Th ere is a silver bullet in sales - when you get to highly motivated decision makers at EXACTL Y the right time: after they experience a 'Trigger Event' BUT (or AN D) before they call your competition. When you have the right timing the sale almost happens by itself- There are few challenges getting to the prospect, understanding their dissatisfaction, presenting a solution, or closing the sale. By luck or sheer numbers you've had timing happen before, "... simple but profound truths that will help you leverage intent for immediate action and cut down the selling cycle, while creating lasting bonds with customers." -Stephen M.R. Covey, author of the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller The Speed of Trust "... an entirely new perspective on things that are hiding in plain sight for all sales professionals. Well done!" -Kevin Fancey, Senior Vice President of Sales, Ricoh Canada Inc "By combining the power of relationships with timing - what Elias and Shanto call "Trigger Events" - the authors present a powerful sales strategy..." -Keith Ferr azzi, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Who's Got Your Back and Never Eat Alone "Elias and Shanto have brought referrals into the 21st Century, showing you how to ... capitalize on the key moments that will bring you success in a busy, fast-paced world. This is a must read!" -Ivan Misner, NY Times Bestselling author and Founder of BNI and the Referral Institute
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From the Back Cover
Selling, like life, is all about timing. This book is about timing and understanding the events that trigger timing (Trigger Events) and harnessing them to close more sales sooner. It's about mastering the art and science of getting in front of the right person at exactly the right time--which we call the Window of Dissatisfaction(tm)-- and then doing the right things when you have timing.
Knowing that Trigger Events result in highly productive sales efforts and deeply loyal customers will help you to close sales sooner and take home a much bigger commission check. Once you understand this timing--and it's easier than you think--you can learn to take the right action based on the decision-maker's buying mode. You can enjoy a much higher close ratio than you're experiencing right now, on bigger deals that close much more quickly, so you can move on and start selling to someone else more quickly.
The secret to being successful in sales is perfecting your timing. That means getting in front of the right person at exactly the right time. To do that, you must understand the power of something that has a dramatic impact on the sales cycle, which most salespeople don't spend enough time understanding. It's called Path Dependency.
PATH DEPENDENCY
Path Dependency is what happens when decision-makers have done the same thing in the same way for so long that it's easier for them to keep doing the same things the way they have always done them. Most of the time, when you are selling, this is your competition--unless there is a compelling reason to change and a Trigger Event that makes them want to change right now.
All salespeople face the same competition: the prospective buyer's predisposition to keep doing exactly what they are already doing. When decision-makers have Path Dependency, the investment of time, money, energy, or attention they've already made in something prevents them from taking a different approach.
Just think of the way you type using a standard QWERTY keyboard (which is named after the first six letters in the top row of a keyboard). Most people have been trained to type using that keyboard layout. Why is that? We all type that way because, on the earliest manual typewriters, the keys kept getting stuck when people typed too fast. The QWERTY keyboard was actually designed to keep the keys from jamming the mechanism! The problem is that people wanted to type faster.
The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard solved that problem. It allowed people to type faster without the keys jamming. However, people had invested so much time in learning to type with a QWERTY keyboard that they did not want to forgo the investment they had made or reinvest their time, money, and effort in learning something new. This is the power of Path Dependency: almost everyone is still typing on the QWERTY keyboard to this day!
The real challenge, and the real competition, is that buyers think they don't have a problem. They're happy with the Status Quo. They are too busy doing what they're already doing (i.e., taking care of things they're used to taking care of) to look at what you have to offer. Initially, it seems as though, no matter what you do, you just can't get their attention. That's the effect of Path Dependency. Once we are used to doing something, it's a lot easier to keep doing what we've always done.
Think of it this way: You have a car that you like driving, and have had generally good experiences with it over the years. On your way home from work one night, the transmission breaks. You have the car towed to the local garage, and the next day, you learn that it will cost $400 to fix the transmission.
Do you buy a whole new car or do you pay $400 to fix the transmission? If you're like most of us, you'll pay to fix the transmission. Why? Because buying a brand new car is a big undertaking, and it connects to a lot of variables you don't particularly feel like dealing with right now. Plus, you already have a good set of experiences with the car you're driving. So you fix that one.
