Hello ladies, gents, cartoon animals, and others.
When it comes to books, the good ones are rare. Not the biggest fans of “reading” and mental masturbation in that sense. But can a good book help you with certain obstacles you are dealing with?
You bet.
Again, remind yourself that nothing will help you in life if you do not put in the reps. Real work beats reading books about it. No doubt
In case you are looking for the first book article:
Before we go any further, you have to realize that most sales books are straight-up trash - full of fluff and non-applicable methods.
Ones on the list below? Worth reading.
Before We Go Further
Your first two books from this list should be:
The SaaS Sales Method for Sales Development Representatives: How to Prospect for Customers
Fanatical Prospecting
Ideas and general framework presented in these two are the best if you are trying to get a bigger picture and understand what is happening. Importance of pipeline, daily activities, and how to prospect. Perfect material for SDRs.
Another thing worth mentioning is that no book should be taken 100% to the point.
Don’t be one of those who try to approach your prospect with 21 questions, as mentioned in the SPIN selling. That’s not how it works. Prospects can sense what you are doing.
In the end? You will be mixing all the below into one to make things work.
Get out of your head. There is no “special method out there.”
1. You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar
Starting the list strong.
Great overall book right here. Perfect one when it comes to frame and flipping games. Also, it’s an amazing read about the importance of role-play in sales. Why is this the first book on the list?
Sandler takes quite a lot of time to explain how important it is to experience and be part of the sales process. Instead of listening and reading about it.
The same thing we are emphasizing.
Books and all courses you want will not help you hit your quota if you are not putting the reps in. A great point you can find in the book is about trust. What you have to do is build trust with your prospect to move things forward.
Better said, you must show that you are up to the task.
2. The SaaS Sales Method for Sales Development Representatives: How to Prospect for Customers
This is a perfect introductory read if you are starting in an SDR role. It will give you an overview of how you will do daily operations (activities) and how to successfully prospect.
The book here should provide a basic understanding of how to keep the pipeline steady. I would argue it’s a must-read for SaaS individuals or those selling it.
Plus, it’s 1$ on Kindle. No brainer.
3. Pitch Anything
We are big fans of Oren. One of those rare ones that can explain difficult topics to inexperienced individuals. Perfect one when it comes to frame and status games. Methods such as “anchoring” are part of the book. Which is a solid way to increase the status or your perception of it in the eyes of the prospect.
Most often, we need reminders in one of those areas.
4. Fanatical prospecting
This is a great read if you are a rookie or someone starting.
Fanatical Prospecting and SaaS Sales Method are great introductions to how things work for most starter roles. For tech sales individuals, they are 70% spot on. That is exactly why we recommend reading them to understand how things work better.
Looking for more sales psychology?
5. GAP Selling
To keep it short when it comes to GAP and why it’s recommended.
This book’s great approach is problem-oriented selling, in the sense that Keenan describes - that you should lead with the problem. Another part of the book that stuck was where it details value creation and how one should approach it.
Giving clear input to your prospecting is one of the keys to being a good salesman. GAP Selling is a great framework book that focuses on problems, qualifying/disqualifying your customers, creating value (if possible), and closing that gap.
Overall? Good sales book.
6. SPIN Selling
When it comes to SPIN selling it is not the best book out there.
But what is great about its introduction of segmenting the sales process. This means it’s great when we talk about complex sales processes.
What was also positive about this book when it came out was how different it was compared to the others. There was no typical “sales” push for close.
It presents a different view of how things are working out regarding big deals. To finish off SPIN selling → if done right should make you seem more genuine and better at having conversations. Both are crucial for success.
If you are relying on the scripts to make things work, you should read this one.
7. Influence
Not a sales book but it’s a sales book. One should already know the direct correlation between psychology and sales.
The author presents real-life cases and psychology samples from around the world. The great part of this book is the social proof and concept behind it.
It reminds one to use it in business operations (WiFi money). Better said, how should one use social proof to one's advantage?
Powerful “tool” if done right.
Before we finish off?
Don’t waste your time searching for these. They can all be found on Amazon for less than $10$, if you don’t mind buying used ones. The ROI from the books presented is huge.
Our advice?
Don’t sleep on the list. Getting through the whole list should not take you more than a month. Combine what you read here with your daily work, and the results are guaranteed. We often need smaller adjustments in our presentation and mindset to make things work. Read, apply what you like, and remove the rest.
Before we finish off…
Remember, there is no perfect method or author out there. Read all of them and create your framework based on them. Better yet, adjust it to your own needs.
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