CustomerCentric Selling

Even if you are the best salesperson in your company, you could be even better. Forget everything you think you know about selling products to buyers — the rules are changing, and it’s about time. In CustomerCentric Selling, sales experts Michael T. Bosworth and John R. Holland lay out a new approach to sales, one in which salespeople stop forcing products on buyers and start listening to their goals, problems and needs. Stop giving your “expert” opinion on why a buyer should snap up your products, and start engaging decision makers in business conversations that yield results.

• Sales are conversations. Selling at its best consists of a series of conversations with buyers, during which the seller uncovers and understands the buyer's needs, problems, desires and goals.
• Selling is most effective when the seller uses consistent messages. The most successful customer-centric organizations use Sales-Ready Messaging - a way of approaching a sales conversation that greatly increases the chances of success.
• Pipelines need to be flushed now and then. Organizations must qualify buyers, disqualify others, and develop a smoother, more efficient pipeline.
• You should negotiate from a position of strength. Negotiation is the logical conclusion to a well-planned, well-executed sales cycle, one for which salespeople and their managers must prepare well.
• Forecasting should be a science. Sales managers must remove subjectivity from forecasting to more accurately reflect business opportunities.