Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies

SNAP Selling out with a BANG

It's been only a week since my latest book SNAP Selling came out.

While Selling to Big Companies was a sleeper hit - slowly climbing up the bestseller lists to gain a spot in the top 20 sales books on Amazon (where it's been for over 4 years) - SNAP Selling reached the top in a snap!

Within a day of publication, SNAP Selling was the top Sales book on Amazon.com.  It's been in the top three ever since!

If you're curious about my latest book, and want to know if it's worth the investment, here's what people are saying about SNAP Selling on Amazon.  (You can also click here to read the first two chapters for free.)

SNAP Selling is one of the few books that both truly gets how buyers perceive sellers today and, just as importantly, provides sellers a roadmap to become indispensable. It's an easy, action read - you'll be a better salesperson or executive for having read this.

Douglas, Annapolis, MD

Not only does SNAP Selling clearly articulate what buyers expect from sellers, it also lays out a step-by-step plan on how to be relevant, add value, and move the sales process forward. Other sales books you read and put on the shelf but this one you'll keep on your desk as a touchstone for effective selling.

Trish, Boston, MA

Konrath provides a valuable, timely, take on how sales is changing and what to do about it. Stop selling your stuff. Start selling your personal value to each buyer.... Your value to buyers will be amplified.

John, Vancouver, B.C.

SNAP Selling...is a book on sales that is urgently needed. It provides sellers with a set of strategies and tactics enabling them to speed up sales and win more business based on a solid framework...It is now easy to answer the often recurring question about what sales book I would recommend for somebody new to sales or somebody wanting to assure they stay relevant in sales: SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath.

Christian, Paris, France

SNAP Selling is a breath of fresh air in a sea of same-old sales training. Practical, hands on ideas a savvy sales professional can immediately implement...If you're looking for a new ideas and a smart strategies that will get prospects wanting to meet with you, SNAP Selling is your answer.

Rosalie, Jenkintown, PA

No one has ever delivered the scope of selling in 2010 like Jill just did with SNAP selling.... No one else has delivered this much value in a long time. I won't give away all her secrets, but I will tell you this, expect to triple your performance next quarter with this under your belt. This is a "must read".

Self-described "ordinary dude" Dan, Greenville, SC

So if you're now even more interested in SNAP Selling, go to http://www.snapselling.com to learn more or choose your favorite online retailer right now.  I'm looking forward to reading your review!

A sales book worth reading? You be the judge!

Justyn Howard, blogger at The Passive Pipeline, just reviewed my book. Take a look at this picture he posted!

Why would a successful enterprise account manager put Post-Its all those pages? Could he possibly have discovered some new ideas or fresh perspectives?

Check out his review here. Also, he's collecting comments from others who have read Selling to Big Companies. When you share you story, you get a chance to win an autographed copy. FYI, here are a few recent emails I've received from readers:

Bill Hampton: My company finished a six-figure project last Friday. We received the order because we put into action what you taught us in your book, Selling to Big Companies. A less-than-$20 investment paid a handsome commission.

Parker Norwood: I simply wanted to thank you for your Selling to Big Companies book, the best sales book that I have ever read in my 20 years of selling, no kidding.  It was real, to the point, offers a plan, and I re-read it all the time.   I don’t watch movies twice much less re-read books, so this is a big deal.  I didn’t want to put it down, and I am not a big reader.

Jim Cox: Last year I focused on learning your methodology. Payoffs started coming right away. Now I have the biggest pipeline in my 17 years with the company. Here's an example ...

I left a voicemail for the president of a mid-market bank. In it, I stated a key "trigger" learned via online research. I also referenced two "name brand" banks, with summation of our performance for them. The very next day, a VP called me back. I closed the deal verbally, winning the contract and business within a month.

Do you have your copy yet? Want to read two chapters before you buy it?

Get them here - then decide if it's worth it for you.

Part II: Are you selling to the very important top officers? Should you be?

On Tuesday, I posted Part I of my interview with Tony Parinello, co-author of the newly released book, Five Minutes with VITO. Here's the conclusion of our conversation. (Download a PDF of the entire discussion.)

Jill: What other mistakes do you see people make when selling to the VITO.

Tony: They don't acknowledge VITO's gatekeeper – the private assistant of a president, CEO or owner. Forget about those stupid ridiculous tactics you've learned about how to get through, past, over, under or around the gatekeeper. They don't work.

So here is the next secret. Let's say you reach out to VITO and their private assistant picks up the phone. Just treat the private assistant as if they were VITO, but just don’t call them VITO.

Whatever you were going to say to VITO, say to that person. Because guess what - when VITO is not there, they are running the company. They are keeping things in check. They're a matched set with VITO, so whatever you'd say to VITO, you say to VITO's private assistant.

Salespeople do stupid things. When they're calling VITO and his private assistant picks up the phone and says, "Ms. Importante’s office. May I help you?" – the first thing the salesperson says is, "Is Ms. Importante in?"

The gatekeeper is going to say no - even if VITO is sitting right there looking straight at here. The gatekeeper is going to say no.

Jill: That's right.

Tony: Now some sales books say that if you get three no's in a row, you're on your way to a sale.

Customer Success Stories are Killer App for Salespeople

In my opinion, the most impactful sales tools are customer stories that demonstrate tangible business outcomes.

That's why I'm so excited about Casey Hibbard's new book, Stories that Sell, in which she details exactly what you need to do to turn satisfied customers into your most powerful sales and marketing asset.

Over the past decade, she's helped dozens of customers write over 450 case studies, so she knows exactly what it takes to create compelling stories.

I recently interviewed Casey about what it takes to create these powerful sales tools. I think you'll learn a lot from her answers!

Part II: Is your sales team making the numbers?

On Monday, I posted the first part of my interview with the authors of the Making the Number. As I said earlier, this book can really shake up the sales organization - but in the process, take it to new heights.

I recommend it to any business owner or sales executive who is serious about doing just that.

Here's Part II of my interview with the authors:

1. How does sales benchmarking help predict sales performance?

Sales benchmarking is diagnostic technique that focuses on leading not lagging indicators. Instead of sales leaders reviewing quota attainment results, they can use it to focus on metrics like pipeline-to-quota ratio. In short, sales benchmarking enables sales executives to look over the horizon instead of drive using the rear view mirror.

2.  What are the first steps in getting started with a sales benchmarking effort?

Here are four things you can do immediately when you visit our www.salesbenchmarking.com home page.

• Watch a video about how Bill James and his how Sabermetrics approach helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. You'll learn why this has relevance to sales benchmarking.
• Download a copy of the World Class 100.
• Check out the video from NetSuite CEO, Zach Nelson. He discusses how sales benchmarking helps his company close business.
• Take a sample benchmark at www.salesbenchmarkindex.com/benchmark

3.  How much does something like this cost?

Our programs start at $1,500 and go to $500,000 plus. It is based on a pay as you go cost per metric. Typically, the cost of a sales benchmarking program is less than 1% of the benefit it provides.

4. What are two or three takeaways for everyone who reads your book?

• Takeaway #1: You can and should compare yourself and your sales force to peers.
• Takeaway #2: Look at world-class sales organization performance to determine where you should close the gap.
• Takeaway #3: Use best practices benchmarking as the means of closing the gap and driving shareholder appreciation.

Many thanks to author Mike Drapeau for the sharing his thoughts on sales benchmarking. If you embrace it, everything changes!

Is your sales team making the numbers? If not, check this out.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that has the potential to shake up the sales profession! 

But Making the Number: How to Use Sales Benchmarking to Drive Performance, the new book by Greg Alexander, Aaron Bartels, & Mike Drapeau is one that will.

The authors show you, step-by-step, how almost any sales organization can improve dramatically - and I mean that! But it's not a cakewalk. If you're an entrepreneur or sales leader, you'll definitely want to check it out. 

While you're waiting for your copy to arrive, here's Part I of my interview with the authors:

1.  What motivated you to write this book?

We all came to the subject from separate paths. Greg came from the sale management and was tired of the claim that sales artistry trumped sales measurement. Aaron came from sales operations and was frustrated with the difficulty of comparing one organization to another. Mike, who came from marketing, had struggled to find a way to depict the inefficiencies in the Sales-Marketing interface.

2.  How do you define "sales benchmarking?"

It's a rigorous methodology that uses empirical 3rd party sales data to help executives understand how they're performing relative to a peer group.  The output of this effort is:

• Accurate identification of sales process weaknesses
• The ability to prioritize improvement initiatives
• And the ability to apply best practices.

3. How does sales benchmarking benefit the individual?

There is a whole chapter in the book on just this very topic. Let me quote:

“Sales benchmarking allows salespeople to better manage their most precious resource—time. It allows salespeople to focus on those opportunities with the highest probability of success.

"Data-driven decision making enables sales reps to eliminate non value-adding activities that consume selling time.

"Furthermore, it can assist individuals in making more informed decisions about which types of companies and for what kind of sales leadership to work.”

In summary, the book title says it all - a sales leader will make their number after reading this book.

4. What's the difference between sales benchmarking and sales analytics?

Sales analytics is when companies collect and analyze sales data. They run reports, compare current to past performance, stack rank sales reps, and attempt to build forecasts.   

In order to do sales benchmarking, an organization must be doing some form of sales analytics. The difference, though, is that with sales benchmarking, an organization also does the following:

• Adopts a common classification scheme for their internal data.
• Compares internal data to external data of peers.
• Leverages sales best practices from high performers in other industries.
• Tracks leading indicators.

Sales benchmarking helps you compare what your organization is doing to companies in other industries - as well as make significant improvements to you bottom line in the process.

