Erik Peterson - Conversations That Win the Complex Sale: Using Power Messaging to Create More Opportunities, Differentiate your Solutions, and Close More Deals

Advanced Praise for Conversations That Win the Complex Sale

The Power Messaging techniques outlined in this book have been enthusiastically embraced and adopted by our sales teams, and theyve elevated our game. By applying this real-world, customer-focused approach to message development and delivery, you should expect to create more deals, increase pipeline velocity, and close more business. Moreover, you will invigorate your sales force, and your salespeople will thank you. Power Messaging sticks with you, and it works.

David Bonnette
Group Vice President
North America Sales
Oracle

Power Messaging is a foundational element in our global marketing campaigns and sales training programs. We believe these concepts are at the core of engaging in customer conversations that are focused on the customers outcomes and what they want to achieve.

Karen Quintos
CMO and Senior Vice President
Dell Inc.

Power Messaging is the process my presales teams use for delivering an impactful, compelling solution message that differentiates us in the mind of the customer. The concepts outlined in this book are critical skills for building a world-class presales organization.

Ken Hamel
Senior Vice President
Global Solutions and Presales
SAP

Our new messaging, using the approaches presented in this book, is great, and it is being widely used by our sales team. Weve never had a year-end sales meeting with content that was met with such widespread acceptance and enthusiasm. I admit that I entered the Power Messaging process with some skepticism, but count me as a convert!

Jerry D. Cline
Senior Vice President
Retail Sales & Marketing
AmerisourceBergen Drug Company

In a world where the status quo is not an option, the best sales professionals have become orchestrators of change! The best salespeople sit across the table and make change easy for their customer by creating a succinct story and vision for what to change, how to change it, and how it will affect customer results. An enterprise focus on sales messaging, using the concepts in this book, is the hidden secret to driving incremental sales productivity and overwhelming customer success!

Ken Powell
Vice President
Worldwide Sales Enablement
ADP

The Power Messaging techniques in this book are the foundation of how our marketing team creates our sales messages, as well as the process our field sales teams use for delivering that message in a unique and compelling way. Power Messaging is the foundation of success for high-performing marketing and sales organizations. At Kronos, our results are a reflection of the power of the tool.

Aron Ain
CEO
Kronos

CONVERSATIONS THAT WIN THE COMPLEX SALE

Using POWER MESSAGING to Create More Opportunities, Differentiate Your Solutions, and Close More Deals

ERIK PETERSON
TIM RIESTERER

Copyright 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-175258-9
MHID: 0-07-175258-7

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-175090-5, MHID: 0-07-175090-8.

All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.

McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative please e-mail us at bulksales@mcgraw-hill.com.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, securities trading, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

TERMS OF USE

This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (McGraw-Hill) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hills prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.

THE WORK IS PROVIDED AS IS. McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting there from. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.

PART 1
THE POWER OF CHANGE

PART 2
THE POWER OF STORY

.

PART 3
YOUR POWER MESSAGE

I would like to thank my wife, Christie, for making it possible for me to do a job that I love. My boysJeremy, Zack, and Bretthave been a constant inspiration to me. They remind me that I want this book to be something that Ill be proud to have them read someday. To my mom and dad, thank you for showing me that you dont have to accept what the world hands you. The opportunity exists for everyone to make his or her own situation, if he or she is determined enough. And to Tim, thank you for pushing (in a positive way) to finish the work. Great ideas have no impact if they arent released to the world.