Remember when you were in school, the anticipation of summer break? When there was no expectation of reading or studying?
Too bad as sales professionals and leaders that we don’t have the luxury of not learning for the next 3 months. Yet how do we enjoy summer and some additional freedom and not let ourselves get behind?
By continuing to feed our mind with information that can help us!
Each year Sales Pro Insider compiles the Summer Sales Reading List. We gather books about sales – different focuses – from lead gen, to personal success, negotiation, sales conversations, and more!
I’ll feature a short list in the next few blog posts and you can access the whole list here.
We’ll start with the 2014 additions – these are the books published this year. Each has something to offer – and if you go to the book or author’s website, you’ll find valuable tips and free stuff too.
Let the learning begin with these fabulous reading finds:
New for 2014 – The Summer Sales Reading List by Sales Pro Insider, Inc.
AGILE SELLING by Jill Konrath
So much to learn. So little time. If you’re like most sellers, your head is spinning with all the new things you have to deal with: new products and services, new technology, new positions or new competitors. Then, when you throw in all the changes going on around you, life gets even more complex.
In AGILE SELLING, you’ll discover how to:
• Rapidly absorb new information
• Master new sales skills quickly
• Leverage an agile mindset
• Tap into crucial success habits.
In a world of continuous change, your learning agility is the key for getting up to speed quickly — and then, staying there.
EDGY Conversations: How Ordinary People Can Achieve Outrageous Success by Dan Waldschmidt
Everything you think you know about success is probably wrong. You’re working harder than ever and with less to show for it. We looked at 1,000 ordinary people who achieved outrageous success in business, math, sports, science, and politics — and then wrote about the shocking lessons we learned.
You’ll read the amazing stories of people just like you who did the impossible in spite of all the obstacles in front of them. You’ll be inspired to dream bigger, work harder, and achieve your own outrageous success story.
Human to Human Selling by Adrian Davis
If you’re finding it difficult to establish meaningful relationships in this age of increasing technology, this book is for you! It contains fresh insights into what it takes to succeed with customers in today’s fast-paced world. Using these techniques, the author rose from homelessness to being one of the most strategic sales thinkers today.
Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently by Mike Schultz and John E. Doerr
Driven by the Internet and increasing commoditization and competition, the way buyers buy has changed. Yet even in the face of these challenges, some sellers continue to win—and win consistently. To find out what the winners of actual sales opportunities are doing differently than sellers who come in second place, RAIN Group studied over 700 B2B purchases representing $3.1 billion. In Insight Selling, bestselling authors Mike Schultz and John Doerr share the results of their research and introduce a three-level framework that will help you inspire buyers, influence agendas, maximize value, and use insight to win more sales. It is a strategic and tactical guide that separates the good advice from the bad, and outlines exactly what you need to do to transform yourself and your team into insight sellers.
Nonstop Sales Boom by Colleen Francis
Put an end to boom and bust sales cycles – once and for all!
Nonstop Sales Boom reveals powerful strategies to drive consistent sales growth quarter after quarter, year after year.
Do your company’s sales results lurch between highs and lows – with the end of each quarter reduced to a mad scramble to meet quota?
For many sales organizations, the pattern is commonplace and unshakeable.
Nonstop Sales Boom explains how to break this unhealthy cycle and achieve strong, steady results – every quarter, from every member of the team.
The Simple Executive Engagement Plan by Lisa D. Magnuson
We all know that executive cultivation is essential for most sales, especially complex sales cycles. To take the fear and trepidation out of executive calling, I have created The Simple Executive Engagement Plan (includes a book, workbook, templates and videos).
Here is some of what you’ll learn in The Simple Executive Engagement Plan:
- NINE steps you must complete to solidify profitable relationships
- FIVE common pitfalls to avoid when meeting with C-Level Execs
- The “Magic Five” and how to use them to your advantage
- The power of the 48-Hour Rule™
- NINE roadblocks that can sabotage your relationships (and how to dodge them)
And much, much more…
Now its up to you. Check out these books today – get the entire Summer Sales Reading List here – and look for more featured books the next few posts!
