Book Description

Retailing has become a high-tech, global industry. Retailing Management covers the latest developments in information technology for retailers. It also covers current trends and practices in international retailing.

An interactive website offers additional resources for the reader.

Reviews (2)

Basic introduction with a few bright spots
This book serves as a basic introduction to retail, though it often feels like "baby talk". It basically describes, without much analysis, the types of policies retailers adopt in several areas including merchandising, inventory management, ordering, HR, finance, store layout, etc. Good as a reference to what others are doing, but not at the cutting edge of retail.

A realistic review of Retailing....
RMgmt is a great book with valuable case studies from people with REAL experience.

From concept to info systems, the book helps the reader really understand the critical areas of a retail business and the virtal measures ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Strategy as a selling tool, powerful and well encapsulated.
Useful and self-contained. To anyone involved in selling, both tangibles and intangibles, this book provides a basic and powerful methodology based on a "non-manipulative selling philosophy" that is easy to understand and rather straight forward to apply. It is specially good for seasoned salespersons that can recognize familiar components of the traditional sales approach and that have the true experience to value "life-long" realtionships with customers. For consultants and sellers of intangibles, it provides a valid road map to identify role-players and decision-makers. For new salespersons, it helps them to think strategically. The authors seem to forget the permanent pressure salespeople have and the way sales objectives are set, so some comments do no fit the real world (like relinquishing an account, or letting a client go away), and fall in a rather romantic view of the profession. Although at first it seems geared toward large corporate and tangible accounts, with a little manipulation and some easing of documentation (desk-time) requirements, the methodology can be used in any selling environment. It is straight-forward and simple to use; reduces uncertainty about the process and provides the user (the salesperson) a sense of control over his/her environment and participants. Since change is a constant, and salespeople are inmersed today in a variety of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategies and techniques, this books fits nicely within it since it is the Customer and our Relationship with him/her that is at the center of it. It is a good, solid investment.

Opportunity Management Process
Many times a sales person can get confused identifying the players, the probability of change, the timing, the competition, the politics of a sales opportunity. Following the Strategic Selling process lays out an effective plan that leverages the key benefits of the sellers/buyers solution, and minimizes price as the principle buying criteria. Strategic Selling provides a process for what successful sale people do consistently-Plan. This book lays out a process that is also a two day class used by many global corporation's sales forces. The book is not a replacement for the class, but if you are selling B2B the process is well documented, and will put you on the right track. I have been teaching and using this process for 13 years and I have not found a better sales opportunity planning process. I think you can learn more from this book than from 100 sales calls.

Helpful prospecting book
This book is great and has helped me tremendously in being more confident in prospecting new business for my line of work. It gives excellent advise on deal making - everything from the initial sales call to closing the deal. It hits on points critical to strategic planning and developing a strong sales action plan. An A+++ book!!

This Teaches you how to go into a Sales call
This will Teache you how to go into a Sales call, With a plan, outline and a goal, Very good worth buying, giving to your sales managers.

A solid book
This book is not an easy read. It is logically arranged and provides excellent insight into certain apsects of strategic selling but it is very long and it is quite dry.

While it does contain very valuable and usable insight, I feel that the underlying process behind the whole concept is beginning to look slightly dated now. This process is 25 years old after all and the world has changed immeasurably during this time. There are other books available that are firstly easier to read and secondly more cutting edge in terms of the methology they suggest. ... Read more

Book Description

The Price Advantage, written by three preeminent experts at McKinsey & Company, is the most pragmatic and insightful book on pricing available. Based on in-depth, firsthand experience with hundreds of companies, as well as significant investments in basic pricing research, this book is designed to be a comprehensive guide for managers through the maze of pricing issues. The authors examine state-of-the-art approaches for analyzing and improving pricing performance, demonstrate those approaches with real case studies, and draw a pricing excellence blueprint for companies to follow. In good economic times or bad, achieving the price advantage is critical to corporate performance and profitability. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Let¿s make money
The book, The Price Advantage, highlights a topic often neglected by senior management. But a careful execution of some of the ideas of Roegner et al. can have enormous consequences for the bottom line!

I found the book extremely useful in helping our organization structure its thinking around the possibilities in the pricing arena. The material in the first chapter on the effect of a price increase versus cost reduction is not new but certainly worth a reminder.

The categorization of the three levels of price management is particularly useful and practical. In a product segmentation exercise we ran internally in our organization, we were quickly able to identify the appropriate approach to the various segments. In fact, shortly after reading the book, we were able to craft a broad based pricing strategy that thoroughly impressed our senior management and will now be worked out in more details with a view to implementing it in a few months.

Having been through the re-engineering rage of the 90's with some questionable results, it is reassuring to realize that there are methodologies that could still dramatically improve the bottom line. This is particularly relevant for those having to cope with the consequences of ever changing exchange rates.
I have encouraged quite a few managers to read this book and see where the ideas can be put into practice.

Pragmatic Approaches a Businessperson Can Use
The Price Advantage makes the case that pricing is the most under-appreciated lever for improving performance in most companies today. The authors put forth an argument that is compelling for business leaders in every company to elevate their view of pricing opportunities in general, and pricing as a key lever for performance management in particular. Most importantly, however, the book provides practical, pragmatic insights into what approaches a businessperson can take to identify and capture pricing opportunities. It brings both the opportunities and potential pitfalls to life through the frequent use of case examples where companies succeeded in "ringing the cash register" through effective pricing or left a great deal of money on the table through poor pricing actions.

Of particular usefulness are chapters on specific topics that a business leader tackling pricing is going to face sooner or later. The chapter on "industry strategy" where the authors lay out some of the tactics for being a price leader or good price follower seems to be fresh writing on these topics ( I have not seen anything written about this before, and I thought it was quite actionable). Also, the chapter on pricing architecture set forth nicely the different ways of structuring price to drive the right customer and reseller behavior, again providing a way to look at the issue that should drive toward results effectively.
The chapter on issues/opportunities that arise from mergers/acquisitions provides distinctive perspectives on how to take advantage of opportunities and/or avoid huge downside risks associated with these events. The price wars chapter provides a guide for many managers to utilize in avoiding counterproductive (often inadvertent) actions across the markets in which they compete. Sidestepping just one of the potholes that the authors describe is likely to save a business great pain. Executing a strategy that weaves its way through the price war minefield discussed is likely to make the business a top performer, and the managers leading such an effort heroes.

