Getting to VITO (The Very Important Top Officer) E-Book

Anthony Parinello

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Seitenzahl: 341

Beschreibung

The author of the bestseller Selling to VITO returns with a 10-step plan for getting to the Very Important Top Officer's top of mind, top of wallet, and top of their "to-do" list Anthony Parinello's Selling to VITO introduced salespeople everywhere to the Very Important Top Officer-and taught them the precise steps of how to sell to the person with the ultimate veto power. Now, Parinello returns with Getting to VITO, a one-of-a-kind sales resource that offers proven, best-practices advice on how-to get into VITO's head, get into their budgets, and get on their team as a "trusted advisor." Based on Parinello's own extensive sales experience-as well as the experiences of the more than one million salespeople who've studied his VITO process-Getting to VITO shows salespeople how to: * Find and pre-qualify the real VITO * Establish real value in VITO's eyes * Cut to the chase with seven different correspondence modalities * Disarm every first-call objection a salesperson may encounter * Deliver the show-stopper "elevator" pitch for every industry * One-on-one coaching from Parinello's own professional coach! Anthony Parinello (San Diego, CA) is the country's foremost expert on selling to top officers. His bestselling book and audiotape program Selling to VITO (The Very Important Top Officer) has sold more than 500,000 copies. Parinello's Secrets of VITO: Think and Sell Like a CEO was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and his most recent book Getting the Second Appointment has been accepted by his following as the new sales process of "choice."

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

VITO SELLING

Acknowledgments

PREFACE

DON’T SKIP THIS PART

THE CAST OF CHARACTERS

MEET VITO

LET’S GET FOCUSED

MEET SEEMORE

MEET TOMMIE

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER OF ALL . . .

AND THEN THERE’S ME . . .

Part One - VITO SELLING: THE NEW GENERATION

Chapter 1 - SETTING THE STAGE

DON’T KILL THE MESSENGER!

THING YOU NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR SELLING CAREER #1:

THING YOU NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR SELLING CAREER #2:

THING YOU NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR SELLING CAREER #3:

THING YOU NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR SELLING CAREER #4:

THING YOU NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR SELLING CAREER #5:

THING YOU NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR SELLING CAREER #6:

Chapter 2 - RESULTS AND THE PROCESS THAT DRIVES THEM

LET’S GET REALLY HONEST

I CAN!

FACTS TO CONSIDER

CHALLENGING UNHEALTHY BELIEFS

LOOK AT HOW THEY SELL

LOOK AT THE SOCIAL PROOF

FIND OUT WHERE THEY ARE

FIND OUT ABOUT THEIR SALES FORCE

FIND OUT ABOUT THEIR REPUTATION IN THE MARKETPLACE

FIND OUT ABOUT THEIR PRICE POSITION

FIND OUT HOW THEY SELL THEIR STUFF

FOUR STEPS TO AN EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE SALES PROCESS

Chapter 3 - VALUE VERSUS VALUES

SOME DEFINITIONS

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Chapter 4 - YOUR PERSONAL VALUE

A WORD ABOUT VALUES

A WORD ABOUT QUALITIES AND TRAITS

DO IT!

A PROFOUND EXERCISE AND A PROFOUND QUESTION

VITO’S FOUR-PART VALUE JUSTIFICATION TEST

VITO’S VALUES

Chapter 5 - WILL THE REAL VITO PLEASE STAND UP?

SEEING IS BELIEVING

Chapter 6 - VITO’s VITO

VITO’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

VITO’S ADVISORY BOARD

VITO’S CURRENT INVESTORS

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

CHANGE THE TRACK ON YOUR MP3 PLAYER

A NOT SO TYPICAL DAY

THE NEW PATHWAY TO VITO’S OFFICE

Chapter 7 - WHAT YOU AND VITO ALREADY HAVE IN COMMON

A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING . . .

THE MORNING OF THE MEETING . . .

VITO: THE NEXT GENERATION

Chapter 8 - WHAT YOU AND VITO COULD HAVE IN COMMON

VITOS FOCUS ON BIG DEALS . . . SO SHOULD YOU

VITOS KICK THE COMPETITION’S ASSETS . . . SO SHOULD YOU

VITOS ACT FROM CHOICE, NOT NECESSITY . . . SO SHOULD YOU

VITOS ARE DIRECT AND TO THE POINT . . . YOU SHOULD BE TOO

VITOS THRIVE WHILE OTHERS JUST SURVIVE . . . SO SHOULD YOU

VITOS KNOW HOW TO CUT THEIR LOSSES . . . SO SHOULD YOU

KEEP YOUR COMMITMENTS!

Chapter 9 - WHAT’S ON VITO’S MIND?

