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An Arsenal of Shrewd Tactics and Winning Strategies to Make You a Major Account Sales Success
Knowing how to get to the decision maker, deal with the competition, understand buyer psychology, and service the client--these are the keys to success when you need to nail down major accounts. Now, for the first time, here's a book of practical, proven-effective strategies and tactics for the entire major account sales cycle.
Based on Neil Rackham's exhaustive research, the strategies you'll find here will enable you to . . . Tailor your selling strategy to match each step in the client's decision-making process. Ensure that you won't lose your customers because you'll know the psychology of the buyer and how to respond to their doubts. Gain entry to accounts through many different windows of opportunity. Deal with competitive situations, take on bigger competitors, and win using strategies that the author's meticulous research shows are employed by the most successful salespeople. Handle negotiations, concessions on price, and term agreements skillfully and effectively. Offer the ongoing technical and maintenance support that keeps your major accounts yours.
From a world-renowned sales innovator, this first-of-a-kind A-to-Z presentation of major account strategy puts sales success in your hands. Make it yours today. Read "Major Account Sales Strategy."
| Preface | p. xiii |
| How Customers Make Decisions | p. 1 |
| The Research Base | p. 2 |
| The Customer Decision Process | p. 3 |
| Why the Stages Matter | p. 6 |
| Account Strategy in the Recognition of Needs Phase | p. 7 |
| Account Strategy in the Evaluation of Options Phase | p. 8 |
| Account Strategy in the Resolution of Concerns Phase | p. 11 |
| Account Strategy in the Implementation Phase | p. 13 |
| A Summary and a Look Forward | p. 13 |
| Account Entry Strategy: Getting to Where It Counts | p. 15 |
| The Purchasing Channel | p. 16 |
| Where's the Decision Maker? | p. 17 |
| Entry Strategy | p. 18 |
| The Three Focus Points of an Entry Strategy | p. 19 |
| The Focus of Receptivity | p. 20 |
| The Dangers of Receptivity | p. 21 |
| Moving from Receptivity to Dissatisfaction | p. 22 |
| The Acapulco Product Launch | p. 24 |
| Identifying the Focus of Dissatisfaction | p. 24 |
| Influencing the Focus of Dissatisfaction | p. 26 |
| Moving to the Focus of Power | p. 28 |
| Selling at the Focus of Power | p. 29 |
| When the Focus of Power Changes | p. 31 |
| Developing Entry Strategies | p. 32 |
| How to Make Your Customers Need You: Strategies for the Recognition of Needs Phase | p. 35 |
| Objectives for the Recognition of Needs Phase | p. 36 |
| Uncovering Dissatisfaction | p. 37 |
| Setting Your Objectives | p. 39 |
| Planning Your Questions | p. 40 |
| Asking Situation Questions | p. 42 |
| Asking Problem Questions | p. 42 |
| How Problems Are Developed | p. 43 |
| Selling to the Focus of Dissatisfaction | p. 45 |
| Gaining Access to the Decision Maker | p. 45 |
| Selling Indirectly to Decision Makers | p. 47 |
| Preparing Your Sponsor | p. 47 |
| Need-payoff Questions | p. 49 |
| The SPIN Questioning Strategy | p. 49 |
| Influencing the Customer's Choice: Strategies for the Evaluation of Options Phase | p. 53 |
| Recognizing the Evaluation of Options Phase | p. 54 |
| Objectives for the Evaluation of Options Phase | p. 58 |
| How People Make Choices | p. 59 |
| Identifying Differentiators | p. 59 |
| Establishing Relative Importance of Differentiators | p. 61 |
