Ready for more reading recommendations that will help YOU sell more this week, month and year?

Below is the second part of the Sales Summer Reading list.

To make it easy for you to access the entire list of GREAT reads in an easy-to-access format, click here for the pdf copy, compliments of yours truly, Nancy Bleeke.

 50 Days to Build Your Sales- Book of Tips and Inspirations plus accompanying Workbook, by Lori Richardson. The book is a great gift for someone new in sales, or in a sales slump – to get a daily sales inspiration, then a sales tip to take action. Combine with the workbook, and you have “sales education in a bundle”. It makes for a great read because it is simple – even the type is big – and the tips are tried and true to grow revenues.

 
Building Inside Sales: Framing a Best Practice Group, by Trish Bertuzzi. Whether you have an Inside Sales team or are thinking about building one, this ebook will provide you with the framework you need to launch and sustain a successful program.

Bust Your Slump: A Dozen Slump Busting Strategies to Fill Your Pipeline in 30 Days, by Paul McCord. Need more business?  You’ll find a dozen effective, proven stategies to help you generate a large amount of business fast.  Whether you sell B2B or B2C, have a fast or long-term sales cycle, sell a commodity or highly sophisticated product, you’ll find strategies to meet your market and your sales process.  Pick the one or two that fits best and get busy getting your pipeline filled NOW!

   Creating  a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals, by Paul McCord. No, the book doesn’t promise you that you’ll make a million dollars a year, but it presents a high impact process based on the steps used by 4 dozen sellers from various industires to make their million dollar a year plus incomes—and  you  can turn yourself into a referral-based salesperson just like they did.  Hey, you just might make a million bucks too!

From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Remarkable Transition to Successful Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris. From Bud to Boss is an excellent read for anyone who wants to increase their effectiveness as a leader. Whether you have been on the job for years or you are just starting out, this book will offer you practical, applicable advice.

Growing Great Sales Teams: Lessons from the Cornfield, by Colleen Stanley. Finally, a sales management book that has real world application.  This is a must read for any sales manager that is committed to building a sales culture of excellence, integrity and results.

In Women We Trust, by Mary Clare Hunt. In Women We Trust cuts to the bullet-points of how women engage with each other and what business can do to have the same engagement levels.  While primarily a workbook for the B2C crowd, its 90 trust points can help any sales team internalize the female culture and learn how to work with women as peers first, not targets. Time to read — one day at the beach, or 2 airport layovers.

Metaphorically Selling, by Anne Miller. If you have to get things done through influence or persuasion–and who doesn’t?–then Metaphorically Selling is written for you. Learn how to cut through information overload and grab attention, open minds, close deals, or wow a crowd with the magic of metaphors. Fun to read, Easy to apply.  Speeds up sales.

No More Cold Calling™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust, by Joanne S. Black. Why read? Get the meeting at the level that counts and convert more than 50 percent of your contacts into clients. Learn the referral-sales process that seals the deal every time.

Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in any Situationby John Doerr and Mike Schultz. Summer is a great time to catch up on your reading and sharpen your selling skills and there’s no better book to help you do that than the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Rainmaking Conversations. In this book, Mike Schultz and John Doerr provide a proven system that will help you master the art of the sales conversation so you can close more deals, bring in more revenue, and be more successful in 2011 and beyond.

Sales 2.0, by Anneke Seley and Brent Holoway. This summer, while you’re body’s relaxing, take your mind on an adventure into the changing world of sales, with authors Anneke Seley and Brent Holloway.  Ride along as they demystify the world of Sales 2.0 – a better way of selling for today’s savvy buyers and sellers – and showcase four industry-leading companies who are using these practices to great success and profit!

 Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath. Want to land bigger accounts as your customers? Then check out this book. It gives you a step-by-step guide on how to what you need to do to get your foot in the door. Fortune selected it as one of 8 must reads for salespeople – and it deserves the award. Top 20 on Amazon since 2006.

The Sales Winner’s Handbook: Essential Scripts & Strategies to Skyrocket Sales Performance, by Wendy Weiss. Insider, business-by-phone secrets to get the appointment, sail through objections, and get the sale… Scripts for what to say in every situation so you get what you ask for.

What a list for you to select from!  Click here for the comprehensive pdf with all the titles and information to easily click through to your selections. 

Fill your mind..as you rest your body this summer. 

Want to reference this list and the pdf in your blog or newsletter?  Go ahead – but make sure you include the full copy below:

The 2011 Summer Reading list is provided compliments of Nancy Bleeke, Sales Pro Insider, Inc. www.salesproinsider.com 414.235.3064. Nancy’s training courses can help you and your team build confidence and competence to make every conversation matter to increase sales, reduce turnover and strengthen customer loyalty.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips
Tags: Collaborative Selling, consultative selling, maximize sales productivity, Sales, sales expert, Sales Productivity, sales success, Sales Tips, Sales training

In many parts of the world – summer has arrived or is coming soon. (In Wisconsin, we are desparetly waiting still….)

