Customer Reviews

Selling to the C-Suite: What Every Executive Wants You to Know About Successfully Selling to the Top

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I experienced a huge number of 'ahaa' type moments when I read this book.

I like many things about this work by Read and Bistritz, but one of the best things is that it is based on evidence and not just the sometimes unique, and often dated, sales experiences of individual Salespeople that you find in other books.

For example, tracking through the section on When Do Individuals Get Involved in the Decision Process?, based on my personal experience of large, long cycle service selling this is 100% spot on. I'm glad to see that the book doesn't offer some cheap trick as a solution to winning over C-Suite Executives, but rather focuses on the way that we can develop value, thereby making ourselves, as Salespeople, true 'Trusted Advisors'.

This is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to rise above the pack, and who wants to go beyond the level of commodity selling.

This book is a great review for seasoned sells professionals and an must read for those sales people who are just getting started.

The authors have done their homework on this and show how important it is for sales professionals to do their homework prior to attempting to meet with a C-Level Executive. They emphasize that you really only get one shot at this meeting and if you blow it, all is lost.

They provide a step-by-step process as a guideline to getting in the door and staying there.

I thorougly enjoyed the book and recommend it to those sales people who want to shorten the sales cycle by getting to the right person first.

In tough times, spending limits are always curtailed with the effect that more decisions are made or need approval by someone in the C-Suite. The age old recommendation of "calling high" is therefore of high actuality. Yet many sales people struggle to get access to the senior executives and even more so to hold meaningful conversations at this level. In today's economic environment this capability gap can become career threatening.

« Selling to the C-Suite » by Nicholas A.C. Read and Stephen J. Bistritz offers very practical advise how to close this gap. It is not one of those thousands of books flooding the business book market written in the style of "This is what I did, I was successful, there is no reason it should not work for you." Instead, "Selling to the C-Suite" is packed with research based concepts that have successfully been applied by thousands of practitioners. Instead of looking what people did who were successful to sell to the C-suite, the research focused on how senior executives want to buy.

With the concept of the relevant executive, the authors help salespeople to understand exactly what "calling high" means for a particular client. This relevant executive cannot be identified by just looking at an organization chart. The relevant executive is not only defined by his/her high rank but also by his/her high influence. The book gives good clues how to determine this influence.

The authors are also helping us to understand , based on their research, when senior executive are involved in a buying decision. It is not when they actually sign the contract. They are involved early when a problem surfaces where "work-arounds" do no longer contain the consequences caused by the problem and a project needs to be defined for finding a new way of how to address this problem. Usually when the vision is clear how the problem can be solved by buying something, the selection of the vendor offering suitable solutions is delegated. The executive's interest in the project increases again once the solution is in place. At this point in time they want to know what value the solution actually delivers to their business.

Calling to executives early, requires a higher proficiency of selling. Indicators are given helping an individual to check his/her actual level of sales proficiency and throughout the book practical advice can be found what it takes to close the gap.

Preparation is key in selling to the C-Suite. There is a chapter in the book helping to gain an understanding what executives want. In an appendix of the book, there is a very practical guide to customer research how to find clues of what a particular executive wants specifically.

How to gain access and how to establish credibility with executives are other important topics. It also has been said many times, that sellers today are no longer "messengers of value" they have to be "providers of value". How this can be achieved is also very clearly explained? The explanation that value is to be articulated differently depending on the status of the customer project is particularly insightful. It is recommended to use a Value Hypothesis to articulate the problem, a Value Proposition to help with the buying decision and a Value Message, to confirm the value that has been delivered through the solution. However the structure recommended for the Value Proposition seems to be a bit to rigid. I doubt that the template where just some blanks are to be filled in is still effective today.

Knowing when executives are involved in a project is also a key concept how to cultivate loyalty.

To help the reader to transition from knowing to doing, there is an appendix with worksheets providing a tool box how to apply the concepts in daily practice.

This description of the content does not represent the flow of the chapters in the book. Not mentioned yet is Chapter 2 of the book.

This is one of the most concise discussions on B2B Marketing, how it differs from B2C Marketing and how the Internet has changed the role of selling I have ever seen. This chapter alone is an alternative reason for buying the book. Understanding its contents is not only relevant for people wanting to sell to the C-Suite. It is essential for anyone who seeks to have a lasting career in direct sales.

For people wanting to sell to the C-Suite this book is a must read anyhow.

My good friend, Greg Van Ess, introduced me to "Selling to the C-Suite" to get my take, as a CEO, on the research and suggested approach to selling to C-level executives outlined by authors Nicholas Read and Stephen Bistriz. I gave Greg an interim assessment when I was only about one-third into the book - "this book is `spot on' regarding selling into the C-suite" but, Greg, this book's audience extends far beyond the author's target audience."

I have now finished the book and will be more specific, "Selling to the C-Suite" is a invaluable guide for salespeople...and for ALL executives, managers, and professionals "selling" up, down, and across organizations, and for job-seekers trying to land a new position.

Extensive research, statistics, case studies and anecdotes (FranklinCovey) show TRUST is a driving force in today's global economy. Read and Bistriz reinforce and tailor this for those selling into the C-suite with their independent, groundbreaking research conducted over ten years with C-suite leaders from 500 diverse companies and government bodies. A successful C-level relationship - open to products, services or ideas - is built around trust.