RESULT #1: REVENUE

RESULT #2: IMPROVED EFFICIENCIES AND EFFECTIVENESS

RESULT #3: EXISTING CUSTOMER RETENTION

RESULT #4: GREATER ADD-ON BUSINESS FROM EXISTING CUSTOMERS

RESULT #5: CUTTING NONVALUE EXPENSE

Chapter 10 - PRIORITIZE, PRIORITIZE, PRIORITIZE

LIST WORK

FIVE CORNERSTONES OF PERFORMANCE

Part Two - MAKING CONTACT

Chapter 11 - PREVIEWS OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

A WORD ABOUT REFERRALS

CORRESPONDENCE WITH VITO

ACCESS TO VITO

CONVERSATIONS WITH VITO

PRESENTATIONS TO VITO

DELEGATION FROM VITO (AKA THE PREMATURE SHUNT)

Chapter 12 - THE VITO REFERRAL

WHAT SALESPEOPLE USUALLY SAY WHEN I BRING THIS UP

EARNING THE RIGHT TO ASK VITO FOR A REFERRAL

SETTING AND EXCEEDING VITO’S EXPECTATIONS

VITO’S INVESTMENTS AND THE RETURN THEREON

ADDITIONAL INDISPUTABLE LAWS OF VITO-TO-VITO REFERRALS

GETTING THE VITO REFERRAL

ASK A FEW QUESTIONS

REFERRAL RELUCTANCE

THREE POTENTIAL OBSTACLES

Chapter 13 - THE NINE VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENTS

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWING AND DOING

TAILORING THE LETTER TO VITO

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #1: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED OF BELONGING TO ...

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #2: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED FOR CANDOR

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #3: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED FOR INTEGRITY IN THEIR ...

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #4: ADDRESSING VITO’S REQUIREMENT OF CREDIBILITY

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #5: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED FOR RECEIVING ...

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #6: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED FOR GREED

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #7: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED TO WORK WITH AN ...

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #8: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED FOR CERTAINTY

VITO CORRESPONDENCE ELEMENT #9: ADDRESSING VITO’S NEED FOR CHARISMA

Chapter 14 - THE FAB FIVE

GOALS OF YOUR VITO CORRESPONDENCE

THE FAB FIVE ELEMENTS OF A VITO LETTER

PART ONE OF THE FAB FIVE: THE HEADLINE

VITOS WANT MORE

PART TWO OF THE FAB FIVE: YOUR TIE-IN PARAGRAPH

PART THREE OF THE FAB FIVE: BENEFIT BULLETS

PART FOUR OF THE FAB FIVE: YOUR ENDING PARAGRAPH

PART FIVE OF THE FAB FIVE: YOUR CALL TO ACTION

Chapter 15 - WAVE GOODBYE TO SEEMORE

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

THE WAVE

THE POWER OF VITO FAMILIARITY

MY EDITORIAL ON VITO POSTCARDS

YOUR E-MAIL TO VITO

MY EDITORIAL ON VITO E-MAILS

E-PRESENTATIONS

MY EDITORIAL ON VITO E-PRESENTATIONS

FIRST-CLASS MAIL

MY EDITORIAL ON VITO LETTERS

FAXES

YOUR WAVE: THE BLENDED APPROACH

Part Three - BEST PRACTICES

Chapter 16 - THE VOICE OF POWER

THE TONE OF YOUR VOICE

MODULATION

DON’T TURN UP THE VOLUME

PACING

TWO POWERFUL POINTS TO PONDER ABOUT THE SPOKEN WORD

BEFORE YOU GET TO VITO BY TELEPHONE

Chapter 17 - SIX GOALS FOR THE BIG PHONE CALL

GOAL #1: MAKING A GREAT FIRST (AND LAST) IMPRESSION

GOAL #2: MAKING WHATEVER YOU SAY SOUND TRULY CONVERSATIONAL

GOAL #3: SPEAKING WITH UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE

GOAL #4: CONNECTING WHAT YOU SAY TO WHAT YOU SENT

GOAL #5: ESTABLISHING WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT

GOAL #6: MAKING A GREAT LAST IMPRESSION

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Chapter 18 - THE VITO “ELEVATOR PITCH”

THE TYPICAL SCENARIO

YOUR FIRST STEP

WHAT TO DO INSTEAD

THE PLEASANTRY

THE HOOK, GRABBER, UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP), BULLET, SIZZLE—OR WHATEVER ...

GETTING INTERRUPTED

WHAT’S YOUR NAME?

