Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way: The 7 Traits of Great Sellers [Hardcover]

Ron Karr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2009

Praise for Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way

"Karr's book, Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way, illustrates what we believe: that knowing your customers' needs is the single most important factor in building sales. Business starts with the sale. To make profitable sales, you need to understand your customer and create a timely value proposition. This book shows you how to do both."
—Larry Kellner, Chairman and CEO, Continental Airlines

"As CEO and Chairman of the Board of three publicly traded companies, I felt that Karr's strategies in Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way absolutely provided the powerful results he predicted. In one case, we completely eliminated a competitor who posed a strategic threat. I guess you can say they 'got out of the way.' Karr will show you what is required and how to be a top producer in your market. This book is a must-read."
—James T. Treace, President and Managing Member, J&A Group, LLC,

former chairman of the board, Wright Medical, Inc., and Kyphon, Inc.

"Karr captures a lifetime of winning strategies and experiences and puts them in a practical context for sales leaders and sellers. This book challenges many of the older paradigms of selling and emphasizes the importance of keeping the focus on the customers and providing positive outcomes. In today's challenging market conditions, where the primary focus is on market share, this is a must-read."
—Barry S. Goldstein, Senior Vice President, Global Sales Strategy & Operations, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

"Karr's book clearly identifies what it takes to be a highly effective sales leader. The principles in Karr's book are concise and illuminating. Follow his system and your sales organization will succeed in any market. An absolute must-read."
—Mike Beaudry, Division President, United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI)

"Karr does it again! Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way gives you the ultimate approach to giving added value to customers and creating value for yourself . . . The seven traits are what's needed in today's world, and this book is an outstanding guide to becoming proficient in all of them."
—David Preng, Preng & Associates, The Global Energy Search Leader

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In today's sales world

there's no room for followers. But there's plenty of room for leaders. Competition is intense, and if you don't take a leadership role in producing results for your clients, someone else will. In Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way, Ron Karr outlines a repeatable process based on the powerful idea that great sellers lead relationships in the same way that great leaders sell ideas.

No matter what you sell, you must communicate persuasively and effectively what it is you can offer clients. However, sales leaders do even more than that. They raise the bar by finding new opportunities and creating new levels of performance for their customers. They don't just sell products or services; they sell outcomes that transform a customer's world, and they assume personal responsibility for those outcomes.

This customer-focused mindset is the key to Karr's proven leadership selling process. Based on decades of research with companies of all sizes, Karr reveals what great sellers do and shows how anyone can implement the same powerful principles. He offers an in-depth exploration of the seven critical traits all sales leaders share. Today's top sales leaders:

• Have a clear vision of where they're going

• Position themselves powerfully in the minds of customers

• Build alliances rather than go it alone

• Ask powerful questions that result in new sales opportunities

• Create a value proposition that neutralizes the competition

• Communicate well and persuasively

• Embrace accountability and responsibility

Many sales leaders learn these principles through trial and error. This book helps you avoid the trial and error part and skip straight to the success part. Why learn the hard way when you can read this book, learn these principles, and start—today—selling more, faster, and at a higher profit? If you sell things for a living or manage people who sell, you face a stark choice that you had better get right—to Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way. Choose wisely and sales success will be yours.

About the Author

Ron Karr is a popular public speaker and in-demand business consultant known internationally as a business development expert. As President of Karr Associates, Inc., he specializes in helping organizations and professionals generate remarkable sales and operational results. His client list includes such companies as Agfa, Morgan Stanley, MetLife, Wright Medical, and UPS.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470402180
• ISBN-13: 978-0470402184
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ron Karr has for over 20 years conducted thought provoking and motivational seminars and keynote addresses (Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Sales and Negotiation) before organizations of all sizes on three continents. Clients include the NFL, Morgan Stanley, Marriott Hotels, UPS, Wright Medical, CEO Club,United Natural Foods and Hertz. Clients claim hi presentations and consulting services have yielded an incremental revenue increase of over half a billion dollars. Ron has appeared on the CBS Morning Show, Wall St. Journal Report, Bloomberg TV, BBC and has been interviewed by hundreds of radio stations and national publications.

THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT THEORY. IT IS ABOUT PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND RESULTS.

Before starting hispeaking/consulting business, he enjoyed a 15 year highly successful track record in sales and sales management. The one thing that has led to his success was the ability to be creative in getting the sale. The companies he worked for had great products and services but were difficult to sell. The evironment was highly competitive. Sound familiar?

Everything Ron shares comes from the strategies he personally used to generate his success.

Entrepreneurs, managers, professional sales people, professional service providers, football coaches, etc. have found this book to be invaluable to their success. One retired professor wrote in his blog that if he had read this book while he was teaching, he would have been a better teacher.

Ron thanks you for taking the time to read his thoughts. His wish is for you to achieve everything you want in life.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lit a Jet Engine Under Me June 28, 2011

By Jean M. Binswanger

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has inspired and empowered me to radically change my attitude toward my business. Ron Karr has lit, not a fire, but a jet engine under me.

In hindsight, I have been operating the business on a "field of dreams" premise. "If I build it, they will come." And it is true that I have attracted some business and had some success that way.

But this book convinced me that if I want large scale success, I need to learn how to be a sales leader as he describes. I need to articulate my vision for clients, and personally connect it to my potential clients' real-world issues.

Though I am strong in many areas, Ron Karr's list of 7 traits of great sellers touches on every one of my weaknesses. If I want success, I see that has to change.

You might think that realizing I am weak many key skill areas would leave me depressed instead of inspired. No. Not at all--because this book doesn't just convince you that you need to change, it gives specific, practical advice for how to start that process. It gives not just advice, but hope.

At the end of the chapters are exercises and commitments. I did them all. I continue to work on them. I have added a task called "lead/sell" to my daily action plan, in which I work on various skills, sometimes referring back to the book. (BTW, this is following advice from the book! He covers all the bases.)

I read this book less than a month ago, I made the commitment to change about halfway through the book, and I can already see important progress. I have "magically" become more confident talking about my work with people. Of course, it's not magical. It's the result of doing all those exercises!

Truly an excellent book worth reading, re-reading, and referring back to.

Thank you, Ron Karr!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Good Book May 28, 2009

By Michael Schatzki

Format:Hardcover

This is a really good book. But it is not a book about sales tactics. If you're looking for the 28 best closing techniques, 15 cold calling scripts or tricks to reach the decision-maker, you need to look elsewhere. Ron Karr's book is about strategy. And the focus is on team leadership.

Now you might say to yourself, what team? I'm out there all alone making the sale, I don't have a team. But as Ron clearly points out, you actually have to lead not one but two teams, and it is critical that you lead and manage both of them effectively. The more obvious of the two teams is the one inside your own organization. This includes the many people involved in making the sale and providing the products and services that you sell, such as customer service, technical support, product management, R&D, accounts receivable, and you're own senior management.

The second team that you have to manage is the customer team that is involved with the purchase. This could include the end-user, IT, operations, accounts payable, purchasing, R&D, and your customer's senior management.

And more and more, all these people are talking to each other directly, rather than going through you. That makes it imperative that you have the leadership skills necessary to manage and lead these teams in order to make the sale and then successfully implement the sale. You must be "prepared to emerge as a team leader in a flexible network that not only crosses departmental lines, but also crosses the line between selling and buying organizations.... Your success as a salesperson depends on your ability to build and sustain coalitions both inside and outside your organization." That is the essence of this book and Ron succeeds admirably in giving you the insights and the tools that you need to do just that.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Innovative Approach vs The Same Old way with a New Twist! May 21, 2009

By Francis Bologna

Format:Hardcover

Ron's approach parallels what effective leaders do, with what effective Salespeople SHOULD do ... sell results. Sell Results with a sense of personal responsibility for the outcome! WOW! Imagine that! Putting together a comprehensive program for a client and being an integral part of its success.
Ron approaches the entire premise with a real mastery of the subject, by speaking to the 7 Traits that this type of approach would command of a Leader-centric Salesperson.
You'll enjoy the read, learn a great deal, and find yourself challenged in your thinking and in how you approach any future sale!
Enjoy the experience!