Summer time often means a little more time to sit and enjoy life or maybe work in a little R&R on vacation! And that’s a great time to read…to let your mind fill with new possibilities or solve agonizing questions such as:

• Why did I ___________ ?
• How can I ___________ ?
• What on earth caused _________ ?

Well, I have put together a list of great sales books. I personally know many of these authors – and their insights, experiences and unique styles all provide something valuable to help YOU be more successful.

There are so many books we have made this a two-part post!  Look for Part 2 on May 30th.

And, to make it easy for you to reference the entire list, we’ll have a full listing of all 25+ books available for download on the 30th for you as well.

Enjoy!

42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness, by Michael Griego. If you are a professional salesperson, sales manager or director, vice president of sales or marketing, CEO, or anyone supporting selling efforts, this book is for you. If you are a senior executive, consultant, venture capitalist, board member, entrepreneur or aspiring up-and-comer, you should know the updated tools, language and tactics of selling in today’s market.

Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by using What You Already Know About the Game of Baseball, by Dave Kurlan. Summer and Baseball!  Baseline Selling makes for a great summer read because unlike most sales books, it’s enjoyable to read, it’s easy to apply and the Baseline Selling sales process is both intuitive and easy to remember.

Business Expert Guide to Business Success, 21 Business Experts Guide You to Profit by Lee B. Salz and Jeb Blount. Build your business right the first time with practical, proven strategies that grow profitable business for the long haul. Be in control of that business rather than it controlling you! 

Bypassing NO in Business, New Body language and Influence Strategies to Eliminate or Reduce Resistance to Anything by Harlan Goerger. 31 quick ideas to get you to the beach more often with more green! Get more YES without pushing, lying or negative manipulation of your customers.

Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There by Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz. A short, fun easy read about a guy who learns an entirely new way to view success and failure and the “NO’s” he encounters in his sales career. Written in fable style, you’ll get plenty of entertainment and sales lessons along with your tan!

Mastering the World of Selling – The Ultimate Resource From The Biggest Names in Sales, by Eric Taylor. No other resource gives you such depth AND breadth on so many sales-related topics, from so many experts – literally everything you need to know to become a Master of Selling and take your sales to a level you could only ever dream of before now.

Secrets of Successful Selling by Kelley Robertson. A good summer read, because each two-to-four page chapter offers a different piece of sales advice, technique or strategy. Categorized alphabetically, it is a great reference book and its short chapters make it easy to pick up and review in-between sales calls. You can read one or two chapters, go for swim, read another few chapters, enjoy a BBQ, etc.

 SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath. If you’re frustrated dealing with today’s crazy busy prospects who never answer the phone, stay with a status quo they don’t like and take forever to make decisions, then check out this book. Tons of ideas and fresh strategies for dealing with frazzled prospects. #1 sales book on Amazon.

The Art of Social Selling – Free e-book from The Customer Collective, with contributions from Anneke Seley. Summer. It’s a time of relaxed deadlines, vacations, and the perfect time to let your mind explore new concepts and grapple with ideas your busy workaday mind doesn’t have time to explore.  This summer, consider the changing behavior of today’s customer that is prompting the contemporary sales organization to rethink how they sell. In this e-book, top corporate leadership and thought leaders who sell in a variety of industry sectors will share success stories and strategies for using social networks to generate leads and cultivate relationships.

The Selling Gap, Selling Strategies for the 21st Centuryby Harlan Goerger. Gain more beach time in less time with new ideas on how people buy in today’s market. It’s not about product, it’s about decisions and facilitating those decisions.

Negotiation Rules by Jeanette Nyden.  Big deal negotiators know the rules to winning great deals without sacrificing their bottom-line. This book is packed with dozens of relevant and practical skills that will help you successfully negotiate your next big deal.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Marketing Tips, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: learning, Negotiation, networking, prospecting, sales expert, Sales Objections, sales process, Sales Tips

Want to be invaluable to your customers?  Decrease their dependency on you by providing helpful information.

This idea is really not as ‘duh’ as you might think! In fact it could be a brilliant strategy depending on the type of business you are in.

An example for you to consider:  This morning I was having yet another computer issue and my IT Tech guy – Tom Karakis of Alpha Geeks - once again fixed it -but also helped me understand what happened and what I could do to resolve it next time or prevent it. As I was explaining the information Tom shared,  I mentioned this to my team and then had the AHA!  He always does that.

As he helps me understand something of how he fixed something, he isn’t decreasing my dependency on him. He is saving himself redundant service time AND keeping me loyal and coming back for more.

How can you do that in your business? How can you educate your buyers/customers so that there is even more value to the product, service or solution that you offer?  A few tips:

• Track the questions that you are asked by your customers and your prospects during the sales process
• Reviewing the information you track, look for similarities
• Identify how you can share that information proactively or just-in-time – this is when social media and the drip marketing approach is effective. You stay in touch as you share useful information!
• Track the reactions and information that seems most valuable to allow you to know what information to keep sharing

It may seem a little ‘fussy’ for many sales professionals…but think of the pay offs!  More referrals, expanded sales with your existing customers and a reason to stay in touch with prospects!  You become invaluable as you provide value-filled information.

