The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated.

At least once a week, I get asked by a sales leader if there is a business book I would recommend they read that will help them improve their game. That is a tough question to answer, because there are so many very good books out there, and depending where you are in your career (or your current business situation, or what you have already read), the right book for you could be one of several. So instead of picking just one book, I thought I would provide a list of five books that would make for great reading this summer.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, or Independence Day. It's a day that we as Americans reflect on our freedom, our heritage, and our history. In honor of this, we asked a few of the CSS team to chime in for this post. We asked, "If you could pick one historic American leader that would make a great sales leader today because of their strengths and talents, who would it be?" Here's what they said. 

- MOTIVATION -

"WANTING SOMETHING IS NOT ENOUGH. YOU MUST HUNGER FOR IT. YOUR MOTIVATION MUST BE ABSOLUTELY COMPELLING IN ORDER TO OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES THAT WILL INVARIABLY COME YOUR WAY."

-LES BROWN

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

7 Critical Questions to Ask Yourself BEFORE a New Sales Hire — Sales Hacker

Some say that the holy grail of sales is consistent and predictable revenue. Many are on this seemingly never-ending quest, but find it both elusive and always just out of reach. A strategic sales process is the only thing that will help you reach your goals.

- MOTIVATION -

"SETTING GOALS IS THE FIRST STEP IN TURNING THE INVISIBLE INTO THE VISIBLE"

-TONY ROBBINS

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Simple Lead Qualifying Hacks [VIDEO] — LeadG2

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post is by the late Steve Marx, and was written and published in 2015. To keep it current, we’ve updated the content to be relevant, but preserved the knowledge that Steve shared.

There are countless lists of what the most successful salespeople actually do. It’s time for a list of what they don’t do.

Let’s call it "The Un-Checklist"—the list you review when no one is looking over your shoulder (so you can be entirely honest), and where you hope that your honesty doesn’t force you to check off any of the items.

Get out your pen, ink, or virtual notes. I hope you won’t need to use them.

In a previous post, A Step by Step Guide to Coaching Salespeople, I provided a guide on how to coach sellers. Some sellers find it a challenge to schedule quality appointments during their scheduled coaching days. Here are some things you can do to fix this problem. 

- MOTIVATION -

"EITHER RUN THE DAY OR THE DAY RUNS YOU."

-JIM ROHN

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Plugging Leaks in the B2B Sales Funnel — LinkedIn Sales Blog

Recently, I spoke to a sales management group on four things that they can do to improve sales performance, and this is what I shared with them.

1. Recruitment

Always be recruiting. 24/7. 365. The battle for top sales talent these days has never been harder. You always have to be recruiting. Not just when you have an opening.

The best managers know spending time in the field coaching sellers is an important part of developing salespeople (and improving sales performance). Here’s a step-by-step guide to use the next day you are in coaching mode.