Selling With Noble Purpose

SELLING WITH NOBLE PURPOSE:  How To Drive Revenue And Do Work That Makes You Proud

By Lisa Earle McLeod

Date Review Posted:  February 5, 2013

Authors:  Lisa Earle McLeod

Release Date:  2013

Web Site:  http://www.mcleodandmore.com/

Related Blog:   http://www.mcleodandmore.com/blog/

Rating:  CCCCC  (A case could be made that I would only review the best of the best because if while reading a book it does not hold my interest, I would not finish it and therefore would not review it.)

Format:  Identifies problem areas in sales, sales training and management.  Provides examples of companies that either are the benchmark or the example of what not to do.  Then provides you with solutions to the issues discussed.

Reason For Reading THIS book:  It was recommended by Bob Burg (Endless Referral fame).  Anything Bob Burg recommends is excellent.  Also listened to an interview conduct by Bob Burg with the author, Lisa Earle McLeod.   www.BobBurg.com

Number Of Times I Have Read This Book:  Once but intend to read it again.

Brief Summary of Content:  

“A Noble Sales Purpose (NSP) is the difference between a merely effective sales force and one that’s truly outstanding.”

“Those who center their business on improving people’s lives have a growth rate triple that of their competitors, and they outperform the market by a huge margin.”

“A noble purpose engages people’s passion in a way that spreadsheets don’t”

“Top performers are driven by purpose, but their company leadership almost never discusses any purpose beyond making money.”

“When you emphasize short-term profit over long-term customer satisfaction, employees get the message loud and clear.”

“How will this customer be different as a result of doing business with us?”

Applying one of the main principles of the book to that which I am familiar, real estate, I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard real estate agents repeat what they have been taught over the years, “buyers are liars”.  I have also heard buyers and sellers repeatedly say, “he or she is only in it for the money.”   Doesn’t one comment support the other?   

If there is one golden nugget that you should take away from this book it is simply answering this question:   “How will the customer be different as a result of doing business with us (me)?”  Well Pilgrim, how WILL the customer be DIFFERENT?  Can you answer the question? From the book, “When you’re focused on making a difference to customers, sales are less likely to come down to price.”

I can’t over state how important I believe this book is to every sales person and every person who owns and/or manages a business.  Remember, everyone is in sales in one form or another.

Who Should Read the Book?    Anyone in sales but then are we all not in sales?  Whether you own a business, are in management, or you are in sales this book is for you.  If you are an independent contract involved in selling you are in ownership, management, and sales; this book is especially for you.  This book will help you treat your business as a business with the primary focus being on meeting the customers’ needs as compared to sales quotes and spreadsheets.

CHAPTERS:  I think a lot can be learned by just looking at the chapter titles.  Here are the chapters of this book:

Chapter 1:  The Great Sales Disconnect

·       What Lack of Purpose Costs a Sales Force

·       Why NSP Makes You Money

·       What’s Gained from Approaching Sales with NSP

·       Hot to Use This Book

·       Reframing the Sales Profession

Chapter 2:  Why Noble Sales Purpose Works

·       The Two Big Human Needs:  Connection and Meaning

·       Why Mission and Vision Aren’t Enough

·       The Google Sale Reframe

·       Now NSP Drives Shareholder Value

·       Shareholders versus Stakeholders

Chapter 3:  Why Profit Is Not A Purpose

·       How Overemphasing Profit Erodes Your Bottom Line

·       The 6 Ps:  Putting Profit into Perspective

·       How NSP Prompts Better Questions

Chapter 4:  The Sales Manager Question That Changes Everything

·       Why Sales Managers Matter

·       How NSP Helps You Close Bigger Deals

·       A Sample NSP Coaching Session

Chapter 5:  How to Create Your Own Nobel Sales Purpose

·       Part 1:  How Do You Make A Different to Your Customers?

·       Part 2:  How Are You Different from Competitors?

·       Part 3:  On Your Best Day, What Do You Love About Your Job?

·       Crafting Your NSP

Chapter 6:  How Fear Flatlines Sales Calls

·       The Lizard Brain

·       Why Shared Commitment Gives You Courage

·       A Lesson in Fear, Part 1

·       The Chilling Effect of Fear-Based Leadership

·       A Lesson in Fear Part 2

·       Why Fears Makes You Fail

Chapter 7:  The Dirty Little Secret About Sales Training

·       The Mindset Difference Betrween Average and Outstanding

·       Five NSP Mindsets That Differentiate Top Performers

·       Selling Skills:  Art or Science?

·       The Ugly Uncomforabelt Truth About Sales Training

·       NSP Mindset #1:  Hold Two Goas In Your Mind at the Same Time

·       NSP Mindset #2:  Sit With Uncertainty

·       NSP Mindset #3:  Think Customer Firest, Preoduct Second

·       NSP Mindset #4:  Create Success for Everyone

·       NSP Mindset #5:  Show Up with Love

·       It takes Courage to Love

Chapter 8:  Creating a Powerful Sales Narrative without Sanitizing Your Stories

Creating a New Organizational Narrative

·       A Case Study in Storytelling

·       Creating NSP Stories

·       Chapter 9:  How Sales Coaching Drives Better Customer Intelligence

·       Five Categories of Critical Customer Information

·       How Information Improves Your Win Rate

Chapter 10:  How to Keep Your Sales Force from Being Sabotaged by Your CRM

·       How CRM Affects Sales Calls

·       Why Computer Screens Are More Powerful Than Sales Managers

·       Analytics Versus Sales Call Behavior

Chapter 11:  The Trojan House:  Using Case Studies to Grab New Markets

·       Celebrating Versus Sharing

·       The Trojan Horse of Sales

Chapter 12:  How to Keep Your Nobel Sales Purpose from Being a Mere Tagline

·       Mistake #1:  Assuming That Sales Calls Are Commercials

·       Mistake #2:  Failing to Flip the Switch in the Marketing-to-Sales Handoff

·       Mistake #3:  Creating Marketing Messages for “Ideal” Customers Instead of Actual Customers

·       Mistake #4:  Creating Marketing Materials That Don’t Match the Sales Cycle

·       Marketing Can’t Play Cyrano for Sales

Chapter 13:  Using Purpose to Eliminate Turf Wars and Silos

·       How Silos Turn into Wars

·       The Cost of Overemphasis

Chapter 14:  How to Keep Internal Projects from Sucking the Soul Out of Your Sales Force

·       How Six Sigma Stripped the Soul Out of a Sales Force

·       Through the Lens of the Customer

·       Purpose as a Touchstone

Chapter 15:  Reframe Your Team’s Internal Talk Track with One Pivotal Behavor

·       Eye Contact

·       Measuring Your Behavior

·       Choosing Your Pivotal Behavior

Chapter 16:  Lose the Boring Slides; Sales Meetings That Inspire Action

Chapter 17:  Inspiring the Many Instead of the Few:  Adding Purpose to Your Incentive Programs

Chapter18:  The Ultimate Litmus Test:  Using Purpose in Interviews to Eliminate Nonperformers

Chapter 19:  Using Nobel Sales Purpose to Demonstrate Value in Proposals and Presentations

Chapter 20:  Acronyms Are Not Enough:  Breathing New Life into Sales Training

Chapter 21:  The Most Critical 10 Minutes:  Precall and Postcall Sales Coaching

·       Before the Sales Call

·       During the Sales Call

·       After the Sales Call

Chapter 22:  Using Your Nobel Sales Purpose in Tough Negotiations

Conclusion:  How to Use Purpose to Make the Rest of Your Life More Meaningful

Final Test:  Would I read the book again?  ABSOLUTELY AND I WILL!