Selling to Big Companies [Book Review] Print E-mail
Written by Justyn   
Friday, 13 February 2009 00:00

ThumbnailI typically read 2 books a week, so you will see plenty of book reviews in the future. I decided to start this segment with my current favorite, Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath. I was surprised that I hadn't found this book until now as it's been on the Amazon top sellers list for 2.5 years and was named a "must read" by fortune.

Jill's book is laser focused on one thing - getting the meeting. It shares focus with books like Getting to VITO, but I found Selling to Big Companies to be more applicable to todays selling environment, more in-tune with the idealogy behind The Passive Pipeline and more detailed in each step of the process.

Here are a few of my favorite concepts presented in Selling to Big Companies;

  • The absolute neccesity of having a war-chest of real customer stories to pique the interest of your target
  • Using the target's perspective to understand why your current methods aren't working
  • Creating a profile for your target companies and learning to spend less time on big names with small chances of success
  • Identifying enabling conditions and triggering events which make a prime target
  • Very detailed processes around researching your prospects to identify your value proposition
  • Creating an effective target-specific value proposition
  • Identifying the best contacts
  • A very detailed process around courting those prospects and getting the meeting

As you can see from the image including my post-it's (a practice I borrowed from Guy Kawasaki), there were a ton of key concepts that I found to be useful or inspiring, but I can't give the whole book way. Any time I open a sales book, I expect to see a re-ordering of the same old concepts with a few new buzz words and a slightly different spin on the solution selling process we're all familiar with by now. That was absolutely not the case with Jill's book and I highly recommend that everyone visit her site and buy the book.

Visit: www.sellingtobigcompanies.com

Update 2/15/09 - You can read more praise for this book here.

Have you read the book? Tell us how the strategies have helped you get the meeting? I'd love to hear real-world situations where Jill's work has been helpful. The best reader response will recieve an autographed copy of Selling to Big Companies!

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Melissa Paulik said:

Melissa Paulik
 Best book on value props I've run across yet
I'm a marketer and I recommend this book all the time. Unfortunately, most of the value props written by marketers are pretty bad. Although this book is about selling, it does a great job of explaining how to craft an excellent value prop. You could spend one hour with this book and create a value prop for your company that is better than any of the statements used by your competitors. (Unless they've also read the book, of course!)
 
September 20, 2009
Votes: +0

Scott said:

Scott
 A great intro into enterprise selling
I love this book - Jill does a great job of highlighting the idea that we as vendors are vehicles for large organizations to execute their strategies. If we "use the news" to let large organizations trigger our involvement with them, when they are ready to hear from us, then we are working much smarter.
 
March 29, 2009
Votes: +0

Jeff Ogden said:

0
 ...
I first read Selling to Big Companies years ago and I loved Jill's customer first approach. Then I read it again. And again. Then I purchased her CD Training Course. Then I read the book again. Of all the zillions of sales consultants out there, Jill is #1 by a country mile.

In all candor, Jill and I have become good friends and are now collaborating on a new initiative.
 
February 27, 2009
Votes: +0

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