Top 5 Books for Sales Partners

For a while now, I have had sales partners and business partners asking me to publish my favorite books.  For those of you who know me, you know that I am a book nut so this is a tough challenge for me to bring it down to a short list.  So, what I did was compile my top 5 books for sales partners.  Some of these might surprise you, but I will give my reasons next to each one.

#1 – EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey –  This might seem like a surprising book to be at the top of my list but I think too many sales partners lose track of a simple fact.  You are in business for yourself.  If you fail to run your business effectively, you will fail, plain and simple.  Read or listen to this book to get a great foundational understanding of business.  This book will help you organize your business for success and also better understand your clients and prospects.  CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon (This is not a reseller link)

#2 – PEP (Personal Efficiency Program) – I know, I know… “Where are all the sales books!!!” they are coming, but again, I have found that more reps fail because they don’t take actions not because they don’t know what actions to take.  Now, in this case, the last half of the book isn’t relevant since it talks more about office space than how to get things done, but the first part of this book is by far the best organizational system for independent sales professionals that I have ever found, so do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK!  CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon (This is not a reseller link)

#3 – How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins – There really isn’t much that needs to be said here.  Tom Hopkins is the man and this book is the ultimate guide to selling.  I am not a huge fan of the first part of the book that is more fluff than substance but that is just my nature, you might love it!  My favorite part of the book is when it gets into the details of alternate advance questions, tie downs, etc.  This book will teach you how to become a sale professional and how to talk like one.  I spent hours early in my sales career practicing these techniques with family, friends and in front of a mirror.  CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon (This is not a reseller link)

#4 – The Art of Closing the Sale by Brian Tracy – I love Brian Tracy, not only is he an incredible sales professional but he is a strategic thinker that will share goal setting ideas to challenge the status quo.  Many sales professionals are talented and hard working but they simply don’t know how to close.  Now I am not a huge fan of every method in this book, again I am not a gimmicky salesman and when you are selling to business owners, a lot of the high pressure tactics are not as effective, but I would say 75% of the ideas in this book can be implemented for immediate impact on your income so get this book and listen to it while you drive between sales appointments to stay motivated throughout your day.  CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon (This is not a reseller link)

#5 – Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan – This book is a must read for one simple reason.  Sales is changing and you need to understand how marketing really works in 2015.  More than any other book I have read, this one illustrates the nuts and bolts of what you need to do to succeed in the new world of Inbound Marketing.  Also, as an added bonus, this book was written by one of the founders of HubSpot which is the technology we use to manage our online content so they do make occasional reference to this technology which will help you understand the type of technology our company is using to increase the number of leads we provide to our sales partners in the field as well as how we nurture existing leads to increase the likelihood that they will want to buy from you.  CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon (This is not a reseller link)

I hope you enjoy reading these great books!  One other tip, All of these are on Audible which I absolutely love for listening to audio books on the road.

Have a great day!

James Shepherd

Read previous post:  How to Sell a Residual Portfolio of Merchant Accounts

How to Sell a Residual Portfolio of Merchant Accounts

Read next post:  3 Keys to Success

3 Keys to Success