(Part 2) Best products from r/sales

Some things never change.

I was in your shoes about 15 years ago as a wide eyed, broke new comer being told to invest in my business by experienced financial advisors with big books of business and money to burn. Fortunately for me I had a fantastic manager/mentor who helped me build a financially and professionally rewarding career. Here's what I learned to invest in early on:

1. Product knowledge - You should know your products inside out. Insurance/finance companies actually do a pretty good job of this as their wholesalers are constantly picking up lunch tabs to make sure advisors know their products well enough to push them. Take advantage of them. If there's something you don't know about a product then pick up the phone, call your wholesaler, and don't let him off the phone until you know it.
   
   
2. Sales kills - 15 years in business and I'm continuously amazed at how little time is actually spent developing sales skills. Learn how to sell. Three books I'd recommend today are: Never Split the Difference, Your 1st Year in Sales, and The 12 Week Year. OK, they're not all sales books but knowing how to organize your life is vital.
   
   
3. General insurance/financial knowledge - I know SO many advisors that don't know the first things about their industries. I read The Wall Street Journal every single day to keep abreast of what's going on in the industry. I have a handful of Google Alerts for different things regarding insurance, annuities, managed money, etc. I don't watch a lot of TV but most of what I watch is CNBC and Fox Business. I've also perused additional licenses and certifications. I have my Series 7 and CFP.
   
   
4. Your appearance - Looks matter in sales. I'm always dressed professionally and exercise daily to relieve stress and, well, look good. My suits are always pressed and I cut my hair once a week because any longer and I look like Cousin It from the Addams Family.
   
   
5. Relationships - I basically built my career off of friends and experienced agents who let me call their book of business for 50% of the commission. 50% of something is a lot better than 100% of nothing. Some of my biggest clients are friends who never knew they were on an appointment with me. Play your cards right and beers with the guy from high school you haven't seen in 15 years could result in him rolling over an old 401(k) to you and buying life insurance policies for him and his wife. Play your cards really right and he'll even spring for those beers.
   
   So at this point in your career investing in your business could look like going for a 3 mile run in the morning, running an iron over your shirt, and role playing your sales pitch with your manager when no one is answering their phones. As business comes you can invest further with a mailing campaign and some door knocking. When that turns to money look at things like seminars. Your wholesalers will be happy to cover the cost of food and do a presentation so long as you can fill a room with prospects for them. Etc.

People are not buying your product. They are buying you. One of my favorite reads lately is "The Sell." I loved it because it focused on being the best you. Let your flag fly kind of thing. The book is written by a flamboyant gay man and if you can get past that it is an amazing book.

https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Secrets-Selling-Anything-Anyone/dp/1592409520/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480372746&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sell

Introducing audio books into my life was a huge game changer. Highly recommend it. Audible it great.

If you like sports. Try the success hotline. New message everyday to get you motivated.
973-743-4690

My current company has me selling off this god awful fucking outdated book and "technique." So obviously I do what I think is best for the modern era.

I get the core content of what he's trying to convey, but my sales leadership is more outdated than this dude's outdated pop culture references.

I think the best sales books are The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer, and The New Solution Selling

AND!!! Personally, I think, especially as you progress into a more advanced sales career, THE takeaway of what it is to sell in a modern world is best encompassed in The Challenger Customer...it more or less boils down to the fact that customers are more informed than ever, old-school "slick" sales techniques do not work, and by the time the customer is meeting with you, they are like 75% into the buying process.

The days of being the smooth talking sales guy are over (thank god!).

Congrats on your first SQL! I can recommend three books:

​

Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount

Prob the best book out there on prospecting. Takes you thru the do's and dont's of prospecting in a really good way. Easy read, a lot of great tips and a gamechanger if you apply some of the techniques in your work.

