The Book

Help! I'm Suddenly in Sales!

A Practical Guide to Winning Customers and Closing More Deals

By Mark Willett, founder and Managing Director of C3 Sales & Consulting. Paperback, coming soon on Amazon.

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Cover of Help! I'm Suddenly in Sales! by Mark Willett
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From the back cover

Been handed a sales target and no instruction manual?

You didn't plan to be in sales. Maybe you're an engineer, a manager, a business owner or someone who has just been told, "You're in charge of the customers now." Either way, you're suddenly in sales, and nobody has shown you how.

This book is the guide I wish I'd had. It's written in plain English, from a career spent selling to real customers, and it shows you how to win business without pretending to be someone you're not.

You'll learn how to

  • Plan your week and protect your selling time
  • Ask better questions and really listen
  • Find, qualify and call the right prospects
  • Run meetings, deal with objections and ask for the order
  • Track the numbers and keep your customers

Every chapter ends with practical exercises, a "Do this today" action and space for your own notes. There's even a 30 day plan to get you started.

What the book covers

The journey through the book

The 56 chapters follow the order a sale actually happens, from your first day in sales to keeping customers for life.

  1. Chapters 1 to 10

    Getting started

    Why sales matters, managing your diary, staying motivated and bouncing back from a slump.

  2. Chapters 11 to 22

    Core skills and your customer

    Listening, asking the right questions, body language, rapport and why people really buy.

  3. Chapters 23 to 30

    Finding new business

    Prospecting, the telephone, LinkedIn, email, networking, exhibitions and qualifying leads.

  4. Chapters 31 to 33

    Meetings and presentations

    Winning the first meeting, presenting solutions and giving presentations that land.

  5. Chapters 34 to 41

    Moving the sale forward

    Follow up, objections, closing, asking for the order, discounts and negotiation.

  6. Chapters 42 to 48

    Targets, process and numbers

    Goals, targets, sales process, using a CRM, conversion rates and forecasting.

  7. Chapters 49 to 55

    Keeping your customers

    Relationships, key accounts, complaints, upselling and coping with a lost sale.

  8. Chapter 56

    Improving your results

    Pulling it all together to keep getting better.

Near the back of the book

Your First 30 Days

An action plan with tick boxes for your first month, so you can turn what you've read into habits. Tick things off as you go and see how far you've come.

Get the free workbook
Your First 30 DaysIllustration
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Why the book was written

The guide Mark wished he'd had

Mark Willett didn't start out in sales. He began in a drawing office as an Assistant Draughtsman, moved through contracts and proposals, and found himself selling engineered products to customers around the world.

Over the years he has seen the same thing again and again. People are handed a laptop and a mobile and told to "go out and sell", with no structure, no training and no one to show them how.

This book is for them, whatever their industry. It's built from real situations, with stories from Mark's own career, a little humour, and exercises so readers can put each chapter into practice straight away.

A sample from the book

Chapter 1: Welcome to the World of Sales!

Here are the Put It Into Practice exercises from the end of the first chapter, exactly as they appear in the free workbook.

  1. Write down why you are in sales. (5 minutes) Is it only the money, or also helping customers and building relationships? You'll end up with an honest page you can look at when the going gets tough.
  2. List two or three people you trust and can learn from. (10 minutes) A mentor, a peer or a leader will do. You'll have a short list of names to approach this week.
  3. Plan next week on one page. (20 minutes) Set out your time, meetings, follow ups, pipeline and targets. You'll have a plan in front of you before the week starts.
  4. Call a customer you haven't spoken to for a while. (10 minutes) Ring them, or arrange to visit, rather than sending an email. You'll end up with a conversation or a booked visit.

Do this today: call a customer you haven't spoken to for a while.

Get all 56 chapters of exercises free
Contents

All 56 chapters

  1. Welcome to the World of Sales!
  2. Sales Matter More Than You Think
  3. Sales Isn’t a Job Title, It’s Everyone’s Job
  4. Business Development Isn’t Sales
  5. What Sales Jargon Really Means
  6. Look After Yourself
  7. Managing Your Diary
  8. Selling from Home and Doing It Well
  9. Staying Motivated
  10. How to Bounce Back from a Sales Slump
  11. The Core Skills of Selling
  12. Communication and Your Reputation
  13. Body Language
  14. Listening
  15. Asking the Right Questions
  16. Building Rapport That Sells
  17. Building Long-Term Credibility
  18. Common Mistakes Made by Salespeople
  19. Why People Really Buy
  20. Selling What Really Matters
  21. What Makes You Worth Choosing?
  22. Consultative Selling
  23. Prospecting and Building Your Customer Base
  24. Using the Telephone
  25. Social Selling and LinkedIn
  26. Using Email Well
  27. Making Networking Work for You
  28. Making Exhibitions Work for You
  29. Your Next Customer Already Knows You
  30. Qualifying Leads
  31. Winning the First Meeting and Making It Count
  32. Presenting Solutions That Secure the Sale
  33. Giving Inspiring and Effective Presentations
  34. Lead the Sale or Lose the Sale
  35. The Fortune Lies in the Follow-Up
  36. Turning Objections into Opportunities
  37. Knowing When It’s Time to Close the Sale
  38. Closing Techniques That Work
  39. If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get
  40. Saying No to Discounts
  41. Negotiating Without Burning Bridges
  42. Setting Goals That Drive Sales
  43. Meeting and Exceeding Targets
  44. Sales Success Isn’t a Mystery, It’s a Process
  45. Using a CRM
  46. The Numbers You Must Understand
  47. Conversion Rates
  48. Sales Forecasting
  49. The Sale Isn’t the End, It’s Just the Beginning
  50. Customer Relationships Are Crucial
  51. Key Account Management
  52. Handling Customer Complaints
  53. Adding Value and Customer Satisfaction
  54. Upselling and Cross-Selling
  55. Coping with a Lost Sale
  56. Improving Your Sales Results

Details

Format
Paperback, Amazon
Pages
About 353
ISBN
978-1-0369-8650-6
Publisher
C3 Sales & Consulting Ltd

About the author

Mark Willett is the founder and Managing Director of C3 Sales & Consulting Ltd, an outsourced sales and business development partner for manufacturing and engineering businesses. He has sold engineered products into oil and gas, power generation and petrochemical customers.

About C3
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