Customer Reviews

Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm in heavy equipment sales. No I'm not a shill as the moronic idiot wrote in one of the previous reviews giving this top shelf sales book only one star. I am however a top salesman of equipment and I have to say that after using just one of the great ideas that this man has to offer I was able to generate an additional ten grand in income. Not a fluke. The hard won sales savvy that this man has given to this book is worth its weight in gold. Buy it. Read it. But most of all USE IT! It has been several years since my purchase but I refer to it again and again. I can think of no other book I have read in my sales career that has had the impact this one has on my income and my approach to database driven selling and marketing.

I have bought all that I could of Bill Good's previous materials. This book is an update on his previous book on sales prospecting. I also bought a tape set which was excellent. And I even paid his secretary to copy off some of his articles from his syndicated magazine column. His concept of a "transactional database" was eye-opening for me. He calls it "the change principle" and it deals with building your lists with people who are going through a change. For example, people who have just bought a pickup (a change) would be logical candidates for truck accessories. These types of people are higher probability buyers. In this Bill Good's book I averaged about 10 underlines per page. This is not a GENERAL how to, but a very specific one with lots and lots of examples and techniques. It's also fun and humorous to read. He also offers more material that can supplement the book via his web site. But you must buy the book to get the password to this material. This alone was a great idea that I hope to use myself. See, this guy is just full of great marketing ideas. I highly recommend this book, even if you have his previous version. John Dunbar

A number of years ago, I fortunately stumbled upon Bill's book - PROSPECTING YOUR WAY TO SALES SUCCESS. I was so incredibly impressed by the book that I phoned Bill and told him I was interested in writing an article about him & his book. (I am the Publisher of AboutBizz Magazine and www.AboutBizz.com)
I arrived in Salt Lake City and spent 4 days with his staff and new as well as old users of Bill techniques and software package. What I found amazing is the system that Bill spells out in his book is literally automated in his software package that he markets primarily to the Financial services industry. People use his system and make money. That's all that counts...bottom line results.
Here's what you'll find in pages of PROSPECTING YOUR WAY TO SALES SUCCESS.
1) He helps you discover the mindset needed for prospecting
2) He shows you how to create a system for prospecting using only 4x6 cards, various colored stickers and tracking sheets.
3) He gives you a simple script to use when prospecting
4) He shows you his approach to constantly "touch" you prospects with various letters, phone calls, faxes, etc....
5) Most importantly, he teaches you how to teach that same system to someone else so you can leverage your time and make money (or as he calls it Muh-Nee) with the people who are interested in selling you and buying your services or goods.
I have never found another book that spells out such a powerful system. The only thing wrong with the book is it is somewhat dated...why use card files when you can use ACT, Maximizer or Salesforce.com? But if you are new to business or sales and pennies are tight, then using Bill's book, you CAN make a system with simple cards and stickers and in short time, you can buy whatever computer you desire.
I know Bill sells his software system to the Financial services industry and only wish he had a generic version to sell to the others of us who could use his system. I tried to customize Maximizer to do what his system does...but quickly found the real value of Bill Good's expertise.
It is definitely worth your time to check out his website at www.BillGood.com ON his site you'll find audio programs from his Bill Good Radio.com programs where he interviews successful users of his programs. Tell them Wayne Clayton from AboutBizz Magazine told you about their site...they do have some restrictions of who can get into the site...maybe that'll help get you in.
What's the real value of a book like this? Well, when gasoline gets to $2-$3-$4 bucks a gallon, it is the person on the phone who can get make appointments and grow relationships using technology (email, fax, letters, phone calls -- and with a real reason to contact them, not just send them worthless literature) that will succeed and make money. Go out and guy this book today.
As a closing note, I have appreciated this book so much that I have personally bought and gave away 10 copies to people who I want to have success in sales...(and I NEVER buy that many of the same book!) Hopefully someday, Bill will get the chance to update his book and incorporate more examples of technology used to help implement his wonderful system.

