Five Must Read Books to Help Rethink How You Support the Sales Force

There he sat nervously waiting. 

In a few moments, a handful of men wearing red robes were going to announce his punishment and if he would be burned at the stake.

 What was Galileo’s crime? 

He’d published a book (Dialogue) that argued in defense of a radical theory at the time – the earth orbited the sun. 

You and I can look back at that situation with close to 400 years of hindsight and be quite judgmental of the inquisition.

But, this was a time of great change in western civilization.  During times of major transformation, it is human nature to resist it. 

In sales and marketing we spend a lot of time talking about this fact and how individual sales people need to change.  Certainly, that’s true. 

However, when do we talk about the various systems we’ve created to support our sales people and how we might need to change our organizations?

To be blunt about it, most sales people or their managers that I speak with would greatly empathize with what Galileo was feeling.  Certainly, they don’t fear for their lives but what motives sales people?  They like to hit their numbers and show they are performing, but with so many metrics they are measured against – they feel over inspected and demotivated.    What’s even more similar is the fact most don’t want to voice what they really think because they fear the repercussions of committing corporate heresy if they somehow violate the most recent corporate mantra. 

So, in a lot of ways, despite your intentions, your sales force might be looking at you more as a member of the inquisition rather than a resource to help them (that is what enable means, right?).    

I know, we are all under tremendous pressure to do things to move the needle.  I understand.  I don’t think it’s your fault, but you have a lot of power to change it.   

How?    

Simply put, you could take a step away from looking at the bark of a tree and try to see the forest.  I know that is impossible to do during fire drills that go off almost hourly.  But, what I DO know is that your peers who have started to embrace new approaches are having tremendous successes because I've seen it happen with my own eyes.   To help you start gaining the different perspective, consider reading (I’d recommend in this order) the following books this summer:  

1) The Chaos Imperative:  How Change and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success by Ori Branfman

One of my friends and colleagues Brian Lambert suggested I read this book and I read it cover to cover in two days.  Basically, this book is about the reasons why organizations impose so much suffocating operational burden and how (at some point) it own operational precision creates an inability to adapt in changing landscapes.  When I re-read (or listen) to this book, I am reminded constantly of all of the well-intended but random acts of sales support we are generating and how it is overburdening the sales force.  I also see huge parallels between the examples in the book and the tactics the most successful sales enablement groups are taking.

2) Start with Why by Simon Sinek

One of the biggest by products of the changing economy is trying to determine exactly what customers are buying.  In this book Sinek makes a strong case that it’s not WHAT you do but WHY you do it that matters.   In today’s highly technical, increasingly connected, and global economy - executive level buyers can get pretty much any product or service they need.   What is differentiating is WHY you are engaging (do you want to just sell them a product, or help them solve a problem?).

3) Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

I know, you’ve probably read this or watched the movie.  I’d love you to do it again only this time think about how similar the scouts are to sales trainers and some sales managers in your organization?  I’ve read this book and seen the movie at least a dozen times and I always am inspired by this scene.  It’s way more impactful and dramatic if you’ve read Chaos Imperative beforehand. 

4) Blink by Malcom Gladwell

I use this book as my sanity check when I go overboard on analytics.  What Gladwell does in his always brilliant style is to uncover characteristics where instinct trumps the prevailing wisdom.  For me, it helps to reinforce the fact that interpersonal communications (the medium of sales) are way too complex to be mathematically modeled.   Because of that, you need to balance between precision, processes, messages, and talent.

5) Antifragle: Things that Gain from  Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This book was both the worst and best book I’ve read in a very long time.  Personally, I thought the authors writing style and tone to be all about him.   I found the content to be extremely rough to follow and I had to beg of my friends and co-workers (Norbert Kriebel) to read it so I could talk about it.  So, why do I recommend it?  This book challenged my thinking like no other.   His brilliant point - the way we organize things (think about how you organize your department) are probably based on the wrong design points and thus setting yourself up to fail when things change rapidly (which you should expect tumult, rather than stability).  He also point out systems that actually thrive in changing conditions, which of course you should model to future proof your department.  One idea is to approach your group like a business within a business.  

Its a marathon, not a sprint

The bad news is that there are no silver bullets out there to drive sales productivity.  The good news is that you can learn new ideas for different sources and drive tremendous results.  The effort isn’t about putting more hours in, it’s about allowing yourself to look at things from a different perspective and talking with other people about these new ideas.   Please share with me what resonates with you and your thought.  It’s amazing and exciting for me what I learn from each person (no matter the role) I engage with in this field.