6 Books Every Sales Manager Needs to Read Today

Sales experts are usually expected to hit the ground running. In a world of fierce competition and increasing consumer demands, the job can sometimes feel overwhelming — especially with the position’s constantly evolving standards.

As a sales leader, you need be able to:

- Know how to coach your team well and give feedback

- Develop and execute successful sales strategy

- Have insider knowledge on how to close the largest deals    

It can be hard to know where to start. Luckily, there are plenty of books out there that can help you navigate the sales terrain.  

‍

Here are six we have on our bookshelf: 

Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com

By Aaron Ross & Marylou Tyler  

Who are the authors?

Aaron Ross, a former executive at Salesforce.com, is the co-CEO and co-founder of Predictable Revenue, a company that focuses on outbound prospecting and sales growth. Marylou Tyler is the CEO of Strategic Pipeline, a management consulting firm specializing in lead generation for business development and prospecting.   

Here’s the deal … 

Considered by many —  including Leadspicker CEO Vlastimil Vodicka — to be the preeminent Sales Bible of the 21st century, “Predictable Revenue” gives an inside look at how to build the ultimate selling machine. Ross spent four years at Salesforce.com and shares how companies can make their revenue skyrocket without having to make a single cold sales call. The book focuses on how implementing an outbound sales system will increase your response rate from cold prospects and help your company easily meet its revenue targets. 

Good for …

Learning how a solid outbound sales system can generate more highly qualified leads and predictable revenue. 

Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale 

By Paul Smith

Who’s the author? 

Paul Smith, a 20-year veteran of Procter & Gamble, is a leading expert on organizational storytelling. He has interviewed more than 300 business executives in 25 countries.  

Here’s the deal …

Storytelling is a powerful sales tool. It builds trust and relationships and fosters understanding between salespeople and their customers. Smith explains how to craft the perfect story for any selling situation. The book highlights ways you can polish your communication skills and increase your sales results. Storytelling allows sales leaders to draw on their personal experience to better explain their products and services. To put it another way — stories sell.    

Good for …

Understanding how stories can help build stronger business relationships and close more sales deals. 

Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions: A Tactical Playbook for Managers and Executives By Keith Rosen

Who’s the author? 

Keith Rosen is the founder of sales training and coaching academy Profit Builders, which specializes in helping clients attract more prospects and close more deals.  

Here’s the deal … 

Tired of scheduling team training after team training and not seeing the performance boost you were hoping for? What you probably need is less training sessions and more coaching. Until you start coaching your team on how to use their competencies in combination with best practices, you’ll never be able to hit your desired sales results. Using his 

L.E.A.D.S. Coaching Framework, Rosen supplies you with the tools and methods you’ll need to successfully help your sales team reach its maximum potential.       

Good for …
Nurturing and improving productivity, individual accountability and morale within your sales team. 

Sales Manager Survival Guide: Lessons From Sales' Front Lines

By David A. Brock

Who’s the author? 

David Brock is the founder and CEO of Partners In Excellence, which focuses on business strategy development. 

Here’s the deal …

Everything a busy sales manager needs to know in order to succeed — and thrive — in today's highly competitive market can be found in Brock’s step-by-step survival guide. The book covers a variety of different aspects of the job, including recruiting, coaching, pipeline growth and leveraging sales systems, tools and processes. Front line sales managers have a  lot to juggle on a day-to-day basis. Brock offers valuable anecdotes and examples to help drive sales growth and revenue.          

Good for …

Learning how to conquer every aspect of sales management from recruiting and coaching to business metrics and pipeline growth. 

Sales Management. Simplified. The Straight Truth About Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team 

By Mike Weinberg

Who’s the author? 

Mike Weinberg is the founder of The New Sales Coach, a consultancy that specializes in sales management and new business development.

Here’s the deal ...

When companies are struggling to meet their sales targets, the cracks usually stem from the top down. The problems, Weinberg argues, typically don’t start with the sales team itself, but often with the leadership. The book examines 16 of the most common errors sales managers make and offers a simple framework to improve your company’s sales culture from creating compensation plans and running department meetings to coaching underperformers.   

Good for …

Simplifying your sales management practices and improving results and team performance through a framework.  

Sales Automation Handbook – Learn How You Can Expand Your Sales Efforts and Have Leads Pouring In

By Vlastimil Vodička

Who’s the author?

Vlastimil Vodicka, the CEO of Leadspicker, is a startup founder with a Venture Capital background. In recent years, with his co-founder he has built a technology startup that Deloitte has recognized as the 16th fastest-growing technology company in the Central European Deloitte Fast 50 2019 program.

Sales Booster by Leadspicker is a service that completely takes care of prospecting’s administrative and repetitive daily tasks, so sales reps can focus on closing more deals and increasing monthly revenue.   

Here’s the deal …

Sales Booster makes a case for why automation is key to a company’s survival. Prospecting automation and personalized outreach are vital to the success of any business competing on the global market these days. Learn how to implement an outbound sales system that will help your sales department land more highly qualified leads and reach your revenue targets. Discover the best automation and prospecting tools on the market that will help streamline your sales department and help your reps close more deals. Download the book here!

Good for …

Understanding how sales automation and personalized outreach can lead to predictable lead generation and predictable revenue growth. 

‍