In fact, if something else goes wrong with the car in several months from now, you'd probably still pay to repair the vehicle rather than buy a brand new one. Sometimes, it takes a pretty dense combination of things going wrong for us to start thinking about the major commitment, such as selecting, financing, and purchasing a brand new vehicle.
Your true competition is not a competitor who provides a similar product or service. It's the path the buyer has become used to traveling. And yet, what would happen if that person decided, for whatever reason, that the Status Quo was no longer sufficient? What would happen if you could get in front of the decision-maker on the day this happened? How would that affect your ability to make a sale and build a rewarding long-term relationship?
SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY
If you want to improve your close ratio, you might upgrade your presentation and closing skills.
If you wanted to increase your total opportunities, you might upgrade your prospecting skills.
If you wanted to increase your deal size, you might target different customers or sell different products and services.
But if you want to improve all these things at the same time, you would have to improve your timing. You could probably use some assistance with understanding and upgrading your timing strategy. This means you will need to SHIFT your focus, and SHIFT your tactics, so that you can SHIFT your results.
About the Author
Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling(tm), and the Chief Catalyst of SHiFT Selling, Inc.
Craig's Trigger Event strategies have:
- Won him a $1,000,000 prize in a global "Billion- Dollar Idea" pitch competition
- Made him a top performer at every company he has worked for - Including WorldCom where he was named #1 within 6 months of joining the company
- Earned his last company, the distinction as one of Dow Jones' 50 most promising companies in North America
- Resulted in coverage on NBC news, in The New York Times, The National Post, The Wall Street Journal, Sales and Marketing magazine, and Business 2.0
Tibor Shanto is a 20-year veteran of the information, content management, and financial sectors, he has developed an insider's perspective on how information can be used to, shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth.
Called a brilliant sales tactician Tibor shows organizations how to execute their strategy by using the right information to create the perfect combination of what are the tactics to apply and when.
Prior to Renbor, Tibor spent 10 years with Dow Jones; after launching their Canadian business and building a solid team and revenue base, with double digit CAGR, Tibor was appointed Sales Director for Canada and The Central USA.
As Director of Sales Strategy, Tibor developed a very forward thinking global Sales Training program and was instrumental in building their Client Solutions organization. Tibor is a director and contributor to The Sales Bloggers Union.
Becomes...
Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling(tm), and the Chief Catalyst of SHiFT Selling, Inc. Craig's Trigger Event strategies have: - Won him a $1,000,000 prize in a global "Billion- Dollar Idea" pitch competition - Made him a top performer at every company he has worked for - Including WorldCom where he was named #1 within 6 months of joining the company - Earned his last company, the distinction as one of Dow Jones' 50 most promising companies in North America - Resulted in coverage on NBC news, in The New York Times, The National Post, The Wall Street Journal, Sales and Marketing magazine, and Business 2.0 Tibor Shanto is a 20-year veteran of the information, content management, and financial sectors, he has developed an insider's perspective on how information can be used to, shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth. Called a brilliant sales tactician Tibor shows organizations how to execute their strategy by using the right information to create the perfect combination of what are the tactics to apply and when. Prior to Renbor, Tibor spent 10 years with Dow Jones; after launching their Canadian business and building a solid team and revenue base, with double digit CAGR, Tibor was appointed Sales Director for Canada and The Central USA. As Director of Sales Strategy, Tibor developed a very forward thinking global Sales Training program and was instrumental in building their Client Solutions organization. Tibor is a director and contributor to The Sales Bloggers Union.
Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling(tm), and the Chief Catalyst of SHiFT Selling, Inc.
Craig's Trigger Event strategies have:
- Won him a $1,000,000 prize in a global "Billion- Dollar Idea" pitch competition
- Made him a top performer at every company he has worked for - Including WorldCom where he was named #1 within 6 months of joining the company
- Earned his last company, the distinction as one of Dow Jones' 50 most promising companies in North America
- Resulted in coverage on NBC news, in The New York Times, The National Post, The Wall Street Journal, Sales and Marketing magazine, and Business 2.0
Tibor Shanto is a 20-year veteran of the information, content management, and financial sectors, he has developed an insider's perspective on how information can be used to, shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth.
