Sales Practitioner Resources

"Knowledge is power."

Sales books, trade journals and magazines - there are many to choose from and just as many lists of "top Sales books to read." Below we've compiled our own list of some resources you might find interesting. Divided into categories, these ideas come from our SEF Advisory Board and SEF friends.

If you'd like to recommend an addition to this list, send us an email - info@salesfoundation.org.  Be sure to include details about your recommendation including a link(s) so we can help others can find it.

Journals of Interest - Sales related

• The International Journal of Sales Transformation offers Sales knowledge at your fingertips. Visit the Journal

Magazines

• Harvard Business Review (HBR) is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University offering new ideas and classic advice on strategy, innovation and leadership. Visit Harvard Business Review

• Top Sales Magazine features regular columnists who provide substantial thought-provoking commentary on a wide range of sales issues. Visit the Magazine

Books

• Cracking the Sales Management Code by Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana - Based on research into how world-class sales forces measure and manage their sellers, Cracking the Sales Management Code provides a best practice approach to identify and implement the critical processes and metrics that drive business results. It's a book on how to effectively manage a sales force. Check out Cracking the Sales Management Code

• Transforming Sales Management: Lead Sales Teams Through Change by Dr Grant Van Ulbrich - Based on research in the main gap between change success and failure, Transforming Sales Management reveals the most critical element in change success and how there was no model to support the individuals involved. As such, he created the new personal change model SCARED SO WHAT. Check out Transforming Sales Management

• The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement by Mike Kunkle – Based on 30+ years in the sales performance improvement field, The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement is a proven-effective framework and approach that improves sales effectiveness and delivers significant business impact. Check out The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement

• Hire Right, Higher Profits by Lee Salz – Hired and fired... It’s the revolving door on sales teams. The methodology presented in Hire Right, Higher Profits can be implemented in any company, in any industry, of any size. This bestseller teaches you how to hire the right salespeople and get them up to speed fast. Check out Hire Right, Higher Profits

• Sales Differentiation by Lee Salz – To win deals at the prices you want, the strategy needed is differentiation. The strategies are presented in easy-to-understand stories, can quickly be put into practice and are divided into two sections, "what you sell" and "how you sell." Check out Sales Differentiation

• Sell Different! by Lee Salz – Every interaction with a buyer gives you opportunities to outsmart, outmaneuver, and outsell the competition. Salespeople face fierce competition in their pursuit of winning deals. Differences in product features and functions get smaller by the minute and are not always meaningful to buyers. The bestseller presents 15 strategies that differentiate how you sell. Check out Sell Different!

• What Great Salespeople Do by Mike Bosworth and Ben Zoldan – offers insight into the greatest mystery in Sales: how the very best salespeople consistently and successfully emotionally connect and win trust, inspiring their customers to say "Yes." This book challenges some of the most widely accepted paradigms in selling in order to prove that influencing change in buyers is a skill that anyone can practice and learn. Check out What Great Salespeople Do

• CustomerCentric Selling by Mike Bosworth, John Holland and Frank Visgatis – Your business and its people need to be “CustomerCentric” - willing and able to identify and serve customers’ needs in a world where competition waits just a mouse-click away. Traditional wisdom has long held that selling means convincing and persuading buyers. But today’s buyers no longer want or need to be sold in traditional ways. Check out CustomerCentric Selling

• How To Get A Sales Job by John P. Davis – is for anyone in search of a new Sales job. It’s an affordable tool filled with best practices, real-life examples, and anecdotes that’ll prepare you for any situation you encounter along the way. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned Sales rep, having a repeatable process in place will give you an edge over other candidates and increase your likelihood of finding the right Sales job. Check out How To Get A Sales Job

• She Sells: Attract, Promote, and Retain Great Women in B2B Sales by Lori Richardson - this book is based on research, statistics, and stories to help company leaders and sales leaders not only hire more women for their sales teams but also retain and promote them. Women are underrepresented at every level in B2B professional selling. Learn top tips to put into practice immediately and read how other company leaders have built inclusive sales teams. Check out She Sells

• Spin Selling by Neil Rackham - this groundbreaking resource details the revolutionary SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need Payoff) strategy and is essential reading for anyone involved in selling or managing a Sales force. Packed with real world examples, graphics, and informative case studies and backed by hard research data this book is the key to understanding and producing record breaking high end sales performance. Check out Spin Selling

• The Spin Selling Fieldbook by Neil Rackham - your guide to the method that has revolutionized big-ticket sales in the United States and globally. It's the method being used by Fortune 500 companies to train their Sales forces. This fieldbook is the interactive, hands-on field book that provides the practical tools you need to put this revolutionary method into action­­. Check out The Spin Selling Fieldbook

 Journals of Interest - Others

• The Journal of Financial Service Professionals is a journal for sales practitioners in retail financial services and publishes insightful peer-reviewed articles and regular columns by industry experts. Visit the Journal