Customer Reviews

Power Base Selling: Secrets of an Ivy League Street Fighter

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Almost all sales books have two major flaws: 1) They give you high level advise, such as "have a strategy" without giving you the "rubber-meets-the-road" actions to take. 2) They expect you to operate within a vaccuum where their selling system or methodology will work every time.

Power Base selling does not contain the first flaw and does an admirable job of trying to avoid the second. It is the first and best book I have read attacking the problem of organizational politics and the human dynamics in a corporate or complex selling environment. It gives very practical ideas on what to do in most political/selling situations to tilt the decision in your favor.

What this book does not do, nor attempt to do, is discuss the importance of a value proposition and the solution you are trying to sell. This is a great book to complement other famous sales books such as "Solution Selling."

I recommend this book highly to anyone that sells in a complex sales world.

Power Base Selling is incisive, unconventional and a hell of a good read. The book started with a clean slate as to how sales (and for that matter, all business relationships)should be conducted, and it comes up with some completely counterintuitive positions. Each section of the book draws something from the warrior/philosopher Sun Tzu, often condensing the section's poignant examples and real-world techniques into a memorable sound-bite that I find myself muttering under my breath as I ponder strategies. Stylistically, the book is crisp and accessible. Since I first encountered Power Base a few years ago, I have given away probably a dozen copies, many to friends who aren't even in sales. Like Carnegie's "How to Win Friends . . .", the insight on the workings of business politics are useful for almost everything. Highly recommended!

Great read. Maybe too many stories...yet they explain his point in a clear sense. If you read between the lines and get the big picture of his strategic principles you can no doubt improve you sales performance.

Holden's book _Power Base Selling_ has long been considered a definitive work. With good reason -- it explains some of the Home Truths of the political aspect of the Sell. As a concept, _Power Base Selling_ is incomplete, as it ignores the *value* side of selling: how do you align your customer's perception of Value to your sales efforts? Fortunately, Holden has addressed this gap with his current _ValuBase Selling_ courses. Viewed purely as a political selling tool, though, _Power Base Selling_ is superb. The problem is, Holden uses a rather annoying, light-weight writing style which tends to lessen the impact of his very important message. Couple that with an attempt to somehow hook in with concepts from Sun Tsu's classic _The Art of War_, and introduce the concept of the "Ivy League Streetfighter", and you end up with a sometimes confusing set of images permeating the book. For this reason, the book is a rough diamond -- it would benefit from a re-write. However, it is the best book of its kind.

The recipes for success remind the entire salesforce that "high tech" still needs "high touch." Lessons learned will be relearned if the instructions are not followed. I turn to it for insight even after 25 years of experience.

Forget all the Zig Ziglar-type sales technique books! This is the real deal; It's about methodology, not how to glad hand or do an end run around the CFO or purchasing manager. If you want to understand the nature of truly competitive selling read this book, then watch the movie "Glegarry Glen Ross" for contrast. We trained the worldwide sales force of a F500 company on the Holden methodology. Results speak for themselves

Jim Holden takes several of Sun Tzu's principles of warfare as chapter themes in this book on the politics of the sale. The book itself is not a riveting read, and the style isn't that engaging. Having said that, the material is excellent. Holden takes the reader through a number of sales strategies and how to diagnose and implement the one that best applies to the situation. His emphasis on the political landscape is pretty unique in the sales book arena, and is spot on based on my experience. The hypothetical scenario he walks the reader through is both relevant and enlightening. His specific techniques for analysis of the power base and setting traps were extremely useful.

Holden's Power Base Selling addresses a much-needed topic of advanced consultative sales: selling against the competition. Too often, sales books describe only two factors of a sale: your services and the customer's needs. This is false. There is a third factor: your competition.

Holden introduces the concept of the Ivy League Street Fighter: a chess master who strategizes from the very start to outsell the competition. Holden dismisses the idea that politics are bad. For him, politics are inevitable. Identifying the Power Base (the behind-the-scenes political powers in every account) and winning their trust is the only sure way to beat the competition.

Most books say you have to have a good sales strategy-but never explain what that means. Holden identifies four strategies and shows how to set them in detail:
Direct (our services are better than yours)
Indirect (changing the game by uncovering new needs of the client)
Divisional (win one part of the business if you can't win it all), and
Containment (delay the decision or contain the collateral damage of losing).

While Holden's examples are far too involved and hypothetical, the main thrust of his argument is excellent. By maintaining a real-world, advanced view of consultative selling, Holden lays the groundwork for other advanced-selling books such as Page's Hope Is Not a Strategy: The 6 Keys to Winning the Complex Sale or Khalsa and Illig's excellent Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play: Transforming the Buyer/Seller Relationship.

This book IS for you if:

1) You are involved with B2B, complex solutions that typically have longer sales cycles, higher contract value and involve multiple individuals or departments within an organization
2) You enjoy good stories that are detailed enough to provide salient examples yet are not too industry specific
3) You are searching for benchmark strategies for strategic selling

This book is NOT for you if:

1) If you are involved with transactional, typically one-time sales with limited complexity
2) Your sales involve only one obvious decision-maker
3) Your sales are generated online

Although it is easy to argue that this book is applicable to all sales situations, those involved in transactional, one-time sales - especially of a perceived commodity - rarely have the time or resources to go strategically deep within an organization.

To save yourself valuable time and money, be sure to honestly and accurately understand your sales model. If you're looking for a book to provide understanding and insights into the nuances of enterprise sales, this book is well worth your investment in time and money.

Methods described in books like "Strategic Selling" concentrate on the obvious surface of your customer's behaviour. Power Base Selling goes far beyond. It gives you the most precise navigation instrument to move within a complex customer organization. Far ahead of your competition not aware of these basic rules. But - don't lie yourself! It is easy to understand, but anything else than easy to practize. Once incorporated it makes you almost unbeatable. So this book is worth every buck!