Called a brilliant sales tactician Tibor shows organizations how to execute their strategy by using the right information to create the perfect combination of what are the tactics to apply and when.
Prior to Renbor, Tibor spent 10 years with Dow Jones; after launching their Canadian business and building a solid team and revenue base, with double digit CAGR, Tibor was appointed Sales Director for Canada and The Central USA.
As Director of Sales Strategy, Tibor developed a very forward thinking global Sales Training program and was instrumental in building their Client Solutions organization. Tibor is a director and contributor to The Sales Bloggers Union.
Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling(tm), and the Chief Catalyst of SHiFT Selling, Inc.
Craig's Trigger Event strategies have: - Won him a $1,000,000 prize in a global "Billion- Dollar Idea" pitch competition - Made him a top performer at every company he has worked for - Including WorldCom where he was named #1 within 6 months of joining the company - Earned his last company, the distinction as one of Dow Jones' 50 most promising companies in North America - Resulted in coverage on NBC news, in The New York Times, The National Post, The Wall Street Journal, Sales and Marketing magazine, and Business 2.0
Tibor Shanto is a 20-year veteran of the information, content management, and financial sectors, he has developed an insider's perspective on how information can be used to, shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth.
Called a brilliant sales tactician Tibor shows organizations how to execute their strategy by using the right information to create the perfect combination of what are the tactics to apply and when.
Prior to Renbor, Tibor spent 10 years with Dow Jones; after launching their Canadian business and building a solid team and revenue base, with double digit CAGR, Tibor was appointed Sales Director for Canada and The Central USA.
As Director of Sales Strategy, Tibor developed a very forward thinking global Sales Training program and was instrumental in building their Client Solutions organization. Tibor is a director and contributor to The Sales Bloggers Union.
Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling(tm), and the Chief Catalyst of SHiFT Selling, Inc.
Craig's Trigger Event strategies have:
- Won him a $1,000,000 prize in a global "Billion- Dollar Idea" pitch competition
- Made him a top performer at every company he has worked for - Including WorldCom where he was named #1 within 6 months of joining the company
- Earned his last company, the distinction as one of Dow Jones' 50 most promising companies in North America
- Resulted in coverage on NBC news, in The New York Times, The National Post, The Wall Street Journal, Sales and Marketing magazine, and Business 2.0
Tibor Shanto is a 20-year veteran of the information, content management, and financial sectors, he has developed an insider's perspective on how information can be used to, shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth.
Called a brilliant sales tactician Tibor shows organizations how to execute their strategy by using the right information to create the perfect combination of what are the tactics to apply and when.
Prior to Renbor, Tibor spent 10 years with Dow Jones; after launching their Canadian business and building a solid team and revenue base, with double digit CAGR, Tibor was appointed Sales Director for Canada and The Central USA.
As Director of Sales Strategy, Tibor developed a very forward thinking global Sales Training program and was instrumental in building their Client Solutions organization. Tibor is a director and contributor to The Sales Bloggers Union.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. P. Cook
Format:Paperback
Shift! is a great book that focuses on the importance of time and timing in the sales relationship. In the well know AIDA curve of life, have you ever got a prospect interested and desiring of your product or service but they still did not buy? Action is of course the missing element. Craig Elias and Tibor Shanto offer an excellent insight into the importance of getting the timing right through trigger events, whether these are positive or negative (windows of dissatisfaction).
Getting the timing right is not a matter of waiting and Shift! outlines ways of creating the right timing for an effective sale. This involves getting people to leave what Elias and Shanto call 'path dependency'.
I particularly like the device used in the book 'if you don't read this chapter, you will miss out on the following' - it is a great motivational device to induct you through the text,
Shift! is well illustrated, with plenty of examples to set you thinking about ways to improve your sales effectiveness. Simple, but not simplistic, Shift! is a valuable purchase for anyone interested in being more successful in their business and personal lives. To find out more, visit Tibor's blog at [...]
Peter Cook MBA
Business Speaker and Author 'Best Practice Creativity' and 'Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll'
Getting the timing right is not a matter of waiting and Shift! outlines ways of creating the right timing for an effective sale. This involves getting people to leave what Elias and Shanto call 'path dependency'.
