Little Red Book of Selling
by Jeffrey Gitomer · first published 2004
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, practical sales primer built on the premise that people dislike being sold to but like buying. It serves as a strong first book for newcomers to selling and sits alongside Spin Selling as a classic.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
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In addition to the great recommendations before these... To Sell is Human The little red book of selling Challenger Customer (now that they know about the Challenger sale) Fanatical Prospecting Something like "major account sales"
on “Ask HN: What are some good books/resources about sales?” ↗…part of the feedback loop, you may even ask-- what do you think a app/tool like this should cost? Early adopters/promoters who provide good feedback could earn a discount. Book suggestion: Gitomer's "Little Red Book of Selling"-- basic premise "people don't like to be sold, but they love to buy."
on “Ask HN: Have a product, not very good at being a sales person” ↗>I'm starting to become confused to what areas I need to work on. Some unconventional advice-- understand that your job search is really a sales & marketing process. Recommend reading Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling to help frame your approach. There's great advice on why people buy (hire), prospecting, networking, elevator pitches, and handling objections. Reading this book will put you far ahead of your peers--…
on “Ask HN: Am I searching for jobs wrong?” ↗I can't recommend "The Little Red Book Of Selling" by Jeffrey Gitomer enough. I have a copy in my desk right now. http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Book-Selling-Principles/dp/...
on “Ask HN: Best books or videos to get better at sales?” ↗…Beckwith (great look at selling services) -Secrets of Closing The Sale by Zig Ziglar (gets you prepared for objections) -How to Become A Rainmaker by Jeffrey Fox (shortcuts to better sales techniques) -The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer (best first book for first time salespeople) As mentioned in other posts, I would also add SPIN Selling, Mastering the Complex Sale and The Referral Engine. "Smart" books in the sales…
on “Ask HN: Best books or videos to get better at sales?” ↗The Challenger Sale To Sell is human The little red book of selling They ask, you answer Nudge
on “Ask HN: Sales books for people who don’t like sales tactics and gimmicks” ↗The Challenger Sale To Sell is Human The Little Red Book of Selling Crossing the Chasm
on “Ask HN: Can you recommend a book for founders on how to do founder-led sales?” ↗…Etc. Ries & Trout Positioning: The battle for your mind The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing Etc. Scientific Advertising - Claude Hopkins https://www.foundingsales.com/ The Little Red Book of Selling - Gitomer Learning to use online channels, in my opinion, requires a lot of work. Companies like Google have useful material. Frankly, this subject is wide and deep. I got into it starting about twenty…
on “My solopreneur story: zero to $45K/mo in 2 years” ↗The Challenger Sale - Matthew Dixon & Brent Adamson The Little Red Book of Selling - Jeffery Gitomer Crossing the Chasm - Geoffrey Moore To Sell is Human - Daniel Pink These are all especially good if you are a technical person first You'll learn the most by trying to sell every…
on “Ask HN: Where is your place to go to learn about sales and marketing?” ↗- The challenger sale - Snap selling - Little red book of selling - Spin selling - thinking fast and slow All of these are of the mindset of help your customer first and foremost, the sale is a secondary effect of the helping. And given my nature that has made sales…
on “Learn to sell” ↗I'm in the same boat! Books: - The Challenger Sale - Crossing the Chasm - To Sell is Human - The Little Red Book of Selling Videos: - https://www.heavybit.com/library/ has some videos that are relevant after making a few sales. Product Description: - https://www.cortes.design/post/saas-conversion-rates (generally good…
on “Ask HN: I'm a solo founder and I suck at sales. Help me please.” ↗…closed if things ever go bad. Selling isn't sitting at a desk waiting for phone calls or emails. It's a contact sport. It's finding business rather than business finding you. Very important. The "Little Red Book of Selling" [2] is one of a possible range of books you could use to get started. [1] Mark Twain: "A man holding a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way" [2] http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Book-Selling-Principles/dp/...
on “We Let Our Employee Set Their Own Salaries” ↗I love Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale. Another great one is Little Red Book of Selling (https://www.amazon.ca/Little-Red-Book-Selling-Principles/dp/...) but it might not be suitable in your current situation given the time crunch.
on “Ask HN: What did I do wrong in my SaaS B2B startup?” ↗…might even give you useful information. If you want some help, you should hire (or ask) a salesperson and go out on cold calls/pitches with them. Observe more than you speak. As far as books go, “The Little Red Book of Selling” is a classic along with “Spin Selling.” Last thing I’ll add here: if conversation with people that you don’t know is difficult for you, that is the first thing I’d focus on. People need to trust you…
on “Ask HN: How to learn sales?” ↗…those two things have high demand which you should be able to land a sale or two right away to get a vibe on a basic process. As far as literature here are a couple of classics: - Influence - the little red book of selling - SPIN selling - Secrets of closing the sale - The challenger sale - The presentation secrets of steve jobs (for presentation skills) - The rules of the game (neil strauss) - Nudge Once you…
on “Ask HN: How did you learn sales?” ↗