The discussion of pricing technology appeared only to scratch the surface, perhaps a necessity due to the rapid innovation underway. While I was left wanting more in this area, the book did provide a way to segment solutions and approaches in this area that should be useful for those exploring the range of options available in today's - or tomorrow's - marketplace.

Finally, as you would expect from the authors' backgrounds, the insights on how to architect an organizational change program provide a framework that should be useful regardless of whether the challenge is a large enterprise or if you're tackling a focused initiative to capture value in a single product line.

Practical Approaches a Businessperson Can Use
The Price Advantage makes the case that pricing is the most under-appreciated lever for improving performance in most companies today. The authors put forth an argument that is compelling for business leaders in every company to elevate their view of pricing opportunities in general, and pricing as a key lever for performance management in particular. Most importantly, however, the book provides practical, pragmatic insights into what approaches a businessperson can take to identify and capture pricing opportunities. It brings both the opportunities and potential pitfalls to life through the frequent use of case examples where companies succeeded in "ringing the cash register" through effective pricing or left a great deal of money on the table through poor pricing actions.

Of particular usefulness are chapters on specific topics that a business leader tackling pricing is going to face sooner or later. The chapter on "industry strategy" where the authors lay out some of the tactics for being a price leader or good price follower seems to be fresh writing on these topics ( I have not seen anything written about this before, and I thought it was quite actionable). Also, the chapter on pricing architecture set forth nicely the different ways of structuring price to drive the right customer and reseller behavior, again providing a way to look at the issue that should drive toward results effectively.
The chapter on issues/opportunities that arise from mergers/acquisitions provides distinctive perspectives on how to take advantage of opportunities and/or avoid huge downside risks associated with these events. The price wars chapter provides a guide for many managers to utilize in avoiding counterproductive (often inadvertent) actions across the markets in which they compete. Sidestepping just one of the potholes that the authors describe is likely to save a business great pain. Executing a strategy that weaves its way through the price war minefield discussed is likely to make the business a top performer, and the managers leading such an effort heroes.

The discussion of pricing technology appeared only to scratch the surface, perhaps a necessity due to the rapid innovation underway. While I was left wanting more in this area, the book did provide a way to segment solutions and approaches in this area that should be useful for those exploring the range of options available in today's - or tomorrow's - marketplace.

Finally, as you would expect from the authors' backgrounds, the insights on how to architect an organizational change program provide a framework that should be useful regardless of whether the challenge is a large enterprise or if you're tackling a focused initiative to capture value in a single product line.

Much of this is old hat, unfortunately
A friend of mine who knows I have an interest in pricing sent me a free copy of this book. Michael Marn has led the pricing practice at McKinsey & Company for a long time now, and I'd been wondering why he hadn't published a pricing book before now.

Unfortunately it turns out to be something of a one-trick pony, and a pony pretty long in the tooth at that. About half of it talks about the well-known price-benefit map. No question it's a fundamental idea, but hardly leading edge. Plus you need a McKinsey team to execute it. Given the pedigree of the authors I was hoping for more. A lot of the book just repeats McKinsey's early work on price wars, postmerger pricing, and overall strategy--good stuff but again nothing new.

If you're interested in pricing, in my opinion there are better options than this. ... ... Read more

Book Description

Pricing, 3/e, synthesizes economic and marketing principles with accounting and financial information to provide a basis for analyzing pricing alternatives within legal and corporate constraints. This revision of this classic text brings readers an understandable writing style, a more complete discussion of the quantitative issues, and a greater number of clear-cut examples. The material on the economics of pricing now reflects recent research in pricing by applied economists and marketing researchers trained in economics. ... Read more

Book Description

All sales managers work like crazy, but few are true managers. That's because they tend to fall back on the skills that made them great at sales...instead of adopting the new skills that will make them great managers.

This essential book, which speaks their language, will turn them into management pros. It teaches a proven method for managing the sales process as well as the salespeople. Packed with specific, field-tested techniques, PROACTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT shows sales managers how to:

* Regain control of their time* Create a proactive sales culture* Motivate a sales team* Manage to simple yet powerful metrics* Weed out failures quickly* Effectively coach and counsel up and down the sales organization* Measure not to revenue, but to the things that create revenue* Reduce reports to one sheet of paper and 10 minutes a week* Forecast more confidently* Manage the sales organization the way it should be managed. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

This is a Sales Manager's survival guide!
Managing salespeople is very hard. Contrary to coventional wisdom, being a successful salesperson has very little to do with being a successful sales manager. Too many organizations put good salespeople in management roles with little preparation, and then they wonder why the failure rate for new sales managers is so high.

"ProActive Sales Management" is an indispensable guide for any professional sales manager, from the newest to the most seasoned. This is a practical, actionable blueprint for building and managing a winning sales organization.

The core of "ProActive Sales Management" is a set of tools that can be immediately applied to a variety of sales management challanges, regardless of size of sales force, type of industry, or even geographic region. Our own organization has successfuly applied these methods in the US, Europe, Asia, Canada and Latin America.

The key strength of this book is its common-sense approach. This is not about dogma or ideology, as so many sales and sales management books are. This is about getting the job done, and doing it well. If you manage salespeople, or if you aspire to being a sales manager, you must read this book!

