Download or read book Stop Selling Stuff and Start Selling Business Outcomes A Comprehensive B2B Sales Guide written by Rick Spair and published by Rick Spair. This book was released on with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to the comprehensive B2B sales guide titled "Stop Selling Stuff and Start Selling Business Outcomes." In today's competitive business landscape, simply selling products or services is no longer enough to meet customer demands and drive success. B2B buyers are increasingly focused on achieving specific business outcomes and measurable results. This guide is designed to help B2B sales professionals make a shift in their approach by placing a strong emphasis on delivering tangible business outcomes to customers. Instead of merely selling features and functionalities, the guide will provide you with the strategies, tips, and recommendations to understand, align, and communicate the value of your offerings in terms of the outcomes they can enable for your customers. Throughout this comprehensive guide, we will explore a wide range of topics and chapters, delving into the various aspects of business outcome selling. We will start by understanding the principles and benefits of adopting this approach and how it compares to traditional product-based selling. From there, we will dive into identifying your target market, conducting market research, and segmenting your audience based on desired outcomes. You will learn how to gather valuable information about your prospects' industries, competitors, and challenges using online resources, social media, and industry reports. We will also explore the significance of leveraging existing customer relationships to gain insights and refine your approach. As we move forward, we will discuss the art of building relationships and trust, developing consultative sales approaches, and building rapport with prospects. We will delve into mapping business outcomes to customer needs, customizing your sales pitch, and crafting compelling value propositions that resonate with your prospects. Furthermore, we will explore strategies to overcome objections, address risks, and negotiate for successful outcomes. You will gain insights into building business cases, managing stakeholder buy-in, and presenting business outcomes effectively to secure buy-in from decision-makers. Throughout the guide, we will emphasize the importance of nurturing long-term customer relationships, incorporating customer testimonials and case studies, and continuously improving your sales approach based on customer feedback and market dynamics. We will discuss the significance of leveraging technology, data, and analytics to gain insights, streamline processes, and adapt to evolving customer needs. In addition, we will explore the importance of managing change, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and building strategic partnerships to enhance your business outcome selling efforts. We will provide recommendations for staying ahead in an ever-changing landscape and share insights into the future of B2B sales. Whether you are a seasoned sales professional or new to the field, this guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and tools to transform your sales approach and achieve success by focusing on delivering tangible business outcomes. The strategies, tips, and recommendations provided in this guide are based on industry best practices and real-life experiences, enabling you to adapt and apply them to your specific industry and target market. So, let's embark on this journey together and learn how to stop selling stuff and start selling business outcomes. By embracing this approach, you can differentiate yourself in the market, build stronger customer relationships, and drive meaningful results for your customers and your business.

Download or read book How to Sell Anything to Anybody written by Joe Girard and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-02-07 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joe Girard was an example of a young man with perseverance and determination. Joe began his working career as a shoeshine boy. He moved on to be a newsboy for the Detroit Free Press at nine years old, then a dishwasher, a delivery boy, stove assembler, and home building contractor. He was thrown out of high school, fired from more than forty jobs, and lasted only ninety-seven days in the U.S. Army. Some said that Joe was doomed for failure. He proved them wrong. When Joe started his job as a salesman with a Chevrolet agency in Eastpointe, Michigan, he finally found his niche. Before leaving Chevrolet, Joe sold enough cars to put him in the Guinness Book of World Records as 'the world's greatest salesman' for twelve consecutive years. Here, he shares his winning techniques in this step-by-step book, including how to: o Read a customer like a book and keep that customer for life o Convince people reluctant to buy by selling them the right way o Develop priceless information from a two-minute phone call o Make word-of-mouth your most successful tool Informative, entertaining, and inspiring, HOW TO SELL ANYTHING TO ANYBODY is a timeless classic and an indispensable tool for anyone new to the sales market.

