Merge: Simplify the Complex Sale in Five Surefire Steps

MERGE eases you into the front row of a master class on the art and science of the complex sale, taught by one of the "most successful marketers" in financial services. No matter how good you are (or think you are) as a relationship builder, rainmaker, consultant or closer, pick up the head-snapping nuggets of practical wisdom spread across these pages.

MERGE reveals a five-step surefire sales process long forgotten, overlooked, or never learned by so many professionals in finance, insurance, legal, real estate and other high-value professions. Don't miss it this time. Your business, your clients depend on the high-water mark of your greatness.

Praise for MERGE
"MERGE offers the insight of one of America's best and most successful marketers in the financial services industry. Read it before your competition does."-Peter D. Quinn, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank - Executive Benefits

"Bill MacDonald has done a superb job of merging theory and practical application of sales and marketing-how he actually made his theories work in practice. MERGE is a book all up-and-coming sales and marketing executives should read, well-written, and easy to read."-Jim Ellis, Dean, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business

"MERGE details the mistakes commonly made by consultants in marketing services. Bill's five-step process can be used successfully, no matter the market. The principles are transferable and powerful. He's done a superb job of making his book relational and practical. Every consulting professional will benefit from reading this book."-Guy Baker, Immediate Past President, The Million Dollar Round Table, Managing Director, EMI Consulting

William L. MacDonald is the Founding Partner of several leading organizations in the executive compensation and benefit consulting field, notably Compensation Resources Group, Inc. (CRG), Merrill Lynch Executive Compensation Group, and Retirement Capital Group, Inc. (RCG). With a $3,000 loan from the bank, MacDonald launched his career as an entrepreneur, hired his first employee, and set out to raise the bar on financial services. By applying the concepts outlined in this book, MacDonald built CRG into one of the leading executive compensation and benefits firms in the nation. By 1999, CRG grew to 190 professionals, managed billions of dollars in assets, and maintained nine offices nationwide. Ready for new challenges, MacDonald sold CRG to Clark Consulting, a NYSE firm, and assumed the role of CEO for its Executive Benefits Group. He later left to launch RCG in 2003, creating another market leader in executive compensation and benefits. MacDonald's latest company, PleinAire Strategies, LLC, is devoted to teaching and sharing the simplicity and effectiveness of his MERGE Process with business and academic communities. Quoted frequently in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg, and leading trade journals, MacDonald also authored Retain Key Executives, a breakthrough compendium on the recruit-retain-reward challenge, published by CCH. He often lectures at the Conference Board, World-at-Work, Forbes CEO Forum and the Young Presidents' Organization. His awards include Entrepreneur of the Year and California Veteran of the Year. MacDonald is a longtime contributor to the Million Dollar Round Table and Top of the Table organizations. A graduate of Northeastern University, he also graduated from The President's Program on Leadership (PPL) from the Harvard Business School. Today, MacDonald regularly consults with major financial services firms on sales and marketing strategies and with key executives and boards of Fortune 500 firms, mid-size and major public and privately-held firms to improve standards of performance in the marketing and sales profession.