"Selling to the C-Suite" is organized around key research questions poised by the authors (think broadly by substituting employee, manager, job seeker, etc for salespeople and you will see what I gleaned about application):
* When do executives get involved in the buying process for major decisions?
* How do salespeople gain access to executives?
* How can salespeople establish credibility with executives?
* How can salespeople create value at the executive level?
* Is executive buying behavior consistent across cultures?

Key take-aways include 1) get involved with the decision process early when executives are actively involved, 2) target the relevant executive (not always obvious), 3) be prepared and understand the problems and opportunities the company is focused on, 4) use each and every opportunity to establish oneself as a knowledgeable, value-added `trusted advisor,' and always exhibit integrity through words and action.

CEOs are faced with a series of problems/opportunities to be solved/exploited ranging from product/service issues, financing, functional, to board, regulatory, and, just plain old human interactions. As I have told others, it is hard to relax. Once you have solved one problem or seized an opportunity, ten more show up. I have likened this to the time I climbed Mt. Lassen in northern California. Once on top, I saw many more mountains - each taller - to climb. There is little time to bask in success.

Those who understand this perspective readily understand a C-level executive's need to have `trusted advisors." Often, there is little time to deliberate on key decisions and the need for people you can trust - inside and out the organization - is paramount to finding a course of action. This is the pot of gold - the opportunity to assert oneself and establish credibility and competence.

"Nature is fascinated by talent, but it pays off on character" - John Gardner.

Let me start out this book review by simply saying that if your job consists of selling to or establishing meaningful relationships with senior executives in large companies, then you NEED and MUST read this book. Not doing so is only cheating yourself and the company you represent.

Here's a quick scan of the answers you'll find in the book :

*When do executives get involved in the buying process for major decisions?
*How do salespeople gain access to executives?
*How can salespeople establish credibility with executives?
*How can salespeople create value at the executive level?

Bistritz and Read (Authors) have done a wonderful job in not only qualifying how to sell into the `c-suite', they move beyond the anecdotal and into the empirical by sharing with us the reader how they arrived at their conclusions. The book is based on actual interviews, over 500, done with senior executives.

I had several `holy bucket' moments as I read through the book. Here are just a few:

1) Knowing when and why a senior executive gets involved in the decision making process and also the reasoning behind it. We've all heard the cliche, "By the time most salespeople get involved in a sale, it's too late." This book explains why that's so and how you can avoid the `late to the party' effect.

2) Understanding what executives want from a salesperson and in what order (i.e., priority). This was quite insightful and quite surprising. Here's a tease: it's not product knowledge or knowledge about your competition that ranks high with executives.

3) What do salespeople have to do in the Internet Age to remain relevant to senior executives? The authors explain what has changed in the mind of the consumer and how our clients perceive salespeople in today's info-glut environment.

4) Does cold calling or writing a letter to the CEO really work? Find out five ways to get into the c-suite and which are the top 3 most effective ways to connect with a senior level executive.

Bistritz and Read write in a very simple yet eloquent style. Neil Rackham provides a candid foreword for the book which in it of itself makes for good reading.

I've rarely been taken in by a book that constantly made me stop in order reflect on what was being said. Add to that the fact that the book is literally peppered with actual quotes from senior level executives that gives us the reader a heighten sense of what's important to executives. Isn't that what selling is?

I could go on but I'll simply end this review by saying that this is by far the best book I've read on how to establish effective and fruitful C-Level relationships.

Victor Antonio, Sales Influence

If you are in sales and haven't read "Selling to the C-Suite" you're probably doing things wrong and you don't even know it. If a CEO, CFO, CMO, (pick a C) could tell you the top 3-5 things they expect from you so you could win their business, would you listen? I hope so. That's one of the reasons this book is so great, because it's an "inside baseball" approach to what C-Level executives expect and want from sales people. If you invest in your own self-development....then I highly recommend you add Selling to the C-Suite to your self-development library.

Chuck Smith
Individual Contributor/Sales Manager
Enterprise Marketing Solutions

This is the next read in your growth as a super sales person titled listen to the words of the client. The authors did exhaustive interviews with executives as to what they wanted from a vendor, what they got and what was important to them. This should open most of your eyes folks. It is really good material. For example, most executives are closely involved long before the sales person learns about an opportunity, and by then it is likely the worst time to approach the C Suite. The book has terrific ideas for doing the homework that is necessary and how this changes from culture to culture. The sectiopn on China is worth the price of the book. Simple down to earth advice, easy to read but do not whip through this book, it is too valuable a read. Their blog http://www.sellingtothec-suite.com.

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If the rest of the books I look at in 2010 are as good as this I am really looking forward to them

Sales professionals who align with key executive decision makers, early in the sales process, have a higher win rate and make more money than their peers. Steve and Nic have meticulously researched and distilled the best practices that distinguish the sales people who can sell at the executive level and are seen as trusted advisors. Credibility is the foundation of being a trusted advisor. Selling to the C-Suite lays out when and how to access Executives, as well as how to establish credibility and value.

Bill Walden
HP Software Sales Ops, Strategy Planning and Programs
Former Sales Effectiveness Director at the TAS Group

In today's selling environment executive buyers do not have time to spend with salespeople who can only articulate product features and functionality - they can get that information from the internet. On the otherhand, a sales person who understands the issues their customers are facing and who can align with and communicate business value to senior executives have a distinct competitive advantage. Selling to the C-Suite provides the roadmap to do just that. It is timely and essential reading for sales professionals who want to excel at their craft.

This book is like a one day MBA in Selling to Executives. A must read for sales professionals - both new and experienced - who want to get better at their craft.
Thomas C. Martin, President, Strategy 2 Revenue, Inc.