179
Responding to the Request for a Reduction in
Price 181
What Do You Do About the Persistent
Customer? 184
Getting Customers to Focus on Their Needs, Not Your
Price 186
The Custome r Is in No Rush to Buy 189
Don't Try to Push the Customer with a Limited-Time
Discount 191
Sell First, Negotiate Second 193
CHAPTER 12: Executing a Price Increase 194
The Ten-Step Process to Execute a Price
Increase 195
Step 1: Know Your Strategy and What the Price
Increase Is Going to Accomplish 197
Step 2: Sell the Objective of the Price Increase to
People Inside the Company, Particularly the Sales
Force 201
Step 3: Determine and Isolate the Customer's Key
Benefits (They Help Sell the Price Increase) 202
Step 4: Understand the Customer's Decision-Making
Timeline and How It May Impact Plans to
Communicate the Price Increase 204
Step 5: Isolate Key Contacts Within the Customer's
Company 205
Step 6: Develop Data and a Fact-Driven Point of View
(FDPOV) 206
Step 7: Signal to the Customer the Expectation That a
Price Increase Might Be Coming 207
Step 8: Formalize Expectations and Goals with the
Sales Force for Each Customer 210
Step 9: Present the Price Increase to Customers and
Gain Their Commitment 210
Step 10: Reinforce the Price Increase by Sharing the
FDPOV 212
Ten Steps to More Profit 212
CHAPTER 13: Purchasing Departments and the
Professional Buyer 214
Who Is the Professional Buyer? 216
The New Vendor 217
Understanding How the Buyer Operates 219
Warehouse Tours and the Buyer 220
Learning the Customer's Computer System 221
My Three Hours with a Buyer 222
Do Outside Meetings Include Any Risk for You? 224
Understanding a Buyer's Objectives 225
Vendor Letters and Requests 226
Increasing Your Margin on Friday Afternoon 227
CHAPTER 14: RFPs and RFQs: The Bidding
Process 231
Are RFPs a Good Use of Your Time? 232
Benefits of the Small RFP 234
Writing the RFP Gives You the Upper Hand 235
Step 1: Determine Your Strategy 236
Step 2: Develop Your Minimum/Maximum
Standards 243
Step 3: Develop Your Options 245
Step 4: Gain Information from the Customer and
Others 246
Step 5: Respond and Get the Meeting 247
The Value of a Follow-Up Meeting 249
Bid Selection Renegotiation 249
CHAPTER 15: Position Yourself to Continue Earning
High Profits 251
One Percent Continuous Improvement Process 253
Small Changes Equal Big Improvement 254
Your Windshield Is Talking to You 255
Recovering from the Bad Sales Call 257
Always Be Learning 258
Strategically Planning Your Week 259
Setting Weekly Goals to Build Off Your
Successes 261
Recording Your Goals and Accomplishments 263
Furthering Your Knowledge and Expertise 265
Recommended Websites 265
INDEX 267
