THE EQUATION OF SALES
With over 60,000 books about Sales on Amazon, why should you buy this book?
Firstly, this book is about selling technology and technical services. There are actually very few sales book about this. However, if you are able to sell one type of product, you probably know enough to be able to sell a different type of product in a completely different industry. Sales methods do not change much from industry to industry.
Indeed, sales methods change very little from book to book. I have read quite a number over the years and while I will learn something from all of them, there is an awful lot of repetition from one book to another. The sales process does not really change. Terminology and emphasis may change but the process is fairly constant.
So why this book?
When I first had a sales job, I was extremely lucky that the company I worked for was investing heavily in their sales teams and were providing us with lots of training. It felt like I was in a training class every other week. I was also lucky to be working with very experienced sales people who taught me a huge amount. However, no one ever really joined the dots for me, explaining how all these activities linked together into a coherent process.
Following the sales process is important but there are so many other things to be done, such as prioritising customers, gaining the trust of those customers, using insights to generate interest in new customers and understanding why a customer should choose our products. I learnt many things but not in any sensible order nor with an idea of a bigger picture.
So, this book is mainly aimed at people starting their careers in technology sales. It provides you with the basic tools to decide which customers to try to sell to, how to find out what they might need and how to persuade them that your solution is the most effective one. For people who have been working in sales for a number of years, the book provides great tips and hints and refreshes your knowledge about these things. I would not suggest that it is the only sales book you will ever need but it should be the first sales book that you need. It provides the foundation for further training and development.
The book is just the first step in improving your sales skills. It provides you with background knowledge and ideas but you need to put them into practise. There is an accompanying workbook which includes worked examples using a fictitious technology company and a series of activity sheets. These are there so that you can immediately apply these lessons to your own products and customers.
I hope that you enjoy the book and find it useful. For further follow up, Hoolock Consulting provides consulting and training on everything that is covered in the book and more. Please contact us if you would like some further help.
If you would like to buy the book, you can do that here:
If you want to download a free chapter from the book, you can do that here:
Don’t just take our word for it, here’s some of the feedback we have received about the book.
“One of a few books that set out the sale processes in an articulate manner. Aimed at selling technology and technical services for those new to sales or a great reference to any seasoned sales manager. More than worthy of a place on your desk.”
Peter Butterworth, Business Development Manager
“This book is great at explaining the sales process to non-sales people, this enables non sales colleagues to understand their salespeople and to work more effectively with them in order to achieve business results”
Alan Foum, Consultant Geophysicist.
“The Equation of Sales is clearly written by someone with years at the sharp end, and real life experience of what does and doesn’t work. It’s a book that should be read, not only by those taking their first steps on the Sales path, but also those of us with worn soles, as there are a lot of truths hidden in these pages. And if you fancy a career as an archetypal second hand car salesman, this book probably isn’t for you.”
Andrew Gallacher, European Actuarial Lead Partner
"I am a mere 17 pages in to ‘The Equation of Sales’ and where it is clearly foundational and baseline instructive for new sales professionals in tech, the messaging is clear, concise and dead on. Refreshingly good."
Rob Dudley, Senior Vice President, Global Sales
“Anyone involved in sales should have a copy of this book, equally suited to those setting out on a sales career and experienced professionals. It is full of sales insight, practical advice and actionable tools for all sales professionals”
Dr Aaron Lockwood, Software Sales Manager
“An interesting and informative guide to the sales process. Highly recommended.”
Chris Pettit, Managing Director, KeyFacts Energy.
The Equation of Sales Contents
INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
2. The Equation of Sales
THE SALES PROCESS
3. Sales Process
4. Building a Sales Process
5. Selling throughout the Process
TRUST
6. Building Trust
7. Why do you do what you do
8. Customer Research
9. What does a good customer look like?
10. How to get through the front door
11. Presentations
NEEDS
12. Needs Analysis
13. Asking Questions
14. Active Listening
VALUE
15. Value selling
16. Why change?
17. Why are you unique?
18. What does a good opportunity look like?
19. Different Buyers
20. Proposals
21. Negotiation
EXTRAS
22. Closing
23. References
24. List of Figures
25. List of Tables
26. Glossary of Terms
If you want to buy the book, you can do that here:
If you want to download a free chapter from the book, you can do that here: