Escaping the Price-Driven Sale: How World Class Sellers Create Extraordinary Profit

by Kevin Kearns and Tom Snyder

Book Overview

From the creators of SPIN Selling(R)--a groundbreaking strategy for selling at a premium price every time.

Do you frequently discount to win business? Do your customers ignore the differentiators you believe you bring to the marketplace? Does your brand seem to matter less to customers today?

Great products, stellar service, and a strong brand are just prerequisites today. They no longer differentiate. If you don't do...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071545832
• ISBN13: 9780071545839
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Follow up book to SPIN Selling series

Well written, good follow up. Reviews some of the material from the other books, good for someone who has not been introduced to SPIN selling in the past. I would recommend the whole series to anyone who is interested in becoming a professional sales person or increasing their skills and success in the sales field.

A sales book that actually has actionable ideas!

I have literally read hundreds of books on "new" sales ideas over the years. While they usually offer good reinforcement, rarely have I seen anything that was "new." This book, "Escaping the Price Driven Sale" is actually different! The book goes well beyond simple consultative selling models to bring forth insightful and actionable sales ideas. I like that this is a fact-based and proven sales approach, as it was created from rigorous sales research in a variety of industries. So, regardless of what industry you work in, if you really want to improve your sales success in a competitive marketplace, this is a "must have" book. We have already begun to incorporate several of the book's sales insights into our practices and they have been very well received by our sales force. Whether you are a sales person or a sales manager, Tom Snyder's book provides you with a detailed roadmap of how to begin to rise above a price driven sales mentality. "Escaping the Price Driven Sale" is an investment in your personal sales success that is well worth the money! Jim Griesing VP Sales, The Hartford P & C

Huthwaite has done it again!

Huthwaite, the premier researcher of successful seller behaviors and the creator of consultative selling SPIN Selling, has researched how world-class sellers sell value and create extraordinary profit. In what I consider a landmark book that provides incredible insight and a roadmap for salespeople and sales organizations to incorporate these skills and practices, the Huthwaite organization has once again raised the bar for professional salespeople. By reviewing thousands of transactions in which buyers did not select the low-priced provider despite the fact that the sellers' offerings appeared to be the same, the authors (both executives with Huthwaite) identified the four value-drivers (Client Insight Creators) critical to successful complex sales. In an unusually clear and succinct style, the authors explain how the combination of the seller's business acumen, industry knowledge, and questioning skills can drive value by allowing the client to gain insight about Unrecognized Problems, Unanticipated Solutions, and Unseen Opportunities within their business as well as to see value in the salesperson as a Broker of Strengths (cross-selling). These insights alone would have made it a great addition to any professional salesperson's library, but the authors incorporated the essentials of the business enterprise to enhance the financial literarcy of the reader and to emphasize the point that value at the C-level is created by focusing on business results and creating opportunities. Finally, Part 3 of the book focuses on a realistic execution plan for both the salesperson and the sales organization to incorporate these value-selling skills into the workplace. This combination of research-based insight into value-selling, a focus on the importance of business acumen, and a roadmap for implementation that is presented in a convincing and clear manner makes this book a landmark in the history of sales training.

"Salespeople need to wake up to the new reality"

For the record, the quote in my review title is from page 10. "Escaping The Price-Driven Sale" bills itself as being "From the creators of SPIN Selling," even though its author, Neil Rackham, is not directly involved. Rackham is the founder and president of Huthwaite Inc., while "Escaping" authors Tom Snyder and Kevin Kearns are its Senior VP of Strategy and Business Development and CEO, respectively. That said, my initial impression of the book is that it draws a direct connection to the importance of the "Implication" phase of SPIN selling. In the Implication phase, you work with the customer to review all of the variables, both pro and con, involved with taking or not taking action. "Escaping" points to the "sweet spot" intersection of Industry Knowledge, Business Acumen and Questioning Skills...that spot being "Business Impact (Value) Zone / Customer Discovery Zone"...as the area in which a skilled salesperson can soar. There are four quadrants to the book: 1). The "Unrecognized Problem" 2). The "Unanticipated Solution" (both classified as "Consultative Selling") 3). Unseen Opportunity 4). Broker Of Strengths / Cross-Selling (both classified as "Strategic Selling") The premise is that if a salesperson is adequately comfortable and skilled in each of these four quadrants and has done their homework prior to approaching a potential or current customer, they are empowered to "escape the price-driven sale." There are no gimmicks here, no voodoo, and the "methods" are based in common sense. It should not require a massive "paradigm shift" for any salesperson to understand and embrace the principles, but make no mistake about the fact that this approach requires focus, effort, and determination. Readers who are drawn to books on "how to close the sale" or "cold calls that really WORK"...any kind of short cuts, and especially those who think memorizing a sales script is a way to get their foot in the door...are basically order takers and not salespeople. Reading this book would not be the best use of their time unless they're ready to roll up their sleeves and go to work and stop being order takers. The authors assert that it is too easy for most customers in the modern economy to purchase products or services without the involvement of a salesperson. It's called "The Internet"...look at where you are right now! You're on a Web Site that allows you to purchase products without dealing with a salesperson, cashier, etc. The business world is the same. Your clients have access to more information than you could possibly offer them. The nuance...and the selling point of the book...is that most customers have access to the raw data but lack the insight to cherry-pick it and shape it into meaningful solutions to increase profit, save money, etc. They are too close to the day-to-day operations, too directly involved, to have the objectivity and creativity needed to find the source of pain and obliterate it. That's the job of the salesperson. D