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Lead Generation for the Complex Sale

This book is fantastic for sales leaders, management, and business owners. It points out that the average salesperson (in complex sales, i.e. capital equipment, business sales, etc.) must generate $1,000 in business per working hour to make their quotas. That won’t happen if we spend our time in unproductive, low quality work, regardless of how important such activities may be.

This book contains the strategies and tools for creating an in-house lead generation system that will help salespeople do what they do best: sell qualified prospects. This book will help transform companies into market/sales driven enterprises, critical to success in this age of hyper-competitively. I believe this is simply one of the best books on this subject (another is “The Fundamentals of Business-to-Business Sales & Marketing”). However many of the suggestions cannot be implemented and may even run counter to the politics and management of the organization you work for. Therefore most of the ideas won’t work for a salesman in the territory pounding away daily to get sales. For example, aligning business systems and the value proposition to optimize lead generation is imperative, however I can’t do that alone, neither can most salespeople.

If you’re an entrepreneur, a sales leader or a manager this book is a must read with sage and up-to-date advice. For the salespeople on-the-ground and in-the-field better book selections for lead generation are “Selling to Big Companies” and “Selling Against the Goal.” However, “Lead Generation for the Complex Sale” does inform every salesperson about the skills needed to be successful regardless of one’s position. Knowing business metrics, how to profile and evaluate prospects, increasing the value of the sales process by being a consultant and not simply a vender with PowerPoint are all critical success factors for modern salespeople. Not only will salespeople be dramatically helped by reading this book, they may be able to create upward pressure for the business and management to improve as well.
Lead Generation for the Complex Sale: Boost the Quality and Quantity of Leads to Increase Your ROI

Selling to Big Companies - Any company

A prospecting plan for ALL salespeople, not just big company sellers

This book cannot be praised enough. This book isn’t just for selling to big companies! This book is for anyone who needs prospects and whose company does a poor job of generating leads for them (everyone is in this situation I think). Selling to Big Companies debunks many of sales myths, especially those loved by out-of-touch managers who want more results but are clueless about how to get them. We are living in the `perfect storm’ of sales resistance, especially in regards to getting in at all. Selling `high’ isn’t the answer, any more than the tired, worn-out approach of cold calling. This book, however, is the answer!

There are thousands of books and systems for sales. Almost all of them ignore or minimize the realities of how hard it is today to get into accounts to even begin `selling.’ Few books have little useful information on prospecting or lead generation. No matter how good you are if you can’t get in the door you can’t be a solution, strategic, customer-focused, closed sub (Sandler), or ad nauseam `flavor of the day’ seller. This book, coupled with “Selling Against the Goal” has replaced 90% of my selling library and is an indispensable read.

Successfully getting into accounts (of all sizes) requires more than repetitive cold calling. Selling to Big Companies teaches how to create a value proposition. Not an elevator speech or a benefits statement but a carefully designed, researched, and targeted door busting concept for each business you’ve chosen to get into. The book also has good advice on the triggers that make getting in more likely and the other tactics a salesperson can use to break through voice mail, email, and the other technology ‘gatekeepers’ prospects have.

This book is a practical workbook: not simply a theoretical system of selling that does you no good in the day to day selling world where we all live. This book tells you how to make a plan, to create a prospect campaign: the how-to of developing leads and prospects within your territory. The book has very explicit instructions that show you how to work an area, develop business, and close sales. “If you’re not getting in,” for example the book tells us, “it is because your value statement isn’t very good.” This book goes far beyond the worn out and doesn’t work advice of `just cold call more.’ This book may have saved my career. It will definitely improve anyone’s sales efforts if they apply it.

Jill Konrath also has one of the best courses on Selling I’ve ever taken. You can read more about it by Clicking Here
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Selling to Big Companies

Selling Against the Goal

This book cannot be praised enough. There are thousands of books and systems for sales. Almost all of them ignore or minimize the realities of how hard it is today to get into accounts to even begin `selling.’ Most sales books have little useful information on prospecting or lead generation. No matter how good you are if you can’t get in the door you can’t be a solution, strategic, customer-focused, closed sub (Sandler), or ad nauseam `flavor of the day’ seller. This book, coupled with “Selling to Big Companies” has replaced 90% of my selling library and is an indispensable read.

“Job Title: Sales Rep. Job Responsibilities: Generate Leads. Close Sales. How to Get the Job Done: It’s up to you, my friend.” This is how the book starts and isn’t it TRUE. No-one tells us how and the real help we get as out-in-the-field salespeople is minimal. Few companies are good at generating leads! Most books written on the topic are for management (Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, for example, is a great book, but not for the grunt on-the-ground like me). Other books just rehash cold calling techniques that simply don’t work in this overworked, too busy, voice mail and email business environment.