Download or read book Boss Business Outcome Selling Strategies written by Jason Eatmon and published by . This book was released on 2020-05-20 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book SPIN Selling written by Neil Rackham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: True or false? In selling high-value products or services: 'closing' increases your chance of success; it is essential to describe the benefits of your product or service to the customer; objection handling is an important skill; open questions are more effective than closed questions. All false, says this provocative book. Neil Rackham and his team studied more than 35,000 sales calls made by 10,000 sales people in 23 countries over 12 years. Their findings revealed that many of the methods developed for selling low-value goods just don‘t work for major sales. Rackham went on to introduce his SPIN-Selling method. SPIN describes the whole selling process: Situation questions Problem questions Implication questions Need-payoff questions SPIN-Selling provides you with a set of simple and practical techniques which have been tried in many of today‘s leading companies with dramatic improvements to their sales performance.

Download or read book The B2B Selling Guidebook written by Jim Irving and published by . This book was released on 2020-02-06 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The B2B Selling Guidebook is a practical, concise, easy to read guide to Business to Business selling. The author has utilized the most important lessons he has learned in a successful career now exceeding 43 years in B2B and high end 'Enterprise' sales and sales leadership roles. He sets these lessons out for you to quickly and easily understand, without going through the pain he had to experience in learning them! With real examples taken directly from his career; from the earliest stages all the way to senior corporate executive and Managing Director/CEO roles, The B2B Selling Guidebook delivers superb insights into the reality of selling (and business generally) that can be applied immediately. Are you new to B2B Selling? Or highly experienced and wanting a powerful refresh? Or just interested in the reality of the world of commercial business? Then this is the book for you...Sell Better - Sell Faster - Sell MoreIf you are looking for a heavy textbook on selling from an academic perspective you are in the wrong place! This is a light and simple guide to the most important tools, techniques and approaches to help ensure greater success in B2B selling - and in life. The B2B Selling Guidebook will also be useful to anyone whose work touches on the world of sales - for example, marketing, PR, 'C' Suite executives, procurement, legal, admin and finance professionals.The format is incredibly simple. Each chapter introduces a concept. Real-life anecdotes showing the technique, issue or approach are then given. Finally, a short summary of how to best apply that principle is then added. These real stories are enlightening, clear and powerful. Adopting these proven tools, techniques, attitude and processes will help you to become more professional and successful.The author has delivered value in many different market sectors, from Finance to Manufacturing, to Life Sciences, to High-tech and the Professions. He has also worked in many countries around the world. He has successfully sold high-value capital goods, enterprise software, support services, and consulting projects. His experience can help you to improve your performance.Some comments on the author and on The B2B Selling Guidebook -"The selling process offers a peep-hole into the human condition. In this book, Jim helps the salesperson see reality, develop insights and then, most of all, add long-term value to the client-supplier relationship."Bob Bishop, former Chairman & CEO, Silicon Graphics, Inc."His no-frills, straightforward and ethical approach to building a world-class sales organization is something to this day that I not only admire, but also strive to emulate."David Rode. Former Senior Vice President, International Operations, Information Builders (IBI)"A key objective for any company is revenue growth. Jim Irving has a long track record of making a real difference where it matters most - the bottom line."Jim Green, CEO and Co-Founder, Spartan Solutions"Jim is a seasoned sales leader with a proven track record of success in multiple channels and business models. His leadership and motivation skills elevate the productivity of his teams resulting in consistently exceeded goals. He is respected by his customers, team, peers, and senior management team."Greg Goelz, President and CEO, Smart Locus Inc, California."Jim is a natural sales leader, able to instantly command attention and respect from both his sales team and prospective clients. He has a relaxed and friendly approach which puts customers at ease and gains their trust. This, coupled with a keen commercial drive, enables him to identify opportunity, develop winning sales arguments and effectively manage the sales process..."Ian Baxter, Vice President - NetDimensionsLearn more at www.b2bsellingguidebook.com