Not bad, but don't place too much faith in Sales Gurus
Good attempt at writing about sales management, and Skip makes some very solid points in the opening chapter. He points to the need for Leadership as a key element of a good sales manager. Unfortunately, I think Skip knows more about sales than leadership, himself, so he is not great at explaining HOW to be a good leader. He spends a lot of time on how to hire good people, which I agree is important. This might lead some rookie sales managers to fall back on the excuse of inheriting weak sales reps, and worry more about replacing them, than fixing them.
Read the first chapter in a book store somewhere, and save the $$$

More "tools" than Home Depot
I always thought that all my years of sales success would transfer to my job as a sales manager -- well, it has been a 2 year roller coaster ride. Until, I read skip's book.....my game plan was to manage the people the way I used to sell, however, ProActive Sales Management showed me that you must "Manage the process, not just the People!" I love the fact that Mr. Miller uses "tools" in his book, so this way I am able to pick and choose the right tool for any given situation. Sales have been climbing since we started implementing these metrics and we are not looking back!

Good Basic Sales Management Fundamentals
ProActive Sales Management takes a reactive sales manager and teaches them how to become ProActive. It provides basic guidelines to help sales managers focus on the most important things first. It also gives good specific examples to sales managers on what they should be doing and how they should be doing it. The book is a quick read and readily adaptable to any sales manager's situation.

This is it!
Sales Managers unite. It is time to really get down and dirty and really do the job we are meant to do...getting things done through others and create leverage.

Miller gives us the tools in an easy to understand yet powerful format. How to take a players higher, how to measure success, how to make our job more effective, coaching, mentoring, motivation...it's all there. One of the best sales management tools I have ever read. I take the book with me on trips, and it is in hardback! ... Read more

Book Description

no description ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not as useful as SPIN Selling. Too much repitition
I read SPIN Selling and became a fan.

Then I bought this. Its so-so. The author did not really have material enough for a complete book so he borrows from SPIN Selling (which is to be expected, I guess), but he repeats himself too much.

There is a point that is made, then some anecdotes, some common sense, then the point is repeated, almost word by word, and at the end of the chapter the summary covers the point again.

A little disappointing actually. Maybe 3 stars is too much.

Built To Last Major Account Sales Strategy
Unlike most developers of major account sales strategy, Neil Rackham methodically backs up his analysis of the buyer circle with in-depth research. To develop his major account sales strategy, Rackham has observed and analyzed a large number of high dollar value sales made around the world. Rackham convincingly shows that effective selling strategy is built on a thorough understanding of customers and the concerns they can have at each phase of a sale. Mastering that strategy, of course, requires, a lot of hard work and practice from salespersons determined to make the difference at the end of the day. Rackham successively reviews these phases that he has identified as: account entry strategy, recognition of needs, evaluation of options, resolution of concerns, sales negotiation, as well as implementation and account development.

1. In analyzing "Account Entry Strategy", Rackham successively explores the focus of receptivity, the focus of dissatisfaction, and the focus of power as well as the pitfalls associated with them. Because coaching, in our culture, has a positive connotation, few professionals will turn down the chance to demonstrate to a fellow professional their expertise and the usefulness of their connections. For that reason, successful salespeople identify, nurture, and leverage their sponsor(s) to ultimately get access to the different buying influences. Because of possible shifts in the account on the buyer side, Rackham rightly recommends that no salesperson rely on only one individual to penetrate an account. Rackham also reminds his audience about the critical importance of uncovering implied needs to turn them into expressed needs. Successful salespeople make their contact(s) at the level of dissatisfaction aware of the urgency and severity of the problem(s) to be addressed so that these contact(s) eventually feel obliged to help them get access to the leverages of power.

2. In looking at "Recognition of Needs" and "Evaluation of Options", Rackham first briefly explores his SPIN questioning strategy that is explained in a luxury of details in his other book "SPIN Selling." Basically, successful salespeople usually first ask the buyer situation questions, secondly problem questions, thirdly implication questions, and finally need-payoff questions to uncover implied needs for turning them into expressed needs that require action. Rackham also reminds his audience that successful salespeople prepare their sponsor(s) to help these sponsor(s) sell the sellers' solution in their own words if they are denied access to the focus of power. Furthermore, successful salespeople not only help the buyer identify needs but also influence him/her in the definition of the differentiation factors and their perceived importance to sort out the different options being offered to him/her. Rackham urges his audience to keep a broad definition of competition in mind. Finally, Rackham explores the three strategies that can help salespeople overcome their vulnerabilities and the dangers associated with these strategies: 1. Change the decision criteria (overtaking, trading-off, redefining, or creating alternative solutions), 2. Increase their strength through correction of misunderstanding or negotiation, and 3. Diminish the competition directly or indirectly.

3. In examining "Resolution of Concerns", Rackham reviews the hidden and expressed concerns that can push buyers to get "cold feet" in the decision-making process leading to an eventual purchase order down the road. As Rackham pertinently observes, price is often a convenient excuse that the buyer uses to hide his/her other, real concerns from the salesperson. Successful salespeople need to leverage their relationship with the buyer for uncovering the eventual areas of concerns, clarifying these concerns, and helping the buyer resolve them. Finally, Rackham warns salespeople about the three deadly sins of handling concerns: 1. Minimizing 2. Prescribing and 3. Pressuring.

4. In investigating "Sales Negotiation", Rackham first reminds his audience about the importance of making a clear difference between selling that tends to focus on buyers' perception of problems and negotiating that tends to concentrate on the cost of the solution. Addressing concerns about the solution with discounts will only weaken the position of the salesperson when the time of negotiation comes. As mentioned above, price is often used as a smokescreen. Rackham then reminds his audience that the only things successful salespersons negotiate during the Recognition of Needs or the Evaluation of Options phases of the sale are the needs or requirements of the buyer that they cannot meet in order to minimize the probability that they are out of the sale. Rackham finally observes that successful negotiators focus on areas of maximum leverage instead of over-concentration on price reduction, establish and narrow ranges, plan and use questions, separate understanding from agreement, and rigorously test for misunderstanding.