Most importantly this book is a practical workbook: not simply a theoretical system of selling that does you no good in the day to day selling world where we all live. This book tells you how to make a territory plan and then develop leads and prospects within your territory. The book works from your goals, even targets the amount of prospects based on your averages and financial plans. The book have very explicit instructions that show you how to work an area, develop business, and close sales. This book goes far beyond the worn out and doesn’t work advice of `just cold call more.’ This book may have saved my career. It will definitely improve anyone’s sales efforts if they apply it.
Selling Against the Goal: How Corporate Sales Professionals Generate the Leads They Need

Selling with Emotional Intelligence

This is an important book for salespeople to read and keep close in hand. Sales can be emotionally and psychologically devastating, no matter how stable or mature a person is. Prospects and customers lie, deals go bad, salespeople get cheated, competitors use dishonest and misleading tactics. It’s easy to either burn out or become dysfunctional (that is dishonest) ourselves.

There are many good books on sales techniques, systems and strategies. This is the only book that I know about that helps in the areas of emotional fitness. Mitch Anthony takes Daniel Goleman’s ideas of “Emotional Intelligence” and applies them directly to sales, because as he says, “when clients have a choice, they choose the option with the least amount of emotional exhaustion and annoyance.” Sales people must walk the emotional tightrope of being assertive but not pushy; conversational but not verbal dictators, energetic but not manic, “callous to rejection but sensitive to concerns;” and empathetic but not absorbed. This book will show you how to do that.

“Selling with Emotional Intelligence” will give you the tools to manage stress, control anger, and avoid burnout. By applying the skills of EI clients will be more attracted to your personality and qualifications. You will bring more vitality to each relationship and sales opportunity and be less hurt and de-motivated by the negatives of our profession. This book is about self-mastery which as Sun Tzu (The Art of War) points out is the basis for victory in any endeavor. “Success is driven from the inside out.”
Selling with Emotional Intelligence

Get Clients Now

There are millions of sales books. Most are a high on strategy and low on practicality. This book is all about doing: complete with forms, checklists, charts, and to-do lists. This book is easy to read, implement, and follow. In-fact, I’ve never encountered another book with such precise instructions, including a roadmap that branches off into the various kind of activities that can be used to get more business. It not only includes that roadmap but detailed instructions for each specific tactic and activity that can be used to get clients. This book will become one of the few books you use on a consistent and regular basis.

If you use Ms. Hayden’s program you will get clients, and fast. Not only that you’ll have the increased confidence and satisfaction of doing something that directly impacts your results, not simply waiting until the phone rings or marketing sends you a lead. I loved this book because it has made money for me, increased sales, and made the ‘marketing’ element of my job fun again. Perhaps just as important you can measure what is working and what isn’t, trying different activities and tracking their results. There is no fluff in this book, just a system for driving results and getting business.
Get Clients Now!(TM): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches

Flawless Consulting - The One Book Consultants MUST read

target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Hands down the best book on consulting I ever bought!!!

Peter Block covers the intangibles of consulting: the politics, communications and the obstacles that derail the consultant/client relationship. This book is a MUST read, not only for consultants, but for anyone that works in or around companies that have politics, or bureaucracy, or people. That should cover just about all of us. This book helped me because it covered so much more then the business techniques of consulting, hey I’m a business consultant after all. Flawless Consulting helps you master communication and contracting gaffs, to understand why after much good advice the customer still does the wrong thing, and most importantly how your success can be assured despite those kind of issues.

target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used

Top Dog Sales Secrets

This isn’t your typical sales book. It is a collection of authors writing on various topics, not a selling system or sales `program’ such as Strategic Selling or SPIN Selling. The authors are excellent writers and the information is current. I found the tone to be enthusiastic, humorous and easy to read. It’s a good book to read when you only have snippets of time and can’t get involved with a long read or concept. Each article has nuggets of wisdom in it and every article is written by a proven sales pro who has been in our shoes, not an academic or manager from some ivory tower.

The down side is the books organization. It isn’t divided into sections such as prospecting, qualifying, closing, etc. While the book contains multiple articles on each subject they are intermingled throughout, like a newspaper that continues a story inside to force you to go through the entire paper. This is a great airplane or waiting room read. I find myself rereading many of the articles several times, going back to important ideas and quotes. After you read this book you can get more information by reading the various authors books.
Top Dog Sales Secrets: 50 Top Experts Show You Proven Ways to Skyrocket Your Sales

Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success

This is a book that surprised me. Based on the age of this book I expected tired and old advice on cold calling and other overworked concepts discussed ad nauseam in every sales book. Instead I got a solid system of prospecting with excellent advice, techniques, and tools. This book covers all the bases from list acquisition to script writing and record keeping but most importantly the author changes prospecting from grueling to pleasurable. “Old School” prospecting was hard because it was based on overcoming rejection and a mind-numbing process of quantity over quality. Old School Prospecting was about verbally beating on a prospect until they capitulate: that buyers are liars, each no leads to a yes, and that you need at least 10 no’s to get a yes.

