Exceptional salespeople aren’t born, they’re made. It’s a teachable skill that’s honed as one learns the art of weaving persuasion, intuition, empathy, charisma, service, and conflict resolution together. As EXIT Realty Corp. International Founder and Chairman, Steve Morris, puts it, effective selling is about creating unconditional acceptance in another person. When you do that, you’ve established competency and integrity in the mind of a buyer – two traits that often lead to repeat and referral business.
We recently asked EXIT Realty Broker/Owners and company leaders to suggest their top picks for business books, and here, we focus on their recommendations addressing salesmanship.
- “Sales Bible” by Jeffrey Gittomer (CEO, Tami Bonnell’s pick): Gittomer is an established expert on salesmanship, with placements on over 750 major best-seller lists nationwide. This New York Times® Best Seller covers every facet of selling. He addresses the fundamentals of sales, specific conversational techniques, developing a magnetic attitude, relationship building, and goal setting. It provides a powerful foundation for anyone looking to sharpen their skills and get results.
- “Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive” by Harvey Mackay (President, U.S. Division, Craig Witt’s pick): Through this New York Times® Best Seller, the self-made millionaire author shares his “Mackay 66” sales system for outmaneuvering the competition. His framework can help you get appointments in the face of adversity, strategically negotiate, and collect meaningful intelligence on those with whom you engage.
- “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss: Voss is the former lead international kidnapping negotiator for the FBI. Reflecting on his career in high-stakes negotiations, he shares the intuitive skills and methodologies he and his colleagues practised on the job. His 12 principles are supplemented with anecdotes throughout his life to give context for how emotional intelligence can be leveraged in everyday negotiations.
- “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher & William Ury: Based on research from the Harvard Negotiation Project, the authors teach the non-adversarial style of principled negotiation. The focus is on seeing passed distractions, emotional positions, and individual wins, and instead identifying both parties’ interests in pursuit of mutual victories. In practise, this idea can help you strengthen relationships during negotiations, without either party feeling like they are at a disadvantage.
- “Mr. Schmooze” by Richard Abraham: Abraham teaches the art of selling through relationships in his story of a successful salesperson who sells by giving to others. He believes that sales are made by either inducing pain or pleasure, but only the latter will create loyal and trusting clientele. Mr. Schmooze uses active listening, endless optimism, value-adding behaviors, and his passion for the interests of others to prescribe the right product rather than persuade them into a sale.
This is the third installment of EXIT’s “Recommended Reads”, which brings you book recommendations from EXIT’s leaders to help you achieve success. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the previous installments on self-development and entrepreneurship.
