To celebrate world book day, thought I’d share with you my 12 favourite books to grow sales. In no particular order..

The Speed Reading Book

To excel in sales you have to be an expert, a trusted authority, and reading is one of the best ways there. I can’t believe people who don’t read. I would not be where I am if I got by reading 1 or 2 books a year. After learning to speed read I now cruise through 4 or 5 books a month.

The more I learn, the more I can serve, the more I earn. The more I can give.

The Go-Giver

Not a typical sales book, I love it because it’s a fable about a guy trying to grow his sales (and failing) in the typical fashion. He stumbles upon a wise man who teaches him 5 laws of stratospheric success. I’ve been using these methods for over a decade, and I like to re-read this book every year to remind me. Listen to my interview with the author, here. I was a little star-struck after this interview!

Think and Grow Rich

I’m a strong believer that success starts in the mind. I know first hand because for a while I carried disempowering thoughts. As a result I used to be depressed all the time, I wasn’t achieving the success I hoped for and drifted through life. This amazing book was a pioneer of its time and still a classic. Napoleon Hill interviewed America’s 500 richest people to find out mindsets that made them successful. It’s a book I continue re-reading.

Psycho-Cybernetics

This book is about the science of our subconscious mind. What makes this book unique is, it’s written by a deeply curious plastic surgeon turned psychologist, someone in the profession of enhancing peoples self-image on the outside and inside. He wondered why reconstruction changed some people’s behaviour and self-image, but not others. Anyone curious about discovering their own success mechanisms, or want to learn the secrets of being happy, this is a must read.

The Power of Now

This book helped me wake up and stop worrying and stressing. When I learned to get present, I had a choice how to show up every day. This book absolutely changed my life. For more, learn about the power of the present moment in sales.

Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion

A classic in the world of persuasion. Maestro of persuasion Robert Cialdini’s research unveils the 6 most powerful triggers that cause people to be persuaded. I also interviewed the co-author of Cialdini’s latest book, The Small Big, you can listen here.

SPIN selling

Classic sales book that stands the test of time. Cold hard techniques about how to ask effective questions that leads buyers to uncover needs they didn’t realise, and how to get buyers to think about the benefits of your products.

Tested Advertising Methods

If you want to get your emails opened and blogs noticed, get this book. It shows you tried and tested attention grabbing headlines that work. My email open rates float around 40%, and average is 22%.

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Excellent presentation techniques is key to selling. One way people make themselves utterly forgettable is death by bullet-point. There’s no excuse anymore with a book like this to feast on. So please stop. Learn from a master. People remember my presentations a year after delivering them. It’s because I adopt methods taught in this book. And I’m funny 😛

Talk Like Ted

Being a good speaker helps positions you as an authority. Being a great speaker makes you memorable and you get to speak more. I studied this book to prepare for my first TEDx talk. It gives you a simple replicable framework to structure your talks to keep the audience engaged and make your talks memorable.

Celebrity Service

How do you keep and retain your customers? How can you deliver a level of service that outcompetes your competitors? This is my favourite book on how to look after your customers, the author is a master in this area.

Blue Ocean Strategy

As a graduate student of innovation and strategy, I’ve read my share of such books. This is the best strategy book I’ve ever come across. Guiding you how to identify oceans of new opportunities instead of fighting in an overcrowded pool with comeptitors. This book helped me get to where I am today. Read this article on six paths to new customers, I learned from the book.

It would be rude not to mention both my books, Grow Your Sales, Do What You Love: Mindful Selling for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers 🙂 and Mindful Selling: Seven Principles to Banish Stress and Boldly Grow Your Impact, Your Way You can buy yours here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your favourite books? Have I missed any? Tell me in the comment box below.