Download or read book The Challenger Sale written by Matthew Dixon and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-11-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's the secret to sales success? If you're like most business leaders, you'd say it's fundamentally about relationships-and you'd be wrong. The best salespeople don't just build relationships with customers. They challenge them. The need to understand what top-performing reps are doing that their average performing colleagues are not drove Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson, and their colleagues at Corporate Executive Board to investigate the skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes that matter most for high performance. And what they discovered may be the biggest shock to conventional sales wisdom in decades. Based on an exhaustive study of thousands of sales reps across multiple industries and geographies, The Challenger Sale argues that classic relationship building is a losing approach, especially when it comes to selling complex, large-scale business-to-business solutions. The authors' study found that every sales rep in the world falls into one of five distinct profiles, and while all of these types of reps can deliver average sales performance, only one-the Challenger- delivers consistently high performance. Instead of bludgeoning customers with endless facts and features about their company and products, Challengers approach customers with unique insights about how they can save or make money. They tailor their sales message to the customer's specific needs and objectives. Rather than acquiescing to the customer's every demand or objection, they are assertive, pushing back when necessary and taking control of the sale. The things that make Challengers unique are replicable and teachable to the average sales rep. Once you understand how to identify the Challengers in your organization, you can model their approach and embed it throughout your sales force. The authors explain how almost any average-performing rep, once equipped with the right tools, can successfully reframe customers' expectations and deliver a distinctive purchase experience that drives higher levels of customer loyalty and, ultimately, greater growth.

Download or read book Sales Force Management written by Joseph F. Hair, Jr. and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-09-16 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of Sales Force Management prepares students for professional success in the field. Focused on the areas of customer loyalty, customer relationship management, and sales technology, this practical resource integrates selling and sales management while highlighting the importance of teamwork in any sales and marketing organization. The text presents core concepts using a comprehensive pedagogical framework—featuring real-world case studies, illustrative examples, and innovative exercises designed to facilitate a deeper understanding of sales management challenges and to develop stronger sales management skills. Supported with a variety of essential ancillary resources for instructors and students, Sales Force Management, 2nd Edition includes digital multimedia PowerPoints for each chapter equipped with voice-over recordings ideal for both distance and in-person learning. Additional assets include the instructor's manual, computerized and printable test banks, and a student companion site filled with glossaries, flash cards, crossword puzzles for reviewing key terms, and more. Integrating theoretical, analytical, and pragmatic approaches to sales management, the text offers balanced coverage of a diverse range of sales concepts, issues, and activities. This fully-updated edition addresses the responsibilities central to managing sales people across multiple channels and through a variety of methods. Organized into four parts, the text provides an overview of personal selling and sales management, discusses planning, organizing, and developing the sales force, examines managing and directing sales force activities, and explains effective methods for controlling and evaluating sales force performance.

Download or read book The B2B Sales Blueprint written by Dan Englander and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-01-22 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What must you do today to triple your sales in 12 months?The B2B Sales Blueprint will empower you to answer this question. In five phases, you will learn how to transform your results by melding new technology with timeless fundamentals. From his experience winning business with 16 Fortune 500s and companies across many verticals, Dan Englander offers a hands-on guide to lead generation, sales, and productivity. What's inside: The Lead Generation Blueprint Build a steady stream of leads by systematizing and outsourcing your outbound process. The First Conversation Use provided templates to plan your conversations and win more deals. Following Up and Closing Get to the next step and avoid the pitfalls responsible for over 80% of all lost opportunities. Staying Sharp Adopt positive sales habits to set the stage for long-term improvement. Exclusive Library of Apps, Tools, and High-Tech Shortcuts Use technology to understand your buyers, automate your processes, and make life easier. After reading The B2B Sales Blueprint you will: Set and achieve specific, KPI-grounded lead generation goals. Successfully delegate prospecting to affordable specialists. Gain new confidence on sales calls with the help of small lifestyle changes. Know how to get consistent referrals from customers and partners. Invest your time and energy in the most promising opportunities. To enjoy these results, you should be ready to think creatively and take action. The Blueprint is for salespeople of all stripes: entrepreneurs, business development professionals, business owners, and anyone who comes into direct contact with prospects and customers. Scroll to the top and click "Buy Now" to see positive outcomes sooner rather than later.

