CEOs Reveal the Secrets for Selling to the Top
“The business world is drowning in a flood of sales books. The trouble is that most of these books are about how to sell, without a clue about how customers buy. . . . This book is different. It is firmly rooted in how people buy and so it works.”
—NEIL RACKHAM, author of SPIN Selling
“Those new to executive sales will find a game plan they can use immediately. Veterans who regularly call on executives will use this book to sharpen their game.”
—CHIP BRUBAKER, Vice President-Americas Sales Readiness, CA, Inc.
“If you’ve always wondered how the other sales guy got to the CEO and you didn’t, start reading this book and earn serious commissions!”
—LINDSAY LYON, CEO, Mobilarm, and former GM Commercial Sales for Hewlett-Packard Australia
“Nic Read and Dr. Bistritz have done a masterful job summarizing how to approach and sell to executives. If you read this and apply its secrets, you’ll win more, more of the time.”
—MICHAEL GALLAGHER, President, The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service
“Practical advice on how to get to the decision-makers in the context of sales . . . Having learned these lessons the hard way while transforming a Chinese state-owned enterprise into a globally competitive business, I wish this book had been available when I first started!”
—GEOFF WATSON, former Vice President, Alcoa China
"We hear a lot about being a Trusted Advisor, but what does that really mean? The authors clearly define that role with the insight, definition and actions required to establish and sustain credible value-based engagements with senior executives. If your success depends on being engaged early in your customer’s decision process and you’re in a market that demands value based differentiation then this is a must read."
—GARY SUMMY, Direct Sales Development, Trane Commercial Systems, and Directors of the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA)
"Selling to the C-Suite uncovers what were once 'mysterious secrets' of effectively approaching and building long lasting relationships with relevant executives. It is a no-nonsense playbook for a win-win sales approach, credible, applicable and powerful.”
—RAFAELA REYES, Senior Training & Development Manager, Brother International
"As an educator on the college level teaching professional selling, I found this book to be invaluable if you are interested in learning how to sell to the top executives. Not only does it help you understand when to engage the executive, it also tells you how to get access. If that was not enough the book also focuses on how to create value and build credibility with the executives."
—DAN C. WEILBAKER, Ph.D., McKesson Pharmaceutical Group Professor of Sales, Northern Illinois University
"Steve and Nic provide a great history lesson that helps us understand why Marketing and Sales is different in the new millennium and provides the research background to prove their points. If you want to become effective at the C-Suite, this book--its references, models, and tools--[is] incredible."
—JIM GRAHAM, former Chief Learning Officer, R.R. Donnelley
"To not adopt these concepts puts you at risk to being left out in the lobby, while your competitor is in the client’s boardroom."
—MICHAEL BOLAND, coauthor of Get-Real Selling
"Too many salespeople have no idea if they're winning or losing, and it's usually because they're meeting the wrong people and asking the wrong questions too low down the food chain. As a result, their sales forecasts are no better than a lottery. This book pulls no punches in showing why sales and marketing fails to connect to executives, and what to do about it."
—GORDON CLUBB, Managing Director, SAS Institute Australia & New Zealand
"This is a very practical approach to calling on executives. The authors tell us why it is important and how to do it. Getting access to the executive level is one battle, but knowing what to talk to them about when you get there is another. . . . Every organization calling on Fortune 1000 companies needs this information."
—RENIE MCCLAY, former president of the Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training (SMT)
“Great information on a critical topic for all salespeople. The sale to an executive is made during the questioning process, not in your product presentation. You can’t sell anything to an executive until you have first sold yourself.”
—DUANE SPARKS, author of Action Selling and Chairman of The Sales Board
Nicholas A.C. Read is president of SalesLabs, which helps companies drive predictable and repeatable revenue growth through the application of improved process, measurement, and skills. In 2005, he was awarded Winner of the Best Sales Trainer category in the International Business Awards, an annual awards show that has been dubbed “the business world’s own Oscars” by the
New York Post. He splits his time between North America, Asia, and Europe. For more information, go to www.saleslabs.com.
Stephen J. Bistritz, Ed.D., has more than four decades of high-technology sales, sales management, and training management experience dealing with companies ranging from start-ups to global leaders. He is currently president of his own sales training and consulting firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, go to www.sellxl.com.
