Despite what the economic prognosticators would have us believe, the role of the direct sales rep isn’t dying. But the way many salespeople operate is. The bar has been raised; today a new vernacular is emerging to describe sales success.
Selling Value. Selling as a process. Being more than a vendor. Increasing margins. Making price irrelevant. Winning executive level credibility. Creating competitive immunity. These are the watchwords driving the 21st century sales professional.
But breaking out of the “vendor trap” requires nothing short of a wholesale rethinking of what it means to sell value. Salespeople must re-evaluate the types of opportunities they pursue, what they learn about their customers, the level of customer they’re willing to sell to, and how they communicate with executives who buy value.
Such revolutionary change in approach to the nature of sales also requires a new strategic, step-by-step plan for progressing through the sales cycle. That is precisely the process described in Beyond Selling Value—the most effective method available for selling value instead of price, avoiding commoditization, and differentiating yourself from the competition while developing long-term business relationships in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace.
