Selling for the Long Run: Build Lasting Customer Relationships for Breakthrough Results, 1st Edition

CREATE RELATIONSHIPS THAT LEAD TO REPEAT SALES--FOR THE LONG RUN! "Selling for the Long Run stands head and shoulders above the run-of-the-mill sales books. If you're in the business of selling complex products or solutions, it's a blueprint for business success. Don't just read this book--use its principles and strategies every day, and it will fundamentally improve the results you achieve." -- Donal Daly, CEO, The TAS Group "This book provides a fresh, unique, and contemporary perspective on the welldocumented subject of selling in a complex business-to-business world. Wendy Reedgives the reader a contemporary road map for the modern-day, buyer-centric sales philosophy. Read it and learn an approach that most certainly enables sales success." -- Richard E. Eldh, Co-President, SiriusDecisions, Inc. "The fact that buying behavior has changed dramatically is clear to all sales professionals; how to change the way you sell in response is not. Selling for the Long Run offers new insights into how to develop and enrich relationships with clients to not only close more business this year but become the partner of choice going forward as well." -- Jim Dickie, Managing Partner, CSO Insights "Selling for the Long Run provides an easy-to-follow road map to the kind of customer collaboration that can dramatically change the relationship between buyer and seller and lead to deeper, more successful, and enduring partnerships." -- John Golden, CEO, Huthwaite "Until more universities offer degree programs in sales effectiveness, this book is required reading for anyone carrying a quota." -- Peter Ostrow, Research Director, Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Co. ARE YOU IN A GOOD RELATIONSHIP? Selling for the Long Run provides the keyprinciples for acquiring and maintaining satisfied, repeat-buying customers. How is this achieved? One word: relationships. At first glance, the answer seems simple—but is any relationship simple? Wendy Reed, CEO of the global sales training firm InfoMentis, helps you make the transformation from an average salesperson who simply presents products to a great salesperson who serves as a collaborative partner with the customer. It's the best sales approach for good economic times, and it's the only one that works when times are tough. When the buyer perceives you as an advocate for his or her needs, trust is created--and great things follow. Outlining a strategic plan for building customer focus and collaboration into every stage of the sales cycle, Reed provides an insider's perspective to help you: View the sales process from the customer's point of view Align your offering with the buyer's needs Perform proper due diligence before creating your strategy Gain clearer vision into revenue pipelines and forecasts Deliver on all promises made--both explicit and implicit Selling for the Long Run is a blueprint for reenvisioning and retooling your sales cycle to seizethe competitive advantage--and keep it. Like any customer in any industry, your prospective buyer's number-one concern is value--bottom line. In the end, he or she wants to make a purchase from a trustworthy partner--which iswhy you have to stop looking for that one magical "sales technique" and start building the kind of relationships that generate results. Take your first step with Selling for the Long Run.