Download or read book Simply Selling written by John L Naples and published by . This book was released on 2021-05-03 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Business to business (B2B) selling is unique. To be effective demands the mindset of a trust-advisor and client advocate. Unlike selling to consumers, B2B selling recognizes the nuances of selling to corporate buyers and C-Level decision makers. The old selling philosophy of "Always Be Closing" (ABC) and overly aggressive selling tricks simply don't work; in fact, they went out of style in the 1980's.Simply Selling is the definitive guide to consultative selling in the B2B landscape. In this book, you'll discover the competencies, behaviors, and attitudes inherent to all top 1% sales performers. Based on "in-field" assessments of over 10,000 sales professionals across major industry niches, Simply Selling challenges conventional selling techniques and introduces proven steps to executing consistent sales results.Using the Consultative Selling Model(TM), you'll learn 7-steps that can be applied in every selling situation. You'll learn how to: -Build trust-based business relationships-Improve rapport and credibility -Diagnose your client's challenges and gaps-Present compelling, impactful solutions-Differentiate your value proposition -Manage your buyer's uncertainty-Negotiating from a position of strength, and -Close the deal (without ever asking)The best thing about Simply Selling is that any and every sales professional and/or business owner can learn and replicate the skills in a matter of days. You'll learn how to challenge your client's presuppositions and show them alternate means to reaching their objectives and outcomes; simply put, you'll gain extraordinary confidence, perfect new selling tools, develop into a trusted-advisor, and - best of all, close more deals.

Download or read book The BizBuySell Guide to Selling Your Small Business written by Barbara Findlay Schenck and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Produced by BizBuySell, the Internet's largest marketplace for businesses for sale, and written in conjunction with Small Business Strategist, Barbara Findlay Schenck, author of best-selling business books including Selling Your Business For Dummies, this guide provides a comprehensive overview of the small business sales process including actionable advice and step-by-step instructions to help maximize selling success.

Download or read book Small Business Sales Without the Fear Navigating Sales Selling Solutions for Small Business Owners written by Greg Warren Andersen and published by Aviva Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creative Selling Strategies for the small business owner. What if you could add new customers whenever you wanted and as often as you wanted? Whether you are building or rebuilding your business, understanding sales and the sales process is the key to building, growing, and protecting your business. In my book, Small Business Sales, Without the Fear are tips and strategies that have served me well for over 30 years in my sales career. My primary focus is on the underserved community made up of start-up, micro, and small business owners who have little to no formal sales training. There are approximately 30 million small businesses in the United States. Nearly 22 million of which have no employees. This means that the owner is selling, or no one is selling. As a small business owner, this is the "small business owner's dilemma." Why is this a dilemma? Most business owners think this is just a binary choice-sell for the business or run the business. Most business owners are not trained in sales. Many owners are deathly afraid of sales. Owners not trained in sales make lousy sales trainers. The way to avoid or fix this problem is to create a sales process in your company. Yes, even a company of one can have a sales department. Small Business sales Without the Fear is a sales guide designed to show anyone how to stop "waiting" for customers to find you and lays out in simple easy to follow steps on how to add customers and grow your business on purpose. In this book you will learn: Why no sales experience is required. Why Introverts can make the best salespeople. Why adding new customers is the lifeblood for all small businesses. How to generate leads. How to reach out to potential customers. What to say to potential customers. How to prepare a proposal. How the sales process really works. How to find time to sell. What the fear of selling is really all about. What the risk is of not selling. What you can do today to start selling for your business. How to create a "sales plan." "Greg helped me to identify and fine-tune several different prospecting techniques that yielded good results. I was able to meet with 33 percent of the people I cold-called! Greg's enthusiasm and knowledge of sales supported me in overcoming numerous challenges. I would highly recommend Greg's book, Small Business Sales, Without the Fear if your goal is to maximize sales!" - Robert Landis, Owner of Capitol Media "Whether you're a small business with employees or just trying to get your sole proprietorship up and running, in Small Business Sales, Without the Fear, you'll learn how to separate your fears and frustrations from what needs to be done to accomplish successful relationships with your customers. Practical, precise, and powerful advice fills every chapter, and once you read about and begin implementing the strategies in this book, you'll feel like it was always your destiny to succeed at small business sales!" - Patrick Snow, Publishing Coach and International Best- Selling Author of Creating Your Own Destiny and Boy Entrepreneur Ask yourself 3 simple questions: 1.) What would happen if you lost your biggest customer? 2.) What would happen if a major competitor moved into your area? 3.) What would happen if the economy moved in a negative direction? Why not plan ahead and already have a plan in place that will fix or mitigate these types of situations? Click the "buy button" now to see why Small Business Sales, Without the Fear,

