Bob Sanders

How do you effectively transition your company from qualified vendor status to a trusted partner and advisor to your clients? In “The Journey to Sales Transformation: Twenty-Five Axioms for Becoming a Trusted Partner to your Customers”, sales and business expert Bob Nicols Jr. explains exactly what organizations need to do. Told through the fictional parables and the lessons learned by his characters, the story provides a set of 25 truths that help define the hot business topic of “Sales Transformation” and act as a self-assessment for any organization trying to drive higher revenue and margins by becoming the best partner for their customers. When a struggling technology company fires its chief sales officer (CSO), the Board of Directors decides a “sales transformation” is required. Two candidates emerge as finalists for the CSO position. Phillip Evan Hawthorne is an up-and-coming, aggressive sales VP from another high-flying technology company. Phillip’s self-assured style and ability to bring in fresh talent makes him an appealing candidate. His only rival, Ben Delaney, is a retired chief sales officer with no technology experience but a track record of consistent performance. Ben also has a penchant for storytelling as a means of sharing the truth about selling and possesses one big secret that only Phillip could truly appreciate. Interviewing for the position on the same day, Ben and Phillip are forced to sit in the same waiting area where their dramatically different personalities collide. As an agitated Phillip paces the room, Ben shares a story that Phillip is certain has no relevance for him or any other sane businessperson with a healthy sense of urgency. What he will soon find is that this is just the first of many stories Ben will share, each with an important and timely lesson for Phillip or anyone seeking to transform sales performance and customer relationships. Phillip ultimately wins the CSO position, but finds his aggressive management style and approach of replacing underperforming people isn’t addressing the company’s fundamental sales issues. That’s when Phillip accepts what he believes to be a chance invitation to a cookout where he has the opportunity to meet with Ben. Seeing the relevance in Ben’s stories and desperate to transform his own sales organization and deliver the results his board expects, Phillip decides to meet with Ben more regularly. As the two men embark on a journey to transformation, Philip listens to Ben’s stories about things like fish fries, African proverbs, talent show judges, homebuilders and little league coaches. Through multiple revelations, Phil begins to transition his sales organization from one that delivers subpar performance using a random approach, to a high performance team utilizing clearly defined, formal processes for selling and sales management. Meanwhile, he undergoes his own personal transformation, as he not only comes to terms with his own challenges as a leader, but also his emotionally painful past. Nicols has over thirty-four years of experience in sales, sales management, executive management, and sales force development. He is the original developer of Axiom Sales Force Development’s Selling Sciences Program™, the selling process and methodology that have become the standard for many Fortune 100 companies. His expertise and insights can help any sales organization achieve “Sales Transformation.” Packed with warmth and humor, A Journey to Sales Transformation can set you and your organization on the road to greater sales and margins, lower sales staff turnover and most importantly, longer lasting relationships with your customers.