 A Significant Contribution |
| Review Date: March 17, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Robert Morris, Dallas, Texas |
Another book about sales? By now, what could possibly be "new"? Indeed, over the years, there have been many brilliant books written about the art and science of salesmanship. For example, Neil Rackham's SPIN Selling, Michael Bosworth's Solution Selling and CustomerCentric Selling as well as Stephen E. Heiman and Diana Sanchez's The New Strategic Selling and The New Conceptual Selling®. This volume clearly deserves to be included among them.
According to Eades, "Solution Selling" is a sales process which consists of a philosophy (the customer is the focal point), a map (how to get from where you are to where you want to be), a methodology (it includes tools, job aids, techniques, and procedures to succeed), and a sales management system (by which to analyze pipelines, qualify opportunities, and coach skills). Thus summarized, "Solution Selling" may seem to many, especially those with years of sales experience, to be simplistic. In fact, Eades offers some thought-provoking and unorthodox perspectives on what is seldom (if ever) simple: Persuading a sufficient number of people to buy whatever you offer for sale and then continue to do so, and at a margin sufficient to ensure sustainable profitability for your organization. Amazon and Borders offer this volume for sale in combination with Bosworth's book of the same title. Yes, there is much common material but also significant differences which reveal themselves when both Bosworth's book and then Eades's book are read in sequence.
FYI, I am among those who believe that (a) marketing and sales are separate but interdependent areas of activity, and (b) directly or indirectly, everyone within a given organization should be involved in both. With his material carefully organized within five Parts, Eades explains "Solution Selling" concepts; how to create new opportunities (e.g. "Diagnosing Before You Prescribe"); how to engage in active opportunities (e.g. "Selling When You Are Not First"), how to gain access to people with power, control the selling process, and close; and how to manage the sales process (e.g. "Creating and Sustaining High Performance Sales Cultures." Once marketing initiatives have created or increased demand for what is offered, the sale must then be made. Literally [in italics] everyone [end italics] within a given organization can and should -- directly or indirectly -- support marketing and sales initiatives.
Of course, it remains for each reader to determine which of Eades's ideas are most relevant, and, how best to apply them within a given competitive environment. However, I presume to offer a concluding word of caution: Make certain that you have a [in italics] repeatable, integrated sales execution process [end italics] rather than a grab bag of disconnected, often contradictory ideas about sales. When a horse is designed by a committee, the result frequently does resemble a camel. |
New Solution Selling Draws a Sales Map
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| Review Date: January 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Julie Johnson, Ph.D., NC USA |
The New Solution Selling by Keith Eades is definitely worth reading. This book is destined to become a classic and will be sitting on my bookshelf next to Neil Rackham's SPIN Selling. If you are a seasoned sales professional, this book will help you examine your existing sales process and look at areas that could be refined in order to increase your sales productivity. If you are new to sales, this book provides an excellent process that will help you "ramp-up" quickly. If you read Eade's original Solution Selling book, you will find that this book is updated and supplies some new concepts.
The New Solution Selling states that the formula for success is: Pain x Power x Vision x Value x Control = Sale. While the formula is deceptively simple, the implementation can be rather complex. This book helps salespeople focus on the customer's "pain" and stresses the importance of providing a solution that not only stops the pain, but also adds value. Eades makes this process manageable by providing readers with a logical, well thought out plan, supplemented with many "real-life" and fictitious examples. This is accomplished through by a method that consists of (1) a philosophy (the customer is the focal point), (2) a map (getting from where you are to where you want to be) , (3) a methodology (with tools, job aids, techniques and procedures), and (4) a sales management system (process to increase productivity).
Eades maintains that salespeople often "say" they provide solutions, but in reality, they simply provide a product. The New Solution Selling focuses on understanding the underlying causes of customer problems, instead of the symptoms. Consequently, a correct "diagnosis" must be made before the salesperson "prescribes" a solution. Solution Selling provides several models to help salespeople isolate the "pain" by examining the interdependence of the key players within the buying organization.
Once salespeople understand the pain, they must explore the impact of that pain and create a buying vision. One problem in developing needs and creating a vision is that salespeople often do not know what questions to ask. Eades provides a "Pain Sheet" to help salespeople develop situational knowledge of customers and their business. This is accomplished through investigating three key areas: (1) diagnose reasons, (2) explore impact and (3) visualizing capabilities by asking open questions, control questions and confirm questions.