5. In dissecting "Implementation and Account Development", Rackham rightly reminds his audience that successful salespeople do not rest on their laurels after getting the order. They are deeply involved in the implementation of the solution adopted to increase the probability that the buyer successfully overcomes the motivation dip reflecting his/her evolving enthusiasm about that solution over time. Furthermore, Rackham pertinently stresses the importance of account development instead of account maintenance. Finally, Rackham also observes that successful salespeople document their successes, generate leads and references, reassess their understanding of customer needs, and influence future decision criteria.

Rackham wraps up his analysis of major account sales strategy with a case study built on his research to put the concepts mentioned above into practice for the benefit of his audience.

As a side note, a good strategic complement to the "Major Account Sales Strategy" is "The New Strategic Selling" by Stephen E. Heiman, Diane Sanchez, and Tad Tuleja. Like the former, the latter focuses on the strategy towards high dollar value sales.

An insurmountable coach for your sales strategy
If a selling effort is a long and dangerous "journey" lasting many months, with a rough sea full of small rocky islands and seductive Sirens, then you have to steer holding this book as an invaluable coach and an experienced navigator.

This book from Huthwaite's author Neil Rackhman is a paramount proof that account strategy is not an impressive set of selling jargon. Instead of demonstrating his strategic insight, the author systematically develops:

1. The customer decision process, and how important it is for you to fully comprehend and finally exploit.
2. The appropriate strategic behaviour you must adopt according to the selling phase, as seen from the customer's perspective.
3. The skills you need to deploy in order to successfully survive (it is a war, you know!)
4. The pitfalls you must avoid, either obvious or hidden.

One of the most impressive aspects of Rackhman's books is that he utilizes his company's experimental findings about selling process. Nevertheless his conclusions are backed up by theoretical explications one can trust.

The book is full of interesting real life case studies, which evidently reveal how theory interprets practice. The entire last chapter is devoted to an artificial case, which demonstrates how all the book's ideas meet the real - cruel - world. A very interesting chapter is devoted to sales negotiations. The reader will find very helpful advice regarding this difficult phase of a sales process.

The language of the book is simple and clear. Nowhere in the text the reader will have the feeling that this page could be omitted.

During the reading there is an intangible feeling that what is being read is great advice for whatever major account selling strategy could mean, but after the last page what is left is a tangible anxiety about how all these will be applied. There is no need for a profound analysis to prove that even the best theory is worthless if it can't be put into practice. The hardest part of the entire effort is the time when the reader must practise what he/she read and organise himself so that he successfully implements the all-important strategic tools mentioned throughout the book.

No author, however ingenious strategist or sales trainer he/she may be, is able to improve your strategic selling skills without a substantial effort from you. That's the bad news, but I believe you already know it. The good news is that you aren't alone in this hazardous journey. This book is more than a faithful navigator.

A book with 1000000% of ROI
I read this book for first time 4 years ago.
Since that time I'have use this approach in order to understand clearly about what is my position into a competitive sales situation.
Read this book have helped me to waste time and resources in different sales opportunities but focus in more profitable opportunities.
I have used the same approach in every single sales opportunity and country where I have worked and always works with incredible good results.

This book has a return on investment of 1000000% or more.

Excellent Book - Useful for those involved with major sales.
An excellent book. It is a very useful guide for all people involved with major sales (managing or selling). Unlike many books regarding sales it can help improvement in the following areas : 1. Organise concepts regarding sales 2. Avoid Critical mistakes 3. Adapt pattern of bahavior to a most positive one (with regards to major sales) 4. Better understand buyers 5. Understand the difference between major - small value sales. I strongly recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

As companies shift from hierarchical management into teamwork, managing is not nearly as important as coaching. Here is the first book on the coaching process written exclusively for sales managers--a brief, easy-to-digest primer on making the transition from a traditional boss to a sales coach. Created by an author/instructor who teaches sales management as the prestigious Wharton Executive Development Center, this guide shows sales managers how to: understand the nuances and payoffs of coaching: conduct coaching sessions and improve key skills such as listening and giving feedback; deal with problems such as discipline and reluctant behavior within the sales team; and coach and peers on oneself. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Sales Coaching is practical, applicable, and long overdue.
I often say to Sales Managers, "Show me a great Sales Manager with lousy salespeople and I will show you a lousy Sales Manager." Then I tell them to read 'Sales Coaching.'

Linda Richardson has constructed the ultimate step-by-step guide in getting managers to reevaluate their priorities and focus their attention on improving the sales staff through effective developmental coaching. The book is easy to read and full of practical tips and coaching models that will make any sales team more productive.

Most importantly, unlike many sales management books, this work translates into practical application without the brain damage. Sales Managers should be able to apply these principles immediately. Read this with a highlighter in your hand - and be prepared to transform your sales management approach. ... Read more

Book Description

Every firm's sales force combines the distinctive personalities of its members with complex issues of size, pay structure, incentives, performance evaluation, and effective uses of new technology. And while underrepresented in most marketing texts, the success of the sales force is a major component in the overall success of most companies.

The Complete Guide to Accelerating Sales Force Performance develops an effective, innovative framework for evaluating and improving the performance of any sales force. This book identifies and describes the key factors for creating a fast-track, go-to-market strategy. It's loaded with proven ideas for improving such "success drivers" as:

Culture * sales force structure * hiring * sales manager selection * training * compensation * technology * sales territory design * goal setting * performance management.

Packed with valuable insights and real-life examples, this guide is an excellent source of practical ideas for sales and marketing managers in all industries. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Good Read!
To boost your sales group's performance, give your salespeople very specific assessments and instructions, as per authors Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha and Greggor A. Zoltners. The trouble here is that the instructions are not only detailed, they are highly technical. You have to see sales as a science to make the best use of the graphs, charts, lists, diagrams and formulas. If you can make your way through the academic writing, you'll find some useful hard data, such as statistical evidence that backs the need for precise sales performance assessments. Despite its lengthy retelling of some very basic sales principles, we recommend this manual to the audience its authors suggest, "sales managers, top managers, salespeople who want to advance professionally, divisional presidents and business owners" plus business school students. If you're going to be academic, you might as well learn something.

