P3 Selling: The Essentials of B2B Sales Success

Whenever I see a new book on selling, I wonder will this be, yet another complicated process developed by some university researcher that is too complicated to use and not based on real world experience. Or will it be just a bit of tips and tricks without any real foundation.I can tell you that this book is neither. This is a workable sales methodology based on real world experiences. Real world experiences that took me years to learn. I sure wish I had this before my first sales call.The author not only outlines a methodology that is conceptually simple, but he also provides the motivation behind each step by examining the reason why each step/process is required and the impact of failing to either skip or perform them effectively.Having said that, the P3 process is not unapproachable nor is it necessary to implement in one big bite. The author provides some practical approaches to getting started right where you are now.The best advice he gave was to remember that it’s about your prospects problems and how you are better qualified to solve them. It’s not about the product or service you are selling.Finally, you may say that this book is only for those in sales and I’m not. Roughly half my career was on the sales side and the other half as the customer. I highly recommend that which either side of the equation you are on this book provides not only a good repeatable process for selling in complex environments but also what the customer should expect from the sales reps they encounter. I wish more of the salespeople I’ve interacted with had this knowledge.

P3 Selling is a totally different perspective on selling than I have encountered previously. The importance of this book is that the customer, the one you hope will buy your product or service, is the main attraction. The customer's needs take priority over your sales orientated way of selling. Problems, People, Processes are the 3 P's. The two types of sales are simple, known as clerking and complex, known as selling. You can't sell someone something they see no benefit in having. In a complex sale, you are solving a problem not selling a thing. This is an exciting concept and, for me, puts a whole new take on sales.

If you are a B2B seller, I think this is a recommended read. The book is easy to follow and describes what and why you need to do to close sales. The best part of the book for me was the section that describes a few non-manipulative selling techniques, and it is written in a simple, easy-to-understand way. Excellent read!

Soon into the book I realized that I was not its target market. My sales are simple sales of a non-essential, impulse buy consumer goods, and this book focuses on more complex sales, where explanations and problem solving is more of the focus than motivating consumers or businesses to buy single or bulk consumer goods. That said, the book does a great job in defining complex sales, the unique problems they entail and how to soft sell by convincing your market you are helping them solve a problem. Lot of references and the offer of free material too. Definitely worth your time.

The book allows the reader to initially compartmentalize different aspects of B2B selling by focusing on the 3p's - Problems, People and Process. Then it ties these aspects together for a winning sales strategy with your customer. The book takes the complex and simplifies sales and the sales process in way that the execution of the sales process is possible and eliminates any terminology distractions. I would recommend this book to any business owner that is looking to establish a sales process, increase their sales staff's win rate or impact their ongoing sales relationships with existing customers. Highly Recommended!

With a great premise (the three P’s) , plenty of examples, sample dialogues and examples galore, and tools, this is a terrific resource for anyone who is involved in B2B or complex sales processes. If you’re in sales and especially if feel like you need some help getting going or getting better, pick up this book.

A good refresher for experienced salespeople and a good intro for new sellers. It is hard to write a book that accomodates every last type of sales professional, but this method is pretty simple and probably useful for 95% of readers and sellers.

Back then, I was taught the whole consultative sales model which I thought was useful but didn't realize what I was taught for selling cable was just useful for simple sales situations. This book has taught me to approach every sale as a complex sale and how to navigate those tough complex sales situations. I hold this book in high regard and will consistently revisit it to help me on my B2B journey as I'm working on my lead generation agency.