Product Description: VITOtm is the Very Important Top Officer, the person with the ultimate veto power. VITOs control every decision that s made in ever enterprise in your sales territory. If you want to sell and live large, you must get to VITO and launch the proven Sandler Selling System® that will turn VITO into one of your business partners forever.
Sandler Trainingsm and VITO Selling have combined over 80 years of sales know-how, 1,200 hours of audio and video programs, 5,000 pages of training materials, and direct experience in training over 15,000,000 sales people...and distilled it all into one concise, power selling resource. Five Minutes With VITO is the definitive guide for sales people who want to start where they belong at the top.
In this book you ll learn how to use the Sandler Selling System in all of your interactions with VITO including: How to land an appointment, bond and build rapport with VITO How to establish up-front contracts with VITO How to create allies in VITO s rank and file, including their Gatekeepers How to leave voice mail messages that get call-backs...from VITO How to make powerful presentations to VITO How to control your sales process...and influence VITO s buying process How to compress your sales cycle...and increase your average deal size.
Winning Prospecting and Sales System This is an unusually good book, combining two strong selling methodologies.
It gives an outline and techniques that are required in the marketplace. It is excellent at the outline and detail for reaching VITO and then understanding how to sell them.
Good Intro to Sandler and VITO Combined When I first learned there was a new book that combines VITO (Very Important Top Officer) training with Sandler Institute training, I was intrigued. Not only have I reviewed two of Anthony Parinello's books but I have also worked in sales departments that put his practices into motion. To top it off, I also attended a six-week Sandler Institute course on selling. What's interesting is that in the past I found some of the Sandler training conflicted with what I'd learned from the VITO books. Even with the obvious polarities in strategy, "Five Minutes With VITO" by Parinello and Sandler Institute CEO David Mattson comes off as a marriage made in heaven.
What stands out most in the book are Parinello's teachings on taking on a VITO-like attitude, visualizing success, and establishing rapport with the top officer of the company. For instance, he says:
YOUR JOB AS A TOP SALESPERSON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PRODUCT'S FEATURE SET, OR THE SPEED OF YOUR WIDGETS, OR THE NUMBER OF TIMES YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS WON AWARDS FOR ENGINEERING OR SERVICE OR PUBLIC RELATIONS EXCELLENCE, OR THE POPULARITY OF YOUR BRAND. THAT'S ALL INTERESTING, AND IT'S ALL POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU DO TO EARN YOUR PAYCHECK...BECAUSE IT'S NOT WHAT VITO BUYS!
YOUR JOB IS SIMPLY TO REACH OUT TO LARGE NUMBERS OF VITOS AND HAVE EFFECTIVE SALES CONVERSATIONS--CONVERSATIONS THAT MIRROR VITO'S OWN SELLING PROCESS. SPECIFALLY, YOUR JOB IS TO EXECUTE, WITH DUE DILIGENCE, THOSE CRUCIAL FIRST FIVE MINUTES--THE FIVE MINUTES THAT WILL VERY LIKELY DETERMINE THE COURSE THE ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP WILL FOLLOW.
Not only that but it's filled with templates for cold calling, good advice on getting past gatekeepers, and it encourages you take action after every chapter. Sandler's teachings on discovering pain, budget, and decision-making authority fit in nicely. Some of the prior VITO books dealt with how to get in the door. This one deals with what to say when you get in. Though it was my understanding that Sandler Training at one time didn't believe in mailing information prior to a cold call, Parinello does and continues to provide examples on what to mail much like his other books.
The advice in "Five Minutes with VITO" is not without its flaws though. Some of Parinello's pitches sound a little too much like what other salespeople say (something Sandler once discouraged, and this book says to avoid in regards to not doing what the competition is doing). Plus it doesn't take into consideration that many companies have adopted some form of VITO tactics. Therefore, they may send the same type of letters and postcards and make the same type of pitches on the phone and in person and create a saturation of cookie-cutter junk mail and clone-like telephone strategies. (I've seen this happen in my real life consulting experience.)
If you've never read any of Parinello's books or if you haven't read Sandler's classic "You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar" this book is a nice introduction to both styles of training. But if you've read previous VITO books, you'll find that there isn't much new information here. However, having seen both schools of thought on sales in practices that resulted in new business for companies I've worked with as an employee, a consultant, and a contracted lead generation strategist, how could I not recommend this book? It should be a welcome addition to your sales library.
Emanuel Carpenter Author of "Dead Guys Don't Buy"
Good tactics that are actually doable & game is cool I like this book's approach to sales. It's got hard, tactical information that I'm using to build a better sales strategy for my business, and also has some good recommendations on how to overcome problems like Gatekeepers and prospects who back out of the sale. The part about equal business stature - where you learn how to sound like the person you're trying to talk to - landed me a couple of great appointments. After reading it myself, I bought a book for each member of my salesforce.
I'm using the 'Million Dollar Sales Game - Sandler Edition' for a team building exercise.
Real World Selling for Today's Economy This book is a must for any sales person who needs to get to the executives of his prospects. I have managed sales forces for over 25 years and have found that all sales people struggle with both getting to and differentiating themselves at the "C: level. This book will walk any level of experience salesperson through the steps of 1) how to get to the CEO,COO, CFO,CIO ("C" level) how to differentiate yourself when you get to the meeting. My teams have started to use the principles contained within this book with great results!
Are You Serious About WINNING New Business? "Five Minutes with VITO" is for those sales professionals who have the desire and commitment to WIN new business. The book outlines specific processes and techniques to get in touch with and in front of "The Very Important Top Officer", the ultimate decision-maker, and what to do and how to do it once you get there. It is challenging! If you tough it out the results are incredible. The processes of "VITO Selling" coupled with the Sandler Selling System will make you effective and efficient in the brutal game of "Cold Calling". The Broadcast Center referenced on page 201 of the book is a real bonus!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