Download or read book Stop Selling and Start Helping written by Brandon Jeffress and published by . This book was released on 2018-12-20 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World class sales professional, leader, speaker, and coach, Brandon Jeffress gives you his proven handbook for phenomenal results. Thousands of books will tell you what to do, but those methodologies are rarely sustainable. If you are a sales leader, sales professional, entrepreneur or a leader looking to get better sales results, this book will teach you both the art and science of sales. This is not an entry level book. Simple, but challenging, it is for the serious sales professional who desires to be world class in their approach and results.

Download or read book The Challenger Customer written by Brent Adamson and published by Portfolio. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four years ago, the bestselling authors of The Challenger Sale overturned decades of conventional wisdom with a bold new approach to sales. Now their latest research reveals something even more surprising: Being a Challenger seller isn’t enough. Your success or failure also depends on who you challenge. Picture your ideal customer: friendly, eager to meet, ready to coach you through the sale and champion your products and services across the organization. It turns out that’s the last person you need. Most marketing and sales teams go after low-hanging fruit: buyers who are eager and have clearly articulated needs. That’s simply human nature; it’s much easier to build a relationship with someone who always makes time for you, engages with your content, and listens attentively. But according to brand-new CEB research—based on data from thousands of B2B marketers, sellers, and buyers around the world—the highest-performing teams focus their time on potential customers who are far more skeptical, far less interested in meeting, and ultimately agnostic as to who wins the deal. How could this be? The authors of The Challenger Customer reveal that high-performing B2B teams grasp something that their average-performing peers don’t: Now that big, complex deals increasingly require consensus among a wide range of players across the organization, the limiting factor is rarely the salesperson’s inability to get an individual stakeholder to agree to a solution. More often it’s that the stakeholders inside the company can’t even agree with one another about what the problem is. It turns out only a very specific type of customer stakeholder has the credibility, persuasive skill, and will to effectively challenge his or her colleagues to pursue anything more ambitious than the status quo. These customers get deals to the finish line far more often than friendlier stakeholders who seem so receptive at first. In other words, Challenger sellers do best when they target Challenger customers. The Challenger Customer unveils research-based tools that will help you distinguish the "Talkers" from the "Mobilizers" in any organization. It also provides a blueprint for finding them, engaging them with disruptive insight, and equipping them to effectively challenge their own organization.

