Lee B. Salz

The first meeting is where everything begins—or ends. Get it right, and you build unstoppable deal momentum. Get it wrong, and the deal is in big trouble. Most salespeople approach first meetings with a discovery mindset—planning the questions they'll ask and the points they'll make. But here's the truth: prospects don't care about your checklist. They care about what's in it for them. And that meaningful value is what's missing from most first-meeting experiences and can quickly become a deal killer. In this breakthrough book, sales management strategist and bestselling author Lee B. Salz flips the script and presents a consultation mindset—a proven approach that not only helps you achieve your objectives but also ensures your prospect receives meaningful value. This shift changes everything. First meetings become energized, impactful conversations that build trust, ignite interest, and set the stage for closing deals. Following the success of Salz's bestsellers Sales Differentiation and Sell Different!, The First Meeting Differentiator adds a powerful new component to your sales strategy. Packed with real-world stories, actionable insights, and hands-on workshops, this book helps you build a first-meeting framework that lays the foundation for your deal success journey. While many sales books touch upon this critical step of the sales process, The First Meeting Differentiator is entirely dedicated to mastering it. It provides a step-by-step game plan to transform your first meetings into energized, client-centric consultations that leave your prospects wanting more. Inside, you'll learn how to:Design a first-meeting strategy that excites prospects and earns their trust. Use techniques that differentiate the meeting experience, not just your product. Engage emotions in ways that motivate them to take action by leveraging Empathetic Expertise™. Master qualifying to separate real deals from mirages. Create intriguing questions that qualify deals, differentiate you, and make consultations magical. Stop talking about features and benefits, and develop stories that captivate, differentiate, and lead them to want to buy from you. Navigate common deal obstacles that derail first meetings and keep your deals moving forward. Shift from one-sided discovery to dynamic consultations that deliver value for both sides. Use Consultation Cliffhangers™ to ensure prospects can't wait for the next step. If you want stronger pipelines, faster closes, and more wins, it all starts with The First Meeting Differentiator.

Game-changing new strategies to outsmart, outmaneuver, and outsell your competition! Salespeople face fierce competition in their pursuit of winning deals. Differences in product features and functions get smaller by the minute and are not always meaningful to buyers. How do you stand out from the pack and not just land the account, but win deals at the prices you want? Lee B. Salz’s previous ground-breaking, bestselling book, Sales Differentiation, armed salespeople with strategies to differentiate both what they sell and how they sell it. Sell Different! provides a new component of Sales Differentiation strategy to help you outsmart, outmaneuver, and outsell the competition to win more deals at the prices you want. This book provides you with the tools you need to land new accounts and grow existing ones. The practical, proven strategies presented in Sell Different! include:How to defeat your toughest competitor (hint: it’s not who you think it is)An actionable 16-phase plan to reach and engage elusive prospectsFinding more of your best clients (it’s easier than you think)Acquiring more referrals than you ever dreamed possibleVirtual selling and how to harness its potentialNeutralizing the fear of change that paralyzes buyers and kills dealsStructuring pilot programs that advance your dealsIdentifying the critical person needed to win more deals at the prices you wantSolving closing problems and fixing the real issue limiting your successDissecting and resolving the most challenging sales objection — price! What 99.999% of salespeople don’t do, but shouldExpanding account relationships to explode revenue and lock out the competitionHow to address a major flaw when comparing salespeople with professional athletesAnd much, much more! If you are a salesperson, executive, or business owner who desires to win more deals at the prices you want, then this book is for you.

Game-changing new strategies to outsmart, outmaneuver, and outsell your competition! Salespeople face fierce competition in their pursuit of winning deals. Differences in product features and functions get smaller by the minute and are not always meaningful to buyers. How do you stand out from the pack and not just land the account, but win deals at the prices you want? Lee B. Salz’s previous ground-breaking, bestselling book, Sales Differentiation, armed salespeople with strategies to differentiate both what they sell and how they sell it. Sell Different! provides a new component of Sales Differentiation strategy to help you outsmart, outmaneuver, and outsell the competition to win more deals at the prices you want. This book provides you with the tools you need to land new accounts and grow existing ones. The practical, proven strategies presented in Sell Different! include:How to defeat your toughest competitor (hint: it’s not who you think it is)An actionable 16-phase plan to reach and engage elusive prospectsFinding more of your best clients (it’s easier than you think)Acquiring more referrals than you ever dreamed possibleVirtual selling and how to harness its potentialNeutralizing the fear of change that paralyzes buyers and kills dealsStructuring pilot programs that advance your dealsIdentifying the critical person needed to win more deals at the prices you wantSolving closing problems and fixing the real issue limiting your successDissecting and resolving the most challenging sales objection — price! What 99.999% of salespeople don’t do, but shouldExpanding account relationships to explode revenue and lock out the competitionHow to address a major flaw when comparing salespeople with professional athletesAnd much, much more! If you are a salesperson, executive, or business owner who desires to win more deals at the prices you want, then this book is for you.

Hired and fired... It's the revolving door on sales teams. Executives hire what they believe to be great salespeople, but the results never come - and the salespeople are let go. This perpetual cycle eradicates profits, makes revenue targets pipe dreams, and has sales leaders pulling out their hair in frustration. Despite these issues, executives continue to try to "hire great salespeople." That three-word expression is exactly what Hire Right, Higher Profits is all about. Sales management strategist, Lee Salz begins the book by challenging readers with the $25,000 Revenue Test which most executives fail. Then, he hits readers between the eyes with the statement "there are no great salespeople" and offers proof of it He also cautions those executives - who view the competition as their primary sales talent source - of its risks. But Salz doesn't stop there He challenges executives to shift their perspective from hiring salespeople to investing in revenue. Each salesperson represents a revenue investment made by the company with the core objective of receiving a fast, high return on it - no different than when companies invest in sales strategies, tactics, and ideas to grow revenue. Hire Right, Higher Profits teaches executives how to determine what type of revenue investment is needed, evaluate revenue investment candidates and get a fast, high return on the investment made in their new salespeople. The book is a step-by-step, practical guide teaching you how to implement the revenue investment concept - impacting both the top and bottom lines. It's a fun, educational read and is chock-full of stories as you learn how to: * Shift your executive team's perspective from hiring salespeople to investing in revenue * Identify the factors that affect revenue investment performance - the causes of a salesperson's success or failure in the role * Assemble a Revenue Investment Evaluation Program to contrast candidates with the performance factors * Scrutinize a Revenue Investment Prospectus - a salesperson's resume - to get to the truth * Evaluate candidates so you select the right salespeople for revenue investments * Protect the revenue investment through structured sales onboarding * Design sales onboarding curriculum to get a fast, high return on the new revenue investments * Assess revenue investment performance both during and post-onboarding The methodology presented in Hire Right, Higher Profits can be implemented in any company, in any industry, of any size. The book is not based on scientific studies, but rather on real-world, field-tested sales management practices that Lee Salz has developed and used for over twenty years with both his sales teams and for clients. Whether you are a seasoned executive or new sales manager, this book has everything you need to build a world-class sales force.