Target Opportunity Selling: Top Sales Performers Reveal What Really Works

336 Pages·2012·3.993 MB·English

by  Nicholas A.C. Read

Praise for
Target Opportunity Selling
“Nic Read’s book reminds us that large, complex sales are different
in kind from transactional sales and therefore require a different
approach. An interesting concept at the core of this book is of a
‘looping’ process, in which the sales opportunity changes as the rela-
tionship with the customer develops. These opportunities can take
months or years to land, so his insight into the longitudinal progres-
sion of a complex sale is a welcome addition.”
—Professor Lynette Ryals, Professor of Strategic Sales and
Account Management, Director of the KAM
Best Practice Research Club, Pro Vice Chancellor,
Cranfield School of Management
“As curriculum head of a leading university’s sales center, I am
constantly scanning for conceptual frameworks that better capture
today’s value-creation process. Since we teach and develop the Next
Generation of sales professionals, we cannot use dated ‘Sales 1.0/2.0’
materials from past decades. So it’s a pleasure to see that in this book
Nic Read provides a research-based, forward-looking, and incredibly
useful framework for 21st-century sales force value creation.”
—Andrea L. Dixon, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for
Professional Selling and Keller Center for Research,
Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University
“A lot of books offer tips from an author’s glory days as a salesperson.
But it’s difficult for readers to duplicate the same situations, so results
are hit-and-miss. Target Opportunity Selling offers an alternative that’s
better suited to the corporate world. It’s researched on best practices
and offers a scalable play-by-play guide any professional can follow to
achieve predictable results. Highly recommended.”
—Carl Farrell, Executive Vice President, SAS Americas
“Nic Read has created a sales bible littered with the confronting
insights of new research, lessons from established leaders, and his own
observations as a recognized sales process leader operating around the
globe. He’s woven this amalgam into a clear process and a good read.
It’s recommended for any existing sales leader, and all who would
become so.”
—Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO, MathMarketing
and author of The Leaky Funnel
“Don’t even think of not studying this book in minute detail if you
are in B2B sales. You have never seen ‘selling-on’ discussed in such
detail and with such depth. When I started my consultancy two
decades ago there was nothing like this on the market. There is still
nothing like it. Get it!”
—Bertie du Plessis, CEO, MindPilot (Pty) Ltd
and Naspers Head of Training and Development
“Insightful and one of the most practical manuals on the science of
selling yet written. Not only does it reveal an alternative to the sales
funnel more suited to solution selling, but by mapping proven tech-
niques to today’s buyer behaviours, Nic shows how to create the type
of value that fuels growth beyond single transactions. If you’re into
the Challenger sale model, this book will take you to the next level.”
—Joe Ringer, Sales & Market Strategist, CSC,
Australia, Asia, Middle East & Africa
“An exceptional ‘box of tools’ on how to win over and over in the
complex sales environment. If you’ve been in the sales game all your
life or are just starting out, Target Opportunity Selling is an essential
foundation for every professional. This book is sure to become an
industry-defining work of timeless importance.”
—Lindsay Lyon, Executive Chairman, Shark Shield Pty Ltd
and former Partner, Siebel Systems
“I have read almost every book on professional sales. Target
Opportunity Selling tops them all. It is highly recommended as a
practical guide for anyone with the conviction and will to succeed.
Best buy ever.”
—Ingrid Kast, Chairman, Kast & Partners
International Executive Search
“Excellent.Target Opportunity Selling is enriched with many best prac-
tices, dos and don’ts. A must-read for sales management and account
executives selling high-level products with complex sales cycles.”
—Thomas Emmerich, Sales Operations Director,
SAS Institute GmbH
“Nic’s original Selling to the C-Suite is a classic for engaging senior
decision makers. Now Target Opportunity Selling offers us a step-by-
step road map to create new sales opportunities, with real strategy and
winning tactics. This book’s 300 pages are packed with sage advice for
winning complex B2B sales. Outstanding. There’s no padding here!”
—Patrick Boucousis, CEO, Traxor
“Target Opportunity Selling is a great combination of solid fundamen-
tals and new approaches that are essential in today’s selling environ-
ment. Nic shows us how the best salespeople use research to ‘open’
the sale and a perfectly executed selling process to ‘close’ the sale and
build lasting business relationships.”
—Duane Sparks, Creator of Action Selling
and Chairman, The Sales Board
“Nic has used a wealth of research and real-life experiences to create
the most comprehensive sales book of modern times. Highly enter-
taining and readable, this can improve the productivity of your sales-
people immediately.”
—Paul Cooper, VP EMEA Sales, CallidusCloud
“Target Opportunity Selling clearly outlines how top sellers consis-
tently expand and win business with today’s Ideas Buyers. If you’re
going after big accounts, this book is filled with fresh strategies that
you can immediately use.”
—Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies
and SNAP Selling
“Every page will open your eyes, challenge you, even make you squirm.
Nic Read pulls no punches making a case for change in the sales game.
Then he shows how with a practical toolbox and conversational
style that’s as smooth as a great coffee shop coaching session. Target
Opportunity Selling is this generation’s bible for strategic selling.”
—Yoke Barrish, Entrepreneur Magazine
“If you’ve ever lost a sale you were sure was in the bag, seen decision
criteria change to favour a competitor, or had customers stop taking
your calls, it’s because someone else is outselling you. Would you like
to turn the tables? This is the sales book for you.”
—Andy Sim, General Manager, Enterprise & SMB,
Samsung Electronics
TARGET
OPPORTUNITY
SELLING
TOP SALES PERFORMERS REVEAL
WHAT REALLY WORKS
NICHOLAS A.C. READ
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Copyright © 2014 by Nicholas A.C. Read. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the
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permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-0-07-177323-2
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For every salesperson who aspires to greatness,
and every sales manager who embraces progress,
this road map is for you.
—NR
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Contents
FOREWORD BY NICK LISI, VICE PRESIDENT, SAS AMERICAS vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x
CHAPTER 1
BEYOND THE SALES FUNNEL 1
CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH 10
CHAPTER 3
CONTACT 25
CHAPTER 4
PRECISION QUESTIONS 38
CHAPTER 5
QUALIFY THEIR INTEREST 66
v