We’re often asked about books that will help you become a better salesperson. Below we have listed what we feel are the best books to do that. We have given a quick review of them to help you pick the book or books in which you are most interested.
Some explore the psychology of buying and selling; some different marketing concepts; some are oriented towards motivation; all will make you a better person.
I have listed them in what is my opinion of their importance to you as a salesperson. This isn't the result of any scientific or readership surveys, and it isn't based on any payola from an author. These are my ratings and opinion, and it is how I see how they helped me be a better salesperson.
Just click on the underlined title and it will locate the book for you on Amazon.com, so you can order the book without leaving your home. (After all, that IS one of the benefits of being a Home Based Professional, isn't it?)
Positioning : The Battle for Your Mind
by Al Ries and Jack Trout. This is one of the books that started us looking at everything from the customers' perspectives! They explain why it is that when someone says "soda" most people think "Coke" or when they say "flower" the initial thought is "rose." As a professional salesperson this will show you why the image of your company and products is so critically important to your success...and what you can do about it. A "must read."
The Road to Optimism
By J. Mitchell Perry is a must-read for every salesperson. The author's premise that the words we choose influence our actions and outlooks is contradictory to those who say our outlook influences the words we use. But when you think of the two concepts, they really work together, don't they? In this book, Perry brings some new, provocative thoughts that will make a difference in attitudes of everyone who reads it.
The Paradox of Choice By Barry Schwartz. This is a "must read and understand" for anyone selling travel products. It does more to illuminate the challenges we face when dealing with consumers and competing with internet companies. It talks about why more choices are not necessarily good, how consumers react to unlimited options, and how much time can be wasted evaluating every possible alternative. It is only a short exercise to see that one of our most valuable services is saving our clients time and frustration as well as money. Well worth reading!
Spin Selling Another fantastic book, particularly for the B2B salesperson. This book is great because the author talks about how to ask questions that give you the information you need to help the client make good buying decisions. SPIN isn't used in the political sense, it is an acronym for Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-Payoff Questions. I read this book about 10 years ago, made notes on it and have carried them with me ever since. It is an invaluable resource!
Customer Satisfaction is Worthless: Customer Loyalty is Priceless by Jeffrey Gitomer. If you really want to build the loyalty of your clients, and you have time to read just one book, make it this one! It is the perfect book to take on a trip because it has short sections that can be read in just a couple of minutes, and if you are interrupted you haven't lost a long, complicated thought. Buy it and read it!
Coercion: Why We Listen To What "They" Say by Douglas Rushkoff. This is a book that will make your blood boil while you read it and see how we are manipulated by wordsmiths in almost every phase of our lives. Advertisers, car salesmen, politicians, marketers, all study us and use psychology to get us to think and act they way they want us to think and act! However, being informed is being armed and aware, and that helps protect us. A good book to take on a trip. If you are interested in the psychology of mass markets and individual buyers, this is worthwhile.
How To Work a Room by Susan Roane. If you are at all uncomfortable going to networking functions, get the paperback so you can underline it, dogear it and put sticky notes in it. The author does an incredible job of showing you how to be comfortable networking in a social atmosphere. Well worth the $8 - $10 it will cost. (I'm on my third copy of the book I have read it so many times!)
