Close the Deal: 120 Checklists for Sales Success [Paperback]

Sam Deep (Author), Lyle Sussman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 1998

Deep and Sussman’s Smart Moves and Smart Moves for People in Charge gave readers checklists for climbing the corporate ladder and taking on leadership tasks. Now, teamed with one of the country’s premiere sales-training firms, they apply the same popular, practical approach to a vital task for any organization: selling. Whether you’re introducing a product, marketing your small business’s services, or selling your boss on a new idea, you’ll benefit from checklists like these: Seven Fears All Buyers Share Thirteen Ways to Warm Up to Cold Calling Ten Different Ways to Set Your Asking Price Eight Questions to Help You Sell with Integrity For training, troubleshooting, and a quick review before every important call, sales professionals will be sold on Smart Moves for Selling.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Close the Deal is bursting with hot leads for sales pros looking to sharpen their skills and win more customers. Authors Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman show how to capture sales without being pushy or arrogant. Deep, a consultant from Pittsburgh, and Sussman, a management professor at the University of Louisville, believe that the essence of selling is sticking to a system. "Masterful sales professionals are neither lucky nor gifted," they write. "They do not dream, wish or hope for victory. They go out and make it happen." The book is based on programs developed at the Sandler Sales Institute, a noted Maryland firm that trains thousands of sales professionals around the country. The authors contend that three keys to successful selling are asking the right questions, making supportive presentations, and finding exactly how to eliminate roadblocks or "pain" for customers. "There is only one reason you will sell anything: your ability to reduce a buyer's pain," the authors write. "You can't reduce pain if you don't know what it is. Buyers will tell you if you ask correctly." The book is easy to read and full of practical advice and tips. The authors provide 120 lists on topics like "Fifteen Steps to Better Listening," "Seven Fears all Buyers Have," and "Fourteen Ingredients of a Winning Proposal." Salespeople will find a powerful ally in Close the Deal. The book is a blueprint for finding and analyzing buyers, determining their needs, and getting the sale. --Dan Ring

About the Author

Sam Deep is a consultant and trainer from Pittsburgh. Lyle Sussman, Ph.D., is Professor of Management at the University of Louisville. Their other books include Yes, You Can! (80,000 sold) and What to Say to Get What You Want (60,000 sold). The Sandler Sales Institute provides sales training through its national network of 180 affiliates. Sam Deep is a consultant and trainer from Pittsburgh. Lyle Sussman, Ph.D., is Professor of Management at the University of Louisville. Their other books include Yes, You Can! (80,000 sold) and What to Say to Get What You Want (60,000 sold). The Sandler Sales Institute provides sales training through its national network of 180 affiliates.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (December 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738200387
• ISBN-13: 978-0738200385
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It works, period, April 4, 2005

By 

Curtis Gray - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close the Deal: 120 Checklists for Sales Success (Paperback)

I reluctantly purchased this book based on previous reviews. Being very skeptical of the checklist format, this book, frankly, seemed like a "salesman cookbook" scheme. Well, I was wrong. It took a little getting used to, but this book is written in a way that helped me learn to sell my company's products and services.

Just so you know, I basically flunked IBM sales school for engineers way back in 1991. Some of the information IBM taught stuck because, frankly, it is very good. However, even with IBM sales school (acknowledged as one of the best on the planet), I just did not grasp selling and never took up a career in selling. For all intents and purposes, I am brand new to this.

I took this book, and in one week, created a powerful prospecting script. That script, which I created almost word for word from the book, with the exception of items specific to my business, has helped to land two great new customers in only two weeks. That is not to say that it will happen the same way with everyone, but the writers have a sublime grasp of how to talk to people, remain honest, and influence them; so long as you have a sellable product or service. As the authors point out, selling is not about the product or service, but about the seller of the product or service. The suggestions in this book for how to get pass a receptionist and how to conduct a prospecting call are direct, easy to understand, and greatly helpful.

It is not necessary to read this book from cover to cover. Many of the lists have references to other lists. It turns out that, with this book, this was the best way for me to learn to sell. It can be used while you are on the phone and to brush up just before making a call.

This book is highly recommended for anyone new to selling.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More bullet points than checklists, November 15, 2001

By 

Wayne Schulz "mas90 accounting software guru" (Glastonbury, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Close the Deal: 120 Checklists for Sales Success (Paperback)

This book is written so that you can get short lists of helpful tips on sales. I thought it was going to be more of a handbook of checklists - instead it is many, many different topics arranged by subject.

There is a companion tape set that you can get from Nightingale which has the same graphics on the cover but expands a little more on the content.

Overall I've found myself referring to the checklists inside this book a lot more than I initially thought I would - perhaps because the format lends itself to quick reading and re-reading.

Sandler Sales Institute is a national franchise which has an interesting and different perspective on the sales process.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar Resource for Every Piece of Your Selling Experience, May 14, 2000

By 

Dan Seidman (Got Influence, Intergalactic HQ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close the Deal: 120 Checklists for Sales Success (Paperback)

If you struggle with specific areas - that you can identify - in your sales life, this is a superb read. The checklists are incredibly thorough. The selling system that this is based upon has been called the '...best kept secret in sales training.' by Selling Power Magazine. If you can't make some money off the wisdom of this book, you probably don't belong in sales anyway. Forget the low price, it's probably the best book on selling available today.