Sales learning is a continues journey, the learning is not only needed for the novice, even experienced sales leaders struggle, they too need answers, If you are lucky indeed, have some good karma, then you can get guidance from a mentor, Otherwise the best way to get expert teaching is from “Books on Sales.
We have listed some of the great reads,
1. SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham
The first-of-a-kind in that 90’s period came with tons of researches, based on watching thousand of sales interactions. When the world believed that sales are all about loud, pushy type and all lies & flee techniques, this groundbreaking bestseller enlightened that successful sales interactions are different, the best performing sales people are trusted adviser types, consultative, and the trend continues even now.
I am not sure how much of SPIN selling methodology works these days, Sales pros argue this is outdated, whatsoever, this is a good place to start
2. The Conceptual Selling:
The argument of sales is an art or science still continues, (no matter what it is, till the revenue comes we don’t have an issue about it ) and if you are the one who is methodical and process-oriented, then “The New Conceptual Selling” is the best read for you.
3
Sales is simple, there is a lot of confusion around it especially when things are not happening as we expect, If there is a simple way to see business development process, it can be bisected to three steps -Prospecting, Progressing and Closing, the below two books delve deep into these three steps
a)Fanatical Prospecting- by Jeb Blount is a must read for the Prospecting
b) “The Lost Art of Closing the Sales” by Anthony Iannarino, covers both how to progress in a sale and take it to closure. The typical closing techniques pushy type of questions don’t work anymore, the high-pressure aggressive types are already shown the door and if you are looking for fresh tools for closing, Anthony is the best.
4. A lot of things has changed after 2008, and if you would like to have a fresh perspective of sales and how to survive in the post-2008 era, some of the best are
a.The New Sales Simplified -by Mike Weinberg and
b. “The Only Sales Guide You Will Ever Need “by Anthony Iannarino,
Side note :For me, my personal favorite authors are Mike Weinberg, Jeb Blount, Anthony Iannarino, they all seem to be from same tribes, talk from their field experience, not depend on the research or the fabricated reports ,These three Sales Pros are straight from the heart most importantly they know how much Emotional Quotient (EQ ) plays in sales interactions.
5. Books on Sales Management:
a) There are plenty of books for an individual salesperson to excel but very few books have been written on Sales Management. “Cracking the Sales Management Code: The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance “by Jason Jordan is a standout book on sales Management, it focuses on the Management, Metrics, and Methodology, literally they slice & dice everything in sales management. After a thorough read, I felt there was some gap unaddressed in Sales Management, –The coaching part. I believe their latest release Crushing Quota by the same authors is addressing this gap. Both are a must-read for sales managers.
b)The New sales Management simplified by Mike Weinberg is an interesting read; Mike is blunt to the core, lot of takeaways for sales management.
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