There is a great deal of discussion about which book is better. In my mind, they are simply for different audiences if you want to compare them as simply 'sales books'.
Selling with Integrity is by far my #1 recommendation to someone who is not, or does not want to be, a professional salesperson. It is much more simple than Solution Selling and easy to remember in front of customers.
I own an agency for OD/HR consulting and have read HUNDREDS of books, manuals, etc on selling. I am especially interested in books about selling high dollar intangibles (HR consulting is incredibly intagible).
I am paid by a number of my consultants to provide marketing and 'sales' coaching and this is the book I recommend. If you want to go deeper and have more structure to your sales, this is not necessarily your book. Look to Selling Solutions.
However, Selling With Integrity resonates deeply with the solid principles at it's core and a new mentality of looking at sales - helping the buyer buy, or becoming a 'Buying Facilitator'.
I consider myself a professional sales person and when I need a quick boost and/or self pep talk on sales, I pick up Selling with Integrity and remember why I like it so much.
My personal litmus test is 'Would I buy the book again after I have read it, but pay double the price?'
The answer is absolutely, no question, YES!! Buy the book. For almost any price, it is an absolute bargain.
In this book Sharon Drew Morgan introduces a simple concept - Stop trying to sell things to people and instead, help them to find what they need.
Codicil: If *you've* got what they need they'll buy it from you.
Simple? Yes. But totally opposite from all *conventional* wisdom. Indeed, check out the review posted on March 29th.
The reviewer asks "would a salesperson armed with only the 'Selling with Integrity' framework be effectively prepared for hardline end-run negotiation tactics from the buyer?"
This isn't a good question or a bad question - it is a totally irrelevant question.
Using Ms Morgan's approach correctly will negate the possibility of ending up in that situation in the first place.
And anyway, if, by some chance it does occur, why is it a problem?
If you're desperate to make a sale then of course you have to dive in and go head to head.
If you've understood and adopted Ms Morgan's message, on the other hand, you are in there to provide a service - NOT to make a sale, per se.
So, if the buyer tries to change the rules it simply means that you've lost rapport.
If you think it's worth it, re-establish rapport and carry on helping the buyer to find out what s/he really needs; otherwise simply let it go.
Ms Morgan also explains why striving to guide the customer back to your own goods is a mistake. It's as simple as this:
If you're offering a genuine SERVICE to your customer then you are aiming to provide the most appropriate solution to their needs - regardless of who provides that solution.
If your underlying concern is always to guide the customer to your own products then you are, in essence, still trying to SELL something rather than provide a service. You are still, as in all traditional approaches to the sales process, putting your own needs (to make a sale) before the needs of the customer (to find the BEST solution).
Many years ago I worked in retail computer sales. One day I discovered that a certain manufacturer, whose goods we stocked, had a return rate of 25% or more. From that time on I refused to sell any items produced by that manufacturer. And I explained why
Some customers bought a different machine. Others went to another sales person or another shop.
My colleagues were initially horrified. How could I turn down cast iron sales opportunities? Before long, however, they changed their tune.
Why? Because the number of customers went up by over 50%. Sales went up by even more. Why?
Because word of mouth spread the message that we told the truth about the goods we were selling and gave good advice. We weren't just selling computers, we were providing an honest, reliable SERVICE.
By the way, this idea isn't exactly new, though Ms Morgan does present it in a thoroughly professional manner. Check out the film "Miracle on 35th Street", and you'll see what I mean.
What's new is the realisation that, as a serious, viable approach to selling IT WORKS.
Buy the book. Try it out. Be amazed!
The key is letting go of your "sales" agenda and actually adopting or discovering the customers agenda... while maintaining total objectivity. Really getting to the point of wanting a prospect to make their best decision is hard. If their issues can be solved without using your products or services, that's their best decision. So if they can solve thier problems with the resources they currently have in place (and don't need you) so be it. You have to walk away... or ask for referrals to someone else who might benefit from going through the process.
If you have prior sales training of any sort, you have to unlearn first and empty your cup. Repition is the mother of all learning, so be prepared to practice, practice, practice. It's been very difficult for me. But buying this book was one of the best decisions in my sales career.