Top 13 sales book (of all time) based on Kindle reviews and recommendations

Sales is an integral part of any business, and mastering it can be the difference between  “success” and “failure” of the company. Whether you are a sales veteran or a newbie rep, there is always something to learn in sales. Luckily, there are thousands of books on sales written by sales experts from all parts of the globe. But with so many options available, it can be daunting to pick the right ones to read. To cut you some slack, we have come up with a list of the top 13 sales books of all time based on Kindle reviews and recommendations. This a healthy mix of books that have stood the test of time and those that were written recently but became extremely popular due to the value they offered.

These books are the only guides you need to improve your sales skills and achieve success quickly. Without further ado, here are the top sales books that you can read right away – 

1)  To Sell Is Human – Daniel Pink

In this book, the author states that everyone is a salesperson by birth. After all, we are constantly selling our ideas and thoughts to people around us. The book takes us through different strategies for selling and points out that sales is all about picking different signals during your conversations with potential customers. The book also states that a good salesperson listens and always tries to put themselves in the buyer’s shoes while interacting with them. They never pressurize prospects into buying. 

Kindle Review: 4.4 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Anytime you’re tempted to upsell someone else, stop what you’re doing and upserve instead.”

2)  Fanatical Prospecting – Jeb Blount

This book by Jeb Blount is arguably one of the best books to learn the art of prospecting. The book teaches how sales reps must be aggressive and relentless in their efforts to convert prospects into customers. The book also states it is more important to be a good prospector than be a closer. Finding the right prospects will get most of your work done. Blount also suggests that the biggest reason for reps to fail is their inability to fill an empty sales pipeline consistently, which is due to poor prospecting. 

Kindle Review: 4.7 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “The enduring mantra of the fanatical prospector is: One more call.”

3) How to Master the Art of Selling – Tom Hopkins

In this book, the author takes you through various sales skills that you can adopt in your organization. He has also deeply analyzed why they work and how to learn those skills quickly. He says that failing is not wrong in the world of sales. You learn from your mistakes and perfect your skills over time. The important thing is to capitalize on every success by knowing your product and customers really well. It’s a practical book that covers everything from simple sales calls to building long-term sales strategies for your business.

Kindle Review: 4.6 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Selling is the art of asking the right questions to get the minor yeses that allow you to lead your prospect to the major decision. It’s a simple function, and the final sale is nothing more than the sum total of all your yeses.”

4) New Sales. Simplified.: The Essential Handbook for Prospecting and New Business Development – Mike Weinberg

As the name rightly suggests, this is the only handbook that a salesperson will need to close more deals and achieve sales targets. The book is replete with anecdotes and examples that teach you how to master different stages of the sales process. The author also takes you through various mistakes committed by salespeople across the globe and how they led to a massive failure for their organization. It is a simple, practical, and relevant book that helps in identifying genuine prospects, creating a compelling sales story, and building a strong rapport with potential customers. 

Kindle Review: 4.6 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “You can bring tremendous value to your business, your customers, and yourself by becoming proficient at bringing in new business.”

5) Sell or be Sold – Grant Cardone

This book is a warehouse of sales tricks and focuses on the importance of proactiveness when it comes to sales. A popular sales trainer himself, the author has communicated all his learnings and mistakes in this book. The book also highlights that you must be 100% sold on your product. Only then will you be able to convince others about its efficacy and effectiveness in solving their pain points. The author also suggests that price is never a concern for buyers. SImilarly, a dull economy is never a reason for poor sales.

Kindle Review: 4.7 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Become so sold, so convinced, so committed to your company, product, and service that you believe it would be a terrible thing for the buyer to do business anywhere else with any other product.”

6) Never Lose a Customer Again – Joey Coleman

This book revolves around the concept of H2H or the Human-to-Human equation. According to it, you must meet your customers irrespective of who they are and at what stage they are in their emotional journey. This is the only way to ensure that you never lose a customer again. According to the author, who is a keynote speaker and sales advisor, successful reps move the customer from one phase of the ideal customer experience to the next so that you will enjoy high customer retention. 

Kindle Review: 4.6 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Across a wide range of industries, a 5 percent improvement in customer retention rates will yield a 25 to 100 percent increase in profits.”

