Buyer behavior has evolved and the challenges facing sales professionals have never been greater. Thanks to the Internet and the wealth of information it provides, buyers are more informed and more comfortable evaluating purchasing options on their own. The more information buyers have access to, the less dependent they are on traditional sources of information including salespeople. The Collaborative Sale takes a close look at recent changes in buyer behavior as they relate to the primary tenets of the Solution Selling methodology and provides a detailed, modern view of what effective sellers need to do to succeed in todays world. To succeed today, sellers need to be worthy collaborators with the highly knowledgeable buyers they encounter with increasing frequency. No longer can sellers drive and control the sale, simply because many buyers are too empowered and savvy. Global economic uncertainties and the recent global recessions have also made individual buyers as well as the companies they represent realize, perhaps once and for all, that they must see results and maximize their return on investment in every purchase. This means buyers are more cautious than ever and they are acutely aware of the risks of making bad decisions. Sellers must align with where the buyers are in their buying process and collaborate with them in an open and transparent manner. The sellers who do this are winning business and they are transforming selling forever. In The Collaborative Sale , you will learn: How buyer behavior has changed, and how sales professionals must adapt to survive Why a Solution Selling philosophy is more relevant today than ever before How to build and leverage knowledge to become situational experts New sales personas: Micro-Marketer, Visualizer, and Value Driver How to use social media to gain access to the new buyers How to manage buyers risk in uncertain economic times As executive leaders of Sales Performance International (SPI), the authors have helped thousands of clients around the world to implement the highly successful Solution Selling methodology on which this book is based. By applying the core elements of the methodology to the changing dynamic of more knowledgeable and savvy buyers, Keith Eades and Tim Sullivan have created The Collaborative Sale, a playbook for helping sales professionals align with todays buyers.