8 Best Books About Sales Management to Keep Your Skills Sharp
If you aren’t constantly sharpening your skills, eventually you’ll end up dull.
And a dull knife is of no use to anyone.
The thing is, new sales reps understand this. When you’re young and hungry, you sop up as much information as you can to improve your performance.
Once you transition into leadership, however, it’s easy to get comfortable, even complacent.
But sales leaders have to hone a double-edged sword: you have to enhance both your skill as a seller, and as a leader.
So if you haven’t read these 8 best books about sales management, stop what you’re doing and order them now.
8 Best Books About Sales Management Every Manager Should Read
–A Tactical Playbook for Managers and Executives-
An exceptional sales manager knows the difference between training and coaching your team.
Overall, it’s much harder to coach than to train. So if you find you’re struggling in this area, pick up Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions.
This book provides a tactical, step-by-step playbook packed with case studies, strategies, & hundreds of powerful coaching questions to push you to confidently lead your team.
The book says it best:
“If you do not have a defined process that moves your people forward so they can achieve greater results, then what is it you are managing?” Sales training doesn’t develop sales champions. Managers do” –Keith Rosen (Author)
-The Only Book You Need To Lead You To Success-
Your reps will only take action to improve themselves if they see the value. Bottom line: you can’t make your people do anything.
That’s why knowing how to influence those around you with simple, strategic communication is an essential skill in leadership, management, and coaching.
How to Win Friends & Influence People has stood the test of time because it provides timeless wisdom on how to communicate strategically and effectively.
The book says it best:
“So the only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.” –Dale Carnegie (Author)
-The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance-
There’s no handbook on how to lead a high-performing sales team.
At least, there wasn’t—until Jason Jordan & Michelle Vazzana wrote one.
Cracking the Sales Management Code gives you everything you need to know on how to measure and manage sales performance. It goes both high-level and strategic, down to practical, tactical tips.
The book says it best:
“Letting go of the past is as much a part of management as providing guidance for the future.” –Jason Jordan & Michelle Vazzana (Authors)
–The Straight Truth About Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team-
So many sales management issues are self-inflicted.
Sales Management. Simplified. is a hard-hitting wake-up call designed to get you thinking: what if I’m the problem?
Sure, it’s not a comfortable question to ask. But engaging in some critical self-reflection is essential to fix problems in your organization and maximize your team’s performance.
The book Says it best:
“The harsh truth is that those in sales and sales leadership who understand and master the basics thrive, and those who ignore them perpetually struggle.” – Mike Weinberg (Author)
-Winning Customers Away from Your Competition-
Key to sales success is understanding your competition—and this book teaches you how to leave your competition in the dust.
Eat Their Lunch is a no-fluff read on the four levels of value to win customers away from the competition. After all, their loss is your gain.
The book says it best:
“You don’t win by focusing on your competition. What makes you a dangerous competitor is how you play the game.” – Anthony Iannarino (Author)
-How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen-
Today’s buyers have a keen eye for suspicious, manipulative, or disingenuous sales tactics.
Instead, they want trusted partners and leaders who can clearly and confidently demonstrate why customers should buy from them.
Stop Selling, Start Leading, gives simple principles and behaviors of leadership that will help your entire team improve their performance by always putting the buyer’s perspective front and center.
The book says it best:
“Details derail sales. Buyers want to be stirred into action.”-James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner and, Deb Calvert (Authors)
There are so many sales beliefs that salespeople take for granted:
People buy from people they like
Closing is a skill of strong salespeople
Price is the main reason salespeople lose the sale
And on and on.
In Gap Selling, shreds these and other sales assumptions, highlighting a powerful new way for sellers to connect with buyers.
This book is a powerful tool to help you break down common misconceptions among your team, clearing the way for more effective, successful selling practices.
The book says it best:
“Because longevity promotes favorability, it may confer legitimacy.”- Keenan
Sales success never happens by accident. Until you rise to the occasion and harness your full potential as a leader, you’ll never get your people to do the same.
The Intentional Sales Manager outlines proven strategies for overcoming sales challenges, helping you to get everyone on the right track.
The book says it best: “Until you harness the power of your own purposeful intention as a sales leader, your people will never deliver on their full potential.” – Pat McManamon
Final Thoughts: Reading Is Just the Start
As much as each of these books give you the knowledge to improve your skills as a team manager and leader, it’s just the first step.
Once you gather all this valuable knowledge, you have to put it into action:
Train your team on the methods and practices mentioned in the books above
Coach individual reps to help them apply what they’ve learned
Continually reevaluate and monitor to see what impact, if any, these changes have on the bottom line
If you find it difficult to monitor sales rep performance, that could be because you aren’t using the right tools. Coaching intelligence software enables you to see what your reps are doing, surface the most important insights, and step in to help them fix any performance issues and close skill gaps.
