Some of My Favourite Books for Sales Professionals
Hello dear friends!
I am frequently asked about books. What are the best books to read on selling? Refreshers? Mindset based books? Human behaviour? Personal and professional development?
Every time I’m asked, I hesitate, only because I want to make sure it’s a great selection that I’m recommending. I read a lot of books (I try to get through 100 a year... don’t always make it but it’s a good goal). If you’ve been to my home, you know half my living room and most of my office are coated in books of all kinds. I hope to one day build a Beauty and the Beast-esque library. Consequently, I don’t like whipping book names up off the top of my head when instead I could have a more comprehensive list that’s been well thought through.
So here it is! In no order, a list of some of my favourite books on various subjects:
On selling
1. New Sales. Simplified. – Mark Weinberg
2. Sell or be sold – Grant Cardone
3. When buyers say no – Tom Hopkins
4. The lost art of closing – Anthony Iannaro
5. The way of the wolf – Jordan Belfort (I didn’t love this book, but it’s got some good basics in it for new starters)
6. SPIN Selling – Neil Rackham
7. How to win friends and influence people – Dale Carnegie
8. Pitch Anything – Oren Kolaff
9. Closers Survival Guide – Grant Cardone
On negotiation
1. Never split the difference – Chris Voss
2. Getting to Yes – Roger Fisher
3. We have a deal – Natalie Reynolds
On body language
1. What every body is saying – Joe Navarro
2. The definitive book of body language – Allan and Barbara Pease
General development/motivational/inspiring books
1. The magic of thinking big – David Schwartz
2. The obstacle is the way: the timeless art of turning trials into triumph – Ryan Holiday
3. Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
4. Mastery – Robert Greene (Greene’s book, the 48 laws of power, was a huge hit, and also a great read – but contrary to popular opinion I actually prefer this one more)
5. The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
6. Tribe of Mentors – Tim Ferriss
7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson
Behavioural science (love these ones!)
1. Influence – Robert Cialdini
2. Pre-Suasion – Robert Cialdini
3. The Small Big – Robert Cialdini and Noah Goldstein
4. Mindset – Carol Dweck
5. Grit – Angela Duckworth
6. Drive – Daniel Pink
7. Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
8. Blink: The power of thinking without thinking – Malcolm Gladwell
On self management and leadership
1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
2. The one minute manager – Ken Blanchard
3. Deep Work – Cal Newport
4. Start with why – Simon Sinek
5. Leaders eat last – Simon Sinek
I could go on forever, and I’m sure I missed some killer choices. I should also note that I think it’s incredibly important to go more holistic with reading choices, and I’ll regularly also dabble with fiction, history, biography, tech, business and philosophy books to change things up.
What have you been reading and what books stick in your mind as having a real impact on your life and career? Let me know in the comments.
Make Today the Day,
Sonia
This blog post was originally posted on my training website, Statusone.com.au, on Oct 27, 2018. I have since been moving some of my favourite blog posts from there over to here, as this is now my ‘content hub’ and I want you to have access to some of the cool stuff I’ve written about before. You can still check out the Status One site if you’re interested in corporate training if you want. Also, don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter below for updates and weekly exclusive content.