A Valuable Reference for Strategic Sales Management
In this book, the world's leading authorities in the field of sales management share hundreds of valuable insights and suggestions for leading a successful sales force in the 21st century. This is the most comprehensive book I have seen on this topic, yet at the same time, it is easy to read and offers very practical approaches. As a sales management professional, you will turn to this book over and over again as you strive to develop and implement the best sales force strategies.

An important book
Without a good, working sales force, let's face it, you're sunk. This book is a vital and important contribution to any business that wants to stay alive in an increasingly difficult business environment. Five stars is not enough. ... Read more

Book Description

A sales force is no better than its management—and Sales Management supplies the tools sales executives need to inspire their sales forces to increase productivity through improved customer service, equitable compensation plans, e-Commerce, sales force automation, and more. It explains how to make heroes out of a sales force by understanding and taking advantage of both the micro and the macro of sales and sales management and determining the best methods for organizing, deploying, and motivating today’s changing sales force. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Straight-forward, practical, and well written
In nine easy-to-read chapters, Calvin is able to present a great framework for professional sales managers to review their thinking and organize their thoughts. Each chapter captures the essence of its subject, and then presents a number of good ideas that add to any parctitioner. Each chapter is summarized through a creative and insightful list of the top 10 mistakes that sales managers do in this area. These lists alone are worth what I paid for the book. I find it to be a book that is capable of contributing to the knowledge of both academics and professionals alike.

This is THE reference and guidebook
Calvin succinctly packages sales and sales management processes into this book in a way that enables the reader to PUT IT TO USE!! The references, lists, worksheets, and key points will be invaluable to you. Keep it in your briefcase to refer to on a daily basis - it has so many key points and reminders that you will find relevant pages to earmark to make you more effective against your day-to-day sales goals.

Highly Recommended!
Companies of the old and new economies often suffer the same ailment: sales teams that don't produce. Writer Robert Calvin tells sales managers what they must do to cure this disease. Calvin's book ' which is as concise as an effective sales pitch ' gives you a thorough blueprint for building or rebuilding your sales team. The book is filled with questionnaires and lists, including a sample performance evaluation and a rundown on what not to say to a potential hire. Calvin argues that managers often neglect training, which alone should take up 40% of their time. We [...] highly recommend this potential Bible for sales managers, which makes it clear that you must be more critical of your sales force's achievements in areas such as prospecting, closing and even personal demeanor. A word of warning: Calvin is as ruthless as 'The Weakest Link' television show in asserting that poor performers must be eliminated' and he doesn't even wink.

sales management
This book gives a new dimension how to increase the effectiveness of sales activities nowadays. W.Stanton and R. Spiro wrote a books-management of a sales force, which gives a very clear basic understanding of managing a sales force. But your book gives a new idea how to make the force more effective. ... Read more

Book Description

Expert advice on how to strike a fair deal and command a fair price… The Contract and Fee-Setting Guide for Consultants & Professionals No matter how knowledgeable you are in your field….No matter how great your track record….No matter how expert your advice or impressive your credentials … you jeopardize your client base if you do not instill every phase of your practice with a consummate professionalism. And for sharp clients, the first clear signs of such a savvy professionalism are the ability to set fees at a fair market price and offer neat, straightforward contracts with clearly delineated terms. This book teaches you, in a few days, what it traditionally took people half a lifetime to learn through trial and error. In writing it, the author drew on his more than twenty years as a business consultant, lecturer, and author to offer you tips on how to ask for and get the fees you deserve and to establish contract terms that are in the best interests of you and your clients. Throughout he shares his insider’s expertise on:

• Determining market value for your services
• Establishing per diem or per-project rates and calculating overhead
• Advantages and disadvantages of various systems of fee-setting and billing
• Six major goals of every contract
• Negotiating the contract and avoiding legal pitfalls

Reviews (7)

Highly Recommended.
This book is definately worth purchasing -- particularly for those new to independent consulting. Although the copyright date is 1990 (Howard died in the early/mid 1990s and the book hasn't been updated since), most of the material is timeless. It is often difficult for independent consultants to get sample copies of proposals, interim reports, and final reports. This is particularly the case for those new to consulting without an established peer network. This book solves that delimma and illustrates the marketing role of the proposal and subsequent interim and final reports. Are you serious about building your consulting business? Prove it to yourself: buy a copy of this book today.

A keeper....
This book came just in time. My consulting practice took off suddenly and I literally dashed to amazon to search for a book with information I could apply right away. It was an invaluable aid. And after a couple of years, it is still a useful reference, always close at hand.

Dated Material
The items covered in the book are basic and need to be discussed. However, the sample items and some tables used show data from 1988. This info is not useful.

What a GREAT resource!
I first picked up this book at the library when starting my consulting agency. I found it so valuable as a second and third read and as a resource, that I ended up paying almost $20.00 in late fees. I should have just bought the book, as should you. I highly recommend it.

There are MANY of these types of books out there, but this is definitely in the 'Gotta have it' section. I bought it and continually use it as a resource.

The greatest part is that it covers some VERY difficult material well. I found fee setting and the interim and final reports extremely difficult to do before I bought this book.

It is important to note that this book is not just for independent consultants, but for anyone selling consulting services and other professional services.

If you are not sure whether you want it, get it at the library and take a look. Just remember to take it back!

Great for startups or exisiting businesses!
As an experienced consultant I've found this book to be extremely useful when I stumbled across it. I've recently started my own consulting practice and have found this book to contain some really useful information and steps on setting up your fees along with developing contracts. It reads very easily and walks you through the process step-by-step. Wish I had found this book while I worked for a larger consulting company, it would have helped out a number of times when trying to walk through the process, or as an education for anyone developing proposales, fees, and contracts. Highly recommend it for anyone in the consulting field (either solos or working for one of the big boys). ... Read more

Book Description

Significantly revised, restructured, and updated to reflect the challenges facing service managers in the 21st century, this book combines conceptual rigor with real world examples and practical applications.Exploring both concepts and techniques of marketing for an exceptionally broad range of service categories and industries, the Fifth Edition reinforces practical management applications through numerous boxed examples, eight up-to-date readings from leading thinkers in the field, and 15 recent cases.For professionals with a career in marketing, service-oriented industries, corporate communication, advertising, and/or public relations. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Synthesizes all the best practices and leading edge thinking
This is such a well-written and well-organized book that you can simply read from cover-to-cover or jump into your interested chapters right away.

