Stephan Schiffman's Sales Essentials »

He's trained hundreds of thousands of salespeople. He's sold millions of copies of sales training books. He's developed superlative sales techniques that anyone can use to boost personal commissions, as well as company profits.

He's Stephan Schiffman - and this is Stephan Schiffman's Sales Essentials. For the first time ever, this master salesman's knowledge and experience is available in one terrific volume. You'll learn the secrets of: Mastering the cold call, Using e-mail as a selling tool, Raising the stakes to "up" your next buy, Closing the deal - every time!, Packed with insider information, Stephan Schiffman's Sales Essentials is the book you can't afford to be without!

About the Author:
Stephan Schiffman, America's #1 Corporate Sales Trainer, is president of D.E.I. Management Group

Introduction: Read This First     viii
Foundation Concepts     1
The Number One Reason Businesses Fail     2
By the Numbers     10
Prospecting and the Sales Cycle     16
Where to Look for Leads     26
Calling Techniques that Really Work     33
Cold Call Mechanics     34
Six Specific Telephone Tips for Better Prospecting Numbers     48
Turning Around Common Responses     53
The Ledge     62
Mastering Third-Party and Referral Calls     72
Leaving Messages That Get Results     82
Follow-Up Calls     95
Basic Selling Skills     101
A Tale of Two Conversations     102
The Yellow Pages     104
Selling Is a Conversation     106
Selling by Not Selling     108
"It Makes Sense!"     111
Verification     117
Remember Why People Buy!     119
Offer, Timetable, Price     121
Essential Selling Principles     123
Key Communication Principles     125
Questions You Should Be Able to Answer     131
Advanced Selling Skills     133
Four Phases of theRelationship     134
Beware of Bad Assumptions     138
Raise the Hard Issues Yourself     140
Returning to the Plan     143
The Six Mindsets of Change     146
Tales of a Cable Installer     149
Upselling 101     151
When You Work for a Large Organization     154
"Just Focus on Him"     157
Pull Out Your Legal Pad     159
What's the Next Step?     162
"Based on What We've Discussed Today ..."     165
The Art of Making People Look Good     168
The Follow-Through Campaign     175
The Mole     178
"I've Got an Idea ..."     182
Selling to a Committee     187
Take Responsibility     193
Money, Money     196
Know When to Move On     198
The Special Challenges of Telesales     202
What Telesales Numbers Mean     208
The Dynamics of the Call     212
More Telesales Strategies     221
E-Mail Selling Strategies     227
A Tale of Two E-Mails     228
Way Back When     231
Wishful Thinking     236
Screwing Up the Sales Process      238
Relationship = Commitment     242
Mass E-Mail Ticks People Off     245
What Makes E-Mail Different     247
Top of the Mind     249
Nine E-Mail Strategies for Accelerating the Selling Cycle     252
Establishing the Relationship     254
The Message Template     259
The Perfect E-Mail Message?     262
About the Subject Line     265
The Secret Weapon     269
Signatures     272
Three Critical E-Mail Selling Principles     276
E-Mail "Branding"     285
E-Mail and Online Newsletters     287
On Opt-In Lists     290
E-Mail and Article Distribution     293
"Hey, Would You Take a Look at My Web Site?"     296
Why E-Mail Is Not Enough     299
E-Mail and Blogging     305
E-Mail as a C-Level Selling Tool     308
22 Unforgivable E-Mail Mistakes     312
50 Sales Questions to Close the Deal     323
Questions That Initiate Contact and Build Rapport     324
Questions to Figure Out What the Person and the Company Do     331
Questions That Move You Toward a Next Step     340
Questions That Help You Identify and Deliver the Right Presentation     346
Questions to Deal with Setbacks, Formalize the Decision, and Negotiate the Best Deal     351
Epilogue: Two Lumberjacks     359
Appendices
Sample Cold Calling Scripts     361
Nine Key Principles of Sales Success     364
Ten Traits of Successful Salespeople     370
Seven Questions You Should Be Able to Answer Before You Try to Close the Deal     374
The Five Stages of the Sales Career     377
Five Steps to a Successful Coaching Meeting     380
Sales Managers-Are You Measuring These Fifteen Skills?     382
Live Training Programs Offered$dD.E.I. Management Group     385
Live Training Programs Offered$dD.E.I. Management Group     387
Index     389
About the Author     404