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Recommended Reading
One aspect of KLA's commitment to continued knowledge and development
is sharing of resources. The recommended reading list is a sampling
of some of the best, current books, periodicals, and on-line links
we are using in our speaking engagements and work with clients.
We believe these resources may also be of value to you. Enjoy!
Free eBook: Increase Sales Productivity
 The
key to increasing sales productivity in 2010 is to understand
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on helping you free up more time to focus on selling.
Free Sales eBook
The Top Sales Experts Fall Edition eBook is hot off the
e-press and FREE to you! Compiled by Jonathan Farrington of TSE,
experts share their latest ideas to keep you on top of your sales
game and working at optimum performance.
If you're a TSE member, login in and simply download. If you're
not a member, just register (for free - no catches) and you can
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Download
your free copy full of tons of great ideas you can use immediately.
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Books
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 Selling
Against the Goal: How Corporate Sales Professionals Generate
the Leads they Need
by Kendra Lee, KLA Group
Founder and President
As referenced in the KLA Session: Getting Past the Gatekeeper
and the KLA Class: Selling Against the Goal
Amazon.com Book Description Excerpt
In a perfect world, sales professionals would have prime
territories, unlimited budgets, and a high-powered marketing
department generating qualified leads. In reality, most
corporations expect sales reps to generate their own leads,
find new business, and meet stiff quotas in a tight marketplace.
Selling Against the Goal is the ultimate survival
guide for sales executives, managers, and reps. Unlike other
books on the subject, Selling Against the Goal places
lead generation within a strategic context and goes far
beyond traditional techniques such as cold calling.
Click
here to download four chapters.
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2008 Winner
Sales Methodology / Process
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Selling Against the Goal has been awarded
a Silver Medal for Sales Methodology / Process 2008
in the Sales Book Awards.
The Sales
Book Awards recognize books, authors, and
publishers whose work advances sales as a profession.
A panel of 35 judges rated the submissions in 10 separate
categories, awarding one Gold and two Silver medals
in each.
Each book was rated on 5 primary criteria: Authority,
Readability, Content Relevance, Physical Quality &
Writing Style.
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 Top
Dog Sales Secrets: 50 Top Experts Show You Proven Ways to
Skyrocket Your Sales
Editor: Michael Dalton Johnson
Recommended By KLA Group as a coaching and consulting resource.
Top Dog Sales Secrets' 50 contributing authors have
cumulatively written more than 250 books about sales and
selling and presented more than 10,000 sales seminars. Top
Dog Sales Secrets presents the best of their high-powered
advice. Editor Michael Dalton Johnson has authored a wide
range of magazine and newspaper articles on sales and marketing
and is currently the publisher and CEO of SalesDog.com,
the Internet's No. 1 sales-success destination for the past
seven years.
Amazon.com Editorial Review Excerpt
"It's like reading the best ideas from 50 sales books all
in one book," says Michelle Nichols of Savvy Selling
International. Readers learn proven sales techniques from
50 of America's most renowned sales experts. Selected by
the editors of SalesDog.com, the book covers 80 valuable
sales-skills lessons covering prospecting, cold calling,
negotiating, deflecting stalls, sales scripts that work,
closing strategies, getting calls returned, and many other
invaluable sales secrets the pros know. Big companies happily
pay thousands for this advice. Collectively, these experts
have coached thousands of sales professionals and increased
sales revenues for a virtual Who's Who of American businesses
such as IBM, Avon, and Microsoft.
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 World
Wide Rave: Creating Triggers that Get Millions of People to
Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories
By David Meerman Scott
Recommended for anybody creating their lead generation plan.
Used as a resource in KLA Group's sales
peer group: Developing
an Effective Lead Generation Strategy
What the heck is that?
A World Wide Rave is when people around the world are talking
about you, your company, and your products. It's when communities
eagerly link to your stuff on the Web. It's when online
buzz drives buyers to your virtual doorstep. It's when tons
of fans visit your Web site and your blog because they genuinely
want to be there.
In World Wide Rave, David Meerman Scott, author
of the award-winning hit book The New Rules of Marketing
and PR, reveals the most exciting and powerful ways to build
a giant audience from scratch.
Testimonial
"Excellent book on how to leverage the web to demonstrate
your expertise and get people to want to work with you."
-Kendra Lee, author of Selling Against the Goal
Amazon.com Editorial Review Excerpt
"Scott's book offers a number of methods and approaches
that various businesses can use to start an online 'wave'
of interest in their company or their offering. Much of
the advice is applicable to even the smallest growing business
looking to tap into today's marketing trends."-Fuel
Magazine
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  Topgrading
for Sales
By Bradford D. Smart and Greg Alexander
World-class methods to interview, hire, and coach top
sales representatives
Considering that so many sales hires ultimately fail, Topgrading
for Sales takes the guesswork out of hiring by teaching
sales managers how to interview systematically for what
the authors call "A player talent." They also
show how to coach B players to turn some of them into A
players, and how to weed out C players before too much damage
is done.
