Books - Strategic Sales and Marketing Guide Books

The CLOSE Reading Room

	Real-Time Marketing for Business Growth: How to Use Social Media, Measure Marketing, and Create a Culture of Execution by Monique Reece Remember the old adage "time is money"? It's outdated, argues Ott, a consultancy firm CEO; time is now much more important than money to consumers. It is also a consistently overlooked and misunderstood factor driving buying decisions, and companies that build their products or services around the customer's willingness to invest precious time and attention are gaining competitive traction in markets where their competitors, who approach the new dynamic by simply getting more strident in their marketing, are increasingly slipping. Ott offers specific advice and "Two Minute Takeaways" at the conclusion of each chapter to address the all-important "Time-Value Tradeoff." She illustrates her points with case studies of companies that have gotten it right, such as Symantec, Netflix, Amazon, and FreshDirect. Ott's accessible tone and systematic strategies will be an eye-opener for companies wishing to drive through the constant marketing chatter and reach their increasingly harried customers.

	Winning with Customers: A Playbook for B2B by D. Keith Pigues & Jerry Alderman Often times, after professionals learn about Winning With Customers, the most common interests are: How do you do this? How do you get started? What do you do? There is really no way to answer these questions during a brief conversation. The goal with this book is to give every business professional who is interested in using more outside-in customer knowledge in the management of their business a place to get information. This book is primarily a how-to guide. Sure, it touches on the theory and concepts behind approaches here and there, but, the thrust of the discussion will not be so much about convincing you of the theory as much as it will provide examples, discuss methods, allow you to participate in exercises, and review business cases from others who have experienced success.

	The 24-Hour Customer: New Rules for Winning in a Time-Starved, Always-Connected Economy by Adrian C. Ott Remember the old adage "time is money"? It's outdated, argues Ott, a consultancy firm CEO; time is now much more important than money to consumers. It is also a consistently overlooked and misunderstood factor driving buying decisions, and companies that build their products or services around the customer's willingness to invest precious time and attention are gaining competitive traction in markets where their competitors, who approach the new dynamic by simply getting more strident in their marketing, are increasingly slipping. Ott offers specific advice and "Two Minute Takeaways" at the conclusion of each chapter to address the all-important "Time-Value Tradeoff." She illustrates her points with case studies of companies that have gotten it right, such as Symantec, Netflix, Amazon, and FreshDirect. Ott's accessible tone and systematic strategies will be an eye-opener for companies wishing to drive through the constant marketing chatter and reach their increasingly harried customers.

	A Seat at the Table: How Top Salespeople Connect and Drive Decisions at the Executive Level by David Sandler Customers only care about one thing: value. And the only proven way to increase sales productivity is to deliver new and different forms of value. Salespeople must become experts in their customers' businesses and help them generate better results. Readers will learn that evolving from "salespeople" to "businesspeople who sell" will earn them a seat at the table--the place reserved for those select people who guide the strategic direction of an enterprise. When they can do this, salespeople will be in a position to create demand for their products and services, protect their core business, and close more sales.

	The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them by David Sandler Early in his sales career, David Sandler observed that some salespeople work hard and struggle for every deal, while others consistently, and almost effortlessly, uncover new opportunities and close sales. Why is it, he wondered, that two salespeople selling the same product in the same market can have such different results? Using Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis, Sandler devised a selling system and distilled forty-nine unforgettable rules that are frank, sometimes fun, and always easy to put to use.

	Lead Generation for the Complex Sale: Boost the Quality and Quantity of Leads to Increase Your ROI by Brian Carroll Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch Incorporated and expert in lead generation solutions, reveals key strategies that you can implement immediately to win new customers, accelerate growth, and improve your sales performance.

	Lead Domination: 21 Proven Strategies by Jamie Klein Research shows that the majority of marketing budget will goes toward generating new leads, but that research also shows that up to 80 percent of those leads are not followed up upon effectively! Lead Domination summarizes more than thirty years of tested strategies managing leads and implementing / optimizing profitable operations in the luxury real estate divisions of companies such as Starwood, the Marriott, and the Four Seasons.

	Salesforce.com Secrets of Success By David Taber You are investing in Salesforce.com for one reason: to drive major improvements in sales performance. Salesforce.com® Secrets of Success will help you do just that. Drawing on his experience with dozens of deployments, author David Taber offers expert guidance on every facet of Salesforce.com, including up-front planning, process optimization, implementation, and more. Taber reveals proven best practices you won’t find in any other book–information for which you’d have to pay a consultant $300 an hour or more.

	The Profit Maximization Paradox: Cracking the Marketing/Sales Alignment Code by Glen Petersen This book offers an unvarnished and pragmatic approach to addressing the disconnect that has historically separated Marketing and Sales; the two most pivotal functions to achieving true profit maximization.

	Coaching People Into Sales Champions by Keith Rosen If you're responsible for coaching or managing anyone, especially salespeople, this remarkable new book from Keith Rosen will help you make the transition from manager to coach by developing the missing discipline of leadership - executive sales coaching.

	Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales? (E-book) by Jill Konrath Wondering if social media sites like LinkedIn are worth your time & effort? If so, you've come to the right place. When you read Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?, you'll discover how others leverage this unique tool to connect, create opportunities and more. Real sellers. Real results. Plus, it's a quick read.

	Close Like the Pros by Steve Marx Author Steve Marx reveals how the most accomplished professionals actually do big deals and create long-lasting client relationships. They merge selling and buying into a single process--interactive selling. It's a process anyone can learn and any company can adopt.

	The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies by Chet Holmes The Ultimate Sales Machine shows you how to tune up and soup up virtually every part of your business by spending just an hour per week on each impact area you want to improve. Like a tennis player who hits nothing but backhands for a few hours a week to perfect his game, you can systematically improve each key area.

	Selling: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success by Kevin Hogan, Dave Lakhani, Gary May, Eliot Hoppe, Mollie Marti, Larry Kevin Adams This book explores the cutting edge of persuasive selling. This book isn't for salespeople stuck in tradition, but those who embrace the new, and implement the strategies that will make them the superstars of tomorrow.

	Secrets of Great Sales Management: Advanced Strategies for Maximizing Performance by Robert A. Simpkins In an economic landscape where business strategies shift almost daily, it's all a sales manager can do to keep abreast of new developments. This book shows sales managers how to work in concert with changing corporate goals without sacrificing the exceptional results they were hired to achieve.

	365 Sales Tips for Winning Business by Anne Miller A portable course on selling and salesmanship that can help salespeople enhance their skills every day of the year...without missing a beat with their clients.