Proposal Selling is a new book conceived by a mastermind: two heads together to create an idea, or in this case, a book. Co-authors Tom Piscitelli and John Sedgwick have combined their eighty-plus years of sales experience into this information-packed, foolproof 300-page roadmap to becoming a great salesperson.
Of course, these two veteran sales coaches know that it also takes a special someone to be effective in sales. At the beginning of the book, they write, “If you’re the accepting type of person who thrives on unique challenges, then you may love to sell even more than you do now. The effective mindset is to emphasize the uniqueness of each sales interaction.” . and de-emphasize the routine aspects of what we have to do.” This book is not for people who like routines and hate unpredictability, but for people who love to sell and do something well that they enjoy. If you’re that kind of person, proposal selling can give you the tools you need to make a big difference in your career.
One of the key points the authors make is that most salespeople have been taught what they are supposed to do, but not what customers do. The authors want to share this hard-earned lesson with the reader: “Sales success isn’t just about your ability to present a product, handle an objection, and request an order. Rather, it’s about your ability to read people.” people, to engage with them, gain their trust, and ultimately provide value to them and their businesses.
Another key point that the authors address is the fallacy of customer satisfaction. Too many salespeople think that if the customer is satisfied with what they offer, they will keep coming back, but a simple example from Tom quickly shows that this is not the case. He states, “Have you ever done business with a company that gave you satisfactory service, but you would still do business with their competition if it was more convenient? Or cheaper? I’ve been to many restaurants that were very satisfactory, but I have I didn’t go back or refer anyone to them I completed an online survey with Home Depot where I expressed “satisfaction” with a purchase, but I’d rather go to Lowe’s if both stores have what I need Lowe’s to me has a design that makes the store looks like an adult hardware store and I like that.
It’s as simple as that. Customers need more than satisfaction; They need reasons to buy again, and basically a reason to change their purchase clothes. The authors really want the reader to buy into the idea that “the only definition of selling…is changing customer behavior.” I thought this point was invaluable and I buy it because most of us are creatures of habit, so for salespeople to be successful, they need to get customers to change their behavior by making it a habit to buy from them.
That’s just a brief overview of a couple of the gold nuggets in this book. I can’t discuss every useful idea or process included in this short review; You’ll just have to read the book for yourself, but I will say that the authors do an excellent job of walking the reader through the entire process of selling proposals. The book’s eleven chapters focus on topics such as: Developing a Selling Mindset, Applying Proposition Selling, Using Account Analysis as Your Key Selling Tool, Developing a Territory Strategy, Dealing with Doubts or Resistance, and Planning , implementation and troubleshooting.
Each chapter also ends with a Notes and Exercises section so that readers can reflect on what they have read and determine how to apply it to their own situations. Tom takes readers step-by-step through all the processes, including sales conversations and The Trust® leadership and management model. Perhaps most valuable, several pages are devoted to how to create the business proposal for the client, samples of a proposal are provided, and training is also included through dialogues on how to respond to client objections, solicit the sale, and, in Ultimately get customers to buy. An added bonus is the foreword by Ron Smith, the founder of Service America, the first national HVAC franchisor; Ron is also the author of numerous books, including HVAC Spells Wealth. In the foreword, Ron testifies to Tom’s sales and consulting skills and describes how they have come together to create seminars together.
Taken together, Proposition Selling is a valuable resource and source of information for anyone looking to improve sales, increase results, and make customers happy.