Selling to Zebras. How to close 90% of the business you pursue faster, more easily and more profitably.  Jeff Koser & Chad Koser. 2009. ISBN 9781929774579.  This is a terrific book that David Feldhaus lent me.  The Zebra website , http://www.sellingtozebras.com/ , is a treasure trove of information once you register with Zebra U.  My readers remember that we talk about the buyers journey and talking about things the buyer finds important.  This book really helps sales people zero into the top level concerns of your buyers as well as you to find and show them the metrics of value you bring.  Its a short, easy to read book, but unless you are committed to being a top performer, this takes a commitment of energy and time to get it right.  Great book  and one that top guns will need to read, review and keep close at hand.

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Snap Selling. Speed up sales and win new business with today’s frazzled customers. Jill Konrath. 2010 ISBN 978159184330.  Okay, along with Sales Dirty Secret, this new book by Jill Konrath (Selling to Big Companies) is my top sales book for 2010.  Jill has assimilated the best practices of current practitioner including Sharon Drew Morgen‘s ground breaking insights into what happens when interested and “hot”  clients “disappear” for long periods of time.  Jill’s book has been flagged by more postit notes  more than any book I read this year.  Immediately useful to any working sales person, it is a book that gives you, the sales pro,  a lifetime of application advice. Her discussions as to how frazzled customers are today is bang on.  Lesson learned she advocates that you will need at least 10 contact attempts over six to eight weeks to be noticed. No worry about being a pest since the targets are so busy, they will not notice the frequency of your attempts amongst the fire hose of incoming requests.  Early on she states,  ”if you are not helping a customer with a high priority item, nothing is going to happen. How does your offering add value to their business? “.   |Also she states that consultative/solution selling, which I consider to be level four (90s style), is well past its time. You will not have the time in front of clients early on the be “consultative” . Jill is the first current writer to begin to address what I consider level five (Gen five) selling , where the seller needs an integrated sales and marketing effort in order to get noticed, because today’s sales cycle involves so many more skills.  If you think that your sales team needs to “get back to basics” , in order to increase sales, that indicates faulty reasoning on your parts. In our engagements, marketing is takes over  ”the basics” freeing the sales team to address today’s harder issues.  Well written, well organized, concise with great examples and suggestion sI recommend every sales person and sales manager read this book this year, well before they miss their quotas.

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A list for someone very new to sales

Reg Nordman

Last week I had two requests (Thank you David and Michael), for very different reasons, asking me what books would I recommend for someone new to sales to help get them quickly up to speed. I get this question often and never felt I had my “best’ answer. So I finally:

• laid out a selection process,
• set out the requirements (Easy to read and digest , did I mention real short,  proven in the trenches, only a few, and seriously effective),
• then looked at my 800 plus  reviews

So,  in May 2010 I have made the inaugural , just add water and stir,  list of Getting Started in Sales books. I make no guarantee that I have not missed your gems, hurt many writers feelings (but being sales people they have tough skins) and I could change my mind tomorrow if a new book comes across my desk. So drum roll please:

2010 Getting Started in Sales book list:
1. Art Sobczak has been at this the longest – he calls it Smart
Calling- but if you read very carefully it is much much more- sales efficiency tag
http://www.regnordman.com/2010/05/10/smart-calling-eliminate-the-fear-failure-and-rejection-from-cold-calling-art-sobczak/

2 The Leaky Funnel – Hugh Macfarlane – sales effectiveness tag
http://www.regnordman.com/?s=Leaky+Funnel

3. It’s Not Rocket Science – Mitch Gooze  - sales effectiveness tag
http://www.regnordman.com/2007/07/31/its-not-rocket-science-mitchell-gooze/

A serious student of sales success (desire to be a top 5%er? ) understands that this is a continuous journey of learning. These books just get you started.

Comments?

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Top Dog Recession-Busting Sales Secrets. 50 experts show you proven ways to sell more in tough times. Michael Dalton Johnson ed. 2010 . ISBN 9781934346150.  This is Volume II and it carries on with the high quality ideas of Volume I . Johnson has done an outstanding job of getting these seasoned sales experts to write short , immediately useful sales tips. Because of the plethora of experience these experts bring to bear on the topic, there is lots for every type o sales person. Thorough, entertaining and meaty, this is a book that seasoned sales guys can put beside their telephone – and the successful ones will use it daily.  Its a must have.

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Smart Calling. Eliminate the fear, failure and rejection from cold calling. Art Sobczak. 2010 ISBN 9780470567029.   Art has been doing this for a long time and I credit his materials with helping me be a much better sales person over the years,  his stuff is timeless.  Some of you may know that as I read a book, I attach post it flags to areas that I find very valuable.  This book  is full of flags.  Art’s previous books really help sales people with what to do. This one is, IMHO, his best yet. It includes the why, what, when and how of telephone selling in an  up to date style. If you need to talk to prospects and leads on the phone, this book will make you so much more successful, that you will be thanking Art until you retire.  As an old sales dog, I learned lots of new tricks from this book.  Buy it, read it, and keep it close to your phone. check out www.businessbyphone.com and www.smart-calling.com.

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The Zero Turnover Sales Force. How to maximize revenue by keeping your sales team intact . Doug McLeod. 2010 ISBN 9780814415603. This is the best sales management book ever. It is also a tremendous guide for anyone on the sales field, old dogs through to the bright newbies.  In one well written, easily read volume reside the truths about high revenue sales management and what to do, step by step.  This book reflects generation five of selling.  Such things as :

• No more cold calling ever since cold calling immediately puts the sale person at a disadvantage and loses the firm big money
• Dump the 100 % commission selling and never try it again, unless you love to lose money
• Its all about the customer now – never about you and your company
• Be honest and forthright – like the best sales people have always been
• Create your numbers in the real world – not wishful thinking
• Do not waste anyones time – especially your sales forces
• Zero turnover in salespeople makes you  huge big bucks
• The right training matters

Do not wait, buy this book right now – it is a key weapon in your sales arsenal. A bonus is the list at the end of important other books to read.

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Lemonade Stand Simple. Accelerate your small business growth. Diane Helbig.20098. ISBN 9780981800462.  This is a Sales Gravy Press book – so it will deliver on what it promises.  This is sales reduced to the simplest essence you could ever find.  It has good examples, good explanations and is an easy quick useful read. If there any parts of the sales story that you do not understand, this is like the Coles Notes version (Coles got me through English 200  the first time) in that you get exactly what you need.

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Selling to the C-suite : what every executive wants you to know about successfully selling to the top. Nicholas A.C. Read and Stephen J. Bistritz. 2010. ISBN 9780071628914.  This is the next read in your growth as a super sales person  titled  listen to the words of the client.   The authors did exhaustive interviews with executives as to what they wanted from a vendor, what they got and what was important to them.  This should open most of your eyes folks.  It is really good material. For example, most executives are closely involved long before the sales person learns about an opportunity, and by then it is likely  the worst time to approach the C Suite.  The book has terrific ideas for doing the homework that is necessary and how this changes from culture to culture.  The sectiopn on China is worth the price of the book.  Simple down to earth advice, easy to read but do not whip through this book, it is too valuable a read.  Their blog http://www.sellingtothec-suite.com.

more articles about the book http://www.salesandmarketing.com/msg/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004001881
http://www.salesandmarketing.com/msg/content_display/publications/e3id519a27d3f06495af655298805bdaeb2

Other sources on this topic http://www.closebiz.org/images/Selling_to_the_C-Suite.pdf

If the rest of the books I look at in 2010 are as good as this I am really looking forward to them

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Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager. Lee B. Salz. 2007. ISBN 9780832950094.   I previously posted Salz’s ideas for sales people looking for work (Time to look for a new sales job? New and seasoned sales guys???? )   The rest of the book is as brilliant.  This is a book which truly architects a salesman’ s success, despite their manager or lack of a manager and little help from marketing.   Much useful and familiar content such as :

• How do you really differentiate your product/service?
• Look at the buyers process, not a selling process.
• What are you doing for personal growth?

What is your ideal client?

• Size?
• Circumstances (new vs takeaway?)
• Process?
• Budget?
• Buying habits?

Who are the personalities in a client?

• Beneficiaries?
• Saboteurs?
• Mentors?
• Wizards (he who pays)?

His chapters on territory management and responding to RFPs are better than anything I have seen in a long time.

If there is something missing it would be the extensive work of Sharon Drew  Morgen on the the early identification of stuff that will get in the way of the sale. Her material is unbeaten at the qualifying stage, to make you more efficient as well as more effective.  Plus you really do need to get marketing to help you with some of this stuff, if you can.

See lots of Lees content belowhttp://changingminds.org/articles/lee_salz_articles.htm

Well written, clear and a great guide, this is a book for every salesperson to have in his library, I would keep in your bag, as the tips and examples are of great immediate use.

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