Successful Selling Solutions

Overview

Many books simply list prescribed techniques and leave the reader to interpret them. What makes this book different is that it provides clear, practical advice on every aspect of making a sale, but you’ll also find much more: templates, tables, exercises and stimulating ideas to develop your sales techniques and monitor your progress in each particular sale. Every chapter ends with a summary, key points and coaching advice on developing a particular part of the sales cycle.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking ‘How can I be sure to maximise my chances of success?’ – this book is for you.

Content

Introduction

• Factors that will affect your level of success
  
• Topic reference table
  
• Coaching
  
• Glossary of sales terms
  

Chapter one: Preparation and sales development

• Introduction
  
• Your products and your competitors
  
• Recording sales-call information
  
• Forecasting future sales
  
• Other sales models

Chapter two: Targeting new accounts

• Background information on a target account
• Differentiating yourself from your competitors
• Written introduction techniques
• Examples of introductory letters 54

Chapter three: Telephone and personal introductions

• Introductory telephone techniques
• Cold calling on the telephone
• Overcoming objections on the telephone
• Common telephone objections
• Key questions
  

Chapter four: Turning interest into commitment

• Questioning and listening
• Having a structure
• Advanced questioning techniques
  

Chapter five: Developing a sale correctly

• Ensuring that you have ‘genuine’ commitment
• Presenting the benefits of your solution
• Other sales development factors 118

Chapter six: The presentation

• Presentations and demonstrations
• Preparing presentation material
• Informal and formal presentations
• You – the presenter

Chapter seven: The sales proposal

• Establishing that you are at the proposal stage
• Difference between quotations, proposals and tenders
• Structuring a quotation and a proposal
• Proposal to IT Marketing Limited

Chapter eight: Negotiation

• Bargaining or negotiation?
• Setting out your objectives
• The principles of negotiation
• Understanding the person you are selling to 187

Chapter nine: Closing the sale

• Different types of ‘Close’
• Buying signals and overcoming objections
• Good closing techniques
  

Chapter ten: Managing your accounts and your sales performance

• Managing target accounts and relationships
• Developing an account strategy
• Gaining an advantage
• Analysing your sales performance
  

The 10 do’s and don’ts of successful selling

Reviews

‘Innovative and extremely beneficial to our performance both in terms of skill sets but particularly in increasing confidence levels within our teams of sales people.’

Andrew Pendrigh, Director, James McNaughton Group

‘One of those rare people in sales… knows what has made him successful and is able to transfer these skills to others.’
Andrew Mills, Sales Director, Applied Optical Technologies

‘Julian Clay is a master of the selling process. By coupling powerful questioning techniques with his sales forecasting method we have revolutionised our sales process.’

Lawrie Siteman, Managing Director, IDS Group

Author

Julian Clay

Julian Clay is a Management Consultant specialising in selling techniques. After a successful career with Kodak, he developed his own consultancy. His clients have included the James McNaughton Group, ICI, Racal, Gillette and Novartis. He is co-author of The Sales Manager’s Desktop Guide, also published by Thorogood.