Take Me To Your Leader$

Excerpts
 

Excerpt 1

A Salesperson’s Perspective

What’s unique about Take Me To Your Leader$ is that it

gets salespeople, like me, to believe we belong with powerful,

senior executives. Once I felt this confidence, I became a laser

to the executive suite. If this make you uncomfortable, learn as

I did. There is a way to feel that these busy achievers want to

see you, the expert who will help them. There is a way to get to

these decision-makers without alienating subordinates and

there is a way to develop close, professional relationships with

the people that control the company and the decisions.

Everybody knows that if you have access to the C’s and

other senior managers, you have a significant advantage So

why is it that we have so few accounts where we are frequently

talking directly with high level people?

It’s because:

• We’re blocked from these movers and shakers.

• If we do get to them, they are anxious to get rid of us.

• Then, even if they do talk and listen to us, we never really connect.

• Finally those who did work well with us in the past are no longer there for us.

Most of us encounter these problems and often find ourselves

stuck with the subordinates who have little power.

This book will work us through dynamic solutions to these

issues. It shows why obstacles arise and how to avoid or turn

them around. It provides tools to use when confronted with

each of these problems. It reveals the strategies, tactics, and

techniques that the most successful salespeople use.

Finally, Take Me To Your Leader$ provides the skills and

the emotional intelligence to be seen as competent, confident,

and creditable. Then, executives will want to see you, want to

talk with you, and want to do business with you, over and

over again.

Excerpt 2

Marketing, Selling, and

Executive Relationships

What You Didn’t Learn in College

Selling is usually confused with marketing. However, the key

to selling is establishing executive relationships. Confusing,

isn’t it? However, this is to be expected since almost no one

ever got an education in selling.

Salespeople feel that when they are out promoting, presenting,

and exposing people to their company and products/services,

they are selling. What they are really doing is marketing,

advertising. Salespeople tend to advertise a great deal because

they have been conditioned that way by the marketing departments

and from what they’ve observed of other salespeople.

The most successful salespeople work on establishing executive

relationships rather than on advertising. They know

executives make the decisions and establishing executive relationships

is the most powerful tool for closing first and then

for follow-up sales. So let’s discuss the difference and show

how they relate to selling.

Excerpt 3

Confidence

A Salesperson’s Biggest Asset

Talking to executives also requires confidence. As we mentioned

before, if you’re confident, you exude confidence

and people, especially executives, pick up on it. If you are positive,

feel secure about talking to this executive and feel comfortable

about yourself in this situation, your chances of going

further with this executive goes up exponentially. When you

ask questions, your executive will respond in a meaningful

way. When you speak, your executive will listen and take

action. Confidence is a salesperson’s biggest asset.

Confidence is not arrogance. There is a difference.

Confidence – You believe in yourself.

Arrogance – You are full of yourself.

Confidence doesn’t mean being aggressive, either. The two

are mutually exclusive. A confident person could be aggressive,

or not. Just as an aggressive person may be confident, or

not. Confidence means you’re secure with who you are, what

you’ve got, and where you are. Aggressive means you attack.

Gain Confidence,

and Overcome Self Doubt

Lack of confidence, self-doubt, and low self-esteem come

from negative talk within yourself. This negative talk was

programmed into you as a child. See, it was your parents or

friends or significant adult influences that programmed you.

However, that was then. Now, it is you who chooses to hold

on to these programs – even if they don’t serve you. You can

change this just as you have changed other beliefs in your life.

For example, you probably don’t believe that cleaning off your

plate at meals will affect starving children in China or Africa.

However, you may still believe that you never finish what you

start; or that you are always causing problems; or that you will

never amount to anything.

This childhood programming is your biggest asset and

obstacle in life. It can help you succeed and hold you back

from attaining all you are capable of being. Hold on to what

serves you and notice what doesn’t, because the negative programming

that holds you back can be changed, and here is

how it works.

Excerpt 4

It’s About Results, Not Product

This executive will form a relationship with you if he can see

you as a resource to help him with his career. Product benefits

and features are what his people enjoy and use. These are

expected and must be in place. However, what he wants for

himself are those results that will advance him or that will get

him out of trouble with minimum risk of failure or loss. This is

the kind of information he will give you during the interview if

you ask him questions about himself and listen to what he says.

Your mission is to grasp and learn these non-product/service

issues. You must be alert to hear the issue, if raised, and

prepared to ask leading questions if it doesn’t come out. For

example, there is nothing wrong in telling this individual that

you want to be considered a valuable asset to him and then ask

him, "What will it take to be considered an asset to you?"

You then must determine how to show him he can obtain this

from you. This may be difficult because these are soft issues

that usually can’t be guaranteed – i.e. make him look good to

the CEO or Board, help him take advantage of situations or

overcome obstacles or advance his vision for the future. It will

require strategizing. How you will do it? How can he believe

he will make headway through you? As we’ll discuss later, it

may take performing and it will take time in service. However,

without your giving him the information, you’ll be lucky if he

recognizes your value by himself. Luck is not what I’d want to

base my success on.
 

 

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What others have

 said about Sam:

 

"Before working with Sam 30% of my people made President's Club. After Sam's training and coaching 70% of my people went to President's Club."

Deborah Surrette, EVP Sales WorldCom

 

 

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Dan Ozley, VP Satellite Systems

Lockheed Martin Telecommunications
 

 

"Using what Sam taught us, increased our hit ratio from 38% to 68%."

 

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