On Thursday, I'll publish Part II of my interview. The authors will answer these questions:

• How does sales benchmarking help predict sales performance?
• What are the first steps in getting started with a sales benchmarking effort?
• How much does something like this cost?
• What are two or three takeaways for everyone who reads your book?

Once again, if you'd like to check out this book on Amazon, here's the link.

Striking a Fortune!

In the most recent issue of Fortune magazine, Selling to Big Companies was selected as a "must read" book that belongs in everyone's briefcase.

I'm honored that it was chosen as one of only eight books recommended - especially since the competitors were all the other good sales books ever written!

And you know what makes me even more excited? When I get emails like this one from Jim Cox of IC System:

Using your strategies, I researched a 3-year old Internet financial services company that was growing by $100M annually and figured out a hot button.

I called the CFO and left a value proposition focused voicemail. In it, I named two Internet company clients of ours (one is also a key vendor of the prospect) and shared quick statistics to sum up our performance.

The next day, the Operations Vice President called me! This process took 90 more days to complete, but last week we won a verbal commitment for $5M in business all at once before the end of July. Plus there's potential for $10M more next year.

Cool, huh!  If you want to check out Selling to Big Companies, here's the Amazon link. Make sure you read the 46+ Five Star reviews. Or start by downloading two chapters on my website.

Also, here's a link to the entire Fortune article:

Download Fortune-SelllingtoBigCompanies-9-08.pdf

Tooting Your Own Horn

You know what I hate? I hate telling people to get my book. They give me this look like, "You're just trying to get rich off me."

Ha ha! I make $1/book. That's it. I didn't write Selling to Big Companies to become a millionaire. I wrote it because it needed to be written. And, if you haven't read it yet, you're really missing the boat. Here's why:

Amazon Ranking: It's been a Top 25 Sales Book for over 2  years. Today it's #10!  That's because people keep buying it!

Amazon Customer Reviews: 47 reviews, average rating is 5 (highest)

Here's the newest from Joe Perry:

This book is easily the best sales book I've ever read. Implementing Jill's methodology has literally transformed my career and made me more money than I ever dreamed possible. I no longer view myself as a "sales person", I now view myself as a "business improvement specialist". According to Jill, this mindset is the #1 key to success. And I have to say I've seen this truth play out in arguably the most competitive business environment in the world, New York City.

The section on leveraging email as an account entry strategy has been especially helpful to me. I can't tell you how many meetings I've generated from well-crafted, customized emails and subject lines. In the age that we live so driven by technology, get this book for no other reason than just that.

Barbara Killen sent me this email:

It works! It works! Recently I left two short messages for a person I thought was the decision maker. A few days later, a more senior member of the company called and left ME a voicemail! 

She said she was very interested in … get this … the short, clear value proposition I'd stated both times in my messages! It was almost word for word! I was so excited, I couldn't believe it.  When I hung up, I let out a huge yell and my boss came running.

Startup sales experts Karl Goldfield recently wrote a detailed review on his blog - giving it his first perfect score EVER. He says:

This was a light read at 230 pages, but so packed with content I would find myself rethinking my own strategies as I finished each chapter. That is the sign of a brilliant educator is to effortlessly force the student to apply what they learned by changing their perception.

The clarity of her simple message is fantastic. What is even more compelling is that she admits her flaws, thus making you appreciate her as a fellow salesperson. It humanizes her experience and validates the insight. She feels like a colleague not a writer preaching the “way”. You can read more here.

And this is just a small sampling of the emails and messages that come my way on a regular basis.

So, if you're struggling to crack into corporate accounts it's time to get Selling to Big Companies. Don't take my word on it. The book makes a difference.

The Perfect Pitch - or is it?

The story below is excerpted from Sales Autopsy, by Dan Seidman. Unfortunately, I feel uniquely qualified to testify to its truthfulness. Also, check out the special promotion from 22 sales experts if you order Sales Autopsy today on Barnes & Noble today.

Jill's Presentation is Music, Except to Her Prospect's Ears
Jill was excited to start her sales career at Xerox - the big copier company had the best sales training in their industry and was known as an organization that gave great support to its reps.

There was this one particular rule that her manager enforced: Nobody goes on a sales call alone until they have MEMORIZED their presentation, word for word.

Book Review: Why Johnny Can't Sell

If your reps are struggling to make the grade, you'll discover why in this information-rich book. The authors detail the knowledge and skills needed in today's highly competitive business environment. The best part is when they link the phases of the consultative sales process with a variety of tools your organization can develop to help Johnny sell. If you've read Selling to Big Companies, you know I'm a big supporter of creating sales tool kits - especially if they're based on what your top reps are already doing on their own today. These tool kits are highly effective in helping average sellers perform better and shortening the learning curve for new hires. Lots of good stuff in here. Download a sample chapter or purchase book now.