Download or read book The Smart Sales Method written by Joe Morone and published by Worldleaders Media Group. This book was released on 2017-11-17 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Smart Sales Method provides B2B Technology Sales Teams with a client-facing sales methodology designed specifically for organizations that sell complex offerings in a highly competitive marketplace, and for the CEOs and Sales Leaders who feel their organizations have not yet won their fair share of their potential market. When fully implemented, the B2B sales team applying the Smart Sales Method will be utilizing a statistically supported sales method for developing more pipeline and closing more sales. Written by the leadership team of Worldleaders Sales Solutions' co-founder and lead Sales Trainer Joe Morone, co-founder and Outsourced Sales Recruiting leader Karen Benjamin, and Account Manager Marty Smith, The Smart Sales Method is a step-by-step approach for CEOs and sales leaders of B2B technology companies who are determined to improve their sales results. Learn more at www.worldleaderssales.com. Message from author Joe Morone: This book is not for everyone. This book is for the CEOs and Sales Leaders who feel their organizations have not yet won their fair share of their potential market. You have great products/services. You've amassed a dedicated team. You have loyal clients realizing tangible success with your offerings. But improving sales results remains your most elusive challenge. You did everything right. You hired experienced salespeople. You compensated them fairly and invested time and money into their training. Yet you're still not seeing the sales growth you know the company deserves. Smart Selling for B2B Technology Sales Teams is a client-facing sales methodology designed specifically for organizations that sell complex offerings in a highly competitive marketplace. When fully implemented, your sales team will be utilizing a statistically supported sales method for developing more pipeline and closing more sales. Let's get on the path of exponential year-over-year sales growth... so that you can win your fair share. I will be with you every step of the way. Just call me at (585) 732-5666 or email me at [email protected]. Joe Morone, Principal, Worldleaders Inc. www.worldleaderssales.com

Download or read book Stop Selling and Start Leading written by James M. Kouzes and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED THE #3 TOP SALES BOOK OF 2018! Make extraordinary sales happen! In the Age of the Customer, sales effectiveness depends mightily on the buyer experience. Despite nearly-universal agreement on the need for creating value in every step of the buyer’s journey, sellers continue to struggle with how to create that value and connect meaningfully with buyers. New research bridges the gap and reveals the behavioral blueprint for sellers that makes buyers more likely to meet with them — and more likely to buy from them. In Stop Selling & Start Leading, you’ll discover that the very same behaviors that make leaders more effective also work to make sellers more effective, too. This critical shift in the selling mindset, and in the sales role itself, is the key to boosting your overall sales effectiveness. • Inspire, challenge, and enable buyers • Change your behavior to build trust and increase sales • Step into your leadership potential • See yourself the way your buyers do • Feel good about selling again When you’re aiming for quota attainment and real connections with buyers, this book gives you the confidence and skills you need.

Download or read book Maximizing Lead Generation written by Ruth Stevens and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2012 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hands-On, Up-to-the-Minute Guide to Generating Better-Qualified, Quicker-to-Close B2B Leads! Lead generation is "Job One": B2B marketers' single most important objective. Maximizing Lead Generation brings together everything you need to know to do it right. Fast-paced and 100% practical, it will help you achieve outstanding results in any B2B marketplace from enterprise technology to industrial equipment to professional services. World-renowned expert Ruth P. Stevens helps you bring science and systematization to all facets of lead generation, building on process, best practices, continuous testing, and ongoing improvement. You'll learn how to maximize the value of tried-and-true B2B tools and the newest social, web, and search technologies. Stevens offers indispensable insights for the entire lead lifecycle, including qualification, nurturing, measurement, and tracking. Organized for clarity, usability, and speed, this book will help you supercharge salesforce productivity and company profits. You'll Learn How To: · Develop and refine rules that consistently lead to higher-quality leads · Gain deeper insights into your customers and their buying processes · Build sophisticated, accurate marketing databases · Identify the media most likely to work for you · Execute highly effective campaigns · Drive huge ROI improvements · Use BANT and other qualification criteria · Apply new "nurturing" techniques to convert "duds" into "diamonds" · Track results and quantify the business value of campaigns · Utilize best practices content marketing and marketing automation · Integrate continuous improvement into lead generation · Discover 10 trends that will transform the way you prospect

Download or read book Why Startups Fail written by Tom Eisenmann and published by Currency. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.