Coming soon · Book Profile
Insight Selling Surprising Research on What
Based on research into 700+ B2B purchases, this book reveals that sales winners differentiate themselves not by their products but by the insight they personally bring to buyers through connecting, convincing, and collaborating.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Insight Selling upends the false debate about whether solution selling is dead by grounding its conclusions in research conducted from the buyer's perspective—comparing what winners of actual sales opportunities did differently from those who came in a close second. The authors, Mike Schultz and John Doerr of RAIN Group, distill their findings into a memorable three-level model (Connect, Convince, Collaborate) unified by the theme of insight: the value a seller personally brings to the table over and above commoditized products and services. Sellers learn to connect the dots and connect with people, convince buyers of maximum return and minimum risk, and collaborate to spark ideas and build psychological ownership. The book covers how to build trust, tell convincing stories, ask disruptive questions, identify buying modes and buyer personas, and build an organization (and sales training program) that makes insight selling stick. It's a practical, research-backed blueprint for becoming an essential source of value rather than a replaceable vendor.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A B2B seller, professional, or sales leader who wants to win more competitive sales and become an indispensable source of value to buyers.
- The problem
- Products and services are commoditized, buyers are more informed and skeptical, and traditional solution selling no longer wins sales. The seller feels frustrated losing deals they should have won, uncertain about what winners actually do differently, and anxious that 'how we used to sell isn't working anymore.'
- The plan
- Connect: connect the dots between needs and solutions and connect personally with buyers.
- Convince: persuade buyers of maximum return, minimum risk, and that you're the best choice, using a convincing story.
- Collaborate: educate with new ideas, work as a team, and build psychological ownership.
- Build trust through competence, integrity, and intimacy.
- Identify buyers in buying modes and adapt to their personas.
- The payoff
- Winning more competitive sales and losing fewer to no-decision. · Becoming an essential, non-replaceable source of value to buyers. · Driving your own demand by introducing buyers to opportunities they didn't know they should buy.
See our guide
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Additional reading
- Attitudinal Variables and Behavior: Three Empirical Studies and a Theoretical Reanalysis · M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen
The book cites this work to support its research philosophy, which emphasizes observing actual behaviors over measuring attitudes, as attitudes are often poor predictors of performance.
- SPIN Selling · Neil Rackham
The book positions the Challenger model as the next major breakthrough after the 'consultative selling' era, which was largely defined by Rackham's research and the SPIN methodology. Rackham wrote the foreword, framing this book as a potential 'fourth breakthrough' in sales history.
- The Psychology of Selling · E. K. Strong
Referenced in the foreword as a foundational breakthrough in sales that introduced the idea of learnable sales techniques like questioning and objection handling. This provides historical context for the evolution of sales methodologies.
- From Impossible To Inevitable · Aaron Ross & Jason Lemkin
The sequel to Predictable Revenue, it expands on growth strategies for scaling a business, co-authored with the founder of SaaStr.
- First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently · Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
Referenced for its 12 key questions to measure employee satisfaction, which is crucial for retaining the star talent needed to run a sales machine.
- The Seven Day Weekend · Ricardo Semler
Recommended as a resource for CEOs looking to move away from command-and-control management and toward more democratic, employee-empowering organizational structures.
- Barking Up A Dead Horse · Tom Batchelder
Recommended for its focus on the importance of disqualifying poor-fit sales opportunities quickly, a key principle for sales efficiency.
- CEOFlow: Turn Your Employees Into MiniCEOs · Aaron Ross
The author's other work, recommended for deeper insights into creating self-managing teams and empowering employees.
- Inbound Marketing · Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah
Written by the co-founders of HubSpot, this book provides a deeper dive into the demand generation philosophy that is a cornerstone of the author's sales formula.
- The Long Tail · Christopher Anderson
The book's central concept is cited as a key strategic principle for inbound marketing content, advising companies to target niche, 'long-tail' keywords rather than highly competitive head terms.