​

Objections by Jeb Blount

Objections..and the fear of rejection. This is not a book with answers on objection A, B, C etc.. The book goes more in depth on the phsycology of how they arise, what is does to you and how to handle the emotions. I have read many "easy fix" objection books with predefined answers to different objections but that don't work since each situation is unique.

​

Selling from the heart by Larry Levine

Great book on how to sell yourselv (no phun intended). The book is based on how to build trust, which the one of the most important part of sales IMO and Larry gives great examples from his and peer experiences.

​

There's a lot of sales book out there but these are my top 3.

Honestly, I wouldn't read sales books for motivation. I'd read sales books if you need help on tactics and strategy, but if you need help picking up the phone you won't find much besides "for every 100 calls, you'll get 10 prospects and one close!".

Like sufi_surfer, I read biographies for motivation. This is fantastic and very motivational. I'm also reading this at the moment. It's half business, half bio. And very fucking good.

I don't think so at all. How else are you supposed to generate new contacts? Cold calls are more effective than emails or faxes, you'll more likely get a memorable positive response since you are talking to a live individual. Check out a book called Be Brief, Be Bright, Be Gone. As a pharma sales rep, this technique works well for me. Be sure to say something impressive early on, and don't aggressively try to keep them on the phone. The best thing is to find their email address beforehand, call, introduce yourself, introduce one primo product, and tell them you'll email them your contact information immediately after the call. They'll "remember" you more than if you had sent out an equally successful email.

that's absolutely right. it's a numbers game. The more calls you make the more yesses you'll get. You'll also get a lot more no's, but if you can handle that, which it sounds like you can, you'll be good.

I'd also recommend looking into a simple sales book since this thread will only give you nick nacks and an incomplete view of the whole thing. I'd recommend this one because it is short, easy to read, and pretty comprehensive: http://www.amazon.com/Sales-Habits-Highly-Successful-Salespeople/dp/1598697579

I would reccomend you buy this book:

Game Plan Selling

When I first started sales at 24 I definitely struggled with the whole sales process, but especially the call script. I was fortunate enough to go to a small seminar done by the author and bought his book after he was done. It changed everything for me, and he spends an entire chapter helping set up your script. I'm a former athlete, and this book is meant to be like your sales "playbook" so it worked really well for me. Best of luck!

Make sure your site and message is clear and easy for people. Great book to read is here: https://www.amazon.com/Building-StoryBrand-Clarify-Message-Customers-ebook/dp/B06XFJ2JGR

Not only with site copy, but will help with sales.

Learn about lead gen and using sequenced email to reach many clients on multiple touches. Good book to learn the basics here:

https://www.amazon.com/Predictable-Revenue-Business-Practices-Salesforce-com-ebook/dp/B005ERYEGU

Learning sales takes time and you will get better. Timing isn’t always right for your customers and it’s one of the hardest things to understand. Put yourself in their shoes. If you aren’t in the market for something you probably won’t buy.

People don’t like being sold on the first email. Start with trying to get them on the phone with you to chat about their site. Ask them questions about what they feel is missing. See what they need and find out if it’s even worth it pursuing them.

Also, I would focus on a specific group. Maybe contractors? Scrape emails and send outbound emails to get that discovery call.

EDIT
Become a Godaddy Reseller if you’re serious. This way you sell a bunch more than just web dev. You can sell SSL, hosting, etc. this will give you more value to your clients and get you more $$

You got this!

This needs a lot of work. My reasoning here and then I will retype it below.

> I’ll get straight to the point because I know you’re busy; enclosed are some unfavorable reviews about restaurant that are currently on PAGE ONE of Google.

Everyone is busy, so no need to waste time stating it. Cut it.
>
> and why not have a cup of tea on me while you spend 60 seconds reading this. .
>

While I appreciate the idea, this is gimmicky. No one is actually getting up from an email to grab a cup of tea. There are better ways to create "Conversational Capital" read this: Conversational Capital

> My name is MoneyHoesNClothz and I specialize in Online Reputation Management for small business such as yours. I live and work locally and understand just how hard it is for your business to compete in this internet-driven climate.
>

Now you are getting to the point. This is strong.

