Selling Above and Below the Line - by William Miller (Paperback)

About the Book

There are two customers to every sale. Are you effectively reaching both?

Book Synopsis

Most salespeople work hard to become proficient in reaching the frontline managers in their markets. However, a salesperson who wishes to achieve long-lasting success with a client will learn how to also appeal to top-level executives from an "above the line" perspective.

Master sales trainer Skip Miller shows how to simultaneously sell to both the frontline manager as well as the executive who is more concerned with profit/loss indicators such as ROI, time saved, risk lowered, and productivity improved - a strategy used by Google, Apple, Cisco WebEx, and other powerhouses.

In Selling Above and Below the Line, you will learn how to:

• Create energy by including executives early in the sales process.
• Ask the right questions and pinpoint big-picture financial needs.
• Keep "below the line" managers from feeling bypassed.
• Uncover value propositions that target each set of decision-makers.
• Sales that seem locked in will stall or go dark.

Customers who have been loyal to you suddenly back out of the relationship due to decisions made above the manager's head. This often could have been avoided had the salesperson been intentional to sell both the technical and financial fit.

In Selling Above and Below the Line, learn to effectively communicate both, leading to more successful and lucrative deals than ever before.

From the Back Cover

Are too many of your sales stalling? There's nothing more frustrating--especially when building relationships and making sales pitches are strengths.

Sales master Skip Miller explains where the problem might lie: You're selling features and benefits to frontline people who look at budget, features, and functionality. That's a logical thing to do--but it's only half your job.

Great salespeople sell to a second set of decision makers in every company: the executives. These people evaluate proposals from an "above the line" perspective, weighing ROI, time saved, risk lowered, and productivity improved. When you bring them into the sales process early and speak the language they need to hear, outcomes dramatically improve.

Selling Above and Below the Line shows you how to appeal to both sets of buyers, and sell the technical and financial fit of any product or service. You'll move beyond features and benefits, eliminate the budget objection, ask probing questions about your customer's financial picture, and deliver value propositions that seal the deal.

Advance Praise for Selling Above and Below the Line

"Full of useful advice. The split between above- and below-the-line selling is a particularly interesting idea that should help readers increase their success while shortening their sales cycles." -- Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling

"Getting prospects to switch off the status quo is tough. In this book, you'll discover how to leverage killer value propositions to create momentum and accelerate the sales process." -- Jill Konrath, author of Agile Selling and SNAP Selling

"Skip's book should not be just read, but followed. It's a surefire guide to success." --Steve Schiffman, author of The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople

William "Skip" Miller is president of M3 Learning, a leading sales development firm whose clients include Apple, Google, Cisco, Oracle, Rackspace, Tableau, UGG, and other top companies. He is the author of ProActive Selling and ProActive Sales Management.

Review Quotes

"You need this book!...it's filled with great ideas, tactical tools, and concepts." --Your Sales Management Guru

About the Author

WILLIAM "SKIP" MILLER is president of M3 Learning, a leading sales development firm whose clients include Apple, Google, Cisco, Oracle, Teva, Tableau, UGG, and other top companies. He is the author of ProActive Selling, and ProActive Sales Management.