Category: Sales

3. SHELF it · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Psychology · Sales

BR 289: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr

alearningaday

Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Will makes 2 simple points – (1) storytelling makes us human and (2) all story arcs rhyme with the hero’s journey. Use it to tell your stories better.

Insights that resonated: 

(1) “We organize much of our lives around reassuring ourselves about the accuracy of the hallucinated model world inside our skulls.”

(2) The 5 part story arc is: (i) Introduce hero with a system of control, (ii) Hero sees evidence that system of control doesn’t work, (iii) Hero is challenged significantly, (iv) Hero faces a reckoning, (v) Hero emerges changed and in control.

2. BUY it! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Sales

BR 133: To Sell is Human by Daniel H Pink

alearningadayLeave a comment

Category: 2 – BUY it! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: I’ve been a fan of Dan Pink’s approach of presenting well researched trends with a nice framework and “so what’s”   – ‘A Whole New Mind’ and ‘Drive’ did it well. “To Sell is Human” doesn’t disappoint.

Top 3 Learnings: Selling has moved from the old ABC (Always Be Closing) to the new ABC of Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity.

1. Attunement: This section is all about empathy, connection, and most importantly, asking great questions. The main trend here is that we have moved from information asymmetry between buyers and sellers to information symmetry. Buyers now have all the information that sellers have and don’t need sales people in the traditional sense. They need folks who will help them solve their problems.

2. Buoyancy: Recent research points to the important of having a healthy ratio of positive:negative thoughts but not approaching everything by just pumping yourself up. In fact, research shows that interrogative self talk (i.e. asking yourself – can I do it?) works much better.

It also involves learning optimism (Martin Seligman style) and making sure we aren’t knocked out by rejection.

3. Clarity: Clarity of purpose and making it personal are critical. Many many experiments show that an appeal to a deep, intrinsic purpose moves people.

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Sales

BR 64: The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

alearningadayLeave a comment

Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: An entertaining story book. Selling is the side story. Even though I read the book only a couple of months ago, apart from a few catchy phrases like ‘In today’s misfortune lies the seeds of tomorrow’s luck’.. I don’t remember much. The story, I remember vividly. This tale takes us back 2000 years and attempts at explaining the truth and a potential link between religion and the greatest salesmen that existed.

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Sales

BR 48: The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer

alearningadayLeave a comment

Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Good book. Lots of little principles that concern selling and being effective in general. Gitomer has got a very ‘put yourself out there’ style that can tend to be strong, pushy and aggressive but it does make sure the book is an entertaining read.

 

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Sales

BR 40: The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople by Stephan Schiffman

alearningadayLeave a comment

Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Very good book if you like sales. Gives you simple steps that you can implement. Very useful for anybody who feels they are constantly trying to sell ideas (which is everybody in my point of view but then again.. :)). It had a collection of clear principles that involve building credibility with a client, building credibility in an industry with thought through examples.

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Sales

BR 18: Advanced Selling Strategies – Brian Tracy

alearningadayLeave a comment

Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Brian Tracy’s books promise you a clear narrative, lots of tips and tricks and clear structure and clarity. This book rates very high on the impact front with very clear tips that I still use today. For example – he gives a very simple tip when making a cold call – ‘Start by asking for a minute of the other person’s time’.  Other small tips such as starting the day by reading 30 mins a day have all made a difference.

What to expect: A full on sales book whose impact is best felt if it is ‘studied’ rather than read. If you have never read a sales book, it could possibly be a tad boring as the book is full of step by step processes from the beginning to the end of the sale with a focus on personal development at certain points.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: Sales was part of the job at the start-up I worked for during my undergrad years. As a result, you see many a sales book making an appearance. :)