Click here to learn more about what coaching intelligence is, and how it can help you make your team better.
Best Selling Product Management Books
Product Managers and product leaders continually search for engaging resources to contribute to their knowledge and effectiveness. After all, who doesn’t want to be successful in their careers? Success this personal necessitates the kind of books that are accessible, helpful, and filled with tools and templates to contribute to the success you deserve.
Steven Haines, Sequent’s founder understood this need. He devoted more than two decades to conduct research and establish performance benchmarks that identify what well-run companies do to achieve success with their people, products, and processes.
Our portfolio of product management books offers you the ability to hone your craft with just-in-time templates, examples, and guidelines. These books are the perfect companion to our product management workshops.
The Top 15 Strategic Management Books
Looking to gain an edge over your competition? The best place to start is by implementing a management strategy that will handle your hiring, marketing, and technological needs. While there are plenty of online resources available, many of which are free, there’s nothing quite like opening up a book to help you gain new strategic insights and tactics for your upcoming strategic management campaign.
To help narrow down the choices, we've put together a list of 15 strategic management books to help you gain the much-needed competitive edge in this highly competitive world.
Here are the Best Strategy Books for Entrepreneurs and Managers
1. Business Strategy: Managing Uncertainty, Opportunity, and Enterprise by J.C. Spender
Before entering the academic world, J.C. Spender was an account manager and special products planner for Rolls Royce and IBM, as well as a merchant banker working with Silicon Valley. Spender takes his years of experience and blends that with case studies and theories to develop a new understanding of strategy.
Review: "Business managers usually say more than they intend, so employees often interpret strategies differently and go in different directions. Spender re-examines strategizing under conditions of uncertainty, showing entrepreneurs construct special language to shape what others note and act on. He provides managers and consultants with a structured practice for value-creation." -- Andrew H. Van de Ven, University of Minnesota
2. Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing by Mark Schaefer
As a marketing veteran, author, founder, and Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, Mark Schaefer has helped businesses develop their influence and authority in their respective businesses. In this groundbreaking book, Schaefer interviewed over 50 experts an provides explanation on how to use social and to build brand awareness and boost sales.
Review: "I could not stop reading this book. Mark Schaefer demystifies the power of influence in this insider's guide to combining content strategy with network interactions to create social conversations that move markets." -- Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale
3. Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers by Niraj Dawar
Niraj Dawar is Professor of Marketing at the Ivey Business School, Canada, and has appeared in publications like Harvard Business Review, the M.I.T. Sloan Management Review, and the Financial Times. With Tilt, he helps businesses achieve a competitive edge by designing strategies around customer interactions.
Review: “Tilt challenges us to place customers at the heart of strategy. With product cycles shortening and product costs shrinking, this book brings to life a deeper understanding of how strategy can be made more powerful. A must-read.” -- Arkadi Kuhlmann, CEO, ZenBanx Inc; former Chairman and CEO, ING Direct
4. Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim
Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne are both Professors of Strategy at INSEAD, as well as Co-Directors of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute. Their best-selling book argues you should be focus on creating unique market opportunities, as opposed to constantly battling the competition.
Review: “This breakthrough book is essential for any strategist or entrepreneur who wants to move out of intensively competitive, shark-infested waters and into an opportunity filled, open ocean.” — Business Insider
5. Fewer, Bigger, Bolder: From Mindless Expansion to Focused by Sanjay Khosla
While as President of Kraft Foods developing markets, Sanjay Khosla increased revenue growth from $5 billion to $16 billion during a six-year period. Khosla shares his experience, as well as case studies from companies like Cisco and Spirit, to develop a seven-step model to increase profit growth.
Review: “A breakthrough blueprint for growth, this book is about the transformational payback that comes from investment in your workforce.” -- Tony Vernon, CEO, Kraft Foods Group, Inc.
6. Hiring for Attitude: A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting and Selecting People with Both Tremendous Skills and Superb Attitude by Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy is the founder and CEO of Leadership IQ and author of the bestselling books Hundred Percenters and HARD Goals. With Hiring for Attitude, Murphy uses research from Leadership IQ to discover why 46% of new hires fail within their first year and a half. Murphy then provides case studies and tests so that you can hire the people with the right attitude.
Review: “Success in business starts with finding great talent that will thrive within your company culture. Hiring for Attitude combines valuable insights with relatable examples, giving you the tools to recruit the right talent for your organization and reduce your risk of mishires.” -- Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America
7. The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive by Terri L. Griffith
Terri Griffith, Ph.D., Chair of the Management Department at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, has relied on technology and organization to help accomplish tasks and goals. With the Plugged-In Manager, Griffith argues that managers must not only embrace technology, they must also be plugged-in with people. She profiles leaders such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of to prove this point.
