Ask HN: Sales book recommendation? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Sales book recommendation?

#21

Post by feverishaaron » Sat, Apr 18, 2009, 9:31 PM UTC

ericb wrote: post #15

melvinram wrote: post #2

* SPIN Selling by Rackman * The Sales Bible by Gitomer * Selling to VITO by Parinello * Lead Generation for the Complex Sale by Brian Carroll * http://www.marketingsherpa.com/ * http://blog.startwithalead.com/weblog/ * http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=35771&trk=a... This one is a linekdin group that sends out a good email news letter

If you had to pick just one?

I would pick SPIN selling from this list, especially if you are selling custom work in an enterprise software market.

Re: Ask HN: Sales book recommendation?

#22

Post by farout » Sat, Apr 18, 2009, 10:25 PM UTC

I have been sales for years - the books mentioned are good not great. If there was one that was my favorite out of the 200+ ones I read, "let's get real or let's not play" by khalsa. It is good for you for several reasons: 1. based on consultative services not product sales 2. the audio is hands down the best. It brought tears to my eyes that I had to learn by hard knocks what he shows you to do. 3. it is greared to setup a win win situation and define precisely the value you are providing at the core of the business.

Re: Ask HN: Sales book recommendation?

#23

Post by edw519 » Sat, Apr 18, 2009, 10:47 PM UTC

The best I've ever seen:

http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Teach-Ride-Bike-Seminar/dp/096717...

Re: Ask HN: Sales book recommendation?

#24

Post by melvinram » Sun, Apr 19, 2009, 4:56 AM UTC

ericb wrote: post #15

melvinram wrote: post #2

* SPIN Selling by Rackman * The Sales Bible by Gitomer * Selling to VITO by Parinello * Lead Generation for the Complex Sale by Brian Carroll * http://www.marketingsherpa.com/ * http://blog.startwithalead.com/weblog/ * http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=35771&trk=a... This one is a linekdin group that sends out a good email news letter

If you had to pick just one?

If I had to pick one, I'd pick SPIN Selling as feverishaaron said. It's a lot more how to and broken down into steps. Selling to VITO is also step by step, but SPIN Selling approach makes more sense to me.

Re: Ask HN: Sales book recommendation?

#25

Post by thehickmans » Sun, Apr 19, 2009, 6:45 AM UTC

I'll second a few that have been mentioned already:

* http://blog.startwithalead.com/weblog/ (Brian Carroll's blog) * http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Get-Real-Not-Play/dp/1883219507

you can read more from Mahan Khalsa at: http://www.ninetyfive5.com/default.aspx

I found both of these very helpful in building my understanding of the sales process and for the tools they provide you with. The biggest shift in thinking they provided for me was that selling is about asking questions, finding a connection between what you're offering and what your customer is looking for and then asking for the business. They also showed me that selling is about focusing your activities on the right things to meet your goals, not just spending time "busy" selling.