The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (Big) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite - Hardcover

Port, Michael; Marshall, Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470237902 ISBN 13: 9780470237908

Publisher: Wiley, 2008

Synopsis

Take the traditional sales model, which is outdated and needs a serious makeover, and turn it on its head by applying the advice in The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (Big) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite. Find an entirely sound approach to building better client relationships and closing more sales by doing the exact opposite that conventional sales advice dictates. Re-examine the most well-worn sales tactics in the business and discover specific and actionable strategies and principles that will help you close more sales today.

About this title

About the Author

MICHAEL PORT is the author of the Wiley titles Book Yourself Solid and Beyond Booked Solid. He has been called a "marketing guru" by the Wall Street Journal and is one of the best professional speakers around. For more information, please visit www.MichaelPort.com.

ELIZABETH MARSHALL is Director of Sales for Michael Port Companies. While working at the nationally recognized firm of Merritt Hawkins and Associates, she was awarded Research Recruiter of the Month five times. Also, she is founder of AuthorTeleseminars.com, which hosts interviews with top business authors such as Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Keith Ferrazzi, and others. For more information, please visit www.highenergycoach.com.

From the Back Cover

Times have changed.

The typical old sales tactics we're all familiar with no longer work. Cold calling gets you nowhere, door-to-door selling is a nonstarter, and today's consumers are too savvy for most traditional scripts and closing techniques. With those tactics, it takes more time and effort to reach fewer and fewer clients. If you're still doing it the old-fashioned way, you're probably barely keeping your career afloat.

If you want to stop treading water and start making sales, The Contrarian Effect has the answer. This sales approach is like no other in history. Not only do traditional sales tactics fail most of the time, we're actually better off doing the exact opposite! It may sound crazy, but it's not just a novel idea; it's a counterintuitive approach to sales that really works.

High technology and instant communication have put customers firmly in control of the sales process. They don't answer calls from unknown numbers; they demand honesty and transparency in the sales process; they are well informed about your product before they deal with you; and they have no patience for pressure tactics like closing questions. No wonder traditional sales methods no longer work.

Whether you know it or not, many of today's best companies have already discovered the contrarian effect. They're giving up high-pressure selling for low-pressure customer interactions. Other companies are ditching the shotgun approach and getting to know specific customers and what they like in order to offer them the exact kind of product they want. These are examples of the contrarian effect in action, and it not only works, it works well.

If you or your organization is in the sales doldrums, it's time to shake things up. Read The Contrarian Effect and discover how profitable it can be when you take the old rules and do the exact opposite.

From the Inside Flap

Times have changed.

The typical old sales tactics we're all familiar with no longer work. Cold calling gets you nowhere, door-to-door selling is a nonstarter, and today's consumers are too savvy for most traditional scripts and closing techniques. With those tactics, it takes more time and effort to reach fewer and fewer clients. If you're still doing it the old-fashioned way, you're probably barely keeping your career afloat.

If you want to stop treading water and start making sales, The Contrarian Effect has the answer. This sales approach is like no other in history. Not only do traditional sales tactics fail most of the time, we're actually better off doing the exact opposite! It may sound crazy, but it's not just a novel idea; it's a counterintuitive approach to sales that really works.

High technology and instant communication have put customers firmly in control of the sales process. They don't answer calls from unknown numbers; they demand honesty and transparency in the sales process; they are well informed about your product before they deal with you; and they have no patience for pressure tactics like closing questions. No wonder traditional sales methods no longer work.

Whether you know it or not, many of today's best companies have already discovered the contrarian effect. They're giving up high-pressure selling for low-pressure customer interactions. Other companies are ditching the shotgun approach and getting to know specific customers and what they like in order to offer them the exact kind of product they want. These are examples of the contrarian effect in action, and it not only works, it works well.

If you or your organization is in the sales doldrums, it's time to shake things up. Read The Contrarian Effect and discover how profitable it can be when you take the old rules and do the exact opposite.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470237902
• ISBN 13: 9780470237908
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176