Review: "Want to help your organization kick ass in the marketplace? Read this book. It will prepare you to manage for this century, when most management books prepare you to lead in the last one." -- Nilofer Merchant, behavioral strategist; and author, The New How
8. The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment by Robert Kaplan and David Norton
In their Balanced Scorecard, Kaplan and Norton unveiled their revolutionary "performance management system". For their follow-up, Kaplan and Norton researched over 200 companies who had implemented the Balanced Scorecard. By using this technique, these companies were able to create strategy-focused organizations.
Review: “Kaplan and Norton chronicle the long-overdue shift from management 'by the numbers' to a performance management process that places well-articulated, knowledge-based strategies at the center of every employee's activities. Given the pace of change in the new economy, strategy-focused processes that are measurable, repeatable, and supported by superior information are the only true sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations that ignore this reality do so at their own risk.” -- James H. Goodnight, President & CEO, SAS
9. Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management by Henry Mintzberg, Joseph Lampel and Bruce Ahlstrand
These three colleagues deliver an extensive and entertaining history of strategic management that traces its evolution throughout the years - mainly the ten schools of strategy from the last forty years. This international bestseller combines these various schools of thought and creates a straightforward guide in how-to form a strategy.
Review: "Read the book. Let Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampel guide you on an enlightening and entertaining excursion through the field of strategy making." -- Lawrence Bennigson, Senior Fellow of the Executive Development Center of the Harvard Business School
10. Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World by John P. Kotter
John P. Kotter, the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School, is a globally recognized authority in leadership and change. In this 2014 book, Kotter presents his case for a new “dual operating system” network that can help organizations handle strategic challenges and change with the times.
Review: “A Top Shelf Best Business Book pick of the Year: Strategy” -- strategy+business magazine
11. The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World by Walter Kiechel
The editorial director of Harvard Business Publishing and the managing editor at Fortune magazine, as well as the author of Office Hours: A Guide to the Managerial Life, Walter Kiechel III shares the extraordinary story of the four men who invented corporate strategy (Bruce Henderson, founder of Boston Consulting Group; Bill Bain, creator of Bain & Company; Fred Gluck, longtime Managing Director of McKinsey & Company; and Michael Porter, Harvard Business School professor).
Review: “[Kiechel’s] ‘The Lords of Strategy’ is a clear, deft and cogent portrait of what the author calls the most powerful business idea of the past half-century…” --The Wall Street Journal
12. Breaking the Fear Barrier: How Fear Destroys Companies From the Inside Out and What to Do About It by Tom Rieger
Rieger, a Senior Practice Expert with Gallup Inc., has the experience and talent to break down barriers so a business can succeed. In Breaking the Fear Barrier, Rieger, illustrates through research how fear can be destructive and how you can control and tackle that fear.
Review: “These may seem like insurmountable obstacles, but Rieger maintains that because these barriers were built internally, they can be destroyed internally. He offers solid tactics for how anyone can root out fear in their organizations and establish a culture of confidence, engagement, and long-term success.” -- Matthew E. May Strategic Facilitation & Ideation,
13. Harvesting Intangible Assets: Uncover Hidden Revenue in Your Company's Intellectual Property by Andrew J. Sherman
As a partner at Jones Day, Andrew J. Sherman has worked with international companies in various stages of development. With this thought-provoking book, Sherman shares his own experiences and examples from companies like Google on how to convert intellectual property into revenue.
Review: “You will come away with a much better practical sense of how intangibles fit into business strategy and how to develop that strategy….Sherman has made a strong contribution towards helping business develop strategies utilizing their intangibles. The book should be widely read.” --The Intangible Economy
14. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins
Bestselling author Jim Collins provides the seven characteristics that it takes for a business to become successful after examining each and every one of the 1,400 companies included in the Fortune 500 since 1965 - which he narrows down to 11 to discuss in Good to Great.
Review: "Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner.” -- Harry C. Edwards,
15. The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff
These two professors, and game strategy theorists, use case studies from pop culture, history and sports to prove how individual and business interactions can use game components as a part of their strategy.
Reviews: "It is an easy read and is written in a lively tone-which is not something I particularly recall from my lectures in the 1980s. Long live economics!" John Burns, The Times Higher Education
"Unlike most of the ranks of management advice books which pad out bookshop business sections, here is one which is rigorous, fun and extremely useful all at the same time." -- The Economist
Any we missed? Let us know in the comments!