Introduction

Think about it. Who are the top-performing salespeople you know? They are the ones with the most long-term customers. Over the years, top performers earn long-term customers by fulfilling their expectations measurably better than competitors can. In return, these superstars earn their expected profit levels for doing so. This book will teach you how to make sure you are one of those sales superstars.

The Science of Sales Success shows you how to ensure that customers' expectations are not moving targets. It will show you how to fast-forward the sales process to get prospects and new customers to act like long-term ones. They will be eager to share the measurable dollar benefits of their goals and the nine critical details of their purchasing decisions. Customers will see how sharing purchasing criteria with you empowers them.

Now, you can reach the pinnacle of sales success, which is called relationship selling, in a matter of two to three sales calls. You no longer need to invest dozens of sales calls over months or years to achieve that status. You (and your customers) will make well-informed, advance-or-abandon decisions at what will feel like the speed of light. When you and customers do not waste each other's time, everyone wins—and your productivity explodes as a result. Rest assured, there are no gimmicks and this is not science fiction. Logic and science are what power this book.

The Big Picture

This book explains the objective benchmarks you need to use to manage your selling efforts and duplicate success on a planned basis. It provides all the tools a salesperson needs to outvalue the competition. You'll help customers manage their expectations so that the potential for unfulfilled ones disappear. Customer satisfaction rises along with profits, so everyone wins. Yet, it is a blueprint, not a wrecking ball. It builds on your foundation of skills, style, talents, knowledge, personality, and customer relationships to accomplish this goal. Its plug-and-play framework inserts your sales knowledge into a format that makes it easy to retrieve and apply. The faster you can look up answers, the more efficient and productive you will be.

The Science of Sales Success also pieces together all the key components of the sales and marketing puzzle. It shows how the different pieces interact to create customer value. When you understand these interactions, you can harness their power to make your sales soar. (See Exhibit I-1.)

Exhibit I-1: Connecting all the pieces in selling.