7 Must Read Sales Books during COVID-19 Lockdown

“If you want a Top Shelf life, you must stand on the books you have read”- Robert Kiyosaki

As I am writing this, almost half the world population is under some form of Lockdown due to unprecedented spread of COVID-19. These are challenging times yet it’s important that we prepare ourselves for the times ahead. So either we can just sit at home, enjoy our coffee, watch Netflix and do nothing or we can march ahead of competition by reading books, learning a new skillset and making ourselves ready for the life post-COVID19.

Today, I have handpicked 7 sales books which you should definitely read while under Lockdown. The idea is to utilize our time while sitting at home in the most efficient manner so that we become the best version of ourselves with each passing day. I have always laid emphasis on learning Sales because this is one skillset which will help us survive and navigate through tough times. If you know how to sell your ideas, story, brand, product you would never be short of money. EVER.

So, here are my handpicked 7 Books on SALES which every corporate professional, Student, freelancer, entrepreneur must consider reading during current Lockdown times:

1. If you are not FIRST you are LAST- By Grant Cardone

2. HOW to Master the Art of Selling — By Tom Hopkins

3. The Ultimate Sales Machine — By Chet Holmes

4. Little Red Book of Selling- By Jeffrey Gitomer

5. Sell or be Sold — By Grant Cardone

6. The Psychology of Selling — By Brian Tracy

7. Sell it like Serhant — By Ryan Serhant

1. If you are not FIRST you are LAST- By Grant Cardone

This book will give you exact Sales Strategies to dominate your market and beat your competition. This book starts with the 4 types of responses a person has to an economic contraction: The cheerleader response, the old-school response, the quitter response and the Advance-Conquer response. Grant Cardone (NY Times best-selling author, world’s #1 Sales trainer and a real estate mogul) in this book suggests that during an economic downturn, every resource at our disposal should be used to advance and conquer while the rest of the competition contracts and retreats. This book gives us great insights which can do wonders during difficult economic conditions or even Recession.

Grant tells us that Selling is about building value and one must stay Hungry in order to grow the company/ profits. Spend time, energy, creativity and resources into advancing our goals. Yesterday’s winds won’t fill tomorrow’s sails. Let me share a quote from this book which still resonates with me:

“Be outrageous in your thinking, relentless in your execution and unreasonable in your actions and we too shall advance and conquer”

2. How to Master the Art of Selling — By Tom Hopkins

This book was originally published in 1979. Tom Hopkins is a master teacher who has dedicated his life teaching millions of people how to become better in Selling. I read this book two years back and since then got hooked to Tom’s sales strategies and techniques. Tom starts his book by teaching us the 7 Sales Basics that will make us as great as we want to be.

As we advance through the book, Tom takes us deep into the psychology involved behind making a sale. You will learn the importance of carefully picking the right words to be used for your Sales pitch/presentation which can eventually make a difference of upto a Million dollars in your bank account. There is an entire chapter wherein Tom talks about the art of “Closing” a deal and thus shares with us 16 Power closer techniques for successfully closing Big Ticket Sales.

3. The Ultimate Sales Machine — By Chet Holmes

If there’s one word to describe Chet Holmes, that would be –GENIUS. This book would give you the tools to become master in 3 crucial areas in order to make any business run like a machine: Marketing, Management and Sales. Chet Holmes is a strategic mastermind and a business growth expert who has worked with over 60 of the Fortune500 companies. This book highlights that a slight fine-tuning of our Sales processes can help grow our business exponentially.

Chet starts the book by sharing with us the Time Management Secrets of Billionaires. With subsequent chapters we learn the importance of instituting higher standards, regularly trainings and effective meetings into our Sales processes. This book also teaches us on how to become brilliant strategist with the help of “The Stadium Pitch”. Additionally, you will also learn the creative ways to hire Sales Superstars for your team.Let me share a quote from this book which I really liked:

“Most People Spend more time Planning a Vacation than they do planning a Life…!!”

