The New Power Base Selling: Master The Politics, Create Unexpected Value and Higher Margins, and Outsmart the Competition

Praise for The New Power Base Selling

"Power Base Selling has been the most pragmatic and effective guide in my professional services career. Jim and Ryan′s new concept of Unexpected Value is fundamental to differentiating your product and defending your margins." Patrick Nicolet, CEO, Infrastructure Services, Member of the Group Executive Committee, Capgemini

"Holden and Kubacki have elevated sales to a scientific process that enables sellers to provide exceptional value to their customers. In my 31 years of selling, this is the first definitive work I′ve seen on how to leverage the intangibles of politics, value, and strategy to boost win rates. It′s a master′s program in sales." Lou Ebling, Global Account Executive, Oracle

"The New Power Base Selling presents sales as a management science, analogous to the principles of military special operations and counter terrorism . . . Holden and Kubacki identify the doctrine and practices . . . for quickly achieving relative superiority and obtaining a decisive advantage in any competitive environment." Kevin Nowak, Senior Advisor under contract to the US Department of Energy, Office of Security and Cyber Evaluations

"This is a book that I couldn′t put down. I was spellbound by the the concepts of Political Advantage, Value Creation, and Compete Strategy." Rosemarie Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, ABS Associates, Inc.

"The visible and invisible sales tools in this book apply to any industry (including politics) and to any individual facing a competitive battle. The book′s insights guided my successful underdog campaign for US Congress in 2010 and continue to assist me in the competitive world of Washington, DC." Joe Walsh, Congressman, 8th District of Illinois in the US House of Representatives

"This update to the original thinking of Power Base Selling should be required reading for every sales professional. It explains how to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive and complex selling environment." Geoff Nyheim, VP, Cloud Services Sales, Microsoft

Foreword Bill McDermott xvii

Acknowledgments xix

Part 1 Sales as a Management Science 1

Chapter 1 Seeing the Invisible 3

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

Chapter 2 The MBA of Selling 13

Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back.

Part 2 Politics 29

Chapter 3 Influence and Authority 31

The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret.

Chapter 4 Foxes: The Heart of the Power Base 45

With foxes we must play the fox.

Chapter 5 Power Base Types and Implications 61

Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.

Chapter 6 Fox Hunting and Power Base Mapping 73

Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically.

Chapter 7 Gaining Political Advantage 93

Recognition is the greatest motivator.

Part 3 Unexpected Value 113

Chapter 8 Moving Up the Sales Value Chain 115

Now my eyes are turned from the South to the North, and I want to lead one more expedition. This will be the last . . . to the North Pole.

Chapter 9 Building Expressions of Customer Value 123

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men s blood.

Chapter 10 Creating Demand to Displace Competitors 139

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

Part 4 Strategy 157

Chapter 11 Introduction to Compete Strategy 159

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

Chapter 12 Competitive Differentiation 165

If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt.

Chapter 13 The Direct Strategy: Traditional and Nontraditional Application 179

The truly wise can perceive things before they have come to pass.

Chapter 14 The Indirect Strategy: Changing the Ground Rules 187

Appear where you are not expected.

Chapter 15 The Divisional Strategy: Peaceful Coexistence 199

If the enemy s forces are united, separate them.

Chapter 16 The Containment Strategy: Transition Back to Indirect 207

Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting.

Epilogue

Helping Others Elevate the Sales Profession 217

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.

Index 223

Jim Holden is the CEO and founder of the sales consulting and training firm Holden International; a global leader in sustainable sales performance improvement. Through its ability to apply unconventional thinking that enables companies to defeat competitors and develop accounts, while providing their customers with unexpected value, Holden has improved the performance of over 700,000 salespeople in 35 countries since its founding in 1979. Mr. Holden′s previous books include Power Base Selling, World Class Selling, and The Selling Fox.

Ryan Kubacki (MBA, Harvard) is President of Holden International and a recognized authority in making business development a sustainable competitive advantage. Prior to joining Holden, Mr. Kubacki was with Microsoft Corporation, where he held sales and marketing leadership roles in both the field and headquarters, including directing sales operations and field marketing for an 18–state region with a $1.4 billion quota.