REVIEW: Selling the Cloud — Mark Petruzzi and Paul Melchiorre (BOOK)
Like any good orator(s) on a given subject, Mark Petruzzi and Paul Melchiorre are able to showcase the relative, base simplicity of a concept that otherwise could prove unfathomable in full excess to the average literary and ideological consumer. With the release of their new book, plainspokenly titled and christened Selling the Cloud: A Playbook for Success in Cloud Software and Enterprise Sales, Petruzzi and Melchiorre demonstrate this apt ability in spades.
In effect, their work focuses on debunking the myth that a digitized workplace — and more importantly, the facets of a digitized workplace — are antithetical to the old-fashioned work ethics of productivity, progression, and marketplace-influenced consistency and innovation balances. If anything, remote work and remote work tools advocate for said consistency and innovation balances in new, exciting, and wholly enticing ways. Selling the Cloud: A Playbook for Success in Cloud Software and Enterprise Sales then is able to explore is the limitless potential of said qualities, in decidedly straightforward and unremarkable prose. “In the ever-evolving world of enterprise software sales, it is our duty to adapt with the latest technology and continually customize our offerings to meet our customer’s unique needs and objections.
A whole new world of sales success will become available to you when you stop focusing on making sales and instead on solving problems,” Petruzzi and Melchiorre write in this vein. “Solving problems requires creating value and connection by understanding what your prospect needs and going out of your way to customize a solution for them. Don’t be stymied by a set-in-stone process. Instead, be open to working alongside your customer. Today’s buyers are advanced. They know more about your product and your competitors’ products than ever before. We are no longer the educator armed with information; we are problem solvers armed with good questions. Our job is to listen closely to our customers and cater our solutions to their needs. And our jobs don’t end at implementation. Today, we are expected to engage and ensure long-term customer success, forming long-term partnerships, evolving with and for our clients and partners.”
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Cloud-Playbook-Software-Enterprise/dp/B08L46W1WL
They subsequently add: “Rejection and adversity are commonplace in sales. We get knocked down and we get up again. Again, and again, and again. Most people in sales will hear ‘no’ more than ‘yes.’ You will be stood up and ignored, it’s true, but behind each closed door is a priceless lesson — the sales greats are those that take the time to pause, reflect, and actually absorb and apply those lessons. When we are faced with a difficult situation, we show our true colors.
Those who respond to difficulty with resilience are well suited for a career in sales. Responding with resilience is a characteristic you can build up over time with practice. The key is to master your mindset. To perfect the art of sales is to channel the art of resilience…Since the sales world knocks us down repeatedly, those who succeed are resilient. Fortunately, our mindset has a great deal of power over how we react to adversity. The important thing is to remember that rejection does not mean you are worthless. Failure always hurts, but it is not permanent. The key to resilience is considering every loss an opportunity to learn and grow.”
That’s a timeless lesson, even in a digitized, remote environment…
Colin Jordan
