'Tim's Book List

These are sales, human relationship, goal setting, psychology and self help books.  You may even find a ‘new-age’ one here. Don’t fret if you don’t see your own favorite here – I had to keep the list brief, but do call me and share the title!  Enjoy, Tim Roberts

You Can’t Teach A Kid To Ride A Bike At A Seminar
By David H. Sandler

This is one of the definitive approaches to sales.  A sales methodology is addressed by Sandler in an easy-to-read writing style.  Sandler doesn’t say, “be like me and you’ll make a gazillion dollars,” rather he suggests, “here’s what I was doing that didn’t work so I started to really figure out the psychology behind the sale and develop a systematic approach that will eliminate the challenges all salespeople face.”  This is the system I live by.  It is fair to say I am a Sandler disciple.

The Sandler Rules
Adapted by David Mattson 

"It isn't how you feel that determines how you act but it's how you act that determines how you feel." David Sandler reasoned that if he could guide salespeople to do the appropriate behaviors, the attitudes and beliefs would develop...and once the rules of successful selling were ingrained, the successes would occur almost effortlessly.

The Speed of Trust
By Stephen M.R. Covey

Covey demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver – a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing.

The Trusted Advisor
By David H. Maister

This book rarely leaves my side and accompanies me on every sales call.  Maister’s work mirrors Sandler’s approach and the two concepts used hand-in-hand makes for top line sales professionals.

Spin Selling
By Neil Rackham

A unique Sales Strategy – SPIN. Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff.  Rackham explains with wit and authority why traditional sales models, which were developed for small consumer sales, just don’t work for large sales.  SPIN very successfully illuminates the power of Sandler’s Pain Funnel!

Close The Deal
By Lyle Sussman and Sam Deep with The Sandler Sales Institute

One of the best, if not the best, sales desk reference guide I have ever seen and read.  This baby is packed full of great issues.  A true sales professional will have this in their brief case at all times.  No need to read it cover to cover, it’s truly a reference book; just go right to the topic you need a tip on.  Great bullet points.  I love bullet points.

Selling with Emotional Intelligence
By Mitch Anthony

My kids often ask me, “Now dad, what is it again that you do for a living?” and I say, “Kids, I’m a right brain access-er.”  People make decisions intellectually, but they buy emotionally.  Do you know the rules of grabbing the emotional side of a prospect’s brain?

Storyselling for Financial Advisors
By Mitch Anthony and Scott West

Storyselling helps financial pros tap into the gut reactions of different types of clients, all the while engaging both sides of the brain –the logical side and the emotional, intuitive side.

The Psychology of Persuasion
By Kevin Hogan

Your sales will dramatically increase as you learn step by step how you can understand precisely what others are thinking and how to ethically direct others toward your way of thinking.

First Break All The Rules
By Marcus Buckingham

This is a must for all managers. There are vital performance and career lessons here for managers at every level, and, best of all, the book shows you how to apply them to your own situation.

Trust-Based Selling
By Charles H. Green

This guy’s just good, perhaps the best read for salespeople who want to understand the dying world of trust. He’s got a great website, too!

Good To Great
By Jim Collins

Already a classic, there are few top company’s that don’t espouse Collins work.

The 360° Leader
By John C. Maxwell

Developing your influence from anywhere in the organization.  Look, it’s simple, you need to have Maxwell’s books on your shelf.

Sales Management-Analysis and Decision Making
By Dr. Ramon Avilla, Ingram, LaForge, Schwepker, Williams

Written by Professor of Marketing at Ball State University, Ramon Avilla, this is solid academic material.  Besides, you should be aware of the good work the H.H. Gregg School of Selling is up to!

Fierce Conversations
By Susan Scott

Have you ever walked out of a meeting and wished you had asked or said something but didn’t because “Nice Guy Syndrome” made you vulnerable?  Here’s the book that will keep you in the meeting – one conversation at a time.

Remarkable Leadership
By Kevin Eikenberry

This is a practical handbook for anyone who wants to hone the skills they need to become an outstanding leader.  Something you  should know is that Kevin is an Indianapolis guy with rock solid leadership competencies.

How People Decide
By Jonah Lehrer

The most successful salespeople are the ones that can enable other people to decide. Determining the decision-making process of an organization can be your biggest challenge – same for an individual – but when you do, you shorten your selling cycle. New stuff, hot stuff.

Five Minutes with VITO
By Anthony Parinello and David Mattson

VITOs control every decision that’s made in every enterprise in your sales territory.  If you want to sell and live large, you must get to VITO – and launch the proven Sandler Selling System that will turn VITO into one of your business partners forever.

What to Say When You Talk To your Self
By Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D.

A great book on how to erase negative self talk.  Program your potential for success.

Baseline Selling
By Dave Kurlan

You can easily apply the ideas in this book to your business, it has great stories, lots of examples from people whose sales challenges may be similar to yours.

Emotional Intelligence
By Daniel Goleman

Landmark stuff.  Learn it, know it and use it and your human relation skill set will rise to the top of the crowd.

Games People Play
By Dr. Eric Berne

If you like the psychology behind the sale (or any human situation), then understanding the games people play is powerful stuff.  The buyer-seller dance is full of games.  This may hurt, but you’ll find your own name in many of the chapters. Bit of a cumbersome read.

Man’s Search for Meaning
By Viktor Frankl

Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. 

I’m OK, You’re OK
By Dr. Tom Harris

Okay, I’m not really suggesting that you read this because there’s some “psycho-babble” that’s mind numbing.   On the other hand, it’s a book about Transactional Analysis – ego states.  Which state do you primarily operate out of – you’re Parent (Nurturing or Critical), Adult, or Child (Rebellious, Natural or Adaptive)?  Understanding TA dictates more than you know about your human relation skill set. Big fan!

