Introduction 1

SECTION I –

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 15

1. Need for a New Sales Paradigm

The changing business environment – 17, Why do salesmen resort to canned presentations? – 20, Why do canned speeches fail? – 21, The old paradigm of selling – 22, How to achieve the paradigm shift? – 24, Difference between sales and marketing – 26, From 4Ps to 4 Cs of marketing – 27, The evolution of sales and marketing – 32, A new approach to marketing – 33 16

2. Trust - The Difference that makes the Difference

Importance of a trusting relationship – 37, Three types of trust – 38, Factors those build trust – 40, What contributes towards trust? – 44 36

3. Motivation - The Fire Within

What do sales executives not like about their managers? – 49, What do companies expect from you? – 52, Challenges in a salesman’s job – 53, Intrinsic & extrinsic motivation – 54, David McClelland on achievement motivation – 56, Empathy and ego balance - 59 49

4. Why do Salesmen Love to Talk?

Reasons for talking more – 65, Three traps salesmen get into: tell, accept, & guess – 66, How self-concept influences the behaviour – 68, How to improve your self-concept – 70, Inspirations from great leaders – 71, Typical responses of salesmen and management – 73 63

5. Authentic Communication

The verbal & non-verbal messages you convey – 76, Voice: the medium of your message – 77, Bodylanguage: the silent message - 80, Importance of listening - 82, Five levels of listening – 83, Active listening – 85, Barriers to listening - 89 76

SECTION II

INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT 97

6. How Customers Perceive Value?

Product knowledge and problem solving – 98, How much knowledge should you be having?- 100, Why customers say, ‘price is high’ – 101, Price Vs. Cost – 104, Moving up the value chain – 110, Features, advantages and benefits – 114, How benefits create a value proposition? - 119 98

7. From Objection Handling to Objection Prevention

Why sellers do not prefer asking questions – 124, Types and benefits of a questions – 126, Precautions while asking questions – 129, Objection handling through hierarchy of needs – 131, Identify & develop needs to reduce objections – 136, Continuation and progress: Distinction that improves the quality of a sales call – 142 123

8. MS Excel as a Planning Tool

Key Result Areas & Key Performance Indicators (KRA/KPI) - 145, Pending quotation statement – 152, Scenario planning (What-If Analysis) - 154, Goal seek (Reverse scenario) – 157, Effect of discount on profitability – 160 145

9. Order Closing - Myths Vs Reality

Why salesmen feel shy asking for orders? – 165, Roadblocks in order closing - 167, Popular order closing techniques – 168, Does more closing statements improve conversion? – 169, Need for order closing – 170, How to reduce the cognitive dissonance? – 171 163

SECTION III

CONCEPTUAL SKILLS 173

10. Financial Basics every Salesman Should Know

Market potential, sales potential & sales forecast: the critical difference – 174, Key profitability indicators – 177, Importance of payment collections – 182, Why outstanding collections becomes a major issue – 183, Repercussions of late payments – 184, Typical excuses made by customers for payment delay - 188, Checklist to keep outstanding under control – 188 174

11. The Art of Negotiation

Three phases of negotiation: preparation, middle & close – 193, Factors affecting negotiating leverage: information, time and power - 199, Priority identification of the customer vis-à-vis the vendor - 212, Qualities of an effective negotiator – 215 191

12. Key Account Management

Why has the process of buying become complex? – 217, The four critical roles - 218, Pitfalls in mapping the decision makers - 222, Selling at the CEO level – 223, Strategies to meet CEOs – 224, Does the decider remain constant all the time? – 225, A strategic approach – 226 217

13. The Big Picture

Formula to achieve results – 231, Four types of salesmen – 239, All business is not good business – 241, Funnel as a metaphor – 244, Four stages of a sales funnel - 245, Advantages of a sales funnel – 248, How a funnel should be used - 249, Desired competencies in each stage – 253, Time relevance in each stage – 254, How often should it be made? - 256 231

SECTION IV

A TOOL KIT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 259

14. Games Customers Play

Types of games – 261, How to deal with games – 269, Success stories – 270, Who is your competitor? – 272 260

15. Frequently Asked Questions 276

16. Importance of Continuous Learning

Changing scenario of training – 288, Is success self - destructive? – 292, Guy in the glass – 298 288

Appendix I - Commercial Terms 299

Appendix II - Laundry List 304

Appendix III - Contextual Selling Plan 306

Appendix IV - Sales Funnel & the Big Picture 307

Notes 308