Bill Good says, “Prospecting and selling are two entirely different subjects. Prospecting gets rid of; selling keeps. Prospecting takes an easy no. On the other hand, once a salesperson is convinced someone is a good prospect and should own the product or service, selling does not take an easy no.” Good has a better system: that buyers tell the truth and if they’re not interested simply say “Thankyouverymuch” and call the next person. Bill Good writes with humor and warmth. He has been in the trenches with us and his savvy, wisdom, experience all come through.

While an update of the book to include CRM instead of index cards might be useful, this is a solid helpful book on prospecting. Very few books exist on prospecting which is what I consider the most important part of selling. This book sits on my short shelf of must have sales books, along with “Selling Against the Goal,” “Value Forward Selling,” and “Selling to Big Companies.” There are many books on cold calling such as “Red Hot Cold Calling” and “Cold Calling for Dummies”, even books on “Never Cold Call Again. Bill Good’s book “Prospecting” is the best–the best by far!
Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

If you want to learn how to change behaviors that seem intractable this book will give you powerful change tools. Influencers will help managers and leaders with organizational change, parents with their children’s behaviors. This book isn’t about quick fixes, self-help, or even the “persuasion techniques” that salesmen need to close a deal or managers need to get their orders followed. This book is about influencing behavior over the long view. This is an important book.

Let me address some criticisms I’ve heard about this book. The principle complaints seem to be: the book is poorly written, there are 5 authors, the book mocks the `Serenity’ prayer, and lastly it is not a self-help book. The reading level of this book is probably greater than the 8th grade level most books are written at. However the book is well organized, threads its various stories and points throughout and kept me involved to the end. The joint efforts of these authors has produced two other fine books (Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations) so their writing skill and collaboration are proven.

Serenity has become apathy: the acceptance of things that we can change–a substitution for courage. This book calls readers to challenge the status quo and to lead change where possible. Lastly, this is NOT a self-help book. This is not a book for salespeople or others looking for persuasion techniques. If you want to learn about those things read Tipping point, anything by David J. Lieberman (such as “Get Anyone to Do Anything”). Read “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B. Cialdini or “The Psychology of Persuasion” by Kevin Hogan. This is a book on how to help others.

“Influencers” creates an entire change model based on the fact that people choose their behaviors based on what they believe works and only change after answering two questions: can I do it and is it worth it? Those two dimensions of desiring change–motivation and ability–have personal, social, and structural elements, resulting in 6 strategies influencers can use to leverage change.

The book solves the paradox of having so much information but little change, for example dieting or smoking. We know what to do but we don’t do it: we need people who are Influencers. Influencers know that behaviors are not changed through verbal persuasion but through personal experience. When experience can’t be had Influencers need to create profound visceral experiences. Change “takes a combination of strategies aimed at a handful of vital behaviors to solve profound and persistent problems” (76). This book will teach you how to do this! If you are the kind of person that reads books like Rick Warren’s “A Purpose Driven Life” or John Maxwell’s “Becoming a Person of Influence” you will like this book. If you want to be effective in helping others without force or by power you should read this book.
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion

The Art of Woo” hits on all cylinders, except perhaps its title. This book offers practical advice and a clear roadmap on how to persuade others, that is the selling of ideas. The book is entertaining, well written, and full of good stories, quotes, and historical personalities and business greats. I highly recommend this book for everyone because all of us has to sell our ideas: to our families, co-workers and clients. As Lee Iacocca said “you can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”

What makes “The Art of Woo” so good is its emphasis on relationships and people skills. Woo is about “relationship-based persuasion, a strategic process for getting people’s attention, pitching your ideas, and obtaining approval for your plans and projects.” In our manically fast email impersonal technology driven world “woo is about people, not saving time.”

The book includes self-tests, practical tips, and a clear strategy: 1) survey your situation 2) confront the five barriers 3) make your pitch, and 4) secure your commitments. The barriers include relationships, credibility, communication mismatches, belief systems, and interests and needs. The authors recommend other books and have documented their research.

Lastly, this book pulls together much of the famous material of other persuasion books, such as Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion,” “Soft Selling,” and “Blink”. The book quotes Steven Covey, Marcus Buckingham, and dozens of business and historic leaders (Churchill, Franklin, Andy Grove, Sam Walton, etc.) If you only have time to read one book on persuasion this is an excellent choice.
The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas