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The new VP Sales has the opportunity and responsibility to achieve aggressive growth targets, and make a deep impact on company-wide culture. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve hand-picked these 25 sales books (in no particular order) from the best in the field and organized them into the 5 key responsibilities of the new sales executive:<\/span><\/p>\n VP Sales become VPs because of their successful track record \u2013 ususally as a rep and manager. But as an executive, their role is to scale their talents with a team that will achieve their sales targets year-over-year. These books teach basic and advanced management strategies to lead\u00a0top-performing sales teams.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The Straight Truth About Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Mike Weinberg (2015)<\/span><\/p>\n This book tops our list for the new VP Sales because it encourages leaders to take full responsibility for the performance of their sales teams, gives no-nonsense tips for world-class sales management, and roots it all in real-life stories. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a consultant, Mike Weinberg has seen many sales organizations that struggle under executives and sales managers that unknowingly undermine performance. \u201cI was tired of being called into companies by senior executives to fix their \u2018sales problems,\u2019 only to discover that it was a leadership problem,\u201d Weinberg explains in an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> with the CEO of Peak Sales Recruiting, Eliot Burdett. \u201cIf it\u2019s broken at the top then it\u2019s broken and the team will never do better than the leader.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Readers will learn the 16 basic sales management flaws and how to create a healthy culture in their sales organization, match high performers with the right roles and coach underperformers, run meetings their teams actually look forward to, and structure the best compensation plan. \u201cLong on solutions and short on platitudes,\u201d Weinberg\u2019s guide for sales executives is a must-read.<\/span><\/p>\n Build Repeatable Pipeline and Accelerate Growth with Inside Sales <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by <\/span>Trish<\/span> Bertuzzi (2016)<\/span><\/p>\n Jill Konrath<\/span><\/a> calls Bertuzzi\u2019s book \u201cthe Sales Development Bible.\u201d This book\u2019s focus on teambuilding and recruiting makes it particularly useful for sales executives who need to scale their sales teams, recruit with urgency, and get deep and practical advice on retention through engaging, motivating, and developing their best talent. Also helpful is its strategic guidance on building new pipeline for your specific market. This is a highly actionable, step-by-step guide divided into 6 sections.<\/span><\/p>\n The Sales Managers\u2019 Success Guide <\/span><\/p>\n by Steven Rosen (2012)<\/span><\/p>\n 52 Sales Management Tips<\/span><\/i> presents 52 concise and clear-cut tips for the sales executive who\u2019s strapped for time yet knows they need to develop their team. It\u2019s an easy read at a short 60 pages, and the tips are bite-sized and standalone, so readers can pick it up and read in small pieces here and there, rather than all in one go (one tip a week for a 52-year week).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWow, Steven has got it right\u2026Focus on sales management to increase sales performance. \u00a0No complicated strategy, just actionable coaching tidbits that guide you to the right tool for the right situation at the right time.\u201d \u2014 William \u201cSkip\u201d Miller, author, ProActive Sales Management<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Ken Thoreson (2011)<\/span><\/p>\n Ken Thoreson of Acumen Management provides a practical guide to managing sales teams, with hundreds of specific tactics and techniques a new VP Sales can experiment with immediately. <\/span><\/p>\n This book is easy to digest because it is broken into 39 chapters. Readers will learn:<\/span><\/p>\n A Tactical Playbook for Managers and Executives <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Keith Rosen (2008)<\/span><\/p>\n Keith Rosen argues that sales executives need to focus on <\/span>coaching<\/span><\/i>, not sales training, in order to develop a team of high performers in the cutthroat sales environment. This sales coaching handbook teaches how to create a thriving internal coaching program, and broader culture where coaching is woven into everyday activity. It teaches how to recognize the different management styles you\u2019ve encountered in your sales career and how to steer your own style away from a tyrannical one to a coaching-oriented one. <\/span><\/p>\n This book is a winner of five International Best Book awards. It provides immediately actionable tips on how to coach anyone in any situation, This book fights general advice and platitudes by providing proven coaching scripts, questions, and templates, as well as real-life stories and deep dives into mistakes coaches make. It even offers a 30-day intervention strategy to turn around poor performers.