"Sales" is a very broad topic. What aspect of sales are you looking to get better at? The initial prospecting and sourcing of qualified leads? Turning leads into opportunities and proposals? Closing opportunities? Or something else such as preventing churn?
As you understand the macro details of sales, the more micro things (tactics, strategies, best practices) are probably best served by specific industry or specific aspects of sales. For example:
There is no such thing as "sales", and you aren't a "salesman". You provide a solution to a problem. Listen, understand, and then offer a solution.
I forgot who told me that but it's fantastic advice. As far as understanding people, the de facto book to read is "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. I'd highly recommend that.
While that's true at the most abstract level, that doesn't mean that there isn't a whole lot one can learn beyond that, for example on recognizing customer archetypes, how to talk to each archetype to gain pathos with them, how to approach new clients, how to handle objections, how (and when) to close, ... So I would definitely say that there is something like sales, and yes it revolves around 'providing solutions', but that doesn't mean that anyone who can provide solutions to problems can bring in revenue.
Carnegie is a useful book for life in general, don't get me wrong - it's just that it's only the 'foundation' of sales and there is a big distance between that foundation and the actual practice of doing sales. Much like algebra is a 'foundation' of programming, yet nobody gets hired to program based on their ability to multiple two numbers.
> You provide a solution to a problem. Listen, understand, and then offer a solution.
This becomes clear in the classic "sell me this pen" exercise. First find out about the client, what they do, how they would use the pen. Once you know where their focus is, discussing your solution becomes easy and natural.
I think advocating Dale Carnegie is a sign that "the lights are on but nobody is home".
There is a lot of stuff in Carnegie that makes sense, but I have seen people advocate Dale Carnegie and get "upvoted" (or the equivalent) but I think the people who would benefit from Dale Carnegie aren't in a position to really benefit from it.
This is held by one of the founder of YC startup Clever, with an emphasis on the earliest stages of sales in a startup.
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Tons of specific sales advice on http://blog.close.io , you can find the best by googling "site:blog.close.io" and follow through the links. There is a ton of things I learned from Steli Efti (the guy behind www.close.io CRM and the Sales Summer School), be sure to attend their webinars as well if you're curious.
Steli is great, love all of his podcasts but I have to admit it's a little lacking in depth, the sort you would find when discussing larger sales requiring multiple stakeholders and decision makers.
What I'd love is if close.io took another direction and dove deeper instead of the cliche 'hustle hard'.
:) I'm working with Steli on the content. Just sent you an email - would super appreciate if you find the time to answer. It's the critical feedback like yours that helps us improve and create more valuable content.
There have been several worthy recommendations in this string. Keep in mind, the more you read-- the more data you compile and master the subject. Here are a couple not already mentioned--
The best book I've read in ages on prospecting and business development, New Sales, Simplified by Mike Weinberg. If you read nothing else, Chapter 14: Planning & Executing the Attack is pure protein! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15863998-new-sales-simpli...
Here's a video presentation by Matt Dixon on The Challenger Sale. It's a bit long, just over an hour. But give it 15 minutes-- you'll see it's solid material. Good insights on how marketing supports & equips sales. Read the book!
If you are responsible for getting new business, it is probably the best sales book I have read. Walks through defining your target customers, creating appropriate messaging to reach out to those customers and how to structure discovery and presentation calls.
+1 on Predictable Revenue. My only concern is that so much of the focus there seems to be on his one "cold emailing 2.0" technique, which is already starting to become more common, and will probably eventually lose its effectiveness due to over-exposure.
Mike Bosworth - Solution Selling - it talks all about consultative selling, listening and walking prospects through a 9 steps process from introduction to close
I've read SPIN selling and now reading Challenger Sales.
SPIN is much easier to read, know and understand while I found Challenger Sales a lot difficult to follow and put into practice.
Challenger Sale's major premise is the assumption that SPIN selling doesn't work anymore for some reason because of the 2008 recession. I'm not sure how true this assumption is but I'll leave this up for the real sales people.
I'm interested in hacking enterprise sales. ANother HN user's blog on the subject here is excellent as well: http://doanhdo.blogspot.ca/
I can't say that I've actually applied a lot of what's in The Challenger Sale yet, but I really liked the book, and it just feels right on some intuitive level. I'm intrigued enough that it's something I'm making a pointed effort to integrate into my approach.
"To Sell is Human" by Dan Pink. It doesn't so much teach you how to sell as to take the perspective of people whom you may want/need to convince or persuade.
There are 3 books you should read: SPIN Selling. The Challenger Sale. The Charisma Myth. In that order. You will learn so many jedi mind tricks.
Yes, there is such a thing as sales. But do yourself a favor and don't sell shitty products. There's a wide range of incomes among people selling the best products, and the difference is stuff you can at least read about in those books.
Do you really think it's ethical to give "the jedi mind trick" on someone to make a sale. Really?
I agree with "thinkdevcode" a few messages up. The better solution is find the best solution to the underlying problem. View yourself as a problem solver, rather than a salesman.
I think the phrase "jedi mind tricks" might mean something different to you than me. To me it's basically a sarcastic way of saying "sales training", which is actually not about trickery but does have a bit to do with psychology. To you, it means lying I think?
Read the books and tell me that what they teach is pure trickery. But if you take some of the lessons to heart, magically people might start buying more (maybe a lot more) of what you're selling. It's not because you're being unethical though, you just "know how to sell" aka "know how to structure the delivery of information in a way that increases the odds of an interaction resulting in a monetary transaction".
Sure, think of yourself as a "problem solver" vs a "salesperson" if you prefer ("sales" does have a negative old-timey connotation at this point, which is why it's now often called business development). But that's semantics and it doesn't help the OP get any better at his job if it is indeed in sales (or biz dev, or problem solving, or whatever they're calling trying to generate revenue for a company these days).