Not only does the authors present you with their in-depth coverage of the various services related topics, supplementary materials (papers, cases) from other excellent sources/authors make this an absolute encyclopedia of services marketing and a coherent contemporary literature for both novices and seasoned practitioners.

This is THE book for this very under-written and immensely critical topic of services marketing and an essential reading for the 60-80% of the workforce who are involved in the ever growing services sector.

An Excellent Insight Into the World of Services Marketing
With its comprehensive content, the book gives a fantastic overview of the important issues in services marketing today. There are many interesting and practical examples demonstrating the learning points. Well-balanced perspective. Besides giving readers the foundations of concepts and tools to use as services marketing managers, it also gives readers interesting tips on how to get around or leverage on current services strategies used by companies as customers.

Review by Venkat
Its a very useful book covering all aspects of services marketing. Contents are well organised with real world examples, frameworks that you can apply to practical issues etc. I have read through all the chapters in the book and a few headings very interesting
1) Loyalty
2) Managing services people
3) Understanding service quality
4) Power of service guarantee
I strongly recommend anyone interested in services marketing to buy this book.

An excellent book on Services Marketing
a) The subject content is very good and is quite informative with the relevant examples of the best practices and cases. Gives good insights into the various aspects of Services Marketing and changes your perspective.
b) The paper used is just perfect (not a glossy) which gives a great reading pleasure.

A must-read for a good grounding in services marketing
Services Marketing by Lovelock and Wirtz is a down-to-earth practical textbook that covers the myriad facets of services marketing. I like it because it showcases real-life examples, and ties theory and models neatly in with practical examples that MBA students can easily relate to. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Unlike practically every other segment of the modern business world, the corporate-sales department has changed very little from the rigid organizational framework it first attained back in the gray-flannel '60s. But even that bastion of traditional business structure is starting to evolve, as customers at all levels begin to reconsider their expectations, purchasing patterns, and criteria for establishing and maintaining relationships with sales professionals. Rethinking the Sales Force, by Neil Rackham and John De Vincentis, is an innovative attempt to give today's salespeople a push in the right direction before the inevitable sea change now developing totally overtakes them and undermines their potential for future success. Rackham, author ofSpin Selling, and De Vincentis, an independent sales and marketing consultant, use leading real-world examples such as Microsoft, IBM, and Charles Schwab to show how the commercial viability of assorted products and services can be dramatically improved by determining the real needs of three different types of buyers--whom they call "intrinsic value customers," "extrinsic value customers," and "strategic value customers"--and then developing the appropriate sales strategies to meet them. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Updating Sales
Today's world no longer rests upon the product. Rather, it rests on the customer's perceived value of said product. Due to this fundamental shift, it is necessary that the sales department also shift. But, like any bureaucracy, it is slow to change.

Rackham and Devincentis make a powerful case, strongly supported, with lots of suggestions on how to work with this new type of consumer. The two of them, along with Michael Levine in his Guerrilla PR: Wired, recognize and realize that to prosper in the new economic environment, the relationship between the customer and the business can not be one of a simple trade of product for monetary equivalence and compensation.

To that end, Rethinking the Sales Force strives to move sales into the 21st century, where the customer's perception of the product's value is king, and the actual product itself is the pawn.

Concerned with revenue and profits? Read this book!
Neil Rackham, along with various co-contributors, has written six excellent and thought-provoking books on different aspects of sales and sales effectiveness. If your business involves selling and you haven't read these books, your revenues and profits are not where they could be! This latest one, "Rethinking the Sales Force" reinforces that. I learned that first hand.

In June of 1996, I was asked by my company to join a cross-functional team whose major responsibility was to re-engineer the company's selling processes. It took ten of us - along with countless consultants, many from Big Six firms - and a LOT of money over two years to complete that process. The ideas in this book could have saved us months and probably hundreds of thousands! Unfortunately it wasn't written then. But that's no longer a valid excuse, so if you haven't read "Rethinking the Sales Force", I'd go to One-Click on this page and order it right away.

Early in the book, the authors point out that while many aspects of business have changed, many sales managers and sales people are still following the precepts first referred to in a book written in 1925 by E.K. Strong called "The Psychology of Selling". A nice way of saying that selling hasn't kept up with the times. The ideas in this book can help any company begin this "catching up" process.

Like the five previous books, this one is very well written. Rackham has the ability to present new ideas or new perspectives in an entertaining manner reinforced with real world examples.

Many books on selling and the sales process have one or two decent ideas explained in one or two pages and surrounded by 240 pages of filler. None of Rackham's books will ever be accused of that.

Disappointment
While Rackham's other books have been thought provoking and practical, this book falls short. Unless you're a salesperson for a multi-billion dollar corporation, this book is of little value. If this had been Rackham's first book and SPIN second, I probably would not have read Rackham's other books.

Disappointing
I really came prepared to read a terrific book. I think a great deal of Rackham's book SPIN Selling; it was based in some surprising research, and offered a detailed "how to" for those interested in mastering complex sales. Based on my strong endorsement as a marketing professor and later as a manager, I have doubtless sold many hundreds of copies of SPIN selling for Rackham. But this one is not very good.

This new book is disappointing because it reads like boilerplate McKinsey stuff. It is superficial, weakly case-based (I say weakly because they aren't cases per se but little illustrative vignettes or examples from the authors' consulting experience, or reading, or both), and even in some cases already out of date. Wordy, too.

I can see some use for the book, especially if you are fairly new to the world of sales force management. For example, if you have never really thought about whether your clients are seeking "transactional," "consultative," or "enterprise" selling processes, this will define them for you and point out that what is appropriate for one is not appropriate for another.

