Sales. Doesn’t that mean making people buy something? Putting pressure on them? Actually, that’s the classic old-style salesperson stereotype. Which doesn’t work so well these days. So how do you breakthrough the noise in an uncertain economy and grow your sales? Simple really – you Flip the Script. Yes, you really can sell without pressuring clients and frightening them off. This book shows you how.
ONE – What’s special about this month’s book?
Economic changes mean greater pressure to sell. To sell more stuff to more people more often. With so much pressure on sales reps and business owners, how do you increase your sales without totally alienating your customers? No-pressure selling. This book will show you how.
TWO – Book Details for Flip the Script
Book Title – Flip the Script – Getting People to Think Your Idea is Their Idea
Author – Oren Klaff
Publication Date – 01 January 2019
Publisher – Piatkus
THREE – Who is Oren Klaff?
Investment banker and expert on sales, raising capital and negotiation, Oren Klaff has worked on pitches totalling more than 25 billion and counting.
Oren’s insights into what’s really working today lead him to write Flip the Script as an update to his first book Pitch Anything (more than 1,000,000 copies in print worldwide).
When he’s not writing or training executives to close big deals, Oren is an investment partner in a $200 million private equity investment fund and is a motorcycle enthusiast in his spare time.
Four – What is the book’s premise?
That you can sell by not selling – pitching your products and services in a unique way to get people to think that your idea is their idea.
As Oren says: Buyers don’t put much trust in you and your ideas. However, everyone trusts their own ideas. Accordingly, today, products are bought, not sold. – Intro, Pg ix
Five – Does the book deliver on its premise?
Yes. Oren weaves astounding sales stories through this book as he details his five-step framework to help you Flip the Script. This framework is remarkably simple. Be warned – this is not an instant fix. If you’re serious about transforming the way you sell so that buyers want to buy, you’ll likely have some homework when you finish reading as you re-work your sales pitch and processes.
Whether you’ve been forced into sales by the recent changes in our economy, or you’ve been selling for years, this book will help you connect with modern buyers so that they want to buy from you.
Six – What is the author’s voice like?
Confident. Entertaining. Intriguing. You’ll want to keep turning the pages just to find out what happens to in the incredible deals which Oren recounts to illustrate key points.
Seven – Any memorable quotes?
Magnify memorable quote is Owen’s brilliant summary of the key problem salespeople are facing:
You know what decision you want the buyer to make, but the more you push in that direction, the more they dig in, slow down, and change the agenda. They want to make their own decision on their own timeline. Buyers by how they want to buy, not how you want to sell.
This is why today most things are bought; they aren’t sold. – Pg 6
SALES WAR STORIES
In other words, all that money would leave Switzerland, be spent in the United States, and only benefit Americans. He might as well have said we were going to spend it all on new outfits for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. This was not what they wanted to hear. – Pg 62
AND
Today, right now, we had one bite at the apple, with no second chances. I needed to calm him down – he looked so nervous he might pass out or drop dead before we got our shot at the $22 million. – Pg 73
AND
I slid a cup under the coffee maker. In just a few minutes I had gone from fast asleep to hearing the words “Hey man, you need to find me a world-class sniper or we’re going to lose a shot at three million bucks.” – Pg 137
Eight – What are some insights I can get from reading this book?
HUMANS ARE WIRED TO TRUST OUR OWN IDEAS
The human brain is thus wired by evolution to distrust any information from the outside world and to greatly favour that which originates inside us. – Pg 9
HOW TO GET YOUR CLIENT’S FULL ATTENTION
When you’re going to press someone toward an important decision, you first need to be sure he or she feels they are in the right place at the right time with the right person. To accomplish this, you must create Status Alignment. – Pg 26
I would never tell a prospect that I have a better product than the one they are currently using, or that I have a new and better idea. I would just say that the industry as we know it is transforming, and I know how to operate successfully in this new playing field. As I like to say, the person who knows what will happen next and in the future is always the most important person in the room. – Pg 88
HOW TO BE COMPELLING
You are the expert. You must become an undisputed expert in the mind of the buyer in the first few minutes, and then continue to add credibility, insight and competence to this expert status throughout the conversation. – Pg 195
CHARACTER AND VALUES ARE ALSO COMPELLING
One reason why so many people are mistrustful of salespeople is because they see the seller move through different characters during a sales pitch, and this leaves the buyers feeling confused and uncertain. Flipping the script isn’t about changing yourself to give the buyer what they want; it’s about sticking to your guns. Stay consistent to your personality, your character, and most importantly, your values. This is what the most compelling people in the world have that others don’t: character and values. – Page 237
Nine – How relevant is this book right now?
This is one sales book we all need right now. With pressure on salespeople to grow revenue in uncertain times, customers are taking longer to commit to a ‘Yes’. What if you could get the customer to decide for themselves that they want to work with you? You’ll flip the script and grow sales as a result.
Ten – Did the book live up to expectations?
Yes. This book is different. Even the front cover is different, with the title flipped around 90 degrees to catch attention. The ‘based on real-life’ stories of challenging business deals will have you hanging on the edge of your seat.
Oren delivers on the real reason you’re reading this book in the first place – to get the edge on growing revenue for your business. His framework to ‘Flip the Script’ is remarkably simple, helping you to ensure your products/services are bought, not sold.
Eleven – Who would you recommend this book to?
Everyone now doing sales – whether you’re a newbie or a pro. Especially if you’d like to enjoy the sales process and get rid of all that sales pressure!
Twelve – Who should buy this book?
Salespeople, sales leaders, business leaders, small business owners and anyone who needs to grow sales revenue.
Thirteen – Where can I buy this book?
Order from Mighty Ape here.
Fourteen – Recommended snacks to accompany reading this book?
With so many gripping stories of high-stakes business deals, you might just want to read this book in one sitting. Get comfy in your favourite chair, put your feet up and keep energised with a large bowl of roast vegetable salad, a couple of Whittaker’s peanut slabs and a bottle of sparkling water.
Head over to the Magnify Sales Book Club to enter this month’s Sales Book of the Month draw.
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