THE END OF YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH

LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Chapter 19 - ALLIES AT THE GATE

COMPLAINT #1: SCREWING UP VITO’S OR TOMMIE’S NAME

COMPLAINT #2: DIGGING FOR INFORMATION WITHOUT GIVING ANY INFORMATION

COMPLAINT #3: BEING A JERK

COMPLAINT #4: NOT GIVING A STRAIGHT ANSWER

COMPLAINT #5: LYING

COMPLAINT #6: SLOPPINESS

OTHER ALL-PURPOSE REMEDIES YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER

YOUR IDEAL DIALOGUE WITH TOMMIE

TWO MORE GOOD TOMMIE IDEAS

Chapter 20 - THE ART OF THE VOICE MAIL MESSAGE

SOME STATISTICS

WHAT TO DO

CALLING RULES

WHAT YOU’LL SAY

Chapter 21 - TEN STEPS TO VITO’S OFFICE

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #1: CREATE YOUR TIP

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #2: ESTABLISH YOUR VALUE AND VALUES

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #3: COLLECT YOUR HEADLINES

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #4: GET VITO NAMES AND NUMBERS

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #5: UNDERSTAND THE WAVE

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #6: PREPARE FOR TOMMIE

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #7: LAUNCH THE WAVE

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #8: PICK UP THE TELEPHONE

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #9: TALK TO TOMMIE

GETTING-TO-VITO STEP #10: FOLLOW VITO’S LEAD

CONGRATULATIONS!

Appendix A - TEMPLATE OF IDEAL PROSPECTS

Appendix B - MEET YOUR COACH

Appendix C - THE GREATEST TIMESAVING TOOL IN THE FREE WORLD

INDEX

Copyright © 2005 by Anthony Parinello. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone].

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respects to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Parinello, Anthony.

Getting to VITO (the very important top officer): 10 steps to VITO’s office / Anthony

Parinello.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-471-67519-9 (pbk.)

1. Selling. 2. Sales personnel—Training of. 3. Chief executive officers. I. Title.

HF5438.25.P3615 2005

658.85—dc22

2004020267

In Memory of My brother Al: The leader of the band

VITO SELLING

A personal message from Tony Parinello:

In 1995 I created a new lexicon for salespeople in America called Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top Officer. Times change, and so do the challenges we salespeople face.

The book you now hold in your hands is the flagship of an epic new series that will totally embody the spirit of VITO selling for the 21st century. From this point on, you will be offered best-practices education and coaching in every aspect of Very Important Top Officer selling imaginable, from prospecting to building unshakably loyal customers. This all-new series of VITO selling will provide you with online downloads, virtual seminars, and personal coaching, all tightly focused on one single goal: getting to the top and staying there.

Welcome to the new generation—welcome to VITO selling.

Visit www.vitoselling.com or call 800-777-VITO.

Have a stellar day!

Tony

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank the following individuals for the both of us—you, the reader, and me, the author. If it wasn’t for these silent soldiers we would never have met. A high-five to the entire team at John Wiley & Sons: They are a true pleasure to work with. Many thanks to Susan Dodson and the great team at Graphic Composition, Inc. for the layout and editing. Thanks to my customers for trusting me with their salespeople. Thanks to the alumni of my VITO live seminars for keeping me on my toes. A special thanks to my family for their endless supply of love and encouragement. Thank you Suzanne for all of your ideas, humor, attention, love, and support during all of the early mornings. And thanks to my loyal followers and to you, the reader of this book, since without you there would be no need to write.

Please accept my deepest gratitude.

PREFACE

March 2004

As the speaker stepped on to the stage the audience of more than 1,000 stood and began to applaud. A standing ovation before a single word was spoken. I had only seen this happen once before, and that was in Fort Lauderdale in 1992. My brother Al and I watched as Og Mandino took the stage. As the audience stood and began their clapping my brother said to me: “Bro, that will be you someday.” My brother always had a way of making me feel just a little bit bigger, a little bit brighter, and a little bit more successful than I knew I was. Og and my brother Al were always an inspiration for me. Time catches up, though; it always does. Og Mandino passed away a few years later, and so did my brother. I never forgot the lessons that both of them taught me . . . and the opportunities they continue to guide me to.

Think big, act big, and big results will happen.

Now, as I stepped up to the podium and looked out at the audience standing and clapping, I choked up. I could swear that I saw Og and Al in the audience! What a moment. What had I done to deserve such respect from this group of individuals? What moved this audience of more than 1,000 academics, business leaders, and sales professionals to honor me with a standing ovation before I said a single word? I was humbled.

I have spent my entire adult professional life perfecting a particular skill. I say perfecting because I have been constantly changing it. Like anything else in this universe, it’s either growing or it’s dying. I prefer to grow, and I know you do too. That’s why you picked up this book. In the chapters that follow, you will be reading about tactics and methods that I have personally created. I haven’t copied, shadowed, hacked, or taken one idea from any other source. What follows is original Tony. If you want to take what you read in the chapters of this book and put it to work in your sales career, you’ll need to show a little faith, you’ll need to trust me, and you’ll need to forget all about the past. Here’s why.