I particularly like the device used in the book 'if you don't read this chapter, you will miss out on the following' - it is a great motivational device to induct you through the text,
Shift! is well illustrated, with plenty of examples to set you thinking about ways to improve your sales effectiveness. Simple, but not simplistic, Shift! is a valuable purchase for anyone interested in being more successful in their business and personal lives. To find out more, visit Tibor's blog at [...]
Peter Cook MBA
Business Speaker and Author 'Best Practice Creativity' and 'Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll'
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just finished this great book. I believe Craig and Tibor fill a huge gap in sales training. Most sales training assumes you have a good prospect, so it tells you how to interview, uncover pains, find the political structure and orchestrate a deal. But those miss an important point - identifying the best prospects and getting the first meeting is the biggest challenge of sales.
This book works differently. It tell you how to connect with the right persons at the right time (Trigger Events, Window of Discontent) and to use a scientific approach based on facts learned from deals you won in the past. (Won Sales Analysis). More data to show the power of this approach is to note the fact that 8 out of 10 buyers say they chose the vendor, rather than the other way around. This tells us the balance of power lies squarely with the buyer.
Shift Selling addresses this reality and helped you connect with the RIGHT prospects at the RIGHT time to win the business.
Important book and highly recommended.
This book works differently. It tell you how to connect with the right persons at the right time (Trigger Events, Window of Discontent) and to use a scientific approach based on facts learned from deals you won in the past. (Won Sales Analysis). More data to show the power of this approach is to note the fact that 8 out of 10 buyers say they chose the vendor, rather than the other way around. This tells us the balance of power lies squarely with the buyer.
Shift Selling addresses this reality and helped you connect with the RIGHT prospects at the RIGHT time to win the business.
Important book and highly recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What if you could crystal ball that, "Trigger Event" that motivates buyers to see your solution for the value it brings to a problem just when they need it? With a unique model, SHiFT (in both paper back and Kindle edition), motivated salespeople will be able to pull together six pieces to both make the most out of a first call as well as either delaying or preventing them from even calling the competition. It's about how to improve your timing to have a customer's positive decision while their intent is still high - more sales, less delay.
Craig Elias created Trigger Event selling which subsequently won him $1,000,000 prize in a global Billion Dollar Idea pitch competition. Tibor Shanto is called a brilliant sales tactician showing organizations how to use the right information to execute a perfect strategy. Together in Shift, they offer a system for others in sales to be in front of a qualified and motivated buyer at the right time more often.
"Won Sales Analysis(tm), Chapter 3, section 3, is about involving the decision maker in questions that analyze the sale before the service or product is delivered. In this way you create a unique tool to be able to see more opportunities for sales more easily - in the future. For example, one of the five questions suggested to ask is "What event or events led up to this purchase?" Elias and Shanto claim the specificity to this question is crucial in helping to identify the trigger events, so they offer this advice, "If you don't get the kind of response you're looking for from the primary question, ask a variation of the question. For instance: - What changed to make solving this problem a priority? - What created a sense of urgency around solving this problem? - What makes the Status Quo (or: what you were using) no longer viable?" They offer the same keen observation to the other five component questions Find, Close, Improve and Classify.
Highly recommended to the more logical seller is chapter 4.3, Logic versus emotion. Insights and strategies are offered to establish a salesperson as the buyer's "Emotional Favorite." "This is not the same thing as having a good discussion with a prospect. Instead, it means being the person the prospect wants to see win and wants to use as a resource. If you've ever had a prospect call you for help with a problem that is unrelated to what you sell, you already know what it means to be the Emotional Favorite. It means that you can position yourself as the "go-to" person and maximize the likelihood of winning future business." The authors tie in what's commonly called the "know, like and trust" factor into their model of Trigger Event selling with actionable steps therefore answering the question of how to establish know, like, trust.
From an engaging discussion of identifying the Window of Dissatisfaction through leveraging Triggering Event Referrals, you can discover how to both improve your timing and maintain the sales flow. Many old sales assumptions are brought to truth or fiction while at the same time tying them into the uniquely new Shift method. It's a unique customer-focused model that will engage listening, planning and establishing yourself as a problem-solver.
