Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected [Hardcover]

Bill Concevitch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2007

In today s highly competitive selling world, changing old habits has never been more important.
 
It s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, while expecting different results. Yet, many sales professionals continue to tap into tactics that have been used for many years, anticipating that this time they will secure the deal, not because their methods work, but because these methods have become ingrained in their company s selling culture and processes. 
 
In his new book, Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected, Bill Byron Concevitch reveals a secret to sales success in today s highly competitive sales world doing the exact opposite of what your competitors are doing and the exact opposite of what clients expect. Concevitch s unique approach provides specific action steps and techniques that are designed to help you establish new habits that lead to sales-winning behaviors and results.
 
In Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected, you will discover:
*  How to plant the necessary behavioral change triggers inside yourself that will lead to a new level of success.

*  How to integrate counter-intuitive thinking and behavior into whatever sales process, techniques and strategies you and your company practice.

*  How to use the Decision-Maker RaterTM to determine if you are really talking to the right individuals with prospects and clients.

*  What really matters in today s technology-enabled professional selling environment.

*  How to make yourself a valuable member of your client s or prospect s team, even before you make the sale. 

 

No matter what you may have been told in the past, sales is not a numbers game and business is not lost on price. If you are ready to move beyond the predictable results that traditional selling techniques bring, Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected will provide you with a new game plan to increase your success.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book...will help you not only survive, but thrive in today s new sales world.
From the Foreword by Rick Page, bestselling author of Hope Is Not A Strategy and Make Winning A Habit

 

Concevitch does an excellent job of drawing parallels between sales execution and leading a business. Like a CEO, the salesperson is responsible for situational analysis, identifying patterns and opportunities that can impact the landscape, setting strategy, establishing a shared mission, gaining personal and collective commitment, and ensuring optimal execution across multiple constituents. His emphasis on perpetual learning and adjustment is a good lesson for any leader and a key ingredient for every successful salesperson.    

David Gould, Chairman & CEO, Witness Systems, Inc.
 

In a flatter world, selling changes! The successful salesperson needs to be an extreme learner every day. Counter-Intuitive Selling provides a practical guide to the changing field of sales.
Elliott Masie, CEO, The MASIE Center's Learning CONSORTIUM
 
Counter-Intuitive Selling comes directly from Bill's proven track record as a very successful executive.  A great summary of wisdom and experience that cannot be found in conventional books on sales and marketing.
  Axel Leblois, Founder, the Wireless Internet Institute
Senior Fellow, United Nations Institute for Training and Research
 
In a lively and enjoyable style, Counter-Intuitive Selling explains how to get the best value out of a sympathetic mentor, and how important it is continuously to challenge received wisdom. All the book s messages must be commended to all who want to succeed in persuading. Besides, it s a very good read.
Sir Michael Bett CBE MA, former Deputy Chairman, BRITISH TELECOM
 
Bill Byron Concevitch has done an incredible job of forcing us to re-examine tactical sales fundamentals in an effort to reach outside our comfort zone. This book provides succinct ideas that will enable the sales professional to break habitual routines and become more creative. These new techniques are provided in an easy to adopt step-by-step roadmap to higher performance.
George F. Norton III, Senior Partner, Heidrick & Struggles
 
Counter-Intuitive Selling is packed with proven tips and strategies for dealing with buyers in unexpected ways. Bill s creative acronyms, N.E.R.D., H.E.R.B., H.A.N.K, and G.U.I.D.O., probably will become standard terminology for many sales organizations, as will this book become standard reading for the most successful sales professionals.
Bob Kantin, President of SalesProposals.com, co-author of Why Johnny Can t Sell ....and What to Do About It

--Endorsements on book cover

Book Description

Sometimes the hardest thing to tell a customer is “no,” but it might just be the only way to win the sale.  

There are over 16 million sales professionals in the United States, and all are constantly looking for new ways to acquire and retain key clients. But because clients and prospects are so attuned to traditional goal-oriented, closing-focused techniques of sales professionals, new approaches are needed to break old sales patterns (and client responses) and to ultimately win sales and customer loyalty.   

Counter-Intuitive Selling presents a fresh approach that teaches new sets of habits and behaviors that might seem counter-intuitive to the selling process but that will propel professionals higher in productivity and performance. Using real-life success stories and step-by-step action plans to break old habits and create new ones, this behavior-changing book delivers a proven process that delivers new levels of success.
 
Features:
*  Why changing current habits is hard—and a proven plan to bring about change

*  How to plant triggers for change

*  How to integrate counter-intuitive thinking and behaviors into currently practiced sales processes, strategies, and techniques

*  The Decision-Maker Rater™, an innovative tool to help professionals qualify prospects quickly and discover who really has the power to make decisions

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Business (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419593293
• ISBN-13: 978-1419593291
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,156,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Counter-intuitive is accurate... This book fills a missing gap., February 2, 2007

By 

Mike Kunkle (Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected (Hardcover)

As a seasoned sales, sales management and sales training leader who has spent 18+ years helping companies improve sales performance, I've read literally hundreds of books on sales over the years... some absolutely great; many absolutely worthless; most just floating in the mundane middle.

In comparison to most, I found this book refreshing and insightful. Admittedly, maybe it's because, like Concevitch, I've spent time leading both sales teams and training teams, and tend to focus on creating lasting behavior change (it's the only way to tap into the huge potential of the 70% of sales performers in the middle... who are neither the top 20%, nor the bottom 10%). But that is a big focus of the book - so it's had to ignore - and frankly, it's right on target and much needed in most of the sales forces I've observed. If you want to create some lasting, positive change in your sales force, there are some good tips here.

As a training pro, it's also hard to ignore the mnemonic acronyms, like G.U.I.D.O., N.E.R.D., H.E.R.B and H.A.N.K. - all part of the Decision-Maker Rater system. Okay, perhaps they foster a slight wry grin, but in doing that, they also stick in your memory. More importantly, the concepts make sense... a sort of account development primer for how to identify the decision roles within accounts and navigate appropriately.

Those who enjoy the story-telling style made popular by other business authors in recent years will also easily follow the sales rep, Ken, through his journey learning from his sales mentor, Frank. Somewhat subliminally, this also underscores the critical element of coaching and mentoring - also missing elements in some of the sales forces with which I've worked or consulted.

Now, having said all that, you won't find sales training basics here. It's not a treatise on basic selling skills, territory management strategies, or pipeline/opportunity management. If you need those basics, there are other places to learn them. But if you're seeking to break out of the mold, think solidly about account development, and change some behaviors to increase your major-account (maybe "tough" account) selling prowess, you'll pick up some food for thought and actionable ideas here.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sales guide to arousing the curiosity of your prospects, March 10, 2008

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected (Hardcover)

Bill Byron Concevitch believes that to make it as a salesperson, you must distinguish yourself from the pack. So, he suggests changing your behavior and doing something different simply because it's different. He mixes tried-and-true sales advice, such as making sure you're talking to the person who actually makes the purchasing decisions, with razzle-dazzle. His style is folksy and informal, almost associative, and he's a great believer in mnemonics, acronyms and list making - each chapter ends with a list of "successful seven" action steps you can take to reinforce his suggestions. Some of his ideas may be more than "counterintuitive" - they're probably counterproductive. (For example, that assistant who puts your call through because you convince him or her that the boss is expecting it will not make the mistake a second time.) But his book is a useful reminder to question your assumptions and to get out of your day-to-day rut. getAbstract recommends this book to both new and experienced salespeople, and their managers, who want to branch out and retrain themselves.