What other ideas do you have for making yourself invaluable with information?

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, sales expert, Sales Productivity, sales success, Sales Tips, value proposition

You’re in sales…how often have you been reminded of the power of questions? I’m sure you have heard that good questions:

• Open the conversation
• Get people thinking
• Open gaps for positioning your solution
• Are a powerful indicator of your expertise
• Send the message on how you are focused on -you or them

We all know questions in sales is good.

But THIS post is not about the questions you ask for clients, customers or prospects.

This post is about the BIG questions to ask yourself.

Questions that, when explored and answered, may unlock higher levels of sales success.

Thought-starters:

1. What do I want to accomplish this year?
2. How committed am I to what I am doing?
3. What is my level of engagement with my current employer and current products/services?
4. What am I really good at doing?
5. Digging deeper, what am I passionate about doing?
6. What would I spend more time doing if given the opportunity?
7. If I strengthened or developed ________, how would I benefit?
8. When my commitment to my success is strongest, what am I doing? Who am I working with?
9. Who is supporting my success? How do I ‘tap into’ that support?
10. What can I do today that will allow me to be less stressed and sleep better tonight?

These questions allow you to pause…and process…YOU!

And that can help you decide how to best spend your time and energy.

What other self-reflective questions would you add to this list?

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, Sales, sales success, Sales Tips

In less than a week – YOUR success is the focus of 35 sales and marketing experts from around the world. We’ve joined together, under the planning and organization of Jonathan Farrington at Top Sales World – to deliver an impactful series of sales and marketing webinars.  The best thing? The proceeds of the $5 donations will go to the Red Cross efforts for the Japan disaster relief.

The donation is one fantastic reason to begin to consider this…but that won’t be why you participate.  Look at the topics and presenters!  No matter where you are in your sales career or in your success level – there is SOME thing during this week that will benefit you immediately.  Or maybe there are MANY topics for you – and your sales team.

Click here for the full listing.  35 different topics – 7 each afternoon.  And they are ONLY 30 minutes long. We’ve been challenged to put our ‘best’ into a targeted 30 minutes so you gain the most in the least amount of time.

My presentation on Tuesday, May 10th is geared to those in a position of influencing a sales team. Maybe you are a business owner, or maybe  you lead a sales team personally - I will share with you how to  Build the Success of Your Sales Team with 3 Simple Steps to Improve Skill and Will. You won’t want to miss it.

If you are really ready for more success – select at least 3-5 of the topics during the week – make it one a day – or all 5 in one day. It will be hard to choose when you look at what is available.

I wish you the best of success today (and everyday)! 

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Marketing Tips, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, Sales, sales conference, sales expert, Sales Meeting, sales seminar, Sales Tips, sales tools, Sales training

If you have 30 minutes and $5 – you can make a difference … for yourself and for the disaster relief efforts in Japan. 

Top Sales World has put together 35 sales and marketing experts for a week-long SUCCESS Conference!  Select your topics and for $5 each you will receive 30 minutes of incredible information and tips.  Look at who is delivering – we have Linda Richardson, Kendra Lee, Dave Brock, Dan Waldshmidt and more!  And for $5 each topic – which is being donated to the Red Cross – you win!

I am part of the group on Day Two – May 10th.  Below is my ‘team’ for Tuesday – click here to view ALL the details and the 35 topics that can help YOU be more successful immediately.

Selling Is At An Inflection Point – How Can You Succeed From Here On In? 
Presented at: 12:00 – 12:30 EASTERN
by Dave Brock
CEO of Partners in EXCELLENCE
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=8
 
Build the Success of Your Sales Team with 3 Simple Steps to Improve Skill and Will
Presented at: 12:45 – 1:15 EASTERN
by Nancy Bleeke
President of Sales Pro Insider
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=10
 
Winning sales in 2011: How to arm today’s BtoB sales force with the tools and skills to compete- and win 
Presented at: 1:30 – 2:00 EASTERN
by Michael C. Bird
Chief Revenue Officer at NetProspex
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=22
 
Social Media Strategies for Lead Generation Success
Presented at: 2:15 – 2:45 EASTERN
by Kendra Lee
CEO of the KLA Group
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=11
 
14 Edgy Ways to Break All the Sales Rules and Be Madly Successful Doing It 
Presented at: 3:00 – 3:30 EASTERN
by Dan Waldschmidt
Co-Founder of IntroMojo
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=12
 
Success Tactics to Generate Red-Hot Prospects 
Presented at: 3:45 – 4:15 EASTERN
by Joanne Black
Best Selling Author of “No More Cold Calling”
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=13
 
Improve Your Cold Calling Success 700% 
Presented at: 4:30 – 5:00 EASTERN
by Nigel Edelshain
CEO of Sales 2.0 (LLC).
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=14

Select the topic that will help YOU be successful and register. Make sure you check out Day 1, 3, 4 and 5 – so many topics to choose from!

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: maximize sales productivity, sales conference, sales expert, sales seminar, sales success, Sales Tips, sales tools, Sales training