Top 3 Sales Books All Entrepreneurs & Salespeople Must Read
Sales is a very difficult skill to master.
While it comes naturally to a select few people, as movies like Wolf Of Wall Street so dramatically display, sales is something most people aren't good at.
Some of the best salespeople you see today became so over years and years of hard work and anguish.
If you're introverted like me, you might despise sales, however, we can't ignore the importance of this skill in business.
No matter who you are or what you do, you're going to be selling something to someone.
If you're meeting a new connection, you're selling yourself and showing the other person you're worth connecting to.
If you're an eCommerce store owner, you're selling physical products that are better than your competition's.
If you're the founder of an NFT collection, you're going to be selling a grand vision for your project that your community will want to be a part of.
I've never been great at sales, and it was likely the biggest reason my marketing agency failed over a year ago.
After reading books, and doing research, I came to discover specific tips and tricks that could help me sharpen my sales skills and close more deals.
In this article, we're discussing 3 sales books anyone looking to learn about sales must read to master sales.
Way Of The Wolf
Way Of The Wolf is an iconic sales book written by an iconic man.
Jordan Belfort is believed to be the most skilled salesperson in the world and became extremely popular following the hit movie, Wolf Of Wall Street.
In the movie, we see Leonardo Di Caprio, acting as Jordan, selling stocks and shares to wealthy investors without breaking a sweat.
It's the same movie where the infamous 'sell me this pen' reference comes from.
Although you might not be able to learn much from the movie, the book is a different story.
The book is written by the man himself and goes into detail about the specific strategies and practices Jordan followed that made him the best salesperson in the world.
In the book, he explains how the strategies he adopted helped various sales teams around the world go from underperforming misfits to world-class sales experts almost instantly.
He called this method the 'Straight Line Selling System.'
The goal of a sales interaction is to get your prospects from one place to another, in the easiest way possible - a line, hence the reason the system has this name.
With my marketing agency, the goal was to show prospects why our marketing strategies were crucial to the success of their business - that's it.
Jordan talks about multiple stages on the line and explains sales strategies that can help you advance your prospect across the line both logically and emotionally.
I suggest you check out the book on Amazon to learn more about the strategies of, arguably, the best salesperson in the world!
Fanatical Prospecting
Jeb Blount argues that the world's best salespeople are those that are fanatical about their craft - hence the name of this book.
Jeb, himself, says that sales sucks! No one likes getting random phone calls or messages from strangers, yet it's a mental barrier you must overcome if you want to become great at sales.
Interrupting your prospect's day is crucial to building a powerful and effective sales pipeline that converts into sales.
While there are a ton of channels available for prospecting - and many people are leaning towards less confrontational social media prospecting, the book argues that the phone remains your most powerful tool.
The fact that so many people have moved away from cold calling makes it a great strategy only the best sales professionals are currently using.
Jeb Blount says that sales isn't difficult - people make it difficult by resisting the things they know they need to do to succeed at it.
Your success as a salesperson solely relies on how willing you are to get your hands dirty.
In the book, Jeb helps his readers break their days into groups, starting with a session solely focused on doing your daily cold calls.
Be prepared, however, as sales is never going to go your way.
Make sure you're well equipped to answer any questions or objections as they're a natural part of the process.
Hitting your quota is the only way you'll ever get better at sales - so schedule time in every day, and get it done.
It's important that you replenish the pipeline with new deals and opportunities at a faster rate than the deals falling out.
I'll leave you with a final message that the author loved to say:
"When it's time to go home, make one more call." Always go the extra mile.
How To Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie, an award-winning writer, published the book 'How To Win Friends & Influence People' in 1936.
While the book is almost 80 years old, the lessons that lie within its pages are still practised by modern day leaders, entrepreneurs, and salespeople today.
The book talks all about building friendships, strengthening your network, and even influencing people in general.
While the book covers many ideas and strategies, each and every point in the book centre around one of two fundamental behaviours:
- Showing a genuine interest in others
In a sales situation, you never want to talk all about you and your products or services, those who are able to close deals and make sales are those who show interest in their prospects.
Whether you're connecting to someone or selling your products, show interest in their situations, their unique problems, their hobbies and they'll be a lot more likely to open up to you.
- Give frequent praise
All humans crave appreciation and praise - attention and the ability to feel special make people very happy.
Whenever you notice someone doing something worthy of praise, don't be afraid to give it to them!
On a sales call, tell prospects how they've done a great job building a business.
Tell children how they're doing a great job learning and growing.
Be grateful and tell your parents how they've done a great job raising you from the moment you were born.
There are many hidden gems in this incredible book, lessons that could help you become a much greater salesperson.
I have previously suggested this book in one of my other articles, and I suggest you pick it up here if you want to sharpen your sales skills.
Bonus: The Psychology of Selling
Brian Tracy has been a popular guru in the sales industry for a long time.
He's helped hundreds, even thousands of everyday individuals change their lives by improving their sales skills and strategies.
It is said that more salespeople have managed to become millionaires as a result of simply listening and applying his teachings than from any other source of sales training.
Brian's had the chance to publish a variety of books, all on the subject of selling and entrepreneurship in general.
Amongst some of his most popular books are Eat That Frog and The Psychology Of Selling.
The Psychology Of Selling is a great book published in 1995 that introduces readers to various ideas and practises that you can use immediately to make more sales, faster, and with ease.
The lessons in this book cover all aspects of sales, from your own mindset, your actions, and the prospects that you reach out to.
Research shows that you're unable to earn more than 10% of what you expect to earn, and so Brian starts by telling readers that their own mindset is the reason they're not where they want to be.
Not only are these lessons able to help you achieve success with sales, they can be used for other parts of your life too.
You can grab The Psychology of Selling on Amazon.
All of these books share lessons that are applicable to both your work and personal lives, making them crucial reads.
Those were the top 3 sales books all entrepreneurs and salespeople must read to master sales.
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Till next time,
Mohamad
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