The Essential Sales Bookshelf

As a sales process consultant, I'm often asked to recommend books to help clients navigate their way through one issue or another. Over time I've realized that I keep referring people to the same books over and over. I've come to think of them as the Essential Sales Bookshelf. If you're in sales and you don't own them, go shopping!

Insight Selling: Sell Value & Differentiate Your Product With Insight Scenarios by Michael Harris (2014, Hardcover)  The definitive book on building the sales story that will best help your customers understand how your product is uniquely situated to solve their need. Selling on value and history is the name of the game, and selling on price is unnecessary.

The Challenger Sale : Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson (2011, Hardcover)  If you’re in sales at all, rep, manager, VP, or Director, this book is vital to selling in the internet age. Because we have access to so much information, most buyers have quite a few pre-conceived notions that will keep them making the same mistakes, and the same purchases, over and over again. This book revolutionized sales by demonstrating that the most successful reps challenge the thinking and habits of their prospects, making room for a new conversation.

The Challenger Customer : Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results by Matthew Dixon, Pat Spenner, Nick Toman and Brent Adamson (2015, Hardcover)  Taking into account that almost all purchases are made by teams (the team behind the Decision Maker) this book identifies who those other players are, and demonstrates how many other decision makers they influence. Instead of strictly selling to the “DM” The Challenger Customer challenges us to sell to the people with the most influence as well.

Drive : The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink (2009, Hardcover)  Recognizing the core components of what motivates humans to act and feel in particular ways is key in a successful sales process. By understanding the motivational factors in play, a sales pro can much more effectively navigate some of the seemingly unreasonable objections and requests we receive from so many sales prospects.

To Sell Is Human : The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink (2012, Hardcover) Mr. Pink takes us through the psychology of basic social behaviors, and demonstrates that many of our core interactions with others are fundamentally selling them on our idea, desire, or offering. Sales is primarily based in persuasion, and secondarily in filling a need or solving a problem. So, as it turns out, is most human interaction. Recognizing the similarities helps sales pros develop natural, agile relationships with their prospects.

 

Fanatical Prospecting : How to Open Doors, Engage Prospects, and Make One Last Call by Jeb Blount (2015, Hardcover) As I tell my sales reps, “You’ll never close what you didn’t open.” Fanatical Prospecting is a step by step guide about opening a sales relationship with prospects, instead of just “networking.” Activity is not a result in itself, and often too much time is spent collecting business cards and phone numbers. What counts is making the contacts that are the beginning of a sales relationship. With this book, it just became much easier.

The Art of Closing the Sale : The Key to Making More Money Faster in the World of Professional Selling by Brian Tracy (2007, Hardcover)  Of course with all that opening of sales conversations, you’ll want to make sure you’re closing as many deals as possible. From Brian Tracy, we learn that many of the old closing techniques no longer work at all because of the colossal number of ads and transactions people perform every day. We’ve become immune. What works now?  A more natural, transparent approach that challenges expectations.

 

SNAP Selling : Speed up Sales and Win More Business with Today's Frazzled Customers by Jill Konrath (2010, Hardcover) Jill Konrath has been helping sales professionals assess the sales climate for decades, and her work resonates over time.  In this book from 2010, she helps us identify the overwhelmed buyer. With so many options and so much information available for each purchasing decision, sometimes what is needed is to break the sale down into a few simple, but key, steps. A must-read for highly competitive industries.

Agile Selling : Get up to Speed Quickly in Today's Ever-Changing Sales World by Jill Konrath (2014, Hardcover) Finally, a book about onboarding sales pros in a way that they can start selling within the first few weeks! Onboarding as a new sales rep in an unfamiliar industry often takes months to over a year to become fully competent in your role. Agile Selling addresses the issue head on, inviting sales reps to approach learning their new industry and market differently, making consistent, useful progress from Day 1. 

Is It Time To Replace Your Sales Manager?

In sales, we rely heavily on our sales managers.  They are our cheerleaders, teachers, coordinators, and team mates.  That is, they are if they're good at their jobs.  If they're bad at their jobs, they are our critics, our nightmares, our worst enemies.  Is it time to replace your manager?

Often in a sales structure, the best salespeople are "promoted" to sales manager. Sometimes it's about seniority.  Occasionally it's a question of the boss's favorite. None of these are the best way to hire a great sales manager.

The best sales managers have five primary skills:  1) They can consistently teach others to sell the product or service in a changing marketplace. 2) They are fantastic motivators of individuals and groups.  3) They always play fairly, setting a terrific example and creating a professional tone for the department.  4) They work as hard for their team as they do for upper management.  5) They would always rather help than scold everyone on their team.

If your manager doesn't meet these five criteria, all the rest of their skills really don't matter.  Daniel Pink (author of Drive, To Sell is Human, and others) explains it well.   The best performers in any sales organization take ownership of their work, feel it is important, and have the autonomy to self-manage and develop personal approaches to their tasks and environment.  If your manager can't stimulate and support these three attributes, it doesn't matter how well they know the product, how quickly they can file reports, or how well the sales force is doing today.  

Long-term success (we all want it!) comes from ownership, pride, and autonomy.  Ownership, pride, and autonomy come from being good at your job. Being good at your job comes from clear expectations, and constant fine-tuning of skill.  And fine-tuning skills comes from a supportive, objective voice confirming your strengths, and helping to develop your weaker skills.

As a sales professional, this is the boss you want, and the environment you need to do your best.  We all know it. And when we have it, we're substantially less likely to look for opportunities outside the company.  If you, the sales pro, don't have it now, it's probably time to look for an opportunity to get it. This is your career!  You want to develop as well and as quickly as time will allow.

To upper management:  I'm not saying there's no room for discipline!  (See "clear expectations" above.)  I'm reminding that carrots and sticks have gone the way of the two martini lunch.  It's okay sometimes, but it doesn't work as a primary activity. Simple compliance is out, and motivation to comply and improve is in.  If your sales team doesn't work this way, you have a problem, because the competition's team probably does.   You don't want to lose your best people to the competition!  Give your sales team the most vital benefit they can get: a terrific, qualified sales manager.