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Book Review: Nonstop Sales Boom
August 12, 2014 | Dan Beaulieu, D.B. Management GroupEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
A book recommendation from Dan BeaulieuNonstop Sales Boom: Power Strategies to Drive Consistent Growth Year After YearBy: Colleen FrancisCopyright: 2014, AmacomPrice: $17.95Pages: 280 with Index
This one has it all!
If you plan to buy, read, study, teach from, and hand out just one book this year, it must be Nonstop Sales Boom: Power Strategies to Drive Consistent Growth Year After Year because it has everything you need to be a successful sales manager, salesperson, sales team, and company.
Here are a few facts about the business world today:
- It's nearly impossible to get appointments;
- Only 3% of sales occur due to cold calling;
- The sales pipeline is never full enough, which leads to sporadic sales;
- Salespeople seldom meet quotas;
- There's very little customer loyalty;
- Salespeople are not as engaged as they once were; and
- Advertising the old way is bringing fewer results than ever before.
Do any of you want to stand up and argue with me about these facts?
No? I didn’t think so.
And that is exactly why I feel that Francis has written this year’s go-to book about sales. She examines each one of these problems and more, and shows the reader how to overcome them.
In the very first chapter she lists 14 reasons for sporadic sales. Here are just a few:
- Delayed buying decisions;
- Emotional decision making;
- Sales rep stress; and
- Missed opportunities.
She advises the reader to develop his sales pipeline by doing the following:
- Identify the prospect;
- Prequalify;
- Qualify;
- Solution design;
- Evaluate;
- Decide;
- Negotiate; and
- Close.
This book provides the reader with the modern-day solutions they need to solve today’s problems. There are a couple of chapters on social media, a chapter on how to conduct a one-on-one meeting with a potential customer, and a chapter on closing an order.
The author reveals that she is a close friend and protégé of sales guru Alan Weiss, and she uses his 4M approach to handling those one-on-one meetings:
- Maximum: What is plan A for the meeting?
- Minimum: What is the least you want to get from the meeting?
- Move forward: Taking the process to the next step.
- Motivation: Find a good way to motivate the buyer to make the sale.
The chapter on negotiations is worth the price of the book alone. In very clear and simple terms, Francis shows the reader how to stand firm during negotiations: Always be ready to discuss price and never be apologetic. Look the buyer in the eye and never move on the price without getting something in return and, most of the time, never move on price at all. Always hold firm.
One tip about your proposal that is especially valuable: “To increase your win rate on proposals, you need to present each one as a draft to every customer first.” This way you can get the customer's feedback and in fact have the customer act as your advisor and help you develop the final version of your proposal. It is a great way to pre-negotiate…without negotiating, yet.
OK, I’ve given away enough already. Get out there and pick up this book. It will be the best money you've spent on your career this year.