In the past, Solution Selling focused on strategies dealing with opportunities for buyers who were not actively looking for a solution. Now, it has been enhanced to assist salespeople dealing with customers who are actively looking. Eades maintains that when a customer is actively looking, but you are not the one who helped create the vision, your chances of winning that sale are only 10%. He provides strategies to deal with these types of customers and also stresses the importance of being willing to walk away from the opportunity.
Overall, The New Solution Selling is an excellent book for both the novice and experienced salesperson. It provides a road map for the sales process and helps ensure that the path the salesperson takes is the one that leads to a sale. I'd highly recommend reading this book.
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Thought-provoking
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| Review Date: March 11, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Kelly Conley, Napierville, IL |
| This book offers some nontraditional and thought-provoking perceptions on selling solutions, not products. The step-by-step approach to implementing a conversational method to selling that is presented allows the salesperson to focus on streamlining the sales process and achieving greater success in fewer steps. Any salesperson should find value in this book. |
Packed With Knowledge!
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| Review Date: December 1, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Rolf Dobelli, Switzerland |
| This is a useful guide to one of the hottest subjects in sales: selling solutions, not products. Author Keith M. Eades offers a methodical, step-by-step approach to implementing a conversational approach to selling. The principles underlying "solution selling" are simple and straightforward, and the process is hard to fault, although it demands a great deal of record keeping and charting. The author's explanation of the procedures gets a bit mechanical and jargon-riddled at times. But on the whole, we believe every salesperson is apt to find something of value in this book, even if it's a reminder of what once was known but has been forgotten. |
Solutions that work.
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| Review Date: April 24, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Emanuel Carpenter... Author/Reviewer, Cleveland, Ohio |
In my business humor book, "A Job Ain't Nothing But Work," I made a joke about everyone selling solutions these days. "My wife won't give me any. Got a solution for that?" But in the new book "The New Solution Selling," solutions are all business. It begins with a clear definition of what a solution selling is: "a system of methods that includes tools, job aids, techniques, and procedures that help salespeople and sales teams navigate the selling steps that close more sales faster." After this clear definition is given, author Keith M. Eades, founder and president of Sales Performance International and Solution Selling Inc, uses his expertise in sales for teaching the reader the necessary steps of selling, including pre-planning, cold calling, and the very important closing of the deal.
"The New Solution Selling" is not your run of the mill business book that typically renames and regurgitates business practices that have been in place for years. Instead, the book not only gives valuable information on the sales process but it also gives reliable examples. This includes sample pre-calling letters, thank you letters, and letters that ask for more business. Examples can be put into place immediately after reading the related chapter. It is perfect for the salesperson looking to penetrate the Fortune 500 market.
The book addresses major issues in the sales world, including what to do when your top salespeople are promoted to management, how to respond when you're not the first in line, and how to identify and respond to the pains your customers are facing.
Having graduated from business school and worked in sales for a number of years, I can tell you that this book is the real deal. It has found a permanent place on my business book shelf right next to "Who Moved My Cheese?" and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." This is the kind of book that should be on college campuses all across America. It is a very informative and easy to follow book that every salesperson should own.
Emanuel Carpenter
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Very Useful Information
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| Review Date: January 23, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Sales Skeptic, NJ |
| This was recommended reading by a coworker. I was very skeptical having been through so many training programs and asked to read so many stupid sales technique books. This takes a suprisingly different, logical approach. I've been in sales for almost 10 years and will absolutely start incorporating suggestions ASAP. |
Terrific book on Solution Selling
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| Review Date: November 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Literate1, IN |
| This is possibly the best book on the Solution Selling methodology out there, and is a great resource. The authors make it easy to understand, and use good examples throughout. If you work for a company where Solution Selling is used, this is a must-have. If you are in sales at all, and sell anything that is not a commodity, then you should get this book too. I especially like the diagrams and other helpful tables in the book. They really help define the message, and gave me a much greater understanding of Solution Selling. My margins of the book are filled with notes -- I recommend when you read this that you mark it up with your own specific sales situations, to help bridge the gap to your own particular product or service. |
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