This is a book that surprised me. Based on the age of this book I expected tired and old advice on cold calling and other overworked concepts discussed ad nauseam in every sales book. Instead I got a solid system of prospecting with excellent advice, techniques, and tools. This book covers all the bases from list acquisition to script writing and record keeping but most importantly the author changes prospecting from grueling to pleasurable. "Old School" prospecting was hard because it was based on overcoming rejection and a mind-numbing process of quantity over quality. Old School Prospecting was about verbally beating on a prospect until they capitulate: that buyers are liars, each no leads to a yes, and that you need at least 10 no's to get a yes.

Bill Good says, "Prospecting and selling are two entirely different subjects. Prospecting gets rid of; selling keeps. Prospecting takes an easy no. On the other hand, once a salesperson is convinced someone is a good prospect and should own the product or service, selling does not take an easy no." Good has a better system: that buyers tell the truth and if they're not interested simply say "Thankyouverymuch" and call the next person. Bill Good writes with humor and warmth. He has been in the trenches with us and his savvy, wisdom, experience all come through.

While an update of the book to include CRM instead of index cards might be useful, this is a solid helpful book on prospecting. Very few books exist on prospecting which is what I consider the most important part of selling. This book sits on my short shelf of must have sales books, along with "Selling Against the Goal," "Value Forward Selling," and "Selling to Big Companies." There are many books on cold calling such as "Red Hot Cold Calling" and "Cold Calling for Dummies", even books on "Never Cold Call Again. Bill Good's book "Prospecting" is the best--the best by far!

This book has change my life and most importantly my daily productivity. I've been in sales for 11 years and this system makes the most sense of any I've used. BUY IT AND USE IT.

Have you ever heard the sales war stories that start off,
"Charlie just landed a big account at X company. I talked to them six months ago and they weren't ready to buy. I was going to call them back but now Charlie is in there."

If you follow the techniques in Bill Good's Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success, that won't happen to you. (unless your name is Charlie!)

Bill Good offers a systematic approach to managing your contacts, leads and prospects in a red-hot to luke-warm priority system. It also does something that many sales managers I've worked with are reluctant to do. Stop approaching the rude non-prospect jerks who beat you up, move on to more professional prospects.

Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success will allow you to do just that.

Use Bill Good's system for prospecting and managing prospects and you will increase your sales.

This book is specifically written for stock brokers. It contains many good ideas, both new and some that we forget about. Tells you how to make many dials, and get through to more people in less time. Includes many ideas about how to find leads, how to keep one step ahead of the pack. Bill wrote this book over 10 years ago, but the material he writes about is still very important today. If you are new to the stockbrokerage industry or just need to sharpen your prospecting skills, pick up this book. Very readable

I have made a living at the 50-100k level every year since I read this book (1986.) If you are a professional salesman, this book will tell you what the marketing department doesn't want you to know. (How to make a living without them!) Bill has stayed away from the "firm handshake, good attitude" school of thought. He understands how to take a statistical and sociological understanding of the US economy and turn it into M-O-N-E-Y. If you read and follow Bill's ideas, you will no longer have to try to answer the question "If you are so smart how come you aren't rich?" If you sell for a living and you have not read this book, you probably are wasting 90% of your time. I will be greatful to Bill until the day I die. He has given me what I want out of life. FREEDOM

Coming to the States, after been in sales management in Europe for over 15 years, this is definitely the prospecting bible of financial services in the US. The book can be very useful in other sectors, but has its optimum momentum in financial areas.
Not only does it appeal to a straight forward, from the gut approach to non-nonsensical prospecting, it also empowered me with a comprehensive marketing structure, to build upon an iron-stable structure.
Bill teaches how to 'get through' the consumer shield that the marketeers themselves created. His 'below the radar' approach to contact a prospect, and 'drip' in a gentle, escalating way, makes all the sense. I am looking forward to lay my hand on anything that comes from this mastermind of marketing for financial professionals. This book will be a must for every rookie that I will train.

The book is extremely good because it shows how to keep the salesman on his toes instead of getting complacent and losing the 'touch' by becoming more of a computer person.

If you are in direct one-to-one selling - get this book!

SATPAL