Selling Microsoft: Sales Secrets from Inside the World's Most Successful Company [Hardcover]

Doug Dayton (Author), Ed Walters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1997

As the Account Manager for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for Microsoft, Doug Dayton was responsible for closing over 40% of the company's OEM business. He developed a unique, powerful sales system -- known as "Client-Centered" selling -- that helped him transform Microsoft's sales force into one of the most effective organizations in sales history. Along with his insider's look at what worked for Microsoft, Doug Dayton provides invaluable advice for any sales person:

- Proven communication techniques that make your clients help you sell them your product or service

- How to navigate your way through corporate buying bureaucracies -- how to find and sell the key people on your product

- And scores of other practical tips!

- How you can make new product demos foolproof--even if you don't have a technical background

- How to uncover new applications or implementations for your product or service that can lead to new clients -- and whole new markets!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Dayton, previously a sales and contract support manager for Microsoft, now heads Client-Centered Training, Inc., whose methods he espouses in his book. The method consists of several steps: identify prospective customers; qualify the possibility of purchase according to need, budget, buying authority, and time; verify that the customers understand why the purchase is appropriate and that the salesperson has addressed all their concerns; then ask the customers for their business. The author reveals little about Microsoft here, other than the "smoke and Windows" technique, a maneuver demonstrating a prototype that was not really functional. Dayton uses his methods for selling technical, high-dollar systems, but a salesperson could apply his methods in part or in modified form to other sales circumstances. Comprehensive, detailed, and motivational, this is recommended for any library with a business collection covering sales.?Peggy D. Odom, Texas Lib. Assn., Waco
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Selling Microsoft is jam-packed with ideas and techniques that will provide even the most experienced sales professional with new insights into sales success. An absolute "must read" for any sales person that wants to make the big bucks!" -- Dick Swain, Training & Education Manager, AT&T Wireless Services

"Whether you are a frontline sales professional or a seasoned sales manager, Selling Microsoft will help you take a fresh look at you selling techniques. A great book!" -- Rodger Baca, District Sales Manager, Federal Express --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 307 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corp; 1st edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155850821X
• ISBN-13: 978-1558508217
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,370,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on selling high technology products, April 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Selling Microsoft: Sales Secrets from Inside the World's Most Successful Company (Paperback)

This book is one of the best books on selling high technology products on the market. It provides invaluable knowledge on a full range of selling topics including effective time management, marketing, sales support, sales people, sales managers, and customer support. The section on time management was very helpful. When I first started reading it I was wondering why the author took the time to insert a chapter on time management when there are so many books devoted to the subject. Before I realized it I was saying to my self, "... this is happening to me every day I must take control of my schedule." The Client Centered approach to sales is the central focus of the book and is described in detail. Some of the methods presented in the Client Centered approach have been presented in other books, but the author did an excellent job of bringing together the various ideas into a well-defined plan. The forms and checklists included are a valuable addition, and help in transforming the ideas presented into a plan of action. I was so impressed with the book that I am purchasing copies for all my sales and marketing people.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but..., May 3, 2002

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Selling Microsoft: Sales Secrets from Inside the World's Most Successful Company (Paperback)

This book is a nice short piece on the nuts and bolts of selling, but be forewarned: it has about as much to do with Microsoft and its methods as I do (hey, I'm running Office 2000 on my computer, woohoo!).

You get the occassional gem about taking Bill Gates along on a sales call. That's what you call a closer. But that's about it. Other than that, Dayton could be describing how to sell cardboard. Not that it's a bad thing. But if you're looking for strategic selling techniques for high technology sales, best look elsewhere.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great tech sales roadmap, April 19, 2000

By 

P. Velgos (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Selling Microsoft: Sales Secrets from Inside the World's Most Successful Company (Paperback)

As opposed to most "hot new" sales approaches which focus on changing your personal style, this book does a great job of providing a strategic step-by-step plan from A-Z. It's void of fluff and gets right to the point of outlining the nuts and bolts of the process including pre-sales planning, performance tracking, maintaining growth, and time management. It's worth reading in general and especially for those migrating into tech sales.