Rating: 
Summary: Sales meets risk mitigated engineering
Review: I am not a full time sales person, I am a software engineer and researcher who gets involved in some pre-sales consulting. I bought this book to become more educated on the Miller Heiman sales approach that is now standard for all of our sales people. I found this book very helpful and feel as though I now have a basic working knowledge of the sales system we use.The Miller Heiman training is rather expensive so I did not attend the actual classes with our regular sales staff.
The approach of this book came naturally to me. This sales strategy is much like engineering decisions in using continual review of risks and generating ideas to mitigate those risks while simultaneously advancing toward the closing of the project (a sales deal). There are many lists and sublists within the method that are pretty well known by now so I won't try to list many of them here. The terminology is important and very memorable - "Coach", "Economic Buyer", "Funnel", "Best Few", etc.
The book is clear about what it is not and I appreciate that too since sales is not my background. It is not a book of sales tactics, that is, how to literally sell someone something face to face in the "sales event" as the book calls it. The book assumes the reader is an experienced sales person and is already perfecting this skill (a fair assumption). It also does not try to teach skills in deal closure/contracting since that subject is already covered by many other books and is another assumed skill.
What the book does talk about at length is approaching each deal as a unique project that has its own risks, dynamics and yet can be managed within a systematic framework for success. "This entire book can be seen as an analytical machine designed to produce one meticulously tested product - your Alternate Positions list." (p171) The Alternate Positions list is essentially a list of ideas of what things you might try next along with the accompanying rationale for each idea. The ideas are very specific so they can be tested for pass/fail, they are not vague notions. Updated "Alternate Positions" are continuously needed because your current position is assumed to be in need of constant improvement until you win the sale, from beginning to end. When applied to an actual case, the strategy means to shake-out undue sales optimism with realism on specific important aspects of getting THIS deal, not just any deal generally, this one deal specifically.
There are plenty of real life sales examples throughout the book that put flesh on the theoretical framework. I relate to the systematic, risk mitigating approach, but I was reminded of my own shortcomings in reading and managing the dynamics of people who can be fluid, dynamic, fickle, irrational, etc. yet very important to winning the account. This is the sales persons' chosen medium (people skills) and it is more tricky and unfair than dealing with things. However, the engineering, project oriented, framework makes sense in both of these worlds and the book does a great job of prompting sales people to think a bit more like engineers. Relentless information gathering (and analysis for adding to actual knowledge) is the bottom line to succesfully navigating through a complex project of any type.
I particularly like the way the book views competition as those who run the race against you trying to get to the sale first, instead of being the ones standing in front of you who must be defeated to surely win the customers business (definitely not a sure approach). Miller Heiman stresses focusing on the prospect from first to last, not the competitor. Competitors and the risks they entail must be managed, but not become the focus. The message is, carry out the Miller Heiman system (run the race) better than they do and you will typically win the business over them.
This is an easy read and really a nice page-turner especially if you're new to sales reading like I am. It's good it's a page turner though because the book is a bit too long and redundant for the ground it covers. It is all useful info but I think at least 15% of the book could be eliminated since it is driving home the same fundamentals over and over again from slightly different perspectives like you were sitting in the classroom. I understand the merits, but my reading time is valuable to me so I subtracted a rating point for failure to streamline the book a bit more. I expect successful complex sales professionals will recognize many of the ideas here, but the information is very well organized and probably a good purchase for anyone connected with sales, especially uninitiated tech types like me.
Rating: 
Summary: People who follow the examples shown in this book will sell
Review: I have many years of industrial sales experience, and I started my own manufacturing business with venture capital financing (Big time selling). This book has the best approach to strategic selling that I have encountered. I read it to get recharged and check my practices. I recommend it to all new sales people.
