Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling is in the same league as Zig Zagler's book or the Rainmakers book.

Highlights:

Chapter headings that explain themselves:

Kick Your Own Ass
Prepare To Win, Or Lose To Someone Who Is
Personal Branding Is Sales: It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You.
It’s All About Value, It’s All About Relationship, It’s Not About The Price
It’s Not Work, It’s Network
If You Can’t Get In Front Of The Real Decision Maker, You Suck
Engage Me And You Can Make Me Convince Myself
If You Can Make Them Laugh, You Can Make Them Buy
Use Creativity To Differentiate And Dominate
Reduce Their Risk And You’ll Convert Selling To Buying
When You Say It It’s Bragging. When Someone Else Says It It’s Proof.
Resign Your Position As General Manager Of The Universe.

Main lessons on selling:

- If you truly want to be successful you need to think about relationship building.
- Your own thoughts will fulfill themselves, so if you think you can’t you’re right. You have a responsibility to yourself to achieve. Choose your level of success.
- Do your homework before engaging so you don’t waste their time asking questions that you could easily have answered for yourself. Do your homework and then ask questions that demonstrate your basic knowledge of them and their concerns.
- Create your own personal brand. Your customers buy you first and then what you have to offer. Get known as the expert in your field.
- It’s all about value and relationships. Give value first without expectation of a return.
- Use networking to connect and build relationships.
- Spend your time in front of decision makers. These are the people who can make a “yes” decision. Ask the prospect what they think and tell them how they win or could win by meeting you.
- Ask questions that help the client to clarify their need.
- Put your prospects at ease by getting them to smile or laugh.
- Establish differentiation through your creativity.
- Reduce the risk of purchase.
- Get testimonials with specific messages.
- Develop self-confidence, determination, and positive expectations.
- Master yourself and practice self-leadership.

[From the Great Books Series. Also see The Success Manual - Encyclopedia of Advice, which contains summaries of 100+ Most useful books.]