If you want some advice on how to organize and deliver one or the other of those strategies, the book offers some guidance, again in a fairly general and superficial way.

Rackham is an author whose knowledge I respect, and from whom I would have expected something new to say. That is why, although I don't like to say it, I cannot recommend this book to anyone with more than a passing knowledge of salesforce management.

Refreshing Breeze in Sales Force Optimization
Neil Rackham and John R. De Vincentis masterfully divide their examination of selling into transactional sales, consultative sales, and enterprise sales that coexist in many organizations. Enterprise sales are also known under such terms as partnership and strategic alliance. Rackham and De Vincentis concisely look at the key challenges that sales forces face in dealing with increasingly sophisticated buying consumers and businesses that are "ruthless" in the definition of their value scale and options. Rackham and De Vincentis then examine the fundamental pillars that characterize each type of selling and how to be successful in each type of sales, even in times of drastic changes observed in the buying landscape. Rackham and De Vincentis rightly warn their audience against the temptation to move up from either transactional selling to consultative selling or from consultative selling to enterprise selling. Most consumers and businesses will not pay for what they perceive as beyond the value provided to them. In their examination of the sales process, Rackham and De Vincentis stress the importance of removing boundaries from product management to technical support that stymie the efficiency of both transactional and enterprise selling. In their analysis of the sales process behind consultative selling, Rackham and De Vincentis counter-intuitively but rightly observe that improvement lies in the creation of milestones reflecting results and not activities. They logically note that salespeople tend to do what is compensated rather than what is effective. Rackham and De Vincentis also help their readers rethink their channels of distribution for creating and capturing value as well as deal with channel conflict. Finally, Rackham and De Vincentis explore how to change a sales force for improving its performance in each type of selling and how to migrate that sales force from one type of selling to another following changes in buying patterns. Ultimately, the key value of "Rethinking of the Sales Force" lies in its mental combination with books like "SPIN Selling", "Major Account Sales Strategy", "Managing Major Sales", and "The New Strategic Selling." That combination is indeed powerful in devising a strategy that is actionable in the field to help differentiate one organization from its competition. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A Super How-To Book on Strategic Selling!
Most companies are under incredible pressure to join the herd, and "your product is a commodity" is a mantra on the lips of many of our customers. Beyond Selling Value delivers the tools and processes that your company needs to set it apart from the crowd. Chock-full of stories that illustrate each key concept, this book lays out a step-by-step roadmap that will help you win customers for all the right reasons.

Unlike many similar books, Beyond Selling Value has a nice balance of material - conceptual explanations, stories, and clearly-written how-to instructions. You will find this book both readable and useful, if you are in sales (or run a business, as I do).

This is just a super book - as I read it, I found myself saying "I can't wait to do this!" Not only are the concepts and processes laid out elegantly, but the highly relevant stories do a great job of supporting the key points. I will definitely be sending copies of this book to my clients!

As sales has gotten more and more competitive in my industry, I have found it incredibly useful to use Dan and Mark's process to sell my company's services. Simply put, there is amazing correlation between sales people using these processes and their success in the marketplace. This book has definitely helped put more money on the bottom line for my company!

Great Process and A Great Book!!
I love the IMPAX process! I was first introduced to it a year ago. Since then I have used it to make over a dozen sales presentations, with fantastic results.

I was excited when I heard that Shonka and Kosch were writing a book as I was looking forward to a refresher and a chance to get a deeper understanding of the IMPAX process.

The book exceeded my expectations. There were new stories, additional insights into the philosophy and practice of the IMPAX sales process. A plus were the examples and checklists designed to kick start the readers thinking. I found it an easy read, the chapters are short, focused and kept my attention.

Beyond Selling Value has all the details stories and logical flow that will make it easy for someone new to the IMPAX process to very quickly begin using it to improve their sales. It also makes a great refresher for people who have seen IMPAX before. I thoroughly recommend it.

The critical question author Shonka choose not to answer
I would give Beyond Selling Value five stars if there were not a *tiny* problem:

In an e-mail to author Mark Shonka I wondered what can one say if the client tells in the research meeting to one of the questions "That's none of your business!"

The research questions are more those a hired management consultant is allowed to ask and not somebody who is just needed to sell some products. How is one supposed to deal with this kind of objection/resistance? What should one say in response?

The response by Shonka was -- silence. Otherwise, of course, it's a great book.

Excellent for Sales and other Professionals
This is an excellent and clearly written book intended for the Sales Professional. The authors purposely reiterated certain key concepts that for me was a detractor, but for some one new to the subject they are talking about may not be.

Taking the authors process in components, there is nothing truly new here. What is new is the process they propose? The tieing together of the different elements to develop critical information to determine a business fit between the customer and your organization and presenting that to the key decision maker. Again, nothing technically new, but well presented in a well designed process of gathering data to prepare for research interviews with people in the customer's organization to gain the necessary coaches and insight to prepare a presentation to the decision maker.

Though this process is designed for the sales professional, it is useful for others. How many managers, engineers, accountants, etc, need to propose business solutions, initiatives, or other major projects to senior managers? Many I would suppose. This is an excellent process (with minor adjustments for internal use) for you too. Basically how to present a project top gain the attention and support of a decision maker.

I can not make a personal testamonial to any success using this process at this time, but am planning to.

Beyond Selling Value
I have read a lot of sales books and have attended more than my share of sales training seminars. Seldom have I seen content that is clearly written by sales people, for sales people. The anecdotal information brings to life behaviors that are "how to" steps rather than "one should always" general recommendations... real examples rather that philosophies about what should work. This tactical approach sets Beyond Selling Value apart and answers a lot of tough questions where others have failed to go. ... Read more

Book Description

This leading text continues to set the standard with up-to-the-minute coverage of the trends and issues in sales management, equipping students with a strong foundation and the innovative skills needed for the 21st Century and offering the text in the form of modules, which allow instructors to customize their coverage in class. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Excellent book on designing a channel program
It's an easy, quick read and sticks to all the pertinent information without adding unnecessary complexities. The author speaks from experience of the ins and outs of designing and managing the channel. He is able to cover strategy, tactics and theory as well as get down to the nitty gritty personal relationships and politics of being a "channel master".

