With the US Thanksgiving holiday coming up in several weeks, let’s get your reading list selected! Here are book reviews of three diverse gems that I’ve recently read. These books made a big impact on me. I recommend them for your reading pleasure as well!
Sales Management Simplified, The Straight Truth about Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team, by Mike Weinberg. I’ve never known a Mike Weinberg book to mince words. He definitely “brings it” in his newest offering. Weinberg writes a get-real manifesto for the critical areas your sales organization can no longer overlook. He provides great examples. He makes the case for sales managers who are engaged and interactive. He addresses the must-do activities and mindset which you, as a manager, must hard-wire into your business and sales DNA. Learn to lead as well as manage your sales organization more effectively, with greater clarity of purpose and strategy.
Content Inc. How Entrepreneurs use Content to build Massive Audiences and create radically Successful Businesses, by Joe Pulizzi. This book is a tour-de-force barn burner on how to create a value-based business which leverages your content. Pulizzi is the “godfather” of content creation. He brings his own experiences as well as his clients’ to the table. In today’s content-overwhelmed world, he focuses on what it takes to make your content not only stand out, but create a compelling business case for doing business with YOU. He demystifies the process. It ain’t easy, but Pulizzi certainly makes it more simple for you to pick your path. He challenges you to persist, pivot, and reap the benefits of your hard work.
Sales Presentations for Dummies, by Julie Hansen. This book might well have been named Presentations for Dummies: it applies to all teams engaged in generating revenue for their organizations. Our customers’ attention span has been recalibrated by text messages of 160 character texts or 140 character tweets. Hansen deep dives into why customers no longer have the attention span for monumental sales presentations that aren’t tailored to how they think. Hansen deftly guides the reader on how to grab your customer’s attention from the minute you walk into the room and maintain it throughout your presentation. No matter how many presentations you have given, or how much of an expert you feel you are, you will find tremendous insights in this book.
Let me know how valuable and relevant these three books are to your own professional development!
Babette N. Ten Haken is a management strategist and team-building leadership coach. She helps teams, startups and businesses who wrestle with unpredictable revenue streams. Babette began her career as a scientist. Early on, she was asked to bring clarity to the chaos of stalemated conversations between engineers, sales, IT, quality, legal and marketing folks. She builds innovative, productive and profitable teams who are focused on excellence in the hand-off of strategy for execution. Her Workshops help build healthier organizations. Her Playbook on leadership and business strategies, including tools, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com.
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