Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers [Hardcover]

Michael Minelli (Author), Mike Barlow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2007

CIOs spend more than $1.2 trillion on software and hardware each year. Partnering with the CIO looks at IT sales from the CIO’s perspective, revealing what needs to be changed and expressing their fears, concerns, warnings, and advice. Based on in-depth interviews with CIOs at major international firms and organizations such as Citigroup, First Data Corp., Priceline.com, Pitney Bowes, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Time Inc., World Wildlife Fund, Accenture, and the CIO Executive Council, among many others, Partnering with the CIO is a practical and much-needed guide to the current state of IT sales and leadership.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The authors demonstrate a deep understanding of both the challenges facing CIOs who make tough investment decisions every day and of the opportunities for IT vendors who understand both sides of the equation. This book should be read by everyone involved in buying or selling IT resources."-- Ellen Kitzis, Vice President of Research, Gartner Inc., and coauthor of The New CIO Leader

"Partnering with the CIO is filled with practical insight from a 'Who's Who' list of CIOs. It's a must-read for IT vendor management and their sales forces."-- Gary Beach, Publisher, CIO magazine

"Finally, a book about IT sales written from the customer's viewpoint. This book makes the case for adopting customer-centric sales and marketing strategies in the enterprise software industry." -- Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, PhD, cofounders of the Peppers & Rogers Group and coauthors of The One to One Future, Enterprise One to One, and Return on Customer

"Vendors still don't get the CIO animal. They are buried with vague, impersonal, and untargeted pitches on a daily basis from providers who don't understand their business, their industry, and what really makes them tick. Read this book and you will separate yourself and your company from the pack."-- David C. Munn, President & CEO, The Information Technology Services Marketing Association

From the Inside Flap

CIOs spend more than $1.2 trillion on software and hardware each year. Partnering with the CIO is a practical and much-needed guide to the current state of IT sales and leadership that looks at IT sales from the CIO's perspective, revealing what needs to be changed and expressing their fears, concerns, warnings, and advice.

Written for sales and marketing professionals, Partnering with the CIO explores the fundamental disconnect between IT suppliers and their primary sales targets. It explains why many of the sales tactics used by IT suppliers are ineffective and suggests alternative strategies for building long-term partnerships between suppliers and the executives responsible for making purchasing decisions.

For IT suppliers, meeting the needs of the CIO is much more than a simple matter of pushing the newest hardware or software on a willing buyer. Outdated sales and marketing techniques cannot overcome obstacles that slow or derail sales efforts. Partnering with the CIO reveals the personal insights and everyday challenges facing CIOs, offering specific suggestions for earning trust, meeting real-world needs, and creating more profitable long-term relationships.

Partnering with the CIO directly describes the experiences of CIOs as sales targets and showcases their suggestions for improving the sales process. You'll read firsthand stories from CIOs at such major firms as Citigroup, Priceline.com, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Time Inc., among others. Their insight, combined with practical guidance on the current state of IT sales and leadership, makes Partnering with the CIO essential reading for competitive IT sales organizations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (September 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470122447
• ISBN-13: 978-0470122440
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all technology salespeople, December 11, 2007

By 

Adam Kolawa (Monrovia, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers (Hardcover)

I think this book is very useful because it conveys two important messages. First, it tells salespeople something that they really need to hear: it's essential to learn how to listen to their customers. Most don't really listen, so they don't understand what challenges their customers are facing and can't properly address how to solve them. Salespeople need to understand this, or they won't be able to sell. It's that simple. Second, it shows that CIOs are actually champions of technology salespeople. The CIO tries to sell the organization on the projects that the salespeople are pitching to him. Salespeople have to understand that it's not an adversarial relationship.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for tech sales pros, October 24, 2007

By 

Marc Ferranti - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers (Hardcover)

This is not a book for tech sales professionals and CIOs only. Industry analysts and journalists who cover the IT arena are also among those who should read 'Partnering with the CIO.' I don't think the disconnect between vendors and users has ever been more succinctly and clearly stated. Industry-watchers need to understand the dynamics of the vendor-user relationship to get a comprehensive view of IT in the enterprise. From my point of view as a journalist, I can say that very few of us know what really goes on in the sales and purchase process. CIOs are in a constant struggle to align IT with business strategy. Meanwhile, vendors talk about "solutions," but they will not help solve real-world problems if they don't take time to truly understand the business goals of the users they are selling to. This book is a real eye-opener.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cover to cover in 2 days....I'm a new sales person after reading this book, October 15, 2007

By 

Steven Schmidt "Steven Schmidt" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers (Hardcover)

"Parterning with the CIO", gives the perspective of the CIO in the language today's sales person can understand. This is a must read if you want to be at the planning table instead of an afterthought behind your company's logo. I work for AT&T and sell global networking solutions. We get pushed to the Operational level constantly, which is a common thread in sales. I now have confidence that I can call on the CIO's in the companies that I work with and have valuable, BUSINESS orientated conversations instead of giving them a boring, redundant, smattering of tech buzz words that they could quite frankly care less about.