A recent issue of Fortune magazine (Oct. 6, 2008) focused on the “…deepest secrets of great selling” and had several valuable articles, one of which was featured on our most recent sales training blog.

Another article in that same issue titled "Shelf Help" listed 8 books that Fortune feels should be in “…everyone’s briefcase”. I think you’ll enjoy skimming their entire list of recommended books, but I thought a couple things were very interesting about the list:

- 2 of the 8 books were on influence skills, which matches STAR’s experience as a sales training provider
- Getting To Yes, by Roger Fisher and William Ury, was another book on the list, and happens to be the book that we recommend the most in our sales and negotiation training workshops

Many of you already know this, but STAR’s original two workshops for sales professionals were Influence Skills and Sales Negotiation Skills, so I was thrilled to see that Fortune magazine cited those same competencies in their list of best books for sales professionals.

The two influence books mentioned by Fortune were the classic one from Dale Carnegie titled How to Win Friends and Influence People, as well as a newer book by Robert Cialdini titled Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. I have read both books and like them both. After all, a sales professional must be influential to do his or her job well.

I also agree with their recommendation about Getting To Yes, which cover to cover is the best single book that I’ve found in my 19 years as a sales training consultant. Sales professionals must excel at negotiation. Otherwise, they end up conceding too much to customers in their desire to make a deal.

Based on your experience, which books would you recommend for salespeople? Which one is your personal favorite? Let us know what you think!

- Bill McCormick, President of Sales Training And Results, Inc. (STAR)

Sales Calls: Are You Preparing Too Much or Not Enough?

A recent issue of Fortune magazine (Oct. 6, 2008) focused on the “…deepest secrets of great selling”. Among several valuable articles, one that caught my eye was titled Sales Slip-Ups, which described the top 10 mistakes salespeople make. 

Two of the mistakes appear to be at odds, but make perfect sense to me:
* Failing to prepare
* Preparing too much

Failure to plan for a sales call is a common mistake made that we frequently cite in our workshops. Consider this statistic: a typical sales call costs about $1,000. Would you purchase something for $1,000 without giving it any thought?  Of course, preparation includes knowing everything you need to know about your product or service, but most importantly knowing everything you need to know about your client or prospect, as well as your competition.  There is no doubt that this preparation involves doing your homework!

Yet, preparing too much can also be a mistake. The Fortune article states that too much preparation will make a seller sound as if he or she is following a script. Although we don’t talk about this mistake as much, I certainly agree with the author. Appearing as if you are following a script creates an uncomfortable and unnatural atmosphere.  While detailed preparation is critical, remaining personable and staying connected to your audience is perhaps equally important. 

Based on your experience, what do you think about these two questions?  First, what are some other common mistakes made by salespeople? Second, for the mistakes cited above, do you think failing to prepare or preparing too much is the greater problem?

Let us know what you think!

- Bill McCormick, President of Sales Training And Results, Inc. (STAR)