Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer: Improve Sales Effectiveness by Helping Customers Buy [Hardcover]

Jerry Acuff (Author), Wally Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2007

Praise for stop acting like a seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer

"Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer is a book that teaches you emphatically that 'words matter.' If you want to set yourself apart from others, whether you're selling a product or a concept, this is a book to read. Not only will you learn how to prepare for sales success, you will learn how to be far more effective by thinking like a buyer."
—Theresa Martinez, Brand Director, Roche Laboratories

"This book shares a great commonsense approach to developing a new sales attitude and mindset that will work no matter what you're selling. Jerry has successfully articulated a powerful and unique formula for sales greatness."
—Duggar Baucom, head basketball coach, Virginia Military Institute

"This is a book for people who truly want to have incredible success in sales. Thinking like a buyer is the most powerful way to help customers and prospects think differently about you and your product. This book shows you exactly how to make that happen in a step-by-step way. If you want to learn how to guarantee your success in selling or influencing, this is a book you must read."
—Dan C. Weilbaker, PhD, McKesson Professor of Sales, Northern Illinois University

"A mind shift takes place when you read Acuff's book and realize 'it's all about them.' The book helps you understand human psychology and behavior and gives you the practical tips, encouragement, and examples to help you stand out and be valued by your customers regardless of what you're selling."
—Charlene Prounis, Managing Partner, Flashpoint Medica

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

People love to buy. They love taking home a great product, and they definitely love getting a great deal. But, unfortunately for anyone in sales, people hate being sold. They hate feeling like they've been convinced to buy something or tricked into a purchase—even if they want the product you're selling. That's why sales is harder than ever, and that's why you have to change the way you operate if you want to sell more and keep your customers coming back.

This one-of-a-kind sales guide takes a revolutionary perspective on the art of selling: that knowing how to sell isn't enough. You need to learn to think like a buyer in order to sell more effectively. You have to understand the buying process and what your customers want—not from a salesperson's perspective, but from the customer's.

When you sell, you're usually trying to overcome the customer's natural aversion to being sold. Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer offers a "buying" model that changes the focus from hard-sell tactics that convince people to buy what you're selling to new relationship-based strategies that help them buy what they need and want. It changes the adversarial buying experience into a positive and rewarding encounter for the customer—and that's invaluable if you want your customers to come back and remain loyal.

If you were trained in traditional sales methods and you're struggling to stay ahead of the competition, this is the only sales guide you need. It will help you rebuild your selling methods from the ground up, leading to a higher level of achievement and much happier customers. You'll master a new mindset for dealing with customers, learn a new and more effective sales process, and learn to build valuable business relationships with customers that will last forever. Combine those elements, and you'll start selling more than ever—without having to sell at all.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer

"Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer is a book that teaches you emphatically that 'words matter.' If you want to set yourself apart from others, whether you're selling a product or a concept, this is a book to read. Not only will you learn how to prepare for sales success, you will learn how to be far more effective by thinking like a buyer."
—Theresa Martinez, Brand Director, Roche Laboratories

"This book shares a great commonsense approach to developing a new sales attitude and mindset that will work no matter what you're selling. Jerry has successfully articulated a powerful and unique formula for sales greatness."
—Duggar Baucom, head basketball coach, Virginia Military Institute

"This is a book for people who truly want to have incredible success in sales. Thinking like a buyer is the most powerful way to help customers and prospects think differently about you and your product. This book shows you exactly how to make that happen in a step-by-step way. If you want to learn how to guarantee your success in selling or influencing, this is a book you must read."
—Dan C. Weilbaker, PhD, McKesson Professor of Sales, Northern Illinois University

"A mind shift takes place when you read Acuff's book and realize 'it's all about them.' The book helps you understand human psychology and behavior and gives you the practical tips, encouragement, and examples to help you stand out and be valued by your customers regardless of what you're selling."
—Charlene Prounis, Managing Partner, Flashpoint Medica

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470068345
• ISBN-13: 978-0470068342
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Customer Service

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead On Great Sales Book for These Times, April 13, 2007

By 

Martin Spieldock "Always Learning" (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer: Improve Sales Effectiveness by Helping Customers Buy (Hardcover)

I am as skeptical as I think a lot of "sales" books buyers are based on most of the books saying the same old thing in a different way, but this book is different. Acuff truly understands the value of putting yourself in the other person's place. There is a lot to appreciate in this book, but if you only buy it for the summation of the "The Eight Laws of Sales Intent", I think you won't be sorry that you did. I am in a low-key industry where high-pressure is the kiss of death. This book lays out the fine points of that kind of selling in a way that most others don't. Acuff pays respect to Gitomer in the first few pages and that impressed me too. I love Gitomer's books, but I don't have his energy and I never will. Acuff shows you how to develop a value proposition that is so important for selling in our highly competitive economy. I don't write a lot of reviews, but I really feel strongly about the ones that I do.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top 5 Most Useful Business Books Purchased, July 13, 2007

By 

A. Johnston - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer: Improve Sales Effectiveness by Helping Customers Buy (Hardcover)

I consider this to be among the top 5 of the business books in my collection and the most applicable to my day-to-day work. Acuff not only disproves some of the classic tenets of sales interactions but he provides logical alternatives to them that can put into practice on your very next sales call. One of the most engaging aspects of Acuff's philosophy is the idea that "salespeople sometimes think that they must do things on behalf of their companies that conflict with how they see themselves as human beings," but in fact, as Acuff points out, "to succeed in sales, you don't have to be someone you don't want to be."
This book not only discusses the value of pure intent and the right mindset in sales, but also lays out a simple and logical method for creating meaningful dialogue with a customer that results in a commitment on their part.
I believe almost everyone will find that the time taken to order and read this book will be time well spent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the running for Sales Book of the Year, September 2, 2008

By 

Reg Nordman "(K)nights on the Road" (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer: Improve Sales Effectiveness by Helping Customers Buy (Hardcover)

From his first questions through to the examples and stories, the author immediately takes you to a very real place in the selling world. This easy to read, insightful and hard hitting book is so far my Book of the Year for sales people. If you want to truly succeed at todays sales game - get and read this book above all else. If you don't , then quit reading now - life is just going to be too tough for you. In his words ( wish I had written these) "great salesmen inform, involve, engage and provoke thought". "People will buy what they want not what you think they need" "You are trying to see if your product is a fit for what they want." Acuff blows the accepted statements about sales out the window, showing you how to really prepare for each call, to setup for success or a quick no. He leads you to understand that this is a sales conversation not ever a sales call.

A great insight on the changing nature of sales leads to day- which we well know of. Prospects, when in their research, knowledge pursuit stage do not want to be "called on' , trial sold or pursuaded. They want information and to learn. Later when ready, they may engage you (if you made the short list) and they want you to have done as much homework on them as they have done on you- to be able to get right down to "what are you and your products going to do for me?" They do not want to sit down and discuss with every salesmen their problems, pains etc. There is no time for this and expect you to do this on your own. So when your website indicates a new lead - the worst thing your sales team could do is to rush and call them up - does sales really know what they are getting into?. Of course not.

Gotta love this stuff!