Collaborative Selling: How to Gain the Competitive Advantage in Sales [Paperback]

Tony Alessandra (Author), Rick Barrera (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 1993

The ultimate sales training system for results-hungry sales pros who want to excel in today’s complex sales arena… Collaborative Selling How to Gain the Competitive Advantage in Sales "Quality was the key word for success in the ’80s. Team selling that makes the customer a true partner will be the point of differentiation in the ’90s. Collaborative Selling lays out a clear road map for value-added marketing." —Buck Rodgers Former Vice President of Marketing, IBM Corporation Author, The IBM Way "The traditional ‘hard sell’ approach to customers is passé successful selling in the ’90s requires building a partnership with customers. Collaborative Selling tells you how to develop a cooperative, long-term relationship with your customers." —Og Mandino Author, The Greatest Salesman in the World "Tony and Rick are masters of win-win communications. Their new book will take you above and beyond the competition." —Denis Waitley Author, The New Dynamics of Winning "Collaborative Selling offers a fresh, new look at the art of selling that focuses on solving customers’ problems and meeting your customers’ needs." —Dr. Charles Garfield, President The Charles Garfield Group Based on a dynamic new approach proven in sales training programs in some of the nation’s most successful companies, Collaborative Selling supplies a results-driven, six-step communication and problem-solving program that helps you accurately target your market…identify and contact your best prospects, explore and meet their needs and expectations, then work collaboratively to select the solutions that reward you both.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DR. TONY ALESSANDRA is the President of Alessandra and Associates, a La Jolla, California-based consulting finn which provides keynote speakers and sales training to such companies as AT&T, General Electric, IBM, and IDS/American Express. He is the coauthor of Non-Manipulative Selling, The Idea-A-Day Guide to Super Selling and Customer Service, and Be Your Own Sales Manager. RICK BARRERA is a certified speaker, sales trainer, and consultant based in La Jolla, California. Rick delivers keynote speeches and workshops to many prominent companies, including Xerox, Intel, Tupperware, Gannett Media, and Glamour magazine. He is the coauthor of the business best-seller Non-Manipulative Selling.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction Welcome to Collaborative Selling, a new kind of sales book designed to help you reach exceptional levels of success in today's new sales environment. The world has changed in significant ways and salespeople today are required to have new skills, new attitudes and a new understanding of how to work with their clients. Companies today are participating in a worldwide quantum shift that's particularly acute in the United States. There are three key aspects to this shift:

o Technology - for most products, technology is no longer a differentiator. Most of your competitors have about the same technology as you do, which means your products have about the same features. In the past, it was possible to have a technical breakthrough that would give you years of competitive advantage. Only a few companies can claim today that their product is radically different from the competition ... and that difference generally lasts only a few years at most.

o Global Market - we're selling in a global marketplace, which means we have more competitors and different competitors than we've had in the past. The arrival of new competitors has also created more confusion in the marketplace ... not only for us but for our customers.

o Supply Exceeds Demand - for most products and services, supply exceeds demand. In other words, there are more products and services available than the market as a whole wants to buy. In the past, businesses with quality products were reasonably sure they would be able to sell them. Today, that may no longer be true. Do you remember the "good old days" of 1983 when the phone company was still a monopoly and connecting new service could take weeks? Today, you have literally hundreds of choices and it takes only minutes to connect you! What this all means is that buyers today are overwhelmed with more choices of products and suppliers than they could possibly ever use. If you want to be successful in today's market you must be able to get the buyers attention, and to do that you must be able to differentiate yourself, your company and your product. In the 80s you had to do more with less. Today you have to do more with less and do it faster. Quality that you can document is essential to survive in today's market, and exceptional customer service delivered by your company ... and you ... is more important than ever. Today's customers aren't looking for quick fixes, either. They're looking for long-term relationships with suppliers who'll be resources for them over the long haul. Your ability to collaborate and partner with your customers will make or break your career. Your sales success in the information age will depend on your ability to learn about and adapt to the realities of a new and very different marketplace. Another reason the selling systems of the past won't work today because they were designed to work in a different environment ... an adversarial environment. Today, many companies are awarding lifetime contracts to their supplier-partners. Companies network their computer systems together for order entry, just-in-time inventory control, and electronic payment. When your customers are your partners-and you want them as lifetime partners--you can't sell using commando tactics. An adversarial relationship just won't work. There are six key words that describe how the collaborative sales process unfolds: Targeting, Contacting, Exploring, Collaborating, Confirming, and Assuring. Let's take an overview of the process:

o Target - this step helps you understand exactly what you have to offer that's unique and exactly which target audiences can best use what you have to sell. It takes some time, but your success ratios will be much higher because you'll be focusing your efforts only on those prospects who have a high probability of buying. Then you'll work to see that these prospects have a positive image of you before you call on them.