Top Grading for Sales
By Brad Smart, PhD

Don’t accept B and C players. The real battle is being won by the A Team.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
By Robert Cialdini

This is really fun stuff. Cialdini may be the country’s foremost authority on persuasion and many of his messages are simple enough to start using TODAY. You might want to jump right to his newest book, YES!

How to Win Friends and Influence People
By Dale Carnegie

Please – this obviously isn’t a contemporary selling guide.  But it is a timeless (1934) human relations book.  It remains a stable in any pro’s library who wants to sell the way mom wants you to.

Now Discover Your Strengths
By Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Ph.D.

A book that shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths – and those of the people you manage. Buckingham is a good, easy read.

Mirroring People - The New Science of How We Connect With Others
By Marco Iacoboni

We come wired for empathy and cooperation, and evolution has equipped us to care, not just compete. A lot of lab work here, but compelling.

The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle

The challenges of selling cause a great deal of anxiety.  We worry about the future and beat ourselves up over the past.  While not a “sales book,” you will be encouraged to spend more time at this moment only.  Not for everybody but when the student is ready the teacher will appear!

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
By Patrick Lencioni

Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions that go to the very heart of why teams – even the best ones- often struggle.  He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team.  A leadership fable.

Definitive Book of Body Language
By Allan & Barbara Pease

It is a scientific fact that people’s gestures give away their true intentions.  Yet most of us don’t know how to read body language – and don’t realize how our own physical movements speak to others.  This book share experts’ techniques for reading body language signals to achieve success in every area of life.

The Science of Becoming Excellent
By Wallace D. Wattles & Dr. Judith Powell

You might have to read this twice, but this is a mindset that transforms a life.  I revisit this book about once a quarter because I never want to forget it.  Akin to Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, this book teaches you how to think about where you’re going and what you want to be.

The Science of Getting Rich
By Wallace D. Wattles & Bob Proctor

Same discussion as above.  Don’t confuse this with making a lot of money because this book is about creating a philosophy of abundance.  So many people operate their lives with the opposite – a philosophy of scarcity.

Adversity Quotient – Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
By Dr. Paul Stoltz

You know about IQ and may have heard of EQ (Emotional Intelligence), but the newest approach to higher achievement is understanding your Adversity Quotient (AQ).  A sales force with an understanding of how they respond to adversity will outperform the crowd by 300% according to Dr. Stoltz.

Awaken the Giant Within
By Anthony Robbins

How to take immediate control of your mental, emotional, physical and financial destiny!  This book can help you get your priorities in line and strengthen your goal setting process.

Outliers
By Malcolm Gladwell

The story of success is more complex – and a lot more interesting – than it initially appears.  The lives of outliers – those people whose achievements fall outside normal experience – follow a peculiar and unexpected logic. By making that logic plain, Gladwell presents a fascinating blueprint for making the most of human potential.  He also wrote Tipping Point and Blink.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad
By Robert T. Kiyosaki

Learn to have money work for you.  A good starting point for anyone who wants to gain control of their financial future.  This is a discussion to have with your kids, too!

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
By T. Harv Eker

This is the latest in how you think – and feel  about money. Salespeople are often thrown off the process because of the way they approach money issues. Get your head right!

Magic of Rapport
By Jerry Richardson

It has been said that magic is any technology that is not understood.  When you understand the technology, the magic is demystified.  That’s what this book does – it demystifies the technology of rapport, which enables you to establish rapport consistently and quickly with anyone.

The Inner Game of Work
By W. Timothy Gallwey

Gallwey challenges you to reexamine your fundamental motivations for going to work in the morning and your definitions of work once you’re there.  You will be able to look at work in a whole new way.

NLP at Work
By Sue Knight

NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is how you make sense of your world and most importantly how to make it what you want it to be.It’s a lot more fun working with prospects and clients when you know how to apply NLP.

Psycho Cybernetics 2000
By Maxwell Maltz

Get rid of your head trash and discover the success mechanism within you. My mom raised me on this stuff!

Your Best Year Yet
By Jinny S. Ditzler

This is a fun, proven, interactive workshop-in-a-book that offers a transformational, goal-oriented program based on ten simple questions. If you’re lousy at goal-setting, start here.

The Magic Lamp
By Keith Ellis

Goal setting for people who hate to set goals. You can’t read enough books on goal setting if that skill eludes you. I enjoyed this one.

The Secret
By Rhonda Byrne

“As you learn the Secret, you will come to know how you can have, be, or do anything you want.  You will come to know who you  really are.”

Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain
By Sharon Begley

A new science reveals our extraordinary potential to transform ourselves.  Cutting-edge science and the ancient wisdom of Buddhism have come together to reveal that, contrary to popular belief, we have the power to literally change our brains by changing our minds.

Social Intelligence

By Daniel Goleman

Goleman believes humans have a built-in bias toward empathy, cooperation, and altruism-provided we develop social intelligence to nurture these capacities in our selves and others.

Learned Optimism
By Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D.

You got head trash? Start here! Martin Seligman demonstrates how optimism enhances the quality of life and how anyone can practice it. He explains how to develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behavior, and experience the benefits of a more positive interior dialogue.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

By John Gray, Ph.D.

Look, I get it. You don’t want to be seen leaving the bookstore with this. Get past your head trash, McFly, everyone should read this. You’ll thank me, I promise!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
By Stephen R. Covey
Come on, you didn't think I was going to leave this off, did you?

Call Tim at 317.845.0041 or email tim@thetrustpointe.com to find out what newer books are out there!