| Judging Alternatives Using Differentiators | p. 62 |
| How Decision Criteria Influence Sales Success | p. 62 |
| Some Points about Decision Criteria | p. 65 |
| Influencing Decision Criteria | p. 68 |
| Developing Criteria from Needs Uncovered Earlier in the Sale | p. 70 |
| Reinforcing Crucial Decision Criteria You Can Meet | p. 71 |
| Building Up Incidental Criteria Where You Are Strong | p. 71 |
| Reducing the Importance of Crucial Decision Criteria | p. 72 |
| Overtaking | p. 72 |
| Redefining | p. 73 |
| Trading-off | p. 76 |
| Creating Alternative Solutions | p. 78 |
| The Psychology of Handling Crucial Decision Criteria | p. 79 |
| Some Final Words on Decision Criteria | p. 80 |
| Summary | p. 81 |
| Differentiation and Vulnerability: More about Competitive Strategy | p. 83 |
| The Concept of Differentiation | p. 84 |
| What's Unique about Micro-differentiation? | p. 84 |
| "Hard" and "Soft" Differentiators | p. 87 |
| Competitive Strategy with "Hard" Differentiators | p. 88 |
| Speeding Up the Decision Cycle | p. 89 |
| Turning "Soft" Differentiators into "Hard" | p. 92 |
| The Expert Judge | p. 92 |
| Blurring "Hard" Differentiators | p. 94 |
| Using Differentiators in the Competitive Sale | p. 95 |
| Vulnerability | p. 97 |
| Vulnerability Analysis | p. 97 |
| What's a Competitor? | p. 98 |
| Strategies for Countering Vulnerability | p. 101 |
| Change the Decision Criteria | p. 101 |
| Increase Your Strength | p. 102 |
| Diminish Your Competition | p. 103 |
| Two Successful Strategies for Talking about Competition | p. 105 |
| Raising Weaknesses Indirectly | p. 106 |
| Exposing Generic Weaknesses, Not Specific Ones | p. 106 |
| Leaving the Evaluation of Options Phase | p. 108 |
| Overcoming Final Fears: Strategies for the Resolution of Concerns Phase | p. 109 |
| Resolving Concerns in the Larger Sale | p. 110 |
| Bigger Decisions | p. 111 |
| More People | p. 111 |
| More Competitive | p. 111 |
| Longer Selling Cycle | p. 111 |
| More Implementation Issues | p. 112 |
| Risk in the Resolution of Concerns Phase | p. 112 |
| Consequences: The Risks of Going Ahead | p. 114 |
| Objectives for the Resolution of Concerns Phase | p. 114 |
| What Causes Consequence Issues? | p. 115 |
| Recognition: The Essential First Step | p. 118 |
| Some Early Warning Signals | p. 119 |
| Detecting Consequences Face-to-Face | p. 120 |
| Signs Which Suggest Consequences | p. 121 |
| Discrepancies: The Common Factor | p. 122 |
| How Do You Handle Consequences? | p. 122 |
| Some Basic Principles | p. 123 |
| The Three Deadly Sins of Handling Consequences | p. 125 |
| Minimizing | p. 125 |
| Prescribing | p. 126 |
| Pressuring | p. 127 |
| Handling Consequence Issues Successfully | p. 130 |
| And Finally | p. 131 |
| Sales Negotiation: How to Offer Concessions and Agree to Terms | p. 133 |
| Why the Difference between Selling and Negotiating Is Important | p. 134 |
| The Key Rule: Negotiate Late | p. 136 |
| Negotiation: A Costly Way to Resolve Consequences | p. 138 |
| Showstoppers | p. 140 |
| The Right Time for Negotiation | p. 142 |
| Everybody Negotiates | p. 142 |
| Defining Negotiation | p. 142 |
| Studies of Expert Negotiators | p. 144 |
| Short-term versus Long-term | p. 144 |
| Focusing on Areas of Maximum Leverage | p. 145 |
| Establishing and Narrowing Ranges | p. 148 |
| Set Your Upper and Lower Limits | p. 149 |
| Refine Your Upper Limits | p. 151 |
| Refine Your Lower Limits | p. 152 |
| Negotiate within Your Narrowed Range | p. 154 |
| Planning and Using Questions | p. 156 |
| Plan Your Questions in Advance | p. 161 |
