I have a hard time reading books about selling. I am not sure what it is. I think I find some of the tactics that gurus suggest heavy handed. I know that all sales books are not like this, but the general approach makes it hard to open the covers.
I know there are many of you out there who make a living selling. We don't want to ignore you as we highlight and recommend books. Here is what I have seen lately cross my desk in the genre of selling:
Do you have any suggestions?
Posted by Todd S. at March 7, 2005 04:54 PM | TrackBackHuh? Heavy-handed? Most of the sales books I've seen in recent memory came straight off of Dr. Phil's reading list. What I'd give for a serious sales book about selling in the real world! If anybody's read one let me know.
Posted by: Mike Smock at March 7, 2005 09:50 PMJeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling
Posted by: Peter Rad at March 7, 2005 10:35 PMMy experience is that selling books more less all say the same thing.
Posted by: Rob at March 8, 2005 11:06 AMI've read very few decent sales books, but How to be the Rainmaker was good because it reminded you of small, obvious things you forget by searching for grand theories (i.e., MBA endorsed hypnosis tactics) of sales.
Fastest way to learn how to sell overall though is to join a company that requires cold call selling. Vector Marketing (those annoying kids that sell knives) turned a friend of mine (38 yrs. old) with no social skills into a selling machine. Wells Fargo Financial did roughly the same for me. Both force you to "work smarter, and then work harder."
Moreover, 90% of selling is dealing with rejection. Try being an artist of any kind, and you'll be prepared to deal with all rejection. Even the Beatles only sold 125 million albums in the US, which leaves a few hundred million people who said no to them.
Posted by: Cole at March 9, 2005 02:15 PM