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60 Second Summary
Sales is more than a science. It is an art. Sales is the artful combination of structure and free thinking, process and people, and logic and emotions. The “Heavy Hitter” brand of books is a series of sales-related books based upon the marriage of the human nature to the science of sales. Heavy Hitter Selling was the first book based upon this unique concept.
Heavy Hitter Selling introduces the fundamentals of sales linguistics, the study of how the customer’s mind uses and interprets language. This book examines how the brain and the entire body work in conjunction with language, and how people are “wired’ to communicate.
Successful salespeople, known as a “Heavy Hitters,” are experts on human nature who skillfully use language and intuition to build relationships with customers and persuade them to buy. Heavy Hitter Selling reveals why Heavy Hitters are successful and explains how to duplicate their accomplishments. This innovative sales book provides expert guidance and tips on:
- Understanding how people think and communicate
- Finding the right words at the right time
- Predicting a customer’s behavior and influencing his thoughts
- Choosing your battles
- Building customer rapport and understanding his motivations
- Persuading both the customer’s rational mind and his emotional subconscious side
From the psychological and physical aspects of a sale to the real-life achievements of actual salespeople, Heavy Hitter Selling provides valuable tips and techniques that ambitious sales teams need in order to connect with prospects and close the deal.
Heavy Hitter Selling Overview
Sales is more than a science. It is an art. Sales is the artful combination of structure and free thinking, process and people, and logic and emotions. Sales cannot be taught, it must be learned. However, the popular sales methodologies concentrate solely on the logical and procedural aspects of the sales cycle. They do not explain or fully take into account the human characteristics of the people who actually make the purchase decisions. And, the process of selling is inconsequential when compared to the roles that psychology and politics play in determining the ultimate winner.
Heavy Hitter Selling is the first book to explain what is truly at the heart of all sales: how to build relationships between people, how salespeople incorporate the elements of human behavior into their strategy, and how salespeople say the “right” words at the “right” time to persuade customers to buy.
A successful salesperson is commonly referred to as a “Heavy Hitter.” Heavy Hitters have an extraordinarily developed intuition, or deeper level of understanding, about the deals they will close. This understanding is somewhat equivalent to the ability to predict the future or analogous to reading minds. Heavy Hitters have a “feel” for their deals. They not only listen to a customer but also speak the customer’s language. Studying the words, actions, and strategies of these successful role models will help you become a Heavy Hitter.
Part I – The Human Nature of Communication
Without language you really wouldn’t exist. You wouldn’t be able to share your ideas, display your personality, and express yourself to the world. You couldn’t communicate your needs and desires to others, and the never-ending dialogue within your mind would stop. The words we speak truly define who we are. However, since we are talking all the time, we underestimate the complexity of communication and take the process for granted.
The conversations we have with customers are quite complex. They consist of verbal and nonverbal messages that are sent consciously and subconsciously. Successful customer communications is the foundation of all sales, and in this section we explain how Heavy Hitters speak in the language of customers. This section introduces the fundamentals of sales linguistics, the study of how the customer’s mind buses and interprets language. We examine how the brain and the entire body work in conjunction with language, and how people are “wired’ to communicate.
- Chapter 1 - The Heavy Hitter
- Chapter 2 - How People Communicate
- Chapter 3 - How People Are “Wired”
- Chapter 4 - How People Think
- Chapter 5 - Finding the Truth
Part II – Customer Sales Strategies
How salespeople spend their time ultimately determines their success. Heavy Hitters have an intense intuition that tells them which customers to pursue and what actions to take. Since having a mentor is the best way to learn how to sell, we want to understand how Hitters work their deals and so we can model their behavior. We also want to emulate how they work with their managers and cope with a career that can be both exhilarating and frustrating. In this section we examine Heavy Hitters’ strategies for building winning relationships with all of their customers.
- Chapter 6 - Choosing Your Battles
- Chapter 7 - Building Customer Rapport
- Chapter 8 - The Two Most Important Customers: Your Manager and You
- Chapter 9 - Finding Your Coach
Part III - The Power of Persuasion
We typically equate persuasion solely with satisfying the analytical mind. However, we are not as objective and analytical as we think, and even the most well-thought-out decision is ultimately determined by emotional and subconscious influences. Human nature has the final say on every decision customers make. In this section we explain how Heavy Hitters use the power of persuasion to convince the rational and the emotional mind to buy.
- Chapter 10 - The Deeper Meaning of Language
- Chapter 11 - Intuitive Persuasion
- Chapter 12 - Metaphors for The Mind
What Sales Leaders are Saying About Heavy Hitter Selling
" This is a very different book on selling . . . It's like the graduate course on enterprise selling. While all the other sales books go through the process of the sales cycle, Heavy Hitter Selling focuses on the most important aspect of sales: people, relationships, and how to figure them out."
Olivier Helleboid, Executive Vice President, BEA Systems
“Heavy Hitter Selling is the best book I've seen with a keen understanding of the mental aspects and psychology of selling. Most people know that people buy from the people they like, but Heavy Hitter Selling teaches you how to identify and persuade key decision makers to buy from you.”
Jim Lewandowski, Vice President North American Sales, McAfee Software
" A powerful new vision of the sales process, Heavy Hitter Selling is essential reading for every salesperson."
Chris Rose, Vice President, Siebel Systems
" This book will be my sales team’s bible going forward."
Rod Hamlin, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Nuance Communications
" Heavy Hitter Selling is different--374 fascinating pages that will help you make lots of money."
Gerald D. Cohen, CEO, Information Builders
" Traditional selling focuses on product, price, and competition and misses the most important reason people buy--people and emotion. Heavy Hitter Selling offers a different perspective that is valuable in understanding how to win."
Jay Fulcher, President and CEO, Agile Software
“Like other sales books published recently, this one stresses the importance of human behavior. But unlike the others, it puts an emphasis on language. Salespeople could well benefit by exploring scientific models of language. Practical exercises make the book useful for everyone.”
Harvard Business School Review |
