Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently

Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently

Released May 2014
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118875353

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Book description

What do winners of major sales do differently than the sellers who almost won, but ultimately came in second place?

Mike Schultz and John Doerr, bestselling authors and world-renowned sales experts, set out to find the answer. They studied more than 700 business-to-business purchases made by buyers who represented a total of $3.1 billion in annual purchasing power. When they compared the winners to the second-place finishers, they found surprising results.

Not only do sales winners sell differently, they sell radically differently, than the second-place finishers.

In recent years, buyers have increasingly seen products and services as replaceable. You might think this would mean that the sale goes to the lowest bidder. Not true! A new breed of seller—the insight seller—is winning the sale with strong prices and margins even in the face of increasing competition and commoditization.

In Insight Selling, Schultz and Doerr share the surprising results of their research on what sales winners do differently, and outline exactly what you need to do to transform yourself and your team into insight sellers. They introduce a simple three-level model based on what buyers say tip the scales in favor of the winners:

Level 1 "Connect." Winners connect the dots between customer needs and company solutions, while also connecting with buyers as people.

Level 2 "Convince." Winners convince buyers that they can achieve maximum return, that the risks are acceptable, and that the seller is the best choice among all options.

Level 3 "Collaborate." Winners collaborate with buyers by bringing new ideas to the table, delivering new ideas and insights, and working with buyers as a team.

They also found that much of the popular and current advice given to sellers can damage sales results. Insight Selling is both a strategic and tactical guide that will separate the good advice from the bad, and teach you how to put the three levels of selling to work to inspire buyers, influence their agendas, and maximize value. If you want to find yourself and your team in the winner's circle more often, this book is a must-read.

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. Preface
  3. Chapter 1: Sales Winners Sell Differently
    1. The New World of Selling
    2. Analyzing What Sales Winners Do Differently
    3. Six-Prong Analysis Yields Fascinating Story
    4. 3 Levels of RAIN Selling
    5. Level 1: Connect
    6. Level 2: Convince
    7. Level 3: Collaborate
    8. Insight in a Sea of Information
    9. Insight across the 3 Levels
    10. Chapter Summary
    11. Notes
  4. Chapter 2: What Is Insight Selling?
    1. The New Source of Value
    2. Insight Selling—Overview
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Notes
  5. Chapter 3: Insight Selling and Value
    1. Defining Value
    2. Value Proposition Essentials
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Notes
  6. Chapter 4: Insight and Level 1: Connect
    1. Connecting with People
    2. Connecting the Dots
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Notes
  7. Chapter 5: Insight and Level 2: Convince
    1. The Power of Story
    2. Buyers Want to Be Convinced
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Notes
  8. Chapter 6: Insight and Level 3: Collaborate
    1. Power of Collaboration
    2. Psychological Ownership and Buying
    3. Collaboration Is Powerful When Driving and Reacting to Demand
    4. Tips for Collaborating across the Sales Process
    5. Facilitating Collaborative Group Discussions
    6. Chapter Summary
    7. Notes
  9. Chapter 7: On Trust
    1. Becoming Essential
    2. The Difference Trust Makes
    3. Three Key Components of Trust
    4. Trust Takes Time
    5. Chapter Summary
    6. Notes
  10. Chapter 8: Profile of the Insight Seller
    1. Skills, Knowledge, and Attributes
    2. Attributes of Insight Sellers
    3. Assessing for Competencies
    4. Chapter Summary
    5. Notes
  11. Chapter 9: Insight Selling Mistakes
    1. General Mistakes
    2. What Winners Do and Don’t Do
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Note
  12. Chapter 10: Buyers Who Buy Insights
    1. Two Buying Modes
    2. Six Buyer Personas and Insight Selling
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Note
  13. Chapter 11: Getting the Most from Sales Training
    1. Failure of Sales Training
    2. Chapter Summary
    3. Notes
  14. Epilogue
  15. Appendix
  16. About RAIN Group
  17. About the Authors
  18. Index
  19. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: May 2014
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118875353