| Separating Understanding from Agreement | p. 162 |
| Rigorously Testing for Misunderstanding | p. 162 |
| Why Negotiations Go Sour | p. 162 |
| A Final Word on Negotiation | p. 165 |
| How to Ensure Continued Success: Implementation and Account Maintenance Strategies | p. 167 |
| The Implementation Phase | p. 168 |
| The "New Toy" Stage | p. 171 |
| The Learning Stage | p. 173 |
| The Effectiveness Stage | p. 175 |
| The Motivation Dip | p. 175 |
| Three Strategies for Handling the Motivation Dip | p. 177 |
| From Installation to Account Development | p. 180 |
| Why Is Account Development So Important? | p. 180 |
| Five Simple Strategies for Account Development | p. 181 |
| Develop, Don't Maintain | p. 181 |
| Document the Good News | p. 182 |
| Generate Leads and References | p. 182 |
| Reassess Your Understanding of Customer Needs | p. 184 |
| Influence Future Decision Criteria | p. 184 |
| A Strategic Error to Avoid | p. 184 |
| A Last Word on Account Development | p. 185 |
| Anatomy of a Sales Strategy | p. 187 |
| February 15: The Product Launch | p. 187 |
| February 15: First Thoughts | p. 188 |
| February 22: Mistakes in a Small Account | p. 188 |
| February 23: Finding a Point of Entry | p. 189 |
| February 25: First Contact with the Account | p. 189 |
| March 1: Initial Entry Strategy | p. 190 |
| March 2: Initial Meeting | p. 190 |
| March 9: Entry Strategy--At the Focus of Receptivity | p. 190 |
| March 14: Slow Progress for Harry | p. 191 |
| March 23: Entry Strategy--Stuck at the Focus of Receptivity | p. 191 |
| March 25: Entry Strategy--Moving to the Focus of Dissatisfaction | p. 192 |
| March 30: Entry Strategy--Identifying Probable Dissatisfaction | p. 193 |
| April 13: The Recognition of Needs Phase | p. 193 |
| April 14: Recognition of Needs--Uncovering Dissatisfaction | p. 193 |
| April 15: Initial Costings | p. 194 |
| April 18: Hot Prospects Evaporate | p. 195 |
| April 22: Identifying the Focus of Power | p. 195 |
| April 25: Recognition of Needs Rehearsing the Sponsor | p. 196 |
| May 5: The Recognition of Needs Phase Ends | p. 197 |
| May 16: Entering the Evaluation of Options Phase | p. 197 |
| May 17: Bad News--and a Strategic Mistake | p. 198 |
| May 24: Decision Criterion Strategy | p. 199 |
| May 25: Initial Reply to the RFP | p. 200 |
| May 31: Success--Surviving the Initial Screening | p. 200 |
| June 7: Uncovering and Influencing Decision Criteria | p. 200 |
| June 8: Decision Criterion Analysis | p. 201 |
| June 9: Understanding the Competition | p. 202 |
| June 10: A Competitor Is Eliminated | p. 203 |
| June 14: Presenting the Fit to the Committee | p. 204 |
| June 16: Pressure to Negotiate | p. 206 |
| June 17: An Ominous Sign | p. 206 |
| June 21: Danger Signal | p. 206 |
| June 22: Hints That Consequence Issues Exist | p. 207 |
| June 23: The Resolution of Concerns Phase | p. 207 |
| June 25: Strategic Decisions to Resolve Consequences | p. 208 |
| June 28: Handling Consequences | p. 208 |
| June 29: The Consequence Issue Is Resolved | p. 209 |
| June 30: More Pressure to Negotiate Price | p. 210 |
| July 1: The Competitor Responds | p. 210 |
| July 5: Uncertainty in the Negotiation | p. 211 |
| July 12: Success at Last | p. 211 |
| Index | p. 213 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780070511149
ISBN-10: 0070511144
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 218
Published: 1st January 1989
Dimensions (cm): 23.62 x 16.0
x 1.93
Weight (kg): 0.479
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