books – Page 4 – Sales for Nerds

Who doesn’t love the summer? People trying to schedule podcast interviews, that’s who. 😉

Sales for Nerds will be on a monthly schedule because it’s just too hard to coordinate schedules right now.

With that in mind, here’s a summer reading list, pulled from recommendations from past episodes, with a few added bonuses.

Books on Overall Productivity

Getting Things Done by David Allen (recommended by Scott Ingram in Episode 10 and Maura Thomas in Episode 16 )
The One Thing, by Gary Keller (who here in Austin created the biggest real estate company in the world, recommended by Jill Konrath in Episode 15)
The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg (recommended by Adam Boyd in Epsiode 3)
More Sales, Less Time by Jill Konrath (she tried hard not to pitch it in her interview in Episode 15, but I’m pitching it for her)
Work without Walls, by Maura Thomas
Smart Thinking and Smart Change, both by Dr. Art Markman (recommended by Maura Thomas in Episode 16)
The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber. Written in the 80s, this book has a lot of insight on people who start a business because they’re good at doing the “core” task of the business, often without appreciation for the other critical tasks like sales and marketing.

Sales and Marketing

How to Talk to Practically Anybody about Practically Anything, by Barbara Walters (recommended by Joe Williamson in Episode 4)
Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (recommended by John Livesay in Episode 6)
The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries (recommended by Ash Maurya in Episode 7)
Running Lean, by Ash
The Challenger Sale, by Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon (recommended by Scott Ingram in Episode 10)
Predictable Revenue by Marylou Tyler and Aaron Ross
Predictable Prospecting by Marylou Tyler and Jeremy Donovan
The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell (recommended by Marylou Tyler in Episode 14)
SPIN Selling by Neal Packham (recommended by Marylou Tyler in Episode 14)
The Successful Pitch: Conversations On Going From Invisible To Investable, by guest John Livesay from Episode 6. (Note that he focuses on helping owners get investments, but the storytelling techniques are similar for people trying to get money from customers.)

Organizational and Management Challenges

Creativity Inc, by Ed Catmull on how Pixar works hard to maintain a creative, open culture. Sure, you may not be churning out Hollywood blockbusters, but there are a lot of lessons here on how to create and keep a healthy workplace.

Fun Beach Reads

The Three Body Problem (book one of a trilogy), by Cixin Liu. Science fiction that will pull you in.
Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight. The memoir of the Nike founder. Surprisingly gripping account.

Nerdier Beach Reads, but not about Business

The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life, by Nick Lane will change the way you think about life on earth (and elsewhere). This is the only book I’ve read twice in recent memory.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Summer Wine

I usually prefer red, but when it gets into the triple digits in Texas, some Sauvignon Blanc starts to sound good, like the offerings from Kim Crawford in New Zealand.

Matthew Pollard (“The Rapid Growth Guy”) comes on Sales for Nerds to talk about how he learned to sell and become one of the top sales reps in Australia, despite being extremely introverted. He took an approach that seems so simple after he mentions it, but I hadn’t heard of anyone else doing sales “self-training” this way.

In this episode, Matt discusses:

How he taught himself to sell, including the steps of the sale, how to turn features into benefits, and how to close.
How he taught his team to sell.
“People hate to be sold to, but people love to buy.”
Why if you’re doing too much “hard core selling”, your message isn’t right.
Why introverts have a long term advantage in sales versus most extraverts. (And how to take that advantage.)
Why he puts the message first, even before the audience.
Why you need to turn features into benefits, and benefits into stories.
Why stories are so important.
What can I do above and beyond the core functional skills/services/products to give my customer an amazing experience.
Why you don’t want to spend tons of time writing “educational” proposals– it not only wastes your time, it decreases your chances of winning.
If you confuse the customer, you lose the sale.
Practical steps on niching, including a real world example (and a meta-example of Matthew’s storytelling).
Why our brains are overwhelmed by input and we have to focus.
Focus on the people who love what you do– not the people you can never make happy.
Most people have been motivated by fear of not having enough money for most of their lives. They have a set of goals that are driven from here.
Why if you do what you love, there’s always more energy (as shown by Matthew in this interview after getting 4.5 hours of sleep).
The mistake people make in underestimating themselves.

Get the episode now on iTunes.

The Wine

Senorio de Barahonda Sin Madera 2012– lots of pepper and blackberry and some licorice, but not in a bad way. Opens up nicely — although, as we note, it could really do with a steak or a lamb chop. 😉

Where you can find Matthew: Web site, @MatthewPollard_, LinkedIn. And here’s his growth exercise.

Where you can find Reuben: @Sales4Nerds, @Mimiran, Mimiran.com.

p.s. Here’s Sydney Road, where Matthew started his sales career:

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Category: books

Summer Reading List