o Contact - When you do contact them you'll be prepared to convey your advantages, your credibility and your sincere desire to be of service. You'll develop trust and you'll gather a complete picture of their situation, their needs and their opportunities before you talk at all about your product or service. You'll let your prospect know you're there to help more than you're there to sell.

o Explore - Rather than delivering a pitch, you'll explore options with your client to develop solutions that you feel might work in his situation.

o Collaborate - Together you'll select the options that look like the best fit. Your client will have as much or more input into the creation and the selection of options as you do. This process ensures that they will be as committed to implementing the solution as you are. After all, why would they invest their time in creating a solution they're not committed to buy?

o Confirm - This step is the logical conclusion to the continual communication and problem solving process you've been in with your client. You're not ending the process, you're beginning it. Confirmation becomes a question of when, not if. If resistance does occur, it simply indicates a need to gather more information or clarify some details. When your prospect has helped co-design the solution and "buys in," then you don't need to "close" him. If he feels his needs are being met, he'll buy!

o Assure - The final step begins immediately after the sale. You change hats from "salesperson" to "quality control person." You'll help your customers track their results and analyze the effectiveness of your solution. By assuring their satisfaction, you'll build a large, loyal clientele that will guarantee future sales and referrals. Throughout this book, you'll be learning all of the specific skills and techniques you'll need to effectively practice collaborative selling. If you're new to the sales profession, you'll be learning the correct way to sell right from the beginning. If you're an old pro, you'll have an opportunity to refine your skills, be reminded of some things you may have forgotten, and learn some new skills along the way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 20, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471596655
• ISBN-13: 978-0471596653
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Tony Alessandra has a street-wise, college-smart perspective on business, having been raised in the housing projects of NYC to eventually realizing success as a graduate professor of marketing, entrepreneur, business author, and hall-of-fame keynote speaker. He earned a BBA from the Univ. of Notre Dame, an MBA from the Univ. of Connecticut and his PhD in marketing from Georgia State University.

In addition to being president of Assessment Business Center, a company that offers online 360º assessments, Tony is also a founding partner in The Cyrano Group and Platinum Rule Group--companies which have successfully combined cutting-edge technology and proven psychology to give salespeople the ability to build and maintain positive relationships with hundreds of clients and prospects.

Dr. Alessandra is a prolific author with 27 books translated into over 50 foreign language editions, including the newly revised, best selling The NEW Art of Managing People (Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2008); Charisma (Warner Books, 1998); The Platinum Rule (Warner Books, 1996); Collaborative Selling (John Wiley & Sons, 1993); and Communicating at Work (Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1993). He is featured in over 50 audio/video programs and films, including Relationship Strategies (American Media); The Dynamics of Effective Listening (Nightingale-Conant); and Non-Manipulative Selling (Walt Disney). He is also the originator of the internationally-recognized behavioral style assessment tool - The Platinum Rule®.

Recognized by Meetings & Conventions Magazine as "one of America's most electrifying speakers," Dr. Alessandra was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2009 and 2010, he was inducted as one of the "Legends of the Speaking Profession" and in 2010 and 2011 he was selected as one of the Top 5 Marketing Speakers by Speaking.com. Tony's polished style, powerful message, and proven ability as a consummate business strategist consistently earn rave reviews and loyal clients.

Contact information for Dr. Tony Alessandra:
* Dr. Tony's Products: http://www.alessandra.com/products/index.asp
* Keynote Speeches: Holli Catchpole: Phone: [phone] ● Email: [e-mail]
* Corporate Training: Scott Zimmerman: Phone: [phone] x2 ● Email: [e-mail]
* Cyrano CRM System: Scott Zimmerman: Phone: [phone] x2 ● Email: [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book to learn business-to-business sales, July 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Collaborative Selling: How to Gain the Competitive Advantage in Sales (Paperback)

I found the book to be very helpfull. I have used the "intelligence" of the collaborative sales approach and found it very effective. A totally different concept than the traditional sales approach that most people think of when they think of sales people and more fun too. You will find everything you need in this book to be sucessfull in business-to-business sales if your willing to put in the time to make it work.