Managing Major Sales

The basis of this book is years of research that the author and his colleagues have done around the selling process. I, being an info junkie, loved all of the statistics as well as the antidotes. Learning about the distinction between large and small sales and how the approach required to be successful differed for each was invaluable. The four stages of the sales process and the four types of SPIN questions was also well worth the price of the book (and more). On the flip side, while the book is quite packed with process tips - it is quite light on actual techniques. I found the part on objection handling and closing particularly sparse - although his theory is that if you do the rest of the process right, the deal will basically close itself. This is a bit naïve when facing a senior executive who has several alternatives and will usually shop around, even dangling your solutions in front of the competition. But all-in-all, this book is well worth the money and the time invested in reading/studying and applying its concepts.

Tremendously useful for managers in professional, relationship-based selling. Neil Rackham, a behavioral researcher, re-wrote basic sales training with his first work, SPIN Selling. In my work with a Fortune 500 medical device company, I have interacted with many sales managers. Although successful as sales performers, many of them did not understand how their roles changed, and were reluctant to become coach and developer of their sales teams. Rackham provides great insight in this book, distinguishing between efficiency and effectiveness, and cautioning against the temptation to simply be a "closer" or "supersalesman," without providing the feedback to help members of the sales team become more effective for themselves. Part of this is a lack of deep knowledge of both what and how to coach, which this book provides to a great degree. While there are many worthwhile books for salespeople and sales managers, this one is succinct and practical. Read this, along with Daniel Goleman's work on Emotional Intelligence; put both into practice and you will be ready to have a positive impact on the success and the careers of those you are privileged to lead.

Neil Rackham and Richard Ruff systematically explore sales productivity and its two components: sales efficiency and sales effectiveness. Rackham and Ruff first demonstrate with panache that selling smarter and not selling harder is key to optimizing the effectiveness of salespeople in large sales once they have established contact with their customers or prospects. Activity management to boost complex sales calls often has serious side effects that can eventually generate a negative return on the investment made for that purpose. Furthermore, Rackham and Ruff convincingly show which sales roles successful sales managers can adopt without undermining the stature and credibility of salespersons towards their customers or prospects. Rackham and Ruff then explore three types of analyses that sales managers can use to identify the skills and ability that their top performers display in their relationship with their customers or prospects. Once sales managers have clearly identified the skills and ability of these top performers, they can develop an action plan for coaching the rest of their sales force. Rackham and Ruff methodically examine strategy coaching, skills coaching, and their respective challenges. In addition, Rackham and Ruff examine the key motivating role that successful sales managers can have in boosting the sales productivity of their respective team. More specifically, Rackham and Ruff explore the effectiveness of setting targets, financial and non-financial incentives, and other motivational tools in boosting sales performance. Finally, Rackham and Ruff wrap up their analysis of managing major sales with a case study built on their research to put the concepts mentioned above into practice for the benefit of their audience. Both sales managers and salespersons can benefit from reading this in-depth account of how to best manage complex sales for their mutual benefit.

Perhaps the best book I've read on managing sales people. Unlike many sales management books that focus on the overall job - recruiting, selection, training, coaching, etc. - this book concentrates on the sales process and more specifically, the sales manager's role in moving sales people through that process. Rackham and his organization compiled the largest known body of research into sales success. That research resulted in SPIN Selling, one of the most respected (and at the time controversial) books on sales skills. This book looks at the management side of the same coin. Experienced sales managers will find answers to questions that have bothered them for years. Inexperienced sales managers will eliminate the need to ever ask those questions. Early in the book, Rackham points out that the job of sales manager is the pivotal job in most companies. By the end of the book you believe it!

The value of this book is that it shows how traditional "numbers games" in sales are simply that, games. In focusing solely on activity, managers often loose sight of real issues facing a sales force. This book puts it in perspective and backs it up with reliable data.