Bag the Elephant: How to Win & Keep Big Customers
Bag an Elephant—and Begin the Most Profitable Adventure of Your Life\ It's the strategy, it's the nuts and bolts, it's everything smart businesspeople need to win and keep those all-important Elephants‚ the big make-or-break customers that can dramatically increase your revenue, profits, and success. Packed with dynamic advice for all sales professionals, small-business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives:\ \ \ How to map and use a big company's red tape to your advantage\ Why the Elephant...
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Now available in paperback, Steve Kaplan's Bag the Elephant, is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Business Week bestseller that has received praise from around the business community: "Steve Kaplan's elephant strategy is right on the money, as long as you're willing to roll up your sleeves and go to work."—Daniel M. Snyder, Owner, Chairman of the Board, The Washington Redskins. "Kaplan shows you how to think BIG, act BIG, and win BIG."—Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling. "A terrific read! From now on, when I think about building business and sales, there's no way I'll ever forget the Elephant."—Harvey Mackay, author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.Bag the Elephant is all about how smart businesspeople can woo and keep those all-important elephants—the big, make-or-break customers. Like its companion, the New York Times bestseller Be the Elephant, it is filled with dynamic advice and real-life examples, delivered in an energetic, straight-shooting fashion that gets right to the core of its powerful idea—how to land the account that will put you over the top. Here are six keys to achieving the elephant mindset and understanding the big customer. How to map and use a big company's red tape to your advantage. Why the elephant needs you as much as you need it. Preparing yourself and your pitch. How to negotiate with elephants without losing your profit margins. And how to avoid the five killer mistakes, from mismanaging client expectations to losing sight of the numbers.For small business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and sales people, stalking and landing an elephant can be the most profitable adventure of your life, and Kaplan explains everything you need to know.
Foreword John E. Pepper ixPreface: A Word from Steve Kaplan xiYour Elephant Is WaitingThe Third Path: Achieving Lasting Growth and Profits 2You've Got to Believe: Elephants Need You, Too 10The Secret Life of the ElephantThe Big-Company Focus: Learning to Think Like an Elephant 19What to Know About Elephants: Who, How, What, and When 29Embracing the Bureaucracy: Making Their Red Tape Work for You 38Romancing Your ElephantDrawing Up Your Hit List: Finding Your Best Big-Company Prospects 49Knocking on Doors: Making That First Solid Contact 55Matching the Prospector to the Prospect: Putting Your Best Face Forward 66Face-to-Face with Your Prospect: Preparing Yourself and Your Pitch 76Standing Up to Your Elephant: Negotiating from Your Strengths 83Recruiting Great Champions: Courting and Cultivating Your Inside Sales Rep 92Leveraging Your Elephant's PowerKeeping Your Champions Cheering: Treating Your Friends Right 100Taking the Inside Track: Building Strong Alliances 105Putting Your Elephant to Work: Other Ways a Big Customer Can Help You 112Five Killer MistakesMismanaging Client Expectations: He Said, She Said 120Fumbling Client Crises: Blindsided by Sudden Catastrophe 126Operational Explosion: Biting Off More Than You Can Chew 135The Elephant Trap: All Your Eggs in One Basket 143Losing Sight of the Numbers: Up Cash Creek Without a Paddle 152Afterword: Beyond Bag the Elephant! 166Acknowledgments 176About the Author 177About Nellie 179The Difference Maker Inc. 180Index 183