<\/span><\/p>\n by Jill Konrath (2014)<\/span><\/p>\n The only constant in the sales world is change, and this book helps the new Sales VP assimilate into their management role quickly. It\u2019s also widely applicable framework for their own reps to get up to speed in new situations, like pivots, promotions, and industry changes. The no-nonsense book presents \u201cmeta-skills\u201d to quickly absorb tons of information, ramp up on new skills nearly overnight, manage a busy calendar, keep motivation high, and gamify sales work. Readers will carry these habits throughout their careers and benefit long after they finish the last chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n A new VP Sales\u2019 role in a start-up is to bring a company from initial traction to initial scale.\u00a0<\/span>Strategy is a core responsibility, and once a company reaches ~$20m ARR, the VP Sales should shift focus away from tactics even more to go deeper into strategy \u2013\u00a0Jason Lemkin<\/a>. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to Go from $0 to $100 Million <\/span><\/p>\n by Mark Roberge (2015)<\/span><\/p>\n An engineer from MIT, Mark Roberge took HubSpot\u2019s sales through the company\u2019s first 10,000 customers. He pioneered a new method of scaling sales through metrics, process, and inbound selling. Roberge argues that sales <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> be taught; that there is a science and process behind it that one can distill into a replicable formula. This book is that formula, teaching readers a practical approach to bringing prospects from lead gen to sales in a combined sales and inbound marketing collaboration. \u201cReaders will learn how to apply data, technology, and inbound selling to every aspect of accelerating sales, including hiring, training, managing, and generating demand.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Inbound content and lead generation has changed the sales landscape, and it\u2019s here to stay, so it\u2019s an especially important read for the contemporary VP Sales. Roberge covers five key areas \u2014 four formulas and a way to think about technology in the sales context.<\/span><\/p>\n 12 Proven Strategies for a Customer-Driven World <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Steve Andersen and Dave Stein (2016)<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Andersen and Dave Stein argue that sales professionals who focus on just getting the sale are making a fatal mistake: what one does before and after the sale is just as important. The average executive spends less than 5 percent of their time engaged in the buying of products and services, so sales teams need to make sure they\u2019re engaging these executives the rest of the time as well. This book divides 12 strategies into three sections: how to drive success before the sale, during the sale, and after the sale. It teaches how to create value for customers at all times and not just being reactive to requirements in an RFP. The book is backed by research and illustrated with case studies from companies like Hilton and Siemens, making it one of the most captivating sales books of 2016 and one we recommend all emerging sales leaders read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMost sales books assume that only the sale matters. Not true. This book considers the whole picture\u2014what\u2019s happening when your customers aren\u2019t buying from you influences them when they are.\u201d <\/span><\/i>\u2014 Yvonne Genovese, GVP, Gartner, Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n Winning Moves for Growing Companies <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Paul O\u2019Dea (2009)<\/span><\/p>\n This book is a field guide to sales strategy for senior executives of growing companies. The Business Battlecard helps the reader \u201ccraft a winning strategy that will win you the war on several fronts: the battle against competitors, the battle for customers\u2019 minds, the battle for investors\u2019 wallets, and the battle for employees\u2019 hearts.\u201d It covers how to devise a clear strategy, align the team, align other executives, and execute. The book includes a one-page visual summary (a \u201cbattlecard\u201d) for what you need to focus on and guides the reader through five key questions.<\/span><\/p>\n The Unique Sales System Proven Successful by the World\u2019s Best Companies <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman (2008)<\/span><\/p>\n The Miller Heiman sales strategy and the classic book <\/span>Strategic Selling <\/span><\/i>became a cornerstone for salespeople and non-sales businesspeople alike with the introduction of the \u201cWin-Win\u201d concept in 1985. The authors revised the book in 2008 for modern complex sales, covering strategic topics like creating steady revenue (avoiding boom and bust), understanding competitive offerings and substitutes, identifying the four real decision makers in even the most vexing corporations, and closing the <\/span>right<\/span><\/i> business, not business you\u2019ll regret later.