Paul Cherry - The Ultimate Sales Pro: What the Best Salespeople Do Differently

CONTENTS

2018 Paul Cherry

The Ultimate Sales Pro

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Book design by Elyse Strongin, Neuwirth & Associates.

ISBN 978-0-8144-3896-1 (eBook)

Epub Edition July 2018 9780814438961

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018942033

ISBN 978-0-8144-3895-4

Printed in the United States of America

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PRAISE FOR THE ULTIMATE SALES PRO

I have worked with many sales professionals throughout my career who believe that the main criteria to succeeding in sales is the ability to build strong relationships. I disagree. Strong relationships are important but they only get you an appointment and will not get you the sale! What will get you the sale is your ability to uncover or create customer-specific needs. It is critical to ask questions that are constructed strategically to drive your agenda in creating value for the customer. Read this book and learn powerful strategies to engage your customers and become the ultimate sales pro.

BRUCE AUGUSTENSEN,

Senior Director, Sales, Avantik US

The Ultimate Sales Pro gives you the road map to focus on the right opportunities and leverage your time and career wisely. Get immersed in this book so you can acquire the tools you need to succeed.

TIM BROWN,

President, Moor Instruments

Our business is up 35% over the same period last year. Your concepts are amazing and extremely enlightening. Weve become Ultimate Sales Pros.

JAMES MORNAN,

Account Manager, Brookaire

The Ultimate Sales Pro is an incredible accumulation of insights from a remarkable career.

ASHLEY CHAPIN,

Producer, Business 21 Publishing

What Paul Cherry shared with us and included in this book has had a tremendous impact on our success.

DREW MAILEY,

Partner, Arrow Advertising

Anyone who is serious about taking their sales career to the next step has to read The Ultimate Sales Pro.

BILL SHULBY,

Former Director of Talent and Organizational Development, Cigna Healthcare

I live and breathe the concepts in this book because they work! Get on the path to success with The Ultimate Sales Pro.

DREW MCMINN,

Regional Vice President, Springfield Electric

Weve worked with many sales thought leaders but Paul was the one who helped us increase our sales dramatically. Now you can get viable solutions to the challenges you face in this incredible book.

ANDREW FIRTH,

General Manager, Arrowquip

Pauls concepts are eye-opening, thought-provoking, and progressive. Dive deep and start achieving the results you deserve.

JERRY CURRIE,

Sales Team Leader, The Hustler Corporation

Ive known Paul for more than twenty years. Unlike so many me-too sales books, The Ultimate Sales Pro is packed with innovative and radical ideas to catapult your sales career.

DENITA CONNOR,

CEO Business Coach at YPO

Dedicated to my wife, Claire, who keeps me humble.

To Brooke and McKenzie, continue to do your best and pursue your dreams.

To David Byers, who has been with me all these years and always goes above and beyond my expectations.

To Michael and Patricia Snell of Michael Snell Agency. Without you, this book would never have come to fruition. You challenged and pushed me to do better, to create perfection, and I hope I at least met you halfway.

To Tim Burgard, who worked diligently with us on this book and my previous one.

To Michael Boyette, who is a gifted and talented writer and did an awesome job to take my jumbled and chaotic thoughts and weave them into a coherent and focused message of value.

A big thanks to all of you.

THRIVING IN THE NEW WORLD OF SALES

Heres a story about two salespeople. Lets call them Ted and Nancy.

They both started their careers in the same sales department of a midsized manufacturing company. New to sales, both had to work their way up through the ranks. They started out qualifying leads and handing off the promising ones to more experienced sales repsthe job known today as business development. They dealt with all kinds of peoplesome annoyed at getting a sales call, some friendly and eager to talk, some who seemed like good prospects, and others who were simply tire-kickers. As Ted and Nancy listened, they learned about the industry and about the kinds of problems that prospects faced. Slowly, they learned to tell who was telling the truth and who was just blowing smoke.

As Ted and Nancy sat in on sales meetings and talked to successful reps, they began to understand all the things that go into a successful salehow to identify customer needs, dig deep, differentiate their products from those of competitors. They learned when to push forward and when to back off. They learned that sales require much more than the gift of gab.

Eventually they each got a sales territory of their own. And thats when their paths began to diverge. Ted was a solid, reliable performer. His customers liked him. His bosses saw that he worked hard. But Nancy soon emerged as a star. She brought in accounts nobody had even known about. Her customers were effusive in their praise. Soon she was closing six-figure deals while her colleagues were scratching after modest orders. She was on a first-name basis with the CEOs at the companies she served. Soon they were calling her in for advice and consultation. When a national-accounts position opened at one of her clients, they pleaded with Nancy to take the job. Now she was selling huge deals and had become a recognized leader in her industry, presenting at conferences and writing articles.

Nancy also found time to engage in her community. She served on the local business council and was elected to the school board. She cultivated a network of friends, clients, colleagues and former employees, influencers, and industry leaders.

When the vice president of sales retired, Nancys company asked her to head up the sales operation. After giving it much thought, she declined. Instead, she started her own consulting business, which allowed her to choose her clients and control her own destiny.

Meanwhile, Ted was doing OK. He was earning a good living. He liked his clients, sent his kids to private school, and played golf on Fridays. But after ten years with his company, he was feeling simultaneously bored and beleaguered. He was solving the same kinds of problems for the same kinds of customers year in and year out. He could give the companys standard sales presentation in his sleep and had probably done so in more than one client meeting. He grew increasingly impatient with smoke blowers and big talkers. Many days, Ted felt like he was phoning it inwhich was perhaps why he now found himself struggling to keep his sales where theyd been in previous years.

Ted thought about looking for a new job, but it seemed to him that hed just be doing the same sort of thing at another company. At his current job, he had the security of long-term accounts, and making a change seemed like a risky move.