7) How I raised myself from failure to success in selling – Frank Bettger

This is another book that revolves around the rich experience of the author and the failures he has come across during his lifetime as a salesperson. The author states that a regular salesperson will give up after a few tries, but a successful one never gives up. They will keep trying to convert the prospect into a customer even after repeatedly failing. The author’s mantra for becoming a successful salesperson is resilience, patience, and hard work. And always listen to the pain points of the prospects and take the focus away from you during a sales conversation.

Kindle Review: 4.5 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Failures mean nothing at all if success comes eventually. And that’s a thought that should cheer you up and help you keep on keeping on when the going seems hard. Keep going! Each week, each month, you are improving. One day soon, you will find a way to do the thing that today looks impossible.”

8) The Sales Development Playbook – Trish Bertuzzi

This book talks about an organization’s growth and how it is linked to acquiring a new pipeline. And the key to that is effective sales development. The author, with three decades of experience, highlights that there are six elements to long-term growth –  strategy, specialization, recruiting, retention, execution, and leadership. The book is a practical handbook for every organization, irrespective of its size and how ahead it is in its sales development journey. 

Kindle Review: 4.6 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Inbound opportunity is roughly twice as valuable as one generated through outbound effort. But the challenge—and it’s a big one—is that there are exponentially more small companies than big ones.”

9) The Ultimate Sales Machine

The author Chet Holmes talks about the 4 characteristics of a successful B2B rep in this book viz. prospecting, presenting, closing, and service. He highlights that these 4 characteristics help a rep to find the right prospect, present their solution, close the deal, and offer stellar customer service. The book is full of handy tips, tricks, and strategies that have been tailored for all types of reps, irrespective of their industry and experience. The book shows that the only way to transform an average salesperson into a sales machine is by training them to sell the brand instead of just the product.

Kindle Review: 4.6 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “The one who gives the market the most and best information will always slaughter the one who just wants to sell products or services.”

10) Sales Secret – Brandon Bornancin

This book is an exhaustive compilation of interviews, secret strategies, tools, and tactics aimed at sales reps looking to improve sales. Hundreds of top sales performers such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Jordan Belfort, Ryan Serhant, Heather Monahan, Trish Bertuzzi, Anthony Iannarino, Jeffrey Gitomer, Jarrod Glandt, etc. share their experience with the author through this book. In other words, it’s like having 100+ sales experts in your pockets who will guide you at various stages of the sales cycle.

Kindle Review: 4.5 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Remember, you don’t have to be great at selling to start. But you have to start to be great at selling.”

11) Demand-Side Sales 101 – Bob Moesta

In this book, the author talks about how many companies make the mistake of approaching sales from the supply side of the question when they should focus on the demand side of the equation instead. In other words, the focus should be on what pain is my customer facing right now and how you can get your product or service to solve it. Demand-side selling is all about helping prospects make progress in the journey they are on by making the sales process revolve around coaching, mentoring, and helping rather than pushing the products.

Kindle Review: 4.7 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “We keep trying to sell people the drill, when the reality is, we should be helping them figure out how to drill the hole.”

12) Gap Selling – Keenan

This book is a must-read for everyone in the sales department and not just reps. It simplifies the complex process of sales by showcasing that the product or service they are selling fills the gap between the customer’s present state to the desired future state. The book also highlights that you cannot sell to a customer’s desired future state unless and until you fully completely understand their current state. One must do this by asking the right questions, listening, and comprehending them.

Kindle Review: 4.6 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “Increasing your buyers’ customer base, augmenting their revenue, streamlining their processes, or making their life or work more productive and enjoyable.”

13) Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions: A Tactical Playbook for Managers and Executives – Keith Rosen

This book helps sales managers to develop their sales coaching skills. It teaches them how to use their coaching system to realize the full potential of their sales team and retain the talent within the organization. It talks about different procedures and approaches that combine philosophy and execution to implement an efficient process that will help achieve meaningful results. The book also discusses how to handle difficult salespeople and how to let them go without causing collateral damage to the organization.

Kindle Review: 4.5 out of 5

Favorite quote from the book: “If you do not have a defined process that moves your people forward so the can achieve greater results, then what is it you are managing?”

Further Reading: 57 Essential sales questions for every stage of the sales that you might never heard of – Call automation for data driven teams | FreJun

Conclusion

Sales is an ever-evolving field that warrants continuous learning and improvement. The books listed above continue to provide invaluable insights and strategies to sales professionals at all levels to gain a better understanding of the sales process, learn how to build strong relationships with customers, and develop the skills necessary to close more deals. So pick up a copy of one or more of these books, and start taking your sales skills to the next level!