BOOK EXCERPT


When you shift the focus from crafting the perfect message to creating receptivity,


UNRECEPTIVE: A Better Way to Lead, Sell & Influence


you flip the entire art of selling on its head and form relationships that set you and your customers up for lasting success.


“’Te other person knows.’ Tose four words are the key to selling today. Successful people don’t take orders, they help create conditions where customers can figure out how to get what they need.”


-SETH GODIN, Author, Tis is Marketing


“Te decision to adopt this approach to selling was not only best for our sellers but, more importantly, for our customers. I strongly believe UnReceptive teaches the most effective way to sell and influence because it ultimately teaches sellers how to shift their focus from selling to a better way to serve their customers.”


-STEVE BLANK, Executive Director –Sales Lead, Major Pharmaceutical Company


Because a growing number of people are distracted, overwhelmed, and isolated these days, the result is a steep decline in receptivity to another sales pitch, call, or email. Besides that, the harder you try to sell, the more resistance you may encounter.


“Selling is dumb. Don’t sell things. Listen, be genuine, be curious. Tis philosophy and approach helped me find my voice as an account manager.


Instead


TOM STANFILL is CEO and Co-Founder of ASLAN, a global company providing sales training to a wide range of clients including household name corporations such as HP, Aflac, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and FedEx. ASLAN has served more than 100,000 sales professionals in over 35 countries. For eight years in a row, Selling Power magazine, the premier industry publication for sales professionals, has named ASLAN one of the nation’s top sales training companies. Hometown: Atlanta, GA.


of providing me with antiquated sales scripts, I learned how to navigate the roadblocks that were keeping me from growing my accounts and it’s helped me consistently exceed both my professional and quota goals.”


-BLAKE SCHLUKBIER, Global Account Manager, Red Hat


“Tis strategy and methodology moved my team from good to great, outperforming teams four times our size. We are now guides and managers of the sales process rather than pushers and pullers. Employing these techniques opened doors with decision makers who consistently denied access in the past. Bottom line, it worked in the toughest market we’ve ever faced.”


-ROBER ZEMAN, District Sales Manager, Aflac BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Sales & Selling / General


USD $27.99 / CAD $34.99 ISBN 978-1-4002-2580-4


ORIGINAL PACKAGE DESIGN © 2021 HARPERCOLLINS LEADERSHIP COVER DESIGN BY FACEOUT STUDIO


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In Unreceptive you’ll find a surprisingly simple and refreshing solution to this problem. In sharp contrast to traditional approaches to selling, Unreceptive reveals why the receptivity is far more important than the power of the message. You got the meeting. You had the right people in the room. You nailed the presentation. But for no logical reason, a less-qualified competitor was selected for the project. And from the very moment you stepped into the room, you knew it. You could tell by the body language of the decision makers, by subtle shifts in their expressions and how they moved in their chairs: Things were not going well. Their arms were folded; a glazed look filled their eyes. And the meeting ended with a conciliatory: “Thanks for the time. Great stuff. We’ll look it over.” And, of course, all you hear next is...crickets. You’ve worked with a customer for years. The customer has purchased a few products from you but, for years now, has been closed to other solutions you offer that are clearly superior to the competition. You know if you “go there,” it won’t go well. You’ve sent several emails, left your best voice mail, and, even though you know the customer needs your solution, you can’t get a meeting despite your best efforts. You’re


meeting with a team member who shuts down any attempt at helpful feedback even though the person would sorely benefit.


Influencing people, when they are


emotionally closed, is difficult if not nearly impossible. I’ve spent the last 30 years dedicated to solving the most difficult riddle in selling, which is to help people make better decisions. After spending thousands of hours studying how the brain works, meeting with PhDs in behavioral psychology about what drives decision-making, and observing thousands of sales interactions, I’ve learned that not only do our instincts lead us down the wrong path, but everything we’ve learned about selling sabotages our ability to convert the Unreceptive buyer. The percentage of decision makers who are receptive to meeting or embracing a new solution is very small. If the customer is emotionally closed, your value proposition, insights, and solution don’t matter. Neuroscientists have proven that, when emotions elevate, the logical side of the brain shuts off. The traditional approach just doesn’t work when dealing with the Unreceptive, which explains why the percentage of sellers who achieve quota has declined for five years in a row in the most robust economy in history.


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A high percentage of salespeople cannot convert the Unreceptive: buyers who are emotionally closed to meeting or hearing about a new solution. Most salespeople simply assume this is just how it is. You take the losses with the wins (and there are a lot more losses). But when only a small fraction of customers is willing to engage, or even after getting a meeting you still lose to a substandard competitor, it can be frustrating. But what if you didn’t have to hound your prospects or jump through a million hoops to get the deal? To convert the uninterested, sellers must develop a new mindset and skill set. If they do, they can see engagement rates increase by up to 800% and double the average close rate – as my colleagues and I have observed for years. Unreceptive shares tactics that have been street-tested for decades, and you can use them to convert the unreceptive buyer. 


Tom Stanfill is CEO and co-founder of ASLAN Training, a global sales training company appearing nine consecutive years in the Selling Power Top 20. Since 1996, ASLAN has worked with many Fortune 500 companies – training more than 100,000 sellers and leaders in over 35 countries. He is also the author of the book UNRECEPTIVE: A Better Way to Lead, Sell & Influence, published by Harper Collins.


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