Selling to VITO ^{2nd Ed.}

This book contains all the tactics you need to get appointments with impossible-to-reach top decision-makers. They in fact are the Very Important Top Officers (VITOs), the people with the ultimate veto power who hold the key to bigger commission checks, every sales award you could possibly win, and VITO to VITO referrals that you can take to the bank!

You'll quickly learn how to:

• Get into new accounts at the top
• Catapult yourself out of time-consuming logjams — and into VITO's office
• Increase the size of every sale

Selling to VITO offers innovative new ideas and street-smart tactics for reaching the very top person in any organization. It's based on the seminars that have helped thousands of sales professionals from top corporations like Canon, 3M, Hewlett-Packard, and MCI bust quotas and increase commissions. It can help you, too, by getting you to the right person so you can do what you do best: sell!

• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part 1: Meeting and Becoming VITO's Business Partner
• Chapter 1: The Time Is Right
• Who Is This Guy?
• It Worked!
• Three Groups
• Chapter 2: Adding Value to VITO's Day
• Therefore…
• Changing Your Focus
• Shareholder Value
• Stick by VITO's Side When Times Are Rough
• New Accounts, In-Process Accounts, and Current Customers
• Don't Sell Futures to a VITO
• Chapter 3: The Five Keys to Working with VITO
• To Work with VITO You Will Need Unshakeable Confidence
• To Work with VITO You Must Be Willing to Develop Synergy Within Your Organization
• To Work with VITO You Must Be Able to Build Business Rapport
• To Work with VITO You Must Have an Unlimited Desire to Succeed
• To Work with VITO You Must Have Unlimited Energy
• Chapter 4: A Protrait of VITO
• Who Is VITO
• VITO in a Nutshell
• Now, What about Your VITO?
• Results
• VITOs Always Tell the Truth
• Chapter 5: Other Players in the Drama — and the Influence and Authority Network
• Managers and Directors
• Intellects (or "Seymours")
• Consumers
• The Influence and Authority Network
• VITO Power
• Chapter 6: The Seymour Problem
• What's in a Name
• Seymour in a Nutshell
• Now, What about Your Seymour?
• Some Further Observations on Seymours
• Who Does This Sound Like?
• The Seymour Trap in a Nutshell
• So Long, Seymour!
• "But Seymour Is an Important Source of Information!"
• "So How Do I Make the First Contact!"
• Part 2: Contacting VITO
• Chapter 7: Call Objections
• Different Messages for Different People — and Pre-Letter Requests for Information
• Consumers
• Seymours
• Managers
• VITOs
• Two Other Questions You SHould Never Ask
• A Little More on Benefits
• Cold Calls to VITO Should Follow Every New VITO Sale!
• Chapter 8: More Research You'll Need to Do Before Contacting VITO by Mail
• Call and Ask Someone at the Front Desk or in Investor Relations to Send You a Brochure, Catalog, or Annual Report
• Buy a Share of Stock in VITO's Company
• Cruise the Information Superhighway
• Chapter 9: Benefits — and the Headline of Your Letter
• How This All Started
• The Headline Statement
• Wow!
• Rationalizations for Not Doing the Research
• Value Inventory Exercise
• Words to Consider Using in Your Headline Statement
• Try Again
• Chapter 10: The Rest of the Letter to VITO
• Don't Skip That Call!
• Warning!
• Here's a real Letter
• The Tie-In Paragraph
• The Bullet Text: Nothing But Benefits
• The Body Copy: The Closing Paragraph
• The Body Copy: An Overview
• Putting It All Together
• VITO Can Tell a Book by Its Cover
• Customize, Customize, Customize
• Three True Stories
• What Now?
• Part 3: Making Your VITO Call
• Chapter 11: Getting VITO's Attention by Phone
• Not Just Any Call
• Making Your Opening Statement Stand Out
• The Ultimate Opening Statement: Definition and Goals
• Always Remember: The Opening Statement Must Encourage VITO to Interrupt
• Item One: The Sweetest Words in the English Language
• Item Two: The Pleasantry
• Item Three: The Conversational Bridge
• Item Four: The Hook
• Item Five: The Introductory Phrase
• Item Six: The Ending Question
• Putting It All Together
• "That Can't Be All!"
• The Toughest Question
• Warning
• "VITO, I Don't Know the Answer to That, But We Have People on Staff Who Do!"
• Words and Phrases to Use or Adapt in a Conversation with VITO
• Words and Phrases to Avoid in Your Conversation with VITO
• Some Additional Hints for Phone Success
• First and Last Impressions with VITO
• Chapter 12: The Gatekeepers
• The Two Types of Gatekeepers
• Connecting with the Executive Suite: "Standard" Gatekeepers
• Connecting with the Executive Suite: VITO's Secretary or Assistant
• Give the Exact Same Opening Statement You Would Give to VITO
• The Fax Recovery
• Ask VITO and Yoy Shall Receive
• How's It Look?
• Electronic Gatekeepers
• Chapter 13: Voice Mail Messages to VITO
• The Competition Is Stiff
• Elements of Your Voice Mail Messages
• Let's Create a Script
• Your First Voice Mail Message
• Voice Mail Message Number Two
• Still No Return Call?
• Still No Response?
• The Voice Mail Message that Always gets a Return Call
• Some Additional Words and Phrases
• Practice, Practice, Practice and Practice
• Sime Final Tips
• Sidetracked with Seymour?
• Chapter 14: The Pigeonholing Problem
• The Pigeonhole Recovery Letter
• What's the Goal?
• The Pigeonhole Recovery Process: Protocol and Diplomacy
• Before Your Manager Follows Up with VITO by Telephone or in Person…
• Nailing Things Down
• Part 4: Meeting VITO and Keeping VITO Involved
• Chapter 15: Preparing for Your Presentation to VITO
• A Word about Zones
• See It, Hear It, Feel It
• So What's VITO's Preference?
• It's All about VITO
• Chapter 16: Delivering Your Presentation to VITO
• The Value of Your Presentation
• Who's Who?
• Environmental Controls
• Starting Your VITO Presentation
• What Comes Next?
• Display Tools
• Should You Make a Product Demonstration?
• Once You're Rolling
• Dealing with Questions
• One Final Word
• Chapter 17: Meeting with VITO By Phone and in Person
• What's Really on VITO's Mind?
• The Four Mindsets
• Remember — There Are Two Categories Here
• The First Few Seconds
• Beyond the First Few Seconds: Opening Your Business Conversation with VITO
• What Happens After I Say My Opening Statement?
• "Here's What I look for in a Business Relationship, but…
• Four Rules
• Never Be Late for a VITO Appointment!
• Where Do You Go from Here?
• Chapter 18: Keeping VITO Involved
• Keeping VITO Involved
• Loss Recovery
• Win Broadcasting
• Part 5: Success!
• Chapter 19: Success!
• Formalize the Partnership
• Take Advantage of the Fact that VITO Knows You're a Damned Good Businesspreson
• Personalize
• Do What You've Promised — and Stay Tuned
• Guarantees Are Powerful — But Be Careful!
• Tony's Top Ten Ways to Stay Out of Legal Trouble
• Chapter 20: Some Final Thoughts on Your Current Accounts
• "Come On, Tony A Sale is a Sale. Why Make Such a Big Deal about This?"
• "But I Sold Seymour on the Bells and Whistles!"
• Where to Start
• "What If Seymour Says I Have to Meet Someone Else First?"
• "What If Seymour Says It's Impossible for Me to Get a Meeting with VITO under Any Circumstances?"
• "So What Happens at This Meeting?"
• Pick Ten Customers to Target Right Now
• The Three-Legged Stool
• A Brief Story for Your Further Edification
• Chapter 21: Some Common Questions
• Chapter 22: Congratulations!
• It's a Marathon
• Pebble-Proof Your Future in Sales
• Appendix A: Your Prospecting Ratio
• Apppendix B: The Template of Ideal Prospects (TIP) amd the Benefit Matrix
• Appendix C: More Tips on Creating Equal Business Stature with VITO
• Appendix D: Talk Back!

I don't like the style, the implied message, etc.

The whole book gives me a shiver down my spine.

I have only one recommendation: read it, you'll learn a lot! I know I did.