Stop Selling and Start Leading

NAMED THE #3 TOP SALES BOOK OF 2018!

Make extraordinary sales happen!

In the Age of the Customer, sales effectiveness depends mightily on the buyer experience. Despite nearly-universal agreement on the need for creating value in every step of the buyer’s journey, sellers continue to struggle with how to create that value and connect meaningfully with buyers. New research bridges the gap and reveals the behavioral blueprint for sellers that makes buyers more likely to meet with them — and more likely to buy from them.

In Stop Selling & Start Leading, you’ll discover that the very same behaviors that make leaders more effective also work to make sellers more effective, too. This critical shift in the selling mindset, and in the sales role itself, is the key to boosting your overall sales effectiveness.

• Inspire, challenge, and enable buyers
• Change your behavior to build trust and increase sales
• Step into your leadership potential
• See yourself the way your buyers do
• Feel good about selling again

When you’re aiming for quota attainment and real connections with buyers, this book gives you the confidence and skills you need.

INTRODUCTION: HOW YOU MAKE EXTRAORDINARY SALES HAPPEN 1

WHAT IF SELLERS BEHAVED AS LEADERS? 7

CHAPTER ONE: WHEN SELLERS ARE AT THEIR BEST 9

Redefining the B2B Buyer Experience 10

More of the Same Behaviors Results in More of the Same Reactions 10

Something Different, but What? 10

Lessons from the B2C Customer Experience 13

Meeting the Preferences of Today’s Buyers 14

Research Provides a Behavioral Blueprint 15

Findings and Implications 16

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership 17

Model the Way 18

Inspire a Shared Vision 19

Challenge the Process 20

Enable Others to Act 20

Encourage the Heart 21

It’s Time for Real Change 22

CHAPTER TWO: CREDIBILITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF BOTH LEADERSHIP AND MAKING THE SALE 23

Stereotypical Sales Behaviors Diminish Seller Credibility 24

Credibility Makes a Difference 25

The Prescription for Strengthening Your Personal Credibility 28

PRACTICE 1: MODEL THE WAY 31

CHAPTER THREE: CLARIFY VALUES 33

Find Your Voice 34

Affirm Shared Values 38

Take Action: Clarify Values 44

CHAPTER FOUR: SET THE EXAMPLE 45

Live the Shared Values 47

Teach Others to Model the Values 52

Take Action: Set the Example 57

PRACTICE 2: INSPIRE A SHARED VISION 59

CHAPTER FIVE: ENVISION THE FUTURE 61

Imagine the Possibilities 63

Find a Common Purpose 68

Take Action: Envision the Future 72

CHAPTER SIX: ENLIST OTHERS 73

Appeal to Common Ideals 75

Animate the Vision 79

Take Action: Enlist Others 84

PRACTICE 3: CHALLENGE THE PROCESS 85

CHAPTER SEVEN: SEARCH FOR OPPORTUNITIES 87

Seize the Initiative 90

Exercise Outsight 93

Take Action: Search for Opportunities 99

CHAPTER EIGHT: EXPERIMENT AND TAKE RISKS 101

Generate Small Wins 103

Learn from Experience 107

Take Action: Experiment and Take Risks 112

PRACTICE 4: ENABLE OTHERS TO ACT 113

CHAPTER NINE: FOSTER COLLABORATION 115

Create a Climate of Trust 118

Facilitate Relationships 124

Take Action: Foster Collaboration 128

CHAPTER TEN: STRENGTHEN OTHERS 129

Develop Competence and Confidence 133

Take Action: Strengthen Others 139

PRACTICE 5: ENCOURAGE THE HEART 141

CHAPTER ELEVEN: RECOGNIZE CONTRIBUTIONS 143

Expect the Best 145

Personalize Recognition 150

Take Action: Recognize Contributions 155

CHAPTER TWELVE: CELEBRATE THE VALUES AND VICTORIES 157

Create a Spirit of Community 160

Be Personally Involved 164

Take Action: Celebrate the Values and the Victories 169

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: LEADERSHIP IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS 171

SOURCES AND NOTES 179

Introduction: How You Make Extraordinary Sales Happen 179

Chapter 1: When Sellers Are at Their Best 179

Chapter 2: Credibility Is the Foundation of Both Leadership and Making the Sale 180

Chapter 3: Clarify Values 181

Chapter 4: Set the Example 181

Chapter 5: Envision the Future 182

Chapter 6: Enlist Others 182

Chapter 7: Search for Opportunities 183

Chapter 8: Experiment and Take Risks 183

Chapter 9: Foster Collaboration 184

Chapter 10: Strengthen Others 185

Chapter 11: Recognize Contributions 186

Chapter 12: Celebrate the Values and Victories 186

Chapter 13: Leadership Is Everyone’s Business 188

Acknowledgments 189

About the Authors 191

Index 197

"... an interesting and accessible meld of leadership and sales concepts." (Winning Edge, July 2018)

JAMES M. KOUZES is the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University, and according to the Wall Street Journal, one of the twelve best executive educators in the United States.

BARRY Z. POSNER, PhD, is the Accolti Endowed Professor of Leadership at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University, where he served for twelve years as Dean of the School.

DEB CALVERT is the founder of People First Productivity Solutions and The Sales Experts Channel, and author of one of HubSpot’s “Top 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time.”

Buyers have changed, and they expect sellers to make changes too. Today’s savvy buyers are impatient with old-school selling tactics and stereotypical sales behaviors. They want sellers who create personalized value and build bonds of trust, sellers who provide a meaningful and relevant experience, and sellers who demonstrate genuine leadership. Your buyers want you to inspire and motivate them while giving them an opportunity to participate in creating something extraordinary. They want you to collaborate with them, strengthen them, and encourage them in the process. They avoid transactions when they anticipate a seller will leave them feeling suspicious, sidelined or manipulated. Unfortunately, they anticipate that most of the time.

That’s why, to differentiate yourself, and to become a seller of choice and make more sales, you need to Stop Selling & Start Leading. Sellers need to stop behaving like stereotypes found in The Wolf of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross. In place of those mindsets and behaviors, you can choose to lead. Your buyers want you to behave like a leader. Discover within the blueprint of seller behaviors that buyers will respond to favorably, and will cause them to meet and buy from you.

Based on research with hundreds of buyers and sellers, Stop Selling & Start Leading reveals how the same principles and behaviors of the celebrated leadership model developed by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner applies equally well to exemplary sellers. More importantly, it shows you how to leverage the power of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® to consistently make extraordinary sales. The Five Practices are the result of over three decades of research as Jim and Barry gathered and analyzed data to zero in on the behaviors consistently exhibited by the most successful leaders. Their model for leadership is an exact match for what modern buyers want from sellers and to the personal best stories told by successful sellers.

Ready to unleash your leadership potential and become the seller your buyers want you to be? It’s all right here, waiting for you in Stop Selling & Start Leading.