4. Little Red Book of Selling- By Jeffrey Gitomer

In this book, Jeffrey has shared with us 12.5 principles of Sales Greatness. Yes, you read it right. Exactly 12.5.

He starts the book by telling us that “Why Do People Buy” is a billion times more important than “How do I Sell”. This is the most interesting and interactive book I have read on Sales. Jeffrey is a master Salesman who knows the importance of sticking to the basics for executing an effective sales pitch.

Two principles from this book which really stood out for me were- The significance of laughing in between your conversations and adding Creativity to differentiate your work.

Let me share with you 2 of my favorite quotes from the book:

· If you can make them laugh, you can make them buy.

· If you can make a sale, you can earn a commission. If you make a friend, you can earn a fortune.

5. Sell or be Sold — By Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone makes it to the list yet again. This speaks volumes about this guy. This was his first book and was written during the recession of 2008 (earlier it was titled Sell to Survive). Grant literally locked himself up in a room and wrote this book within a span of 3 days. And let me be honest with you, this is one of the finest books ever written on Sales. Grant is a master of his craft and has also been called as world’s #1 Marketing Influencer by Forbes.

This book highlights that your ability to do well in life depends on your ability to sell others on the things in which you believe. The author states that a person’s conviction can make-or-break a Sale. A sale is made when your conviction and belief about something are stronger than another’s, at which point they give up some of their conviction.

There is a chapter in this book titled “The biggest sale of my Life” where Grant talks about how he proposed and convinced his girlfriend (after several rejections) to finally marry him. It’s a great read and this chapter makes us realize the importance of having perseverance and not giving up when facing rejections in life.One of my all-time favorite quote comes from this book and it reads:

“Treat success as your Duty, Obligation and Responsibility, not as a choice or as a Job…!”

6. The Psychology of Selling — By Brian Tracy

This a gem of a book and it would give ideas, strategies and techniques which can be immediately applied to make more sales (faster and easily) than ever before. Brian has consulted for more than 1000 companies and addressed more than 5 million people in 5000 talks and seminars across 70 countries. He is the top selling author of over 70 books.

“The psychology of selling” tells us the importance of setting and achieving our sales goals by splitting them into organizational, personal and family goals. Brian goes on to highlight the significance of having a burning desire to achieve our goals. With each page you read, you will learn to approach every sales situation as a friend, an advisor, and a teacher which would dramatically lower the stress involved in competitive selling. Brian also shows us how to use Testimonial Letters for overcoming objections and eventually converting them into Big ticket Sales.

Brian Tracy is an authority on Selling and you would thoroughly enjoy every chapter of this book. He has dropped tons of knowledge on each page.

7. Sell it like Serhant — By Ryan Serhant

Ryan Serhant is our youngest author on this list. Sell it like Serhant is the best sales book I have read in last one year. This national best seller gives us a fresh perspective into the world of selling. Ryan has shared his journey and experiences while working as a real estate broker in New York. This book is full of interesting stories and anecdotes. This is your go-to sales Playbook for effective Sales strategies and processes that actually work in the corporate world.

You will find practical tips on 7 stages of selling, Negotiating like a Boss and How to be a Time Manager (not a Time stealer). I have learned a lot from this book and I am sure you will also benefit reading from this book.There’s an interesting quote from this book which I would like to share with you all:

“Choose success first, no matter what- then back yourself into a career.”

P.S: I hope you enjoyed reading this list of Books. Do share your valuable feedback/comments and please do let me know your favorite Sales book you have read so far.

Stay Safe.!!

Thanks.

. . .

Harmit Singh is a Sales enthusiast, speaker and a Toastmaster. Starting his journey from designing apps for iPhone/iPad to cold calling on the streets of Delhi, both IT and Recruitment industry have shaped his life. Presently working with India’s #1 Job Portal.