7 Sales Books You Should Buy Your Favorite Sales Rep

The holidays are right around the corner. If you’re like me, your holiday shopping list has very little scratched off. Do you know what you’re getting the sales rep in your life?

Whether you’re looking for gifts or simply shopping for yourself, every sales book on this list is well worth the read.

1.   The Ultimate Sales Machine –Chet Holmes

Book summary:

Becoming a master is not about doing 4,000 things.  It's about doing 12 things 4,000 times. Over his thirty-year career at the top of the sales and marketing fields, Chet Holmes has worked like a machine himself to boil down all you'll ever need to know into 12 skill areas that make you a master. And to make your life easy, he has divided the book into 12 chapters, each focusing on the skill you need to master. Written with great examples and practical stories, you will find this book and its writing to be artful and entertaining.

Who should read it:

Anyone genuinely interested in mastering the art of sales.

2.    Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking —Malcolm Gladwell

Book summary:

Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren't as simple as they seem. In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance.

Who should read it:

Any sales rep who is fascinated by the science and psychology behind decision-making.

3.    Baseline Selling: How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know About the Game of Baseball –Dave Kurlan

Book summary:

Baseline Selling will dramatically change the way we approach the sales process, replacing the gratuitous complexity advocated by today's sales "experts" with an elegant and very effective simplicity. Studies have shown that the selling techniques of the last two decades have had very little impact on most of the sales population-less than 75 percent of all salespeople, to be exact. Why? Because of the complexity, learning curve and difficulty in applying the concepts in these systems… Baseline Selling introduces a way for salespeople to visualize and touch all the "sales bases" without over-complicating the process.

Who should read it:

The sales rep with a penchant for baseball.

4.    How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

Book summary:

For more than 75 years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Now this previously revised and updated bestseller is available in trade paperback for the first time to help you achieve your maximum potential throughout the next century! Learn three fundamental techniques in handling people, the six ways to make people like you, the 12 ways to win people to your way of thinking and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.

Who should read it:

Any sales rep who wants to be liked.

5.    Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success – John Wooden and Jay Carty

Book summary:

Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden and Jay Carty know that when it comes down to it, success is an equal opportunity player. Anyone can create it in his or her career, family, and beyond. Based on John Wooden's own method to victory, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success reveals that success is built block by block, where each block is a crucial principle contributing to lifelong achievement in every area of life. Each of these 32 daily readings takes an in-depth look at a single block of the pyramid, which when combined with the other blocks forms the structure of the pyramid of success.

Who should read it:

Any sports fan who wants to apply everyday success principles to their sales game.

6.    Selling to Big Companies – Jill Konrath

Book summary:

Struggling to Get Your Foot in the Door of Big Companies? Setting up meetings with corporate decision makers has never been harder. It's almost impossible to get them to pick up the phone. They never return your calls. And if you do happen to catch them, they blow you off right away. It's time to stop making endless cold calls or waiting for the phone to ring. In today's crazy marketplace, new sales strategies are needed to penetrate these big accounts.

Who should read it:

The B2B sales rep getting ready to land the deal of his or her life.

7.    Cold Calling Techniques (That really Work!) – Stephan Schiffman

Book summary:

Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!) provides you with all of the right tools for turning prospects into meetings, and meetings into big sales. This easy-to-follow guide helps you beat today's cold calling obstacles, such as voice mail, cell phones, and e-mail. Schiffman's professional experience and corporate wisdom guarantee your future success. Give yourself the edge. Cold Calling Techniques is the one book you need to make your sales opportunities better, pitches stronger, and commissions greater.

Who should read it:

Any sales rep who knows the unique struggle of cold calling.

What better way to spend the holiday break than curled up with an engaging and insightful book? From everyone here at Accent, we wish you happy and safe holidays.

Did we leave off your favorite sales book? Let us know in the comments!