Psychologist and consultant Bradford D. Smart, Ph.d, builds
on the success of his 1999 book Topgrading by teaming
with seasoned sales leader Greg Alexander in this guide
that focuses on the needs of sales managers and sales directors.
After all, great sales forces depend upon hiring the best
possible reps.
Testimonial
"Excellent interview strategies and topics. I especially
like the recommendations for how to effectively check references."
- Kendra Lee, author of Selling Against the Goal
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  The
Ultimate Sales Machine
By Chet Holmes
Turbocharge your business with relentless focus on 12
key strategies
This collection of insights, wisdom, and step-by-step instruction
is designed to show you how to turn your company into a
precision-like sales machine. As a master of the sales process,
Chet Holmes lays out 14 objectives for every sales interaction,
promoting strategic thinking over a reactive style that
hampers too many sales managers. Each of his 12 chapters
is full of steps designed to transform an organization,
from instituting regular sales training to improved time
management practices.
Written with great examples and practical stories, this
book is a blueprint to mastering the art of marketing, managing,
and selling like a machine.
Testimonial
"The Ultimate Sales Machine is an amazing book
that will powerfully change the way you do business. Chet
Holmes is a one-of-a-kind talent and this incredibly practical
book is the embodiment of his highly successful approach."
- Stephen M. R. Covey, author of The Speed of
Trust
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 Secrets
to Scheduling the Executive Level Sales Call
By Leslie Buterin
The "Secrets" guide to cold calling gives you
the unique strategy you need to prospect at the executive
level. This guide actually started out as a customized resource
for one of Leslie's clients to use whenever her sales staff
sat down to make cold calls. It was so successful, Leslie
turned it into a workbook so you, too, can gain access to
the top dog in your prospect accounts.
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 Dirty
Little Secrets
By Sharon Drew Morgen
Recommended as an excellent guide to our Client Buying Process
discussions.
Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what
you can do about it.
Dirty Little Secrets is not a sales book, but a systems
guide through change management and decision making. It
actually teaches the skills to help buyers make their off-line
buying decisions.
Testimonials
"An "aha" moment every seller will be able
to relate to. You'll now understand why some sales succeed
and some never close." - Kendra Lee, author
of Selling Against the Goal
"Finally, a sales paradigm which supports our spiritual
values and lays the foundation for the paradigm shifts occurring
in business today." - Ken Blanchard, author
of The One Minute Manager
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 eMarketing
Strategies for the Complex Sale
by Ardath Albee
A comprehensive guide to help marketers drive decisions
to buy in their favor.
Web 2.0 has reshaped the role of marketing in the Complex
Sales process. Because prospects now have instant access
to information about your company and its products - and
your competitors - they can make buying decisions without
ever communicating with you. Doing what you've always done
simply won't work anymore; you must entirely rethink how
you attract and compel buying behavior.
With eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, expert
B2B marketing strategist Ardath Albee breaks new ground
in the field of digital marketing and new customer acquisition.
Albee offers techniques and tools for developing and executing
strategies that are guaranteed to generate results.
Amazon.com Editorial Review Excerpt
"A compelling read for both B2B marketing and sales
professionals alike, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex
Sale is a practical and insightful how-to guide that will
enable marketers to drive sales conversions and faster sales
results." - David Thompson, CEO, Genius.com, and
founder of the Sales 2.0 Conference
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 50
Ways in 50 Days
By Lori Richardson
This is a fun, inspirational book with great tips to energize
your business.
Created for all the entrepreneurs, small business owners,
and sales professionals - this book was designed as a "quick
read" for all those who need more and better sales.
Each day offers an inspiration on the left-hand page, to
fire you up, as well as a tactical sales tip on the right-hand
page to help you take action. The goal is that in reading
this book a few times through, you'll have a new toolbox
to be able to fearlessly energize your business and grow
sales.
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 Smart
Selling on the Phone and Online: Inside Sales That Gets
Results
By Josiane Feigon
Inside sales expert Josiane Feigon's Smart Selling on
the Phone and Online gives inside sales professionals what
they've been waiting for: a comprehensive training sourcebook
written just for them, based on her proven TeleSmart 10
Sales Skills.
The 10 skill-based chapters follow the natural sales cycle.
They're easy to use, on target, and packed with proven tactics
and robust strategies. Time - and skill - stressed sales
reps can learn these skills quickly and put them to use
immediately to capture time control, navigate any company's
org chart to find the power players, handle objections and
come back swinging, and close deals.
Testimonial
"A consummate expert on inside sales, Josiane Feigon
sits inside your cubicle in this new book and polishes your
phone and online skills. These tips and insights packaged
within her 10-step sales system and written in clear, easily
understood language integrate right into every step of your
sales process. This book is a timely gift for businesses
increasingly relying on inside sales teams and expecting
them to incorporate Sales 2.0 tools into their daily activities."
- Kendra Lee, author of Selling Against the Goal
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 Selling
to Big Companies
by Jill Konrath
Recommended as a resource in KLA Classes: Selling Against
the Goal and Developing a Consultative Selling Mindset
If you're struggling to crack into corporate accounts,
check out this book by Jill Konrath. In it, she covers what's
required of those who attempt to sell to "big(ger)" companies.
Then she details how to craft a compelling value proposition,
target the right firms, leave effective voicemails and launch
an account entry campaign.
Konrath's message is closely aligned with KLA's sales training
strategies and is recommended as a companion book with Selling
Against the Goal.
Amazon.com Editorial Review Excerpt
"Stop fishing in small ponds with the wrong bait. If you're
ready to net bigger clients, Jill Konrath provides a straightforward,
easy-to-follow approach in Selling to Big Companies. You
discover what lures those prestigious, profitable corporations
and how to reel them in. And best of all, you're guaranteed
to land a big one!" - Jay Conrad Levinson, author of
the "Guerrilla Marketing" series of books
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 Inside
the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging and Surviving
Hypergrowth Markets
by Geoffrey Moore
As referenced in the KLA Session: How to Hire and Retain
Qualified Sales People
Amazon.com Editorial Review Excerpt
Moore claims that marketing technology-based products is
different from marketing standard consumer products. He
explores marketing stages through a discussion of the "Technology
Adoption Life Cycle," which follows a product from birth
to death and suggests a course of action for each phase.
He also charts power distribution within a company and the
marketplace as these high-tech companies engage in traditional
business strategies (i.e., strategic partnerships, competitive
advantage, positioning, and organizational leadership).
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 1001
Ways to Reward Employees
by Bob Nelson
As referenced in the KLA Session: How to Hire and Retain
Qualified Sales People
Amazon.com Book Description Excerpt
Why is 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, with over 1.4 million
copies in print, such an extraordinary bestseller? Because
a little over ten years ago Bob Nelson took the seeds of
an idea and turned it into something indispensable for business.
The idea? That it's not a raise that motivates an employee,
and it's not a promotion - what really sparks a person to
perform are those intangible, unexpected gestures that signify
real appreciation for a job well done.
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 1001
Ways to Energize Employees
by Bob Nelson
As referenced in the KLA Session: Improving the Effectiveness
of Your Sales Compensation Plan
Amazon.com Book Description Excerpt
Take the brakes off your business. In the perfect follow-up
to 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, the innovative book that
has sold over one million copies, Bob Nelson reveals what
real companies across America are doing to get the very
best out of their employees - and why it's the key to their
success. With case studies, examples, techniques, research
highlights, and quotes from business leaders, 1001 Ways
to Energize Employees is invaluable for managers seeking
to increase employee enthusiasm and involvement.
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 Collaborative
Selling
by Rick Barrera and Tony Allesandra
As referenced in the KLA Session: Getting Past the Gatekeeper
Amazon.com Book Description Excerpt
Based on a dynamic new approach proven in sales training
programs in some of the nation's most successful companies,
Collaborative Selling delivers a result-driven, six-step
communication and problem-solving program that helps you
accurately target your market...identify and contact your
best prospects, explore and meet their needs and expectations,
then work collaboratively to select the solutions that reward
you both.
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 Delivering
Knock Your Socks Off Service
by Performance Research Associates
Used as a resource on a recent IT client project.
Amazon.com Book Description Excerpt
Keeping up with today's tougher and more demanding marketplace,
Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service is packed with all
new techniques to help readers successfully work with even
the most difficult customers. This indispensable guide gives
readers proven tips and strategies to help them meet customers
expectations and satisfy their needs, determine the right
times to bend or break the rules, and become fantastic fixers
and powerful problem-solvers...in short, to create a true
and lasting 'Service Advantage.'
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 ROI
Selling
by Michael Nick and Kurt Koenig
Amazon.com Book Description Excerpt
ROI selling works within a company's existing sales methods
to increase the effectiveness and production of their sales
force. Sales professionals will be able to demonstrate to
the customer how their products and services will produce
a more successful and tangibleoutcome than the competition.
Techniques from ROI Selling are currently being used to
effectively increase the productivity of sales forces in
a variety of industries, and they have been licensed by
the authors of Solution Selling as part of their training
programs that reach thousands of sales professionals each
year. Through the use of actual case studies, ROI Selling
provides stories, success criteria, and actual statistics
on value estimation to aid readers in building compelling
ROI models for their own products and services.
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 Made
to Stick
By Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Recommended by KLA Group and ranked No. 2 on the "Top 10 Business
Books of 2007" by Amazon.com's Editors.
Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we
improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished
educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle
head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath
reveal the anatomy of ideas that "stick" and explain sure-fire
methods for making ideas stickier, such as violating schemas,
using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating "curiosity
gaps."
Amazon.com Editorial Review Excerpt
Valuable insights for marketers, advertisers and sellers.
With an entertaining blend of case studies and startling
research, the Heath brothers lay out the critical elements
of a sticky idea. They are...
- Simplicity
- Unexpectedness
- Concreteness
- Credibility
- Emotions
- Stories
As you might expect, the authors use these techniques to drive
home their point. For example, in the chapter on stories,
they talk about Subway's Jared campaign - quite a dramatic
behind-the-scenes story besides being a near perfect example
of storytelling in marketing. - Brad Shorr "Word Sell,
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prospecting 