72 comments
[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 134 ms ] threadhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Professionals-Guide-Better-...
People miss that sales is not just technique or what you say but state of mind, belief and confidence.
Stay away from sales only focus books.
If you really want to learn something check "Mastery" by Robert Greene.
"How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling"(1952) by Frank Bettger
2. Everything at Heavybit is excellent,
their sales videos are very nice:
http://www.heavybit.com/library/developer-sales
And an must see video for me was:
http://www.heavybit.com/library/video/2015-05-12-jason-lemki...
Make your contacts count
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Contacts-Count-Networking/dp...
The science of influence
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Influence-Anyone-Minutes-Less-...
My favorite book about the act of selling (i.e. pitching) is "Pitch Anything" - http://www.amazon.com/Pitch-Anything-Innovative-Presenting-P...
If you're looking for an overall sales primer/bible, your best bet is probably The Sales Acceleration Formula http://www.amazon.com/Sales-Acceleration-Formula-Technology-...
Daniel Pink - To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others http://www.amazon.com/Sell-Human-Surprising-Moving-Others/dp...
Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends & Influence People http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/06...
As you understand the macro details of sales, the more micro things (tactics, strategies, best practices) are probably best served by specific industry or specific aspects of sales. For example:
http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Cloud-Salesforce-com-Billion-Do...
http://www.amazon.com/Sales-Acceleration-Formula-Technology-...
http://www.amazon.com/Predictable-Revenue-Business-Practices...
I also really like Jason Lemkin and his SaaStr blog: http://www.saastr.com/ Loads of SaaS sales practices on there.
There is no such thing as "sales", and you aren't a "salesman". You provide a solution to a problem. Listen, understand, and then offer a solution.
I forgot who told me that but it's fantastic advice. As far as understanding people, the de facto book to read is "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. I'd highly recommend that.
Carnegie is a useful book for life in general, don't get me wrong - it's just that it's only the 'foundation' of sales and there is a big distance between that foundation and the actual practice of doing sales. Much like algebra is a 'foundation' of programming, yet nobody gets hired to program based on their ability to multiple two numbers.
This becomes clear in the classic "sell me this pen" exercise. First find out about the client, what they do, how they would use the pen. Once you know where their focus is, discussing your solution becomes easy and natural.
There is a lot of stuff in Carnegie that makes sense, but I have seen people advocate Dale Carnegie and get "upvoted" (or the equivalent) but I think the people who would benefit from Dale Carnegie aren't in a position to really benefit from it.
This is basically Sales 101. Lecture by Steli Efti, YC founder of the close.io CRM. Insanely valuable.
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Y Combinator "How To Start A Startup" Sales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHAh6WKBgiE
This is held by one of the founder of YC startup Clever, with an emphasis on the earliest stages of sales in a startup.
---
Tons of specific sales advice on http://blog.close.io , you can find the best by googling "site:blog.close.io" and follow through the links. There is a ton of things I learned from Steli Efti (the guy behind www.close.io CRM and the Sales Summer School), be sure to attend their webinars as well if you're curious.
What I'd love is if close.io took another direction and dove deeper instead of the cliche 'hustle hard'.
http://www.3goodbooks.com
The best book I've read in ages on prospecting and business development, New Sales, Simplified by Mike Weinberg. If you read nothing else, Chapter 14: Planning & Executing the Attack is pure protein! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15863998-new-sales-simpli...
Here's a video presentation by Matt Dixon on The Challenger Sale. It's a bit long, just over an hour. But give it 15 minutes-- you'll see it's solid material. Good insights on how marketing supports & equips sales. Read the book!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSfE8zZUoMc
http://www.amazon.com/New-Sales-Simplified-Prospecting-Devel...
If you are responsible for getting new business, it is probably the best sales book I have read. Walks through defining your target customers, creating appropriate messaging to reach out to those customers and how to structure discovery and presentation calls.
https://twitter.com/steli
His book - http://www.startupsalesguide.com/
“The Predictable Revenue Guide To Tripling Your Sales” by Aaron Ross and Jason M. Lemkin - http://www.saastr.com/the-predictable-revenue-guide-to-tripl...
http://www.enterprisesales.nyc/
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Book-Selling-Principles/dp/...
SPIN is much easier to read, know and understand while I found Challenger Sales a lot difficult to follow and put into practice.
Challenger Sale's major premise is the assumption that SPIN selling doesn't work anymore for some reason because of the 2008 recession. I'm not sure how true this assumption is but I'll leave this up for the real sales people.
I'm interested in hacking enterprise sales. ANother HN user's blog on the subject here is excellent as well: http://doanhdo.blogspot.ca/
Yes, there is such a thing as sales. But do yourself a favor and don't sell shitty products. There's a wide range of incomes among people selling the best products, and the difference is stuff you can at least read about in those books.
I agree with "thinkdevcode" a few messages up. The better solution is find the best solution to the underlying problem. View yourself as a problem solver, rather than a salesman.
Read the books and tell me that what they teach is pure trickery. But if you take some of the lessons to heart, magically people might start buying more (maybe a lot more) of what you're selling. It's not because you're being unethical though, you just "know how to sell" aka "know how to structure the delivery of information in a way that increases the odds of an interaction resulting in a monetary transaction".
Sure, think of yourself as a "problem solver" vs a "salesperson" if you prefer ("sales" does have a negative old-timey connotation at this point, which is why it's now often called business development). But that's semantics and it doesn't help the OP get any better at his job if it is indeed in sales (or biz dev, or problem solving, or whatever they're calling trying to generate revenue for a company these days).