Customer Reviews

The Wedge: How to Stop Selling and Start Winning

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Books on sales are a dime a dozen. Some have a focus on a specific market while others are as general as water. If your intention is to break into the broker market or just expand your market share in Insurance, Then This Book Is For You! The book is short, precise and powerful. If you think the price is a little high for a sales book, then you do not deserve this one.
For those with the vision, the intent, and boldness, this book will increase your sales to match your goals. Good Reading.

After reading The Wedge, and applying its principles to my sales presentations, I landed a rather large account that I know a competitor was also avidly pursuing. That alone makes the investment in this book worthwhile.
The Wedge focuses on taking business from your competition, by positioning yourself in a manner that distinguishes your business from your competitior. It is one of the first sales books that I ever read that focuses almost exclusively on the concept of taking business away from your competitors, as opposed to developing sales from independent leads. Given that almost every marketplace is static, with only so many entities available to buy your (or your competition's) product, thinking about and successfully executing methods that get your product before buyers who work with, or may be tempted by a competing product, not only makes sense, but is very wise sales strategy. And I can say - IT WORKS!

I'm not a seasoned sales guy, but I am a business owner that found the material repetitive and pretty basic. I thought the book could have been condensed in about half the space. It seems the going rate is $30 for this book (not much less for used) - so I had pretty high expectations, which fell a little short.

Perhaps I'm just a simple guy or not smart enough to glean all I should have from this book. I'll probably keep it in my library to re-read another time - but don't expect to get too much more out of it.

This is just my opinion... so it's worth just that :-)

The background context is clearly the insurance industry, with the ever present incumbent, but regardless of the product or service the competition is always close by, and the lessons in this book are applicable to all sales. Organized into eleven chapters in three sections, along with an appendix, the author explains the limitations and drawbacks of traditional approaches, how the Wedge approach is much more positive and successful, and the why. It reinforces the requirement that the sales professionals have to do their homework, know and understand the prospect's viewpoint, and ties in very well with consultative selling. With examples and method maps as training aids, easy to read, the lessons in this book are well worth studying and practicing.

I had heard a lot about the wedge, and had heard of this way of selling since I started selling insurance. But this book is a real insurance sales person's story, and Mr Schwantz breaks it down for those of us who need it simple and to the point.

If you're reading reviews of this book, it's probably safe to say that you've read most everything by the...."usuals"......Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Tom Hopkins, etc. This book takes you well beyond the basic concepts of selling and "obvious" things that "breakthrough" books have brought us in the salesforce in the past. Premise of book: expose the incumbent agent's weaknesses from every angle, but get the client to do it for you by asking pointed questions at the right time in the sales interview. I truly use the system laid out in this book as my "framework" for my presentations (scripts, rehearsals, trial closes and takeaways are all concepts we are familiar with, but not in the strategic vision presented by Mr. Schwantz). The cost is on the steep side and yes, this book is targeted to the insurance industry. Keep that in mind when purchasing. My company provided me with a copy, but I would not have been disappointed for spending my own money on it.

I first read How To Get Your Competition Fired and loved it. I recently bought (and returned) The Wedge. It is almost an exact duplicate of How To Get Your Competition Fired. There are a few areas where he says things a bit differently but it's basically the same.

I have a feeling The Wedge for Financial Advisors is the same as well. He has one good idea and seems to be rehasing it with different titles, but it's all the same concept. I'd say to get How To Get Your Competition Fired and the Red Hot Introductions book and you'd be set.

Most reviews I read said that this is mainly for folks in the insurance business. After reading it, I understand where they are coming from since most of the examples pertain to that business. I would say that you could easily adapt the principles in the book to any consulting profession. The idea is to create doubt with a clients current situation and position yourself as a solution to their problem.

This book is the best book I have ever read on sales. It is written for insurance salesmen but can be related to sales of anything. I even related it to the days when I sold cutlery. Highly recommended to any salesperson who is looking to stop selling and start winning!!!

The Wedge process works. It's a proven way to compete and win clients based on proactive services. If you're looking to move your sales force away from the death spiral of price-based competition, read this book.