Books for sales professionals

I have a love-hate affair with sales. On the negative side of the equation: Sales positions account for a disproportionate number of jobs I’ve failed at. If you get fired enough times from something, you do tend to dislike it.

On the love side is the absolute fun of doing sales. There’s nothing quite as thrilling in business as connecting with a customer to provide something he or she really needs -- even if you have to help them see that.

Of course, I find some types of sales to be more fun than others, which brings up an important point about this profession: Fun is in the eye of the beholder. I’m not keen on outbound cold calls for sales, but I know people who enjoy the challenge of finding that 1-in-100 customer who will make a purchase over the phone.

Likewise, I know of sales reps who will handle only high-value deals that can take months to complete, while others find their thrill in the customer service associated with repeat monthly orders of smaller items.

Whether sales jobs excite you or send you running, it’s a fascinating field. I don’t know of any other profession that relies on so many elements for success: listening, customer care, product knowledge, skill with numbers, creativity, physical stamina and emotional resilience. A stint in this arena should be required for every new worker, if only to provide a reliable fallback skill for tough times.

When it comes to learning about sales, the go-to author of the past two decades has been Harvey Mackay. Since I reviewed his latest offering ("The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World") in a fairly recent column, I’ll introduce you to some other authors this time around.

"How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime" by Dave Kahle (Career Press, 2011, $14.99). For a slim volume, this book manages to cover the basics of sales very well, with the author following a systematic approach to describe the fundamental steps. I appreciate Kahle's conversational writing style and that he uses case studies and graphics sparingly -- so that they instruct but don't distract the reader. A quick and easy read, this book works well as both an introductory guide for newbies and as a refresher for sales veterans.

"Act Like a Sales Pro: How to Dramatically Increase Your Sales With Proven Acting Techniques" by Julie Hansen (Career Press, 2011, $16.99). If you like the theater arts, you'll enjoy Hansen's extended metaphor comparing sales to a stage play. If that's not your cup of tea, you might be gritting your teeth by the end, but you'll still find good material here.

Where Kahle concentrates in his book on building a system for sales, Hansen is squarely focused on the interpersonal relationship between the rep and the client. Her “acting” tips fall neatly into the category of “fake it until you make it,” but I have no argument with that. She lays out the steps clearly and provides ample tips and exercises to help any salesperson over their inhibitions or stage fright.

"Influencing Powerful People" by Dirk Schlimm (McGraw Hill, 2011, $28). This book provides an interesting foray into the psychology of working with or for those who are superior to us in intellect, power or talent. In the world of sales, that could be your customer, but in a very small company, I'm willing to bet that will be your boss. Selling for an ingenious entrepreneur can be one of the most daunting sales challenges there is.

While Schlimm doesn’t position this as a tool for sales professionals, many of his chapters seem tailor-made for them. From mastering first impressions to sidestepping power with diplomacy, he offers insight into relationships that can be make-or-break in a sales situation.

"Make Yourself Unforgettable" by Dale Carnegie Training (Touchstone Books, 2011, $14.99). Continuing our journey into the human psyche, this title turns the spotlight onto the reader. Like other books in the Dale Carnegie Training series, this is based only loosely on the principles established in Carnegie's classic work, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Even so, the content is undeniably useful to someone in the sales profession, with standout chapters on using intuition, building self-confidence and developing courage.