14 December 2020 | Resources For Salespeople

As salespeople, we are interacting with others all day, focusing on their psychology and what’s going on in their heads. We are also trying to manage our own psychology and our own emotions. A typical month in sales can go from frustration due to lack of progress in a deal, to elation at landing a huge sale, back to fear due to not selling for a while. It’s important that we apply little behaviours to our daily routines to keep on top of our inner talk-tracks, to keep focused on what our goals are, and to keep working on our skills to communicate and therefore sell better and better. 

Here is a list of free, or cheap, books, apps and other resources that can be used daily that we think can help salespeople. Please note that we don’t get a commission or any kind of kick-back from these sources. Also note that all prices are quoted as of early December 2020 and may change over time or depending on the source of purchase:

HEADWAY (https://app.get-headway.com/)

Type: Phone App – reading and listening

Cost: costs $87.88 (roughly £70) per year, with a free 7-day trial. 

Content: There are 100s of books there where you can read or listen to their key ideas. They are roughly 10-20 minutes in length if you listen to them, and summarize around 10-15 key “insights” per book. There are loads of “self-help” style books that include key ideas about communication style, mindset around success and how to build good habits. Here are some initial suggestions to read/listen to:

• Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
• The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Steven R Covey
• How to Win Friends and Influence People in The Digital Age by Dale Carnegie Training
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Suggested Daily Use: Listen to the summaries and insights as you get ready in the morning, as you commute to work, when you’re on a break or eating your lunch.

To bear in mind: Be careful, if you don’t like the app and forget to cancel the subscription, you will be charged the annual fee, and from the reviews, it looks like some people are struggling with the refund / customer service side of things. For £70 a year, we think it’s worth it for salespeople, if you read or listen to at least a couple of books’ highlights per week

YOUTUBE – FOR MOTIVATION (www.youtube.com)

Type: Videos – watching and listening

Cost: Free of course 🙂

Content: There are 100,000s+ clips on youtube of seminars by motivational speakers, TED talks, and motivational montages that can help you learn and grow your skill, and keep your mindset where it needs to be. We recommend searching some of the following terms:

• “Tony Robbins” + “motivation” or “sales” or “mindset”. This man is famous for his motivational seminars and books and there are endless clips of him in action that help to inspire you, as well as understand more about how to sell and communicate. If Tony Robbins specifically isnt’ for you, then simply search “motivational speaker” or “motivational seminars”.
• “Mateusz M motivation” – videos of usually less than 10 minutes that compile footage from movies, sports events and nature that are inspiring and motivational, with an overall message that you can listen to as well. If you don’t like Mateusz M, then search “motivational clips” or “motivational quotes”.
• “Ted Talks” + “Communication” or “Psychology” – these videos are averagely 10-20 minutes long and often come from psychologists, giving insights into how people think and behave and what we can understand from their behaviour. If you don’t like TED Talks, then you can search specific terms like “Psychology of human behaviour” or “How to interpret communication styles”.

Suggested Daily Use: Watch at least one video in a day, motivational ones ideally in the morning, educational ones can be more flexible on when in the day you watch them. Most can be listened to rather than watched so you can put it on whilst you make and eat your breakfast in the morning

To bear in mind: Youtube can be a maze, and you can find yourself going down rabbit holes. Try each of the suggestions above first, before going down rabbit holes. It will give you a clearer idea of what speaks to you best before you get lost in content

KINDLE UNLIMITED (www.amazon.co.uk/kindleunlimited) 

Type: e-books, audiobooks

Cost: £7.99 a month with a 30 day trial (3-month offer at £0.99 until 4th January 2021)

Content: You can listen to and read many different kinds of books, including books that teach principles about mindset, communication and selling techniques. Here are some books we recommend to start with:

• Inspire, Influence, Sell: Master the Psychology, Skills and Systems of the world’s best sales teams by Justin Leigh 
• Asking Questions the Sandler Way by Antonio Garrido
• Words That Change Minds by Shelle Rose Charvet

To bear in mind: After the initial 3-month offer or 30-day trial period, you will be charged £7.99 a month. You can cancel anytime though

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

There are many other books that help people with their mindset and improve themselves overall. You can find snippets on Headway or other similar apps, perhaps you can get access to the whole book in your Kindle Account, or you may be able to buy them for relatively cheap online. There are 1000s of books that you can read or listen to that will help you with many aspects of your life and career. These can include the famous books like:

• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Consuming these types of books can give you useful nuggets that can help you to become a better person overall, and a better salesperson. 

TO NOTE:

If your mindset and view of the world is based on success, overcoming challenges and always being willing to learn, then you will be infinitely more likely to improve as a salesperson and achieve more in your life. 

Mindset is key for anyone to be successful at anything. It can be tempting to want to learn technique and skills, but without the proper mindset, you’re unlikely to implement these and push through the hard times that can happen in any career, especially sales. Don’t skimp on the mindset resources – these may prove to be more powerful for you than any skill or technique-based resource.