If you are designing a channel program, this books is an excellent place to start.

All you need to know about distribution channels !
This book is a rare example on how it is easy to teach the concepts, show practical examples, and summarize everything in 250 pages without relying on unnecessary phrases and words that just repeat the same idea again and again and increase the size of the book to 1000 pages. The author provides detailed explanations on the structure and functioning of distribution channels and depicts a way to effectively build a succesful channel from scratch. He goes beyond the basic concepts to show additional and important information on antitrust laws and international distribution and competition.

I would recommend reading this book and keeping it as one of your reference books to consult whenever you're up to consider changes in the distribution system that arise because of competitive pressures, changes in customer behavior, or new product launches.

Perfect for the begining marketer!
This book is perfect for the person who does not even know where to start. It takes you through each stage of distribution, and how to evaluate what is best for your situation. An excellent buy when you need REAL answers.

Everything You Need to Know and More
Brilliant! I've been involved with industrial distribution for well over twenty years. Rolnicki has proven there is still much to be learned, considered and applied. Must reading for anyone that has anything to do with any channel of distribution.

Excellent book
A very sound, practical guide to channel management. It's one of maybe a half dozen books on the subject that should be part of the "core curriculum". -Larry Friedman author, "The Channel Advantage" ... Read more

Book Description

Activity-based pricing: the new paradigm for maximum profitability

Pricing for Profitability introduces activity-based pricing, a new paradigm for improving profitability by reducing the occurrence of pricing mistakes and placing less emphasis on increasing revenue and more on improving profits. Activity-based pricing will help any company set prices that are attractive to buyers and profitable for the company. Pricing for Profitability teaches activity-based pricing to help you make better pricing decisions based on customer demand and a better understanding of what really causes profits. It will help you prevent underpricing and generate a healthier financial return.

Simply organized and nontechnical, this in-depth treatment covers the ten vital topics of activity-based pricing. A wealth of examples that illustrate the points made in the text include activity-based pricing models used in real industries. Designed for everyone involved with the pricing process, Pricing for Profitability provides a comprehensive understanding of how to use pricing to gain the competitive advantage. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Activity Based Costing Success Story
We have used the concepts outlined in John Daly's book to develop an activity based costing model. In fact, it has proven to be so useful that we are in its third revision. It is has been a critical tool for us to remain profitable during these difficult economic times. I do not know how we got along with out it!

A Must Read for Manufacturers
Pricing for Profitability has allowed our company to intelligently quote new projects and answer a critical question during price negotiations - "Should I walk?". We have also found the activity based pricing concepts useful for evaluating the countless cost down requests we get from our customer and understanding what we can and cannot do. I would recommend this book to anyone in a highly competitive, tight margin business.

Valuable insights into profitable pricing
John Daly has written an excellent book with important insights into the desirability and mechanics of using Activity Based Pricing to achieve a profit-driven pricing model.

Why is this important?

If you really understand and properly allocate your costs and use that understanding to develop an Activity Based Pricing model for your products and/or services then you are pretty well assured of profitability, particularly as you increase unit volume. Of course, this assumes you can sell at a price higher than your fully loaded, properly allocated costs.

As Mr. Daly clearly describes, traditional cost allocation methods (not to mention back of a napkin allocations) result in problematical cost distortions and lead to potentially serious pricing errors.

Anyone with profit and loss responsibility, or who would like to get there, would be well served to buy this book, read it and take it to heart. It is well written, coherent and was a pleasure to read. Daly has struck an excellent balance in that the book is not so filled with technical accounting/finance detail it is inaccessible to a non-accountant and yet it has sufficient substance to be of interest to accounting and finance specialists.

As investment bankers we receive financing requests from many companies seeking capital that are not profitable or not as profitable as they could be. Activity Based Pricing is one of the disciplines we are introducing to our clients and prospective clients to help them achieve profitability or become more profitable in order to better position them to compete for capital.

Excellent!
Mr Daly's writing style is smooth and casual, and the book is loaded with common sense. His discussion of overhead allocation problems certainly makes the point that GAAP accounting practices lead to serious errors in cost accounting.

Full disclosure: I personally prefer an engineering model or standard cost approach, reality-checked with what might be called sampled-ABC: old fashioned time and motion studies.

A New Paradigm in Pricing Strategy
Pricing for Profitability is a refreshing new look at pricing strategy the combines the disciplines of Business Strategy,Cost Accounting, Economics, Marketing and Business Strategy to create an approach where each of these disciplines will surely find a solid common ground.

The book concentrates on maximizing profitability, rather than maximizing revenue, convincingly refuting the approaches of other pricing books (written by marketing professors) that say "the more sales the better". He reminds us that revenue does not equal profit, but that profit = revenue minus expenses.

Mr. Daly asserts "there are three things that can happen that can happen in product pricing and two of them are bad", the most devestating result being that many companies underprice difficult or low-volume bids sometimes loosing significant amounts of money. He believes that many organizations have an inadeqate understanding of their costs which leaves them at a competitive disadvaantage.

This book is a must read for any manager who has pricing responsibility. ... Read more

Book Description

How to successfully apply the principles of customer care in any company

Most organizations today recognize the importance of improving customer care—the need to go beyond traditional customer service and truly manage customers as assets—but only about 6% apply its principles effectively. This book fully explains the three stages in the evolution of customer care. Readers will be guided through the process of acquiring customers, retaining them through segmentation and management of the relationship, and targeting their most significant marketing efforts to the most profitable segments.

• Shows companies how to identify where they are in their own evolutionary process
• Outlines successes and failures of companies, including Sears, CIBC, AT&T/Matrixx, Kodak, FedEx, and more