Rating:
Summary: A solid book
Review: I purchased this book a couple of years ago when I was trying to break into medical sales. I didn't get the job I was interviewing for, but this book has subsequently rewarded me in ways I couldn't have imagined at the time. It's not just a book about completing the complex sale. It's a book about how to get what you want out of life. Or perhaps more accurately, it's a book that opens your eyes up to how many important things in your life are actually a complex sale.This book is filled with specific instructions to help keep you focused on the outcome you desire, and prepared to manage the influences that can either help you or hurt you along the way. Nothing is left to chance. Red flags are identified, strategies are developed, and win/win solutions are created all the way around. The natural result is good will, and customers who feel like you helped them fill the gap between where they were, and where they needed to be. This book is perfect for anyone who has developed a lot of technical expertise in a given field, but might be a bit inexperienced or even naive when it comes to politics. We've all had great ideas shot down by people whose motives were less than laudable. Don't waste precious time and energy getting angry that these people have rank and authority. Learn how to manage them! This book shows you how. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book... But Be Prepared
Review: I read this book to prepare myself for a salescourse at the company where I work. As it turns out I am no salesman, but the trainer did note that I had a very good insight into the salesprocess. So good, in fact, that he advised me to become a selling consultant for my company instead of a salesman. All that, thanks to having read this book in combination with "The New Conceptual Selling" (also by Heiman). If you really want to start selling, you must read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Stephen E. Heiman and Diane Sanchez present a fully revised and updated version of a previously successful book Strategic Selling. They emphasize the need to know more than the basics of “tactical selling,” so you can make “Complex Sales,” which require the approval of two or more buyers. They provide a how-to blue print, drawing on material from their training program. The book shows step-by-step how to apply strategic selling to a current sales account. This excellent, well-organized, tightly written book includes examples and charts to guide the analysis process. We at ... recommend this book to sales managers and salespeople who are handling complex sales to corporations, governmental entities, or non-profit organizations.
Rating:
Summary: Complex Selling Both a Strategic and Tactical Endeavor
Review: Stephen E. Heiman, Diane Sanchez, and Tad Tuleja provide a practical, dynamic framework to approach complex selling from both a strategic and tactical point of view. Like a general, a salesperson must first master the art of planning his/her forces before being able to approach a customer/prospect effectively. Heiman, Sanchez, and Tuleja rightly recommend that their audience think about one complex selling situation that they have dealt with and analyse it using the six key elements to consider in a complex selling. The six elements are the following: buying influences, red flags/areas of strengths, response modes, wins/results, ideal customer profile, and sales funnel. Although the audience can first consider that exercise a chore, they will derive a lot of value from it by internalizing the author's framework. Heiman, Sanchez, and Tuleja correctly remind their audience that the salesperson needs to have a broad understanding of his/her competition. Competition includes not only direct competitive offerings and substitutes, but also customer/prospect's options such as doing nothing, in sourcing, or resource reallocation for other purposes. Furthermore, Heiman, Sanchez, and Tuleja recommend that their audience adopt a "side" strategy and not a "face" strategy by focusing first on customer/prospect's needs and not primarily on a narrowly defined competition. With a little bit of practice, the framework described above becomes second nature and allows the audience to eventually use it in a multitude of settings. For example, applying for a job is often similar to complex selling. The job seeker needs to make a mutually beneficial value proposition not only to the hiring manager(s), but also to the assistant (s), the receptionist and any other relevant persons who can make a difference in hiring him/her or not. Similarly, a fundraiser could use the above-mentioned framework to raise funds on behalf of his/her non-profit organization.
Rating:
Summary: TERRIFIC BOOK - SOUND ADVICE
Review: Teaching effective sales techniques is part of what I instruct in my business management/entrepreneurship courses. If I had to rely on one book alone to recommend to those who want to learn more about selling techinques and hone up on their skills, this book would be one of the very first I would recommend. Part of successful selling stems from a natural talent. Some individuals could sell snow shoes to desert dwellers; they are, indeed, born with such a special gift. For others, the task is not always an easy one. This book is full of top-notch advice about knowing your customer, and planning/implementing a strong and effective sales strategy - one that is bound to put you on the winning track. If you are in sales, you will not want to miss this great book.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful prospecting book
Review: This book is great and has helped me tremendously in being more confident in prospecting new business for my line of work. It gives excellent advise on deal making - everything from the initial sales call to closing the deal. It hits on points critical to strategic planning and developing a strong sales action plan. An A+++ book!!
Rating:
Summary: Helpful prospecting book
Review: This book is great and has helped me tremendously in being more confident in prospecting new business for my line of work. It gives excellent advise on deal making - everything from the initial sales call to closing the deal. It hits on points critical to strategic planning and developing a strong sales action plan. An A+++ book!!
Rating:
Summary: Guide For Selling
Review: This book teaches me how to be a successful sales person. From prospecting the customers to closing the sales, this book gives me a clear guideline to follow. Relationship marketing is one of the concepts that author highly emphasizes because of repeat purchase of the customers. Moreover, having a good evaluation system is the key to succeed. To be a successful sales person, you should understand your own strengths and weaknesses so that you can turn your weaknesses to your strengths.
This book also contains a step-by-step workshop of strategic selling. It is a valuable teaching model for all of us.
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