> Here’s what’s happening:
>

This line is not necessary. Cut it.

> Would-be customers are seeing what others are saying about you, before even thinking of walking through your door. Reviews like these are ruining your good name, and preventing people from dealing with you! In fact over 50% of all potential customers now consult reviews and ratings online before making any kind of purchasing decision. I’m sure if you had your way, this isn’t how you'd choose restaurant to be represented on the internet.

Half of this is good, other half terrible.

> We can work with you to massively improve this situation.
>

Not bad but could do better.

> The costs involved are tiny compared to what this kind of negative customer-generated content is costing you every month. Studies show that one star increase on Yelp translates into 9% more business every month!
>
Relatively strong, but as a business owner when I hear "The costs involved are small compared to the opposite etc" it makes me feel like its going to be expensive. You should be so confident in your price that you don't need to say things like that. This paragraph is how you resolve a concern. No need to bring it up.

> Just contact me on my mobile on {Mobile Number} and I’ll explain more. If I’m with another client just leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible, or you can email me at {Email Address}.

Wordy.
> Warm Regards,
>
> MoneyHoesNClothz*

lol You should keep "money hoes n clothz" as your business name

I would recommend reading 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. Great book on how to transition careers using your skill set and passions. Even if you stay in sales you may find a path that better fits you. 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433685922/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.ZTHAb3D9NCXN

I’m currently reading Ninja Selling - about halfway through - and this offers a lot of info about building Flow with your customers by creating rapport (FORD: family, occupation, recreation, and dreams as conversation points), maintaining contact, and bringing value. This improves the relationship and your standing in the customer’s eyes. Not sure if it’s what you’re looking for, but I’m picking up some good stuff so far.

Next up is Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. Haven’t started that yet, but the best salesmen, motivational speakers, etc. weave storytelling into their craft and I want to sharpen that skill. This may be more what you’re looking for....

This is pretty normal, nothing wrong with you. It sounds like you have hit a point in your career where you are not being challenged and you are growing as a person or professional. Do something about this. Either find a new job or ask for a new role or responsibility. And if you can't change things right now, make a plan to do so in the future and be ready when the opportunity is there. But... you can not continue being unhappy so you need to commit to making changes in your life or you will suffer some pretty serious consequences (anxiety, addiction, overeating, thoughts of suicide, depression... the list goes on).

Your boss should be focused on your results. If he's telling you how to get those results, he's a bad boss (micromanaging). If he's asking thought provoking questions, then he may recognize your talent and he's actually helping you, not second guessing you.

Or he's just nervous and is trying to minimize his anxiety about his own job. I wouldn't take it personally. Maybe just ask next time. Boss, are you nervous about such and such, and if so is there anything I can do help? Your boss may not even realize this is the problem, but asking the question will be enlightening to him.

Here's a pretty good book that helps identify different behaviors and traits in the workplace and offers suggestions on how to handle those behaviors. https://www.amazon.com/Working-Difficult-People-Muriel-Solomon/dp/0735202915/

1. Innis & Gunn Original
   
2. "Sorry you're talking too slow, I don't have all day."
   
3. Maybe next weekend.
   
4. Nope.
   
5. Bad weeks usually lead to more reading and learning, good weeks are a bit more easy-going.
   
6. Doom.
   
7. All of them.
   
   Fun fact: Not really fun, but Chris Voss did an AMA about his new book on negotiation recently, and it's absolutely fantastic and a really useful tool. Highly recommended and very applicable to our profession.
   
   Actual Fun Fact: One million seconds is slightly more than 11 days. One billion seconds is over 31 years.

Never Split the Difference, By Chris Voss
He is a retired Negotiator from the FBI.
https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended-ebook/dp/B014DUR7L2