Drawing on twenty years of research on the most common positive and negative influencing techniques people use to get ahead, author Terry R. Bacon explains how influence works and how you can use it to lead effectively and reach any goal. In Elements of Influence, he teaches readers why people allow themselves to be influenced and why they resist; how to choose the right influencing approach in different situations; how to be influential without formal authority; and what it takes to achieve success in every kind of organization or professional role--even when working with those from other countries and cultures. We succeed when we're able to influence how others think, feel, and act: getting them to accept our point of view, follow our lead, join our cause, feel our excitement, or buy our products and services. By shedding light on how the act of influencing impacts our daily lives--even when we don't realize we (or others) are doing it--Elements of Influence offers the key to using this tool more consciously and effectively through adaptability, perceptiveness, and insight. Whether you're a business leader, frontline employee, entrepreneur, or stay-at-home parent, this universal resource--filled with tips, exercises, and practical applications--shows how anyone can exert influence to achieve real results.

In an age where even the best products are quickly imitated, businesses must constantly find new ways to outpace competitors. Successful companies differentiate themselves not just with superior products, but also by how they behave toward their customers at every touchpoint: service, product development, marketing, branding, bids and proposals, presentations, negotiations, and more. Behavioral Differentiation is emerging as the ""final frontier"" in competitive strategy, and "Winning Behavior" shows how leading companies use it to exceed expectations and outperform competitors. This eye-opening book offers case histories and examples from companies like GE, Volvo, EMC, Ritz-Carlton, Wal-Mart, and Harley-Davidson, plus interviews with executives like George Zimmer (Men's Wearhouse), Colleen Barrett (Southwest Airlines), and Gerry Roche (Heidrick & Struggles). In today's ultracompetitive business landscape, product quality and competitive pricing are prerequisites for staying afloat. Winning Behavior reveals the secrets the best companies use -- and any business can use -- to stay at the pinnacle of success in their industry.

In their book Winning Behavior, Terry Bacon and David Pugh showed how great companies outperform good ones through ""behavioral differentiation"" -- going beyond superior products and dependable service to connect with customers at every touchpoint. The Behavioral Advantage broadens the concept, applying behavioral differentiation to the business-to-business arena. The best B2B companies depend on a multifront approach to business interaction, and The Behavioral Advantage reveals the secrets behind what is essentially a chess game with competitors. To win the game, companies must develop a carefully plotted opening game, with all internal values, policies, practices, and behaviors fully aligned. A smart and efficient middle game lets the company build and strengthen its position, and the endgame assures victory and lays the groundwork for future business. Just as individual customers do, B2B customers remember those companies whose behavior consistently and significantly outshines even strong competitors. These firms create a lasting advantage -- and reap the profits that come with it.

"In most businesses, 80% of the revenue comes from 20% of the customers. Management of these key accounts demands discipline, direction, and purpose. Account managers and salespeople must be able to identify and capture key opportunities and use a systematic approach to growing the accounts. Here's where they'll find the powerful tools, processes, and techniques to succeed. Selling to Major Accounts is full of practical, proven approaches to account management. Loaded with examples, tables, charts, checklists, and real-life case studies from the author's vast consulting experience, it shows how to: * identify the major accounts with the greatest potential * progress from vendor to strategic ally * craft account plans that are geared for action * manage the customer relationship for greater results * develop winning account strategies."

Having been named one of the top thinkers on leadership in the world, author Terry Bacon uses his years of experience as the former CEO of a global consulting firm to share insights about power and leadership with up-and-coming influencers. In Elements of Power, he teaches readers how things like their own knowledge, expressiveness, history, character, network, and reputation can open the complex combination lock to true leadership and irresistible influence. Whether you're interested in taking on a more substantial role in your professional or personal life, these tools already at your disposal are the key to achieving success. Applying the latest research on the nature of power all over the world, this invaluable guide shows readers how power works in organizations, how people use and lose power, the relationship between power and leadership, what makes famous people powerful, and how to lead and influence others more effectively. Complete with examinations of key business figures and world leaders and a handy self-assessment tool, Elements of Power offers an accessible and unprecedented pipeline to the many sources and types of internal and external power and provides insights on how to leverage each and how to exert the most important power of all: the power of will.