Selling To VITO (The Very Important Top Officer)

Rating:
Summary: Exposed to VITO
Review: I was exposed to the VITO tactics two weeks ago by getting this book. I have seen immediate results in getting to meet with 2 VITO's out of the first 4 I tried the letter and follow-up on. I am very impressed!

Rating:
Summary: Cheesier than Who Moved My Cheese
Review: If you enjoy manipulating people and sleazy sales techniques this book is for you. I thought some of the ideas were ok, but in general these are the types of techniques that cause people to hate salespeople.

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Summary: This book has brought me a significant ROI!
Review: It's the most practicle, most effective sales approach that I have seen

Rating:
Summary: it is a useful book for beginers.
Review: Mr. Parinello seems to have some unresolved issues with those of us who graduated from college. I have never before encountered a person who is so full of contempt for engineers, accountants, programmers, managers, and all other professionals who chouse to graduate from University rather than make cold calls to little old ladies.
Putting Mr. Parinello's high-school drop out attitudes towards education aside, the book is not too bad. If you have never sold anything to an organization before then you can learn a decent approach from this book and then adopt it to your own situation. Just don't take Parinello's cheesy pitches too seriously. You will make a fool of yourself in front of the top managers you will talk to. Many if not most of them got an MBA degree. They will catch your bluff it you try to talk to them about financial concepts that you don't know much about.

Rating:
Summary: it is a useful book for beginers.
Review: Mr. Parinello seems to have some unresolved issues with those of us who graduated from college. I have never before encountered a person who is so full of contempt for engineers, accountants, programmers, managers, and all other professionals who chouse to graduate from University rather than make cold calls to little old ladies.
Putting Mr. Parinello's high-school drop out attitudes towards education aside, the book is not too bad. If you have never sold anything to an organization before then you can learn a decent approach from this book and then adopt it to your own situation. Just don't take Parinello's cheesy pitches too seriously. You will make a fool of yourself in front of the top managers you will talk to. Many if not most of them got an MBA degree. They will catch your bluff it you try to talk to them about financial concepts that you don't know much about.

Rating:
Summary: Selling is an unnatural act
Review: One of my former bosses said "Selling is an unnatural act." You have to do things you would normally shy away from, put your ego in your pocket and be exceptionally brave. And calling on decision-makers (VITO's) requires some real guts, and also some special know-how.

The problem with most sales trainings is that they say "call on the decision-makers" but neglect to teach you the right way to reach that person. Many large firms now have preferred-vendor programs and limit from whom they will buy; if you aren't on the "A" list, you won't even get in the door. So if you tend to call on the end user or the purchasing manager, you may find you have trouble making sales except to your established customers. Real explosive sales growth comes from developing new customers, and if you sell important services or capital equipment, or even supplies you should be talking to the decision-makers.

Important people have rings of handlers, gatekeepers and other systems to protect their time and attention. You might have just the product that will save their company money, streamline their production, solve a pressing problem and be just what they are looking for. But if you don't have the tools to get your message across to the man or woman who can make it happen, they may never find out.

Years ago, I had sales training done by a VP of a successful firm. He explained how to contact top decision makers by making yourself be seen as a mutually beneficial business partner. For example, the book explains how to write a value proposition in a letter that explains how you can provide mutual benefits, without trying to get an in-person sales call. It also explains how to deal with the gatekeepers--they've heard it all, seen it all, so you'd better be treating the VITO's admin assistant as if he or she were the top officer themselves. And it gives important info on using the phone--phone skills can be more effective than sales calls. This book is a tremendous resource for training people to break out of their habits and reach the customer who can really make things happen.

Rating:
Summary: How To Access the Executive Suite and SELL!
Review: Selling To VITO (Very Important Top Officer) is a book dedicated to the science of getting past the proverbial gatekeeper and reaching the executive prospect.

The book discusses in detail everything from attitude to the format of letters one should mail to the content of the voice mail one must leave. In that respect, the book is complete and combined with the personal experience the authors bring manages to offer an above average methodology into an important aspect of most sales cycles.

Having said that, does the book's advice actually work? Well, the answer is some yes and a lot of no. Having put the methodology to work first hand - letters, labels and all - it is fair to say that VITO helps, but is hardly a silver bullet. In fact, while the book facilitated some headway the final end-goal was never in sight.
The failed experiment might be the result of bad luck or a small and non-representative sample, but the bottom-line remains that the book's effectiveness must be questioned. Furthermore, the book's content is slightly dated as shown by some of the verbiage which might be translating into the same for the content.

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT Sales book
Review: Selling to VITO is a concise, well written book with clear examples and a clear goal. If you follow what it says, you will be able to sell to top officers. You can also use the ideas as you work around the rest of the organization. The VITO letter chapter is worth the price of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding approach tor low-volume, targeted marketing.
Review: Selling To VITO is definately a must read for anyone who sells high-dollar products or services in low volume. It would be terribly hard, however, to make a good living using Parinello's process if you are required to close large numbers of sales to hit quota. (Because the work that goes into pulling this off is immense.)

The success of Parinello's process is rooted in four key features:

1. Social Proof: If other, well-known companies used you, then you must be great.
 
2. Authority: One of VITO's peers will supply testimonials of success on your behalf.
 
3. Process: Develop a linear process to ensure objectives are preplanned and met.
 
4. Consistency: Keep a consistent message that focuses on results and makes you stand out as unique among the many salespeople attempting to get in.

(For information on social proof and authority, see INFLUENCE, Science And Practice, by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.)

I must admit that I was unable -- perhaps unwilling is more accurate -- to make the follow-up phone call and voice-mail processes work, because, while I'm passionate about what I sell, faking perkiness simply doesn't work for me. (And I'll bet that being over-the-top perky is a key part of pulling this off.)

Bottom line, if you do any type of cold-letter writing, you should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Are you a hungry hunter in bad need of your next meal?
Review: Selling to VITO is the ONLY sales book/method I have recommended to others and will continue to do so. Instead of head-in-the-ether vagaries, Tony gives you no-nonsense, step-by-step actions you can take TODAY to fill your funnel with new opportunities. But if you're expecting 100% success, pass on the book. Tony's methods are only as valuable as your last successful sale and your ability to quantify that value for a prospective customer executive. Provided you can do that & you can get his methods in front of the RIGHT prospects, you will be fed! Read every chapter - especially the one on 'pigeon holing' - and then get to work. It's hard. It's very uncomfortable. It's effective. Good selling...