Roadmap to Revenue: How to Sell the Way Your Customers Want to Buy [Hardcover]

Kristin Zhivago (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2011

Buyers have changed the way they buy. But sellers have been slow to change the way they sell. This disconnect is proving to be frustrating for both sellers and buyers. Sellers aren't getting the sales they need, and buyers aren't getting the information they need to make a buying decision.

In this one-of-a-kind revenue-growth how-to book, Revenue Coach Kristin Zhivago lays out the method that she has used to help hundreds of business owners and managers reverse-engineer their successful sales so they can manufacture new sales in quantity.

Armed with these methods, managers can map out their customers' buying process and take the right steps to support every stage of that buying process. They can position their products and services in a way that will make them more attractive and valuable to prospective customers. They can focus their efforts on marketing and selling methods that will work (and stop wasting money on those that won't); produce content that satisfies buyer concerns; and use social media channels in a way that appeals to customers - and leads to more sales.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What's enchanting? A book that tells you exactly how to grow your revenue."
- Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

"Every now and then a business book rises from the chaos and says 'Must Read.' This is that book."
- Craig Stull, Founder and CEO, Pragmatic Marketing Inc.

"[A] recipe for business success that every investor is looking for." 
- Martin Zwilling, Forbes

"Roadmap to Revenue is one of those books that will help you build your marketing strategy and system around creating a customer experience that just resonates so that your customers choose you." 
- Ivana Taylor, DIY Marketing

" It is one book that should be a top reading priority for CEOs and entrepreneurs..." 
- Norm Goldman, Bookpleasures.com

From the Author

Your customers have a buying process. You have a marketing and selling process. Chances are, these processes are not the same, and you're losing sales you should be making. In my new book, I teach you how to turn the tide, using resources you already have, and methods tested and perfected in the real world.

Here's to your higher revenue!

Kristin Zhivago

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Bristol & Shipley Press; 1st edition (April 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974917923
• ISBN-13: 978-0974917924
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kristin Zhivago is a "revenue coach" whose clients range from thriving young start-ups to those in the Fortune 500, including Dow Jones, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson, and the fastest-growing companies, including Bazaarvoice and Eloqua.

Zhivago has become one of the world's leading experts on the customer's buying process. She speaks and teaches frequently for companies and organizations. She is the author of the blog RevenueJournal.com.

Zhivago has perfected a works-every-time research method to uncover the barriers to the sale - and to identify what is working and what is broken. She then uses her findings to guide managers in creating customer-centric companies, websites, products, and services.

The methods she has perfected are revealed in her new book, Roadmap to Revenue: How to Sell the Way Your Customer Wants to Buy.

After selling and marketing software and other technology products for 12 years, Zhivago founded Zhivago Management Partners, Inc., in Silicon Valley, in 1979. The company moved to Jamestown, RI in 1996. Zhivago worked exclusively in the high-tech industry until the Web emerged as a platform for commerce in 1994. She then started also applying her revenue growth methods to companies in the travel, health, publishing, food, and consumer goods industries. She spent a number of years as a "rent-a-VP," performing marketing and sales department turnarounds for CEOs, and then settled on her current role as Revenue Coach. She is passionate about helping CEOs, entrepreneurs and managers increase their revenue, using logical and straightforward methods.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant, Well Written, Actionable September 8, 2011

By Caleb

Format:Hardcover

Zhivago presents a process and perspective that are both client centric yet still driven towards the bottom line. Rather than argue about what we think our clients want and how they want it, Kristin challenges you to talk to your clients directly to find out, and she gives you the frame work to do so respectfully and successfully.

Packed full of tips, best practices, and real world examples, Roadmap to Revenue will challenge and encourage you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, detailed, great for any product manager or team in any business July 6, 2011

By Thomas Baker

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a terrific primer for anyone who's trying to manage a product or business unit in almost any industry. "Roadmap" starts with a long chapter on how to organize and conduct intense, productive conversations with your customers, and goes on to explain in detail how to translate that customer input into key decisions about your sales process, customer service, marketing budgets and priorities, and even website design. Particularly helpful is the book's classification of products into four categories of buyer scrutiny (light, medium, heavy, intense); each category gets a detailed outline of how to improve and prioritize your marketing and sales efforts, and even recommended marketing budget allocations for each type of product.