<\/span><\/p>\n Powerful Strategies to Drive Consistent Growth Year After Year <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Colleen Francis (2014)<\/span><\/p>\n This book teaches sales executives how to avoid boom-bust cycles and create a sales system to smooth out erratic highs and lows each quarter. Francis introduces the Sales Radar concept, which is a holistic way to characterize prospects alongside the sales funnel. This is divided into four sections which she argues each deserve attention and work in harmony to create a steady supply of wins throughout the year: Attraction (filling the pipeline), Participation (turning leads into customers), Growth (picking the best clients and investing in them), and Leverage (generating referrals). Peak Sales Recruiting <\/span>reviewed<\/span><\/a> this book in depth because of its standout concepts for long-term business growth.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPacked with enlightening examples of sales disasters and standouts\u2026brings balance to the selling process, reliability to revenues and booming sales all year long.\u201d<\/span><\/i> \u2014 <\/span><\/i> Top Sales World<\/span><\/p>\n A new Sales VP needs to scale their work with a high-performing team, implementing advanced sales tactics. And from time to time, their responsibility is to close sales themselves \u2014 something taking a deal from end to end. These hand-picked books will expand the reader\u2019s tactical skill to deal with any situation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Mike Schultz & John Doerr (2014)<\/span><\/p>\n This book helps B2B sales teams adapt to the new paradigm, in which, the authors argue, buyers see products and services as replaceable. Schultz and Doerr interviewed over 700 B2B purchases and found that the #1 winners sold radically differently than the #2 finishers. They share their new data, as well as a three-level Insight Selling model that helps sales executives parse out which advice to follow, which to discard, and what parts of their existing processes aren\u2019t working anymore. This is an important read for the new VP Sales and for members of their team. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSchultz and Doerr are truly among the elite sales thought leaders. Insight Selling outlines exactly what you need to do to set yourself apart and find yourself in the winner\u2019s circle. It\u2019s a must read for even the most experienced sellers.\u201d \u2014 Jill Konrath, bestselling author of Agile Selling & SNAP Selling<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The Sales Professional\u2019s Guide to Improving Customer Profits <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Jack Malcolm (2011)<\/span><\/p>\n Jack Malcolm\u2019s philosophy to selling focuses on the bottom line \u2014 of your customer. This book helps the new VP Sales and their team navigate their prospects\u2019 business goals and problems to cultivate a deep understanding that leads to value creation. \u201cThe only way to add measurable value to your customers\u2014the kind that gets the attention of high-level decision makers\u2014is to understand how their business generates cash, bring solid ideas for improving their cash flow engine, and speak the language that resonates with them,\u201d says Malcolm.<\/p>\n \u201cI read a lot of business books, more than 100 a year, and I can say without question that Bottom-Line Selling is absolutely one of my all time favorites. If you want to clearly understand how to use business acumen, competitive intelligence and your customer\u2019s financials to position yourself as a trusted advisor and close major deals, this is a MUST read book.\u201d\u2014 John Spence<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n
Lead a team of top performers<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Sales Management. Simplified.<\/a>
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<\/h3>\n2.\u00a0<\/strong>The Sales Development Playbook<\/strong>
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\n<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n3.\u00a0<\/strong>52 Sales Management Tips<\/strong>
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<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n4.\u00a0Your Sales Management Guru\u2019s Guide to Leading High-Performance Sales Teams
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5.\u00a0Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions
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<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n6.\u00a0Agile Selling
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<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\nCraft a sales strategy that scales company revenue<\/b><\/h2>\n
7.\u00a0The Sales Acceleration Formula
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8.\u00a0Beyond the Sales Process
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<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n9.\u00a0The Business Battlecard<\/a>\u00a0
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<\/strong><\/h3>\n10.\u00a0The New Strategic Selling<\/a>\u00a0
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<\/strong><\/h3>\n11.\u00a0Nonstop Sales Boom
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<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\nHone team sales tactics<\/b><\/h2>\n
12.\u00a0Insight Selling<\/a>\u00a0
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<\/strong><\/h3>\n13.\u00a0Bottom-Line Selling<\/a>\u00a0
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\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n14.\u00a0Fanatical Prospecting<\/a>\u00a0
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