Instructional worksheets are generously provided for major insights in the book that readers are encouraged to put into action. The worksheets help you learn how to make this happen - on purpose - more often. While it really is not a crystal ball, anyone who sells can be more effective in achieving more results by acting on the ideas in this book. The guiding premise is it's about being in the right place at the right time on purpose with prospective customers.
Going forward from 2010, it's a must have book.
Taking the Mystery Out of Follow-up Reluctance: How to Steadily Turn Prospects Into Customers
Craig Elias created Trigger Event selling which subsequently won him $1,000,000 prize in a global Billion Dollar Idea pitch competition. Tibor Shanto is called a brilliant sales tactician showing organizations how to use the right information to execute a perfect strategy. Together in Shift, they offer a system for others in sales to be in front of a qualified and motivated buyer at the right time more often.
"Won Sales Analysis(tm), Chapter 3, section 3, is about involving the decision maker in questions that analyze the sale before the service or product is delivered. In this way you create a unique tool to be able to see more opportunities for sales more easily - in the future. For example, one of the five questions suggested to ask is "What event or events led up to this purchase?" Elias and Shanto claim the specificity to this question is crucial in helping to identify the trigger events, so they offer this advice, "If you don't get the kind of response you're looking for from the primary question, ask a variation of the question. For instance: - What changed to make solving this problem a priority? - What created a sense of urgency around solving this problem? - What makes the Status Quo (or: what you were using) no longer viable?" They offer the same keen observation to the other five component questions Find, Close, Improve and Classify.
Highly recommended to the more logical seller is chapter 4.3, Logic versus emotion. Insights and strategies are offered to establish a salesperson as the buyer's "Emotional Favorite." "This is not the same thing as having a good discussion with a prospect. Instead, it means being the person the prospect wants to see win and wants to use as a resource. If you've ever had a prospect call you for help with a problem that is unrelated to what you sell, you already know what it means to be the Emotional Favorite. It means that you can position yourself as the "go-to" person and maximize the likelihood of winning future business." The authors tie in what's commonly called the "know, like and trust" factor into their model of Trigger Event selling with actionable steps therefore answering the question of how to establish know, like, trust.
From an engaging discussion of identifying the Window of Dissatisfaction through leveraging Triggering Event Referrals, you can discover how to both improve your timing and maintain the sales flow. Many old sales assumptions are brought to truth or fiction while at the same time tying them into the uniquely new Shift method. It's a unique customer-focused model that will engage listening, planning and establishing yourself as a problem-solver.
Instructional worksheets are generously provided for major insights in the book that readers are encouraged to put into action. The worksheets help you learn how to make this happen - on purpose - more often. While it really is not a crystal ball, anyone who sells can be more effective in achieving more results by acting on the ideas in this book. The guiding premise is it's about being in the right place at the right time on purpose with prospective customers.
Going forward from 2010, it's a must have book.
Taking the Mystery Out of Follow-up Reluctance: How to Steadily Turn Prospects Into Customers
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great new concepts and awesome way to look at selling
The book was smooth and carried with it some great gems in sales and sales intelligence. I recommend reading SHiFT and paying attention to the work of Craig Elias. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Kyle Porter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Read For Any Sales, Marketing and Business Development...
Excellent book a must read for all sales and business development professionals. This book provides a step by step plan on what to do, how to do it and when to do it, in setting up... Read more
Published on May 20, 2011 by N. Loise
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shift The best sales book that I have read in years
Over the 28 years that I have been in sales, I have read many sales books, thanks to my first sales manager, who inspired in me the quality of investing in sales skills and... Read more
Published on February 21, 2011 by SeanM
5.0 out of 5 stars
Look for big improvements in sales win rates
I received a review copy of this book as a pdf. I have a lot of trouble reading anything like a pdf. When I read like to make notes , flip back and forth, reread etc. Read more
Published on February 7, 2011 by Reg Nordman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simpler Sales in the 21st Century
This book though in its title mention's trigger events really does an excellent job discussing the idea of 'complementors' and the role networking plays in sales and marketing... Read more
Published on January 11, 2011 by Chris Perry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shift selling adds another powerful gear to your sales process
Shift Selling provides a very powerful insight into successful sales process and tactics. Knowing how we win and why we win business deals has always been a valuable component of... Read more
Published on December 10, 2010 by Dave Cooke
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