I have personally taught over 1,500,000 salespeople my VITO tactics. And it never ceases to amaze me how people will automatically predict their future on the basis of what happened in the past. The past is the wrong information to look at! In the past, you were a different person. You weren’t as smart as you are today. You weren’t as old as you are today. The circumstances around you were not the same as they are today. Yesterday is old, virtually irrelevant information! Today—and specifically what you decide to believe today—has a much greater impact on where you end up than anything that you might have experienced before today.

So how does that relate to getting to VITO today? Selling today in this economy requires new beliefs, new ideas, and new techniques. And that’s exactly what you’re going to find in this book. What worked yesterday or didn’t work yesterday has nothing to do with it. I am going to give you real-world, thought-leading ideas that can revolutionize your selling power and your future in sales. You and I can predict your future success by deciding to believe that what you learn in this book can work. Then you must consciously believe it will work.

This book will help you formulate your new beliefs and give you the tactics to support your efforts to get to the top of your mountain, to stand at the peak of your own success. The only favor I ask of you is that once you’re standing at the top you turn and reach out to someone and make them feel a little bit bigger, a little bit brighter, and a little bit more successful than they might be thinking that they are.

Thank you for your trust in me.

A kind word from a fellow salesperson . . .

WOW! Your tactics really work! I’ve been calling on a particular “Seemore” in a high value account for no less than F-I-V-E YEARS! Never has she responded to any of my previous 12 letters or umpteen voicemails.

So, I followed all of your steps for gathering critical VITO information, formulated the correspondence “wave” following your instructions to the “T.” Then, at the appointed time I called and found out that VITO was on vacation so, then I left a voice mail message just like you said. Then, one week later I faxed a message just like you said. Then, the most unusual thing that’s ever happened to me happened. VITO called me to set an appointment.

Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

I know you get stories like this all the time, but who doesn’t like to get a pat on the back? I just wanted to say thank you, Tony.

Here’s to OUR greater success,

Gary Bollinger-Smith

Seattle Wa.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

DON’T SKIP THIS PART

THE CAST OF CHARACTERS

I thought about calling this part of the book the Introduction, but I figured that if I did that, you might not read it. That would be a problem, because this is the part of the book where you learn about all the key people in the great and rewarding drama that you’re holding in your hands: Getting to VITO.

MEET VITO

VITO is the Very Important Top Officer—the person with the ultimate veto power. VITO is the real “approver” of your sale.

This book will show you how to sell today and in the years to come. This book will be automatically updated as the selling environment changes. How? Not by just-in-time printing but by inviting you to go to a special Web site, www.gettingtovito.com, where you’ll find current, up-to-date information for free, as well as additional materials available for a fee.

LET’S GET FOCUSED

Getting to VITO focuses on the most important step of all in your sales work: getting to the person who has veto power over the decision to buy from you. Within this book, you will find powerful, proven tactics that really do result in getting to VITO. If you do what I say, you will increase the average size of your sale, and you’ll make the sale in less time. There are many other benefits that will unfold in the chapters that follow. Take advantage of all of them.

MEET SEEMORE

“Seemore” is the person in almost every account you want to sell your stuff to who always wants to see more of everything: you, meetings, presentations, demonstrations, site visits, lunches, donuts with little sprinkly things on top . . . you name it. Getting to VITO isn’t about getting around Seemore or toasting Seemore to a crisp. Getting to VITO isn’t about forgetting Seemore exists. Getting to VITO is all about putting VITO first in all of your attempts to sell . . . and putting Seemore second.

MEET TOMMIE

“Tommie” is VITO’s personal assistant. Tommie is closer to VITO than almost anyone at VITO Inc. Tommies are playing a more important role than ever before in corporate America. These trusted advisors really do know who’s who . . . and who’s doing what to whom. You’ll do your sales career a big favor if you simply treat Tommie like VITO. You’ll learn all about this too.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER OF ALL . . .

Then, of course, there’s you, the salesperson. You’ll soon find out that there are plenty of tactics and new ideas for you to deploy. I want to let you know that you will not be the first to use what you will read about here. Over the past 15 years or so I’ve trained hundreds of thousands of salespeople to do what you’re about to learn how to do. Some of the biggest companies in America pay me a lot of money to train their people how to do what I’m about to teach you. There’s only one reason to do that: This system has been tested, and it works.

AND THEN THERE’S ME . . .

I am totally passionate about and committed to the topic of VITO. I’ve focused on this topic in my books, in numerous articles, and in my audio programs and training seminars. What you’re about to read is the culmination of all of these assets and the experience that I’ve gathered by personally approaching VITO and by learning from the experiences of my distinguished (and, yes, now wealthy) alumni.

My thought for you is that you should take what you are about to learn and use it.

Enjoy the journey!

Anthony Parinello