I wish every product manager, sales manager and marketing director I work with had a copy of this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a way to put the customer first . . . in selling! July 25, 2011

By Keith Bates

Format:Hardcover

For me, Kristin's latest book was better than a James Patterson thriller. I couldn't put it down. Seven hours later I had totally scribbled over my copy of the book and now plan to completely remake an aggressive new business plan I was hoping to launch momentarily.

The key premise in this book is the important "Shift" away from the traditional self-serving, company-centered approach and to a customer-centric strategy. This moves the focus of your efforts from "how you'd like to sell" on to the customer's choice of "how they'd like to buy." The concept of "put yourself in the other guy's shoes" has been around for a long time, but it's never been explained in such an easy-to-grasp way - and so easy to put to to work.

For most companies the idea of such a dramatic shift in behavior is a little intimidating, which is why this book puts so much effort into the development of an easily managed process called the Roadmap. The Roadmap is offered in three pieces. Number one is based on the process required for discovering exactly what your prospect wants to buy, using proven interviewing techniques. Number two resolves the differences between what they want to buy and what you are hopeful of selling. And number three consists of the steps needed for the process of documenting your prospect's buying procedures so that you are available to help at every step of the way - and get the rest of your company to do the right thing.

One major secret...don't try to interview customers in person. They'll tell you more on the phone, if you do it right. Kristin walks you through that process in great detail.

I once wrote a piece with the headline, "Nobody Buys Software From A Stranger." That's still true. In fact, nobody buys anything from a stranger.... You've got to get out of stranger mode as quickly as possible if you're going to sell anything. I don't know anybody better qualified to show you the way than Kristin Zhivago.

Keith Bates
Author, "Embedded Word of Mouth" Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Practical and Actionable -- For Anyone Who Has Customers June 29, 2011

By Margo Wald

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book delivers superbly on the title's promise. Kristin Zhivago provides a comprehensive and practical guide to increasing revenue by skillfully eliciting and responding to customer needs. She shows in detail how to interview customers, synthesize the results and work internally across the organization to devise a plan and get everyone on board.

The book's premise is that the entire organization needs to be involved in understanding and satisfying the needs of the customer. As such, it is useful reading for anyone in a business role. CEOs, entrepreneurs, and sales and marketing leaders will find this an especially relevant and inspiring read.

The author's writing style is refreshingly down-to-earth and straightforward. Zhivago peppers the text with anecdotes from her many years of business and consulting experience, lending real-world credibility to her methodology.

The Roadmap concept is portable and can be utilized within any industry or company size. The specifics of how to customize the process for your particular business are in Chapters 7-11. If you are concerned that there aren't enough anecdotes about companies similar to yours, flip ahead and you will surely find yourself there.

The compass on the cover is an apt metaphor for this book. In a world overflowing with conflicting ideas about how to sell and market, Roadmap to Revenue offers clarity and focus: "Your customers are the only ones who know the real answers." We are fortunate that Kristin Zhivago has decided to share with us her time-tested method of finding and profiting from those answers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must buy, must read book for sales and marketing types June 1, 2011

By Reg Nordman

Format:Hardcover

This is likely to be a trailblazing book for 2011. In our work on Content Marketing we are always looking for good reference texts to get across that you need to have content relevant from the customers point of view . In our pricing work, we stress having companies ask customers what is the value of their products. This book helps on both these fronts plus it is written from a sales point of view. That is important because sales packs more clout in most companies still. Zhivago has made very pertinent analyses of four types of purchasing scrutiny (from light through to intense scrutiny). She has laid out the most complete and succinct description we have seen of customer interview techniques yet. This is a must buy, must read book for sales and marketing types. There is not a wasted page in the whole book.