Getting to Closed': A Proven Program to Accelerate the Sales Cycle and Increase Commissions

Stephan Schiffman's short to-the-point book features his new Prospect Management System, which is designed to help you become a more effective salesperson. This hearty addition to sales literature shows you how to be more systematic as you generate prospects and devote your attention to the ones who are most likely to buy. Instead of just playing a numbers game, Schiffman emphasizes ratios, so you can zero in on your best clients while developing new prospects - since only a few leads become sales. The book's charts and examples illustrate its principles, although the quizzes after each chapter seem unnecessary. If we were hawking this book, we from getAbstract would pitch it to those who sell big ticket items by developing leads through cold-calling.

There are several excellent books on sales and sales training. This is one of the best. It offers what I consider to be a uniquely comprehensive, cohesive, and time-effective system which Schiffman calls a "Prospect Management" program. Apparently this system have been adopted, in some instances modified, and then implemented by more than 1,800 different organizations. I agree with Schiffman that the word "organizations" is more appropriate than "companies" because colleges, universities, and churches as well as other non-profits must also generate substantial revenue from their respective constituencies. If anything, their need to manage their "prospects" effectively is even greater than is the need of for-profits. Benefactors, for example, must be convinced to sustain (if not increase) their financial support; volunteers must be enlisted; and staff members must "buy into" necessary changes in policy and procedure. All organizations (regardless of size or nature) will derive substantial benefit from the wealth of information and insights which he shares in this book.Schiffman carefully organizes his material within three separate but interrelated Parts: The Fundamentals, Learning the System, and Getting Up and Running. The foundation of the "Prospect Management" program consists of complete and current information about prospects which is prioritized and then classified within four active stages of the sales cycle. First, decision-makers who have agreed to a preliminary meeting; next, decision-makers who then specifically indicate interest and agree to discuss budgets and pricing; next, decision-makers who have made at least a verbal agreement; and finally, decision-makers who have become customers, (i.e. signed a contract). Schiffman also has another category, "Fallbacks/opportunities": assumed but unverified decision-makers with whom initial contact has been made but who are not as yet prospects. "These are candidates, suspects, leads or referrals -- people [you] want to do business with, but with whom [you] do not yet have a real relationship." Because change is the only constant in today's business world, Schiffman correctly emphasizes the importance of constantly updating the prospect database. Hence the need for constantly obtaining new information. Subjected to rigorous evaluation, the information is converted it into intelligence data which guide and inform the "Prospect Management" program. As Schiffman would be the first to point out, the "Prospect Management" program as he presents it may not be wholly appropriate in all respects to a given sales organization. That is to say, decision-makers must be prepared to make whatever modifications may be necessary. For example, consider how varied sales cycles are (e.g. those for a Boeing 777, an SUV, a major appliance, an insurance policy, or a pair of sneakers); also, the differences between and among so-called "inside" and "outside" salespersons; also, the number of decision-makers a

Direct, powerful, and easy to implement. Like a lot of great ideas, Schiffman's system seems obvious -- once you've used it for a while. The fact is, though, he's come up with a remarkable, and remarkably simple, sales management tool that no one else has.I predict that this book will change the way a lot of sales departments around the country and around the world operate. Required reading for every person who sells for a living or manages salespeople.