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68 reviews for:
The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation
Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson
3.63 AVERAGE
68 reviews for:
The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation
Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson
3.63 AVERAGE
The Hard Worker (self motivated and willing to go the extra mile). TheRelationship Builder (generous with time and helpful to others). The Lone Wolf (follows own instincts and is self assured). The Reactive Problem Solver (detail oriented and is a reliable respondent). The Challenger (loves to debate and push the customer). According to research conducted by CEB global, these are the five buckets into which all sales professionals can be categorized. While each category has its virtues, the researchers at CEB (a best practice insight and technology company) have determined that the most effective and desirable salesperson is the Challenger. This sort of salesperson presents a “different view of the world” while having an in-depth understanding of their customer’s business and is willing to debate with the customer to ultimately better serve their needs.
While this fact might be counterintuitive at first, after all, most theoretically successful salespeople tend to embody the Relationship Builder, it becomes clear through The Challenger Sale that what sets a Challenger apart is a combination of skills; namely the ability to teach, tailor, and take control of the sales call. What makes this an interesting and engaging read is the use of examples and evidence to illustrate and support the position of the authors. There are practical tips and advice for sales professionals, as well as a new way for anyone to think about how they present their ideas and value to others.
Despite the plethora of sales strategies and books, The Challenger Sale truly gives a well-researched and effective method for increasing the success of sales people. It is a valuable read not only for those interested in sales but for anyone who wants to know how to better communicate a message and make it impactful.
While this fact might be counterintuitive at first, after all, most theoretically successful salespeople tend to embody the Relationship Builder, it becomes clear through The Challenger Sale that what sets a Challenger apart is a combination of skills; namely the ability to teach, tailor, and take control of the sales call. What makes this an interesting and engaging read is the use of examples and evidence to illustrate and support the position of the authors. There are practical tips and advice for sales professionals, as well as a new way for anyone to think about how they present their ideas and value to others.
Despite the plethora of sales strategies and books, The Challenger Sale truly gives a well-researched and effective method for increasing the success of sales people. It is a valuable read not only for those interested in sales but for anyone who wants to know how to better communicate a message and make it impactful.
When I first started my career I loathed sales. I saw a used car salesman trying to take advantage of you so that he could sell one more car and get a commission. I never saw them as folks of high integrity. That was until I went to some of the sales training programs of Bill Caskey. Bill introduced me to the idea of the solution sale. That is he told me that sales should be an advocate for the client trying to make their lives easier. This aligned with my view of the world and while I would never consider myself a professional sales person, I am comfortable in sales situations.
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We are going to be hiring our first sales position soon, so I am reading up on everything I can about sales world. This was a great book for someone like me who has no sales background and gave some good insight on what to be looking for as we hire our first sales rep. The content was a little repetitive at times, although well researched and written. I especially liked the sales rep interview guide in the appendix.
I found this book really validating in terms of approach. I liked that the process and results were well-researched and that the outcome was anticipated, but derived from data.
informative
fast-paced
Like most non-fiction self-help books, it probably could have been condensed to a 20 minute TED talk. That being said, there's some great, actionable insight front loaded here.
My friend who recommended this to me told me it says it's a sales book, but it's really a content marketing book. And she was right. The book describes how the most successful salespeople are successful - by teaching, tailoring, and taking control. But they can't do the teaching and tailoring without the appropriate content to push their customers to understand their businesses better and anticipate problems they didn't even know they had. Some people balk at the concept of "challenging" their customers, but as the book says..."If the new model feels like a tweak on the old...well, why bother changing?" A powerful guide to what kinds of content salespeople need to be a challenger, and how to revamp your sales process and sales team to go above and beyond what your competition is doing.
informative
medium-paced