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On our podcast, What I Wish I’d Known About Sales, we ask every guest the same question: what’s one book every salesperson should read? Our guests include CROs, BDR leaders, sales trainers and founders, and their answers range from modern methodology to Abraham Lincoln!
Below you’ll find every book they recommended, in their own words, along with a handful of editor’s picks to round out the list. That’s 21 books for salespeople at every stage, grouped by what you need right now, whether that’s learning the basics, building pipeline, qualifying deals or leading a team.
Sales books for beginners
If you’re new to sales, or you’ve never managed to finish a sales book, start here. These are easy to read and easy to put into practice.
1. The Little Red Book of Selling – Jeffrey Gitomer
Recommended by: Harry Monkhouse, Global BDR Manager at LastPass
Best for: New reps and anyone who struggles to get through sales books
Find it: The Little Red Book of Selling on Goodreads
Gitomer’s book is built around a simple idea: people don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy. It’s short, illustrated with cartoons and split into bite-sized principles you can dip into before a call.
“It’s a really, really easy read, but it’s small little tactical things that you can think about and do, so you can flip to each chapter. Whereas I find sometimes quite a lot of these books are very worthy, very comprehensive. If you are someone that has struggled to read sales books, it is a great one to get into first.”
— Harry Monkhouse, LastPass (listen to the episode)
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
Recommended by: Robin Burr, sales trainer and creator of the Perfect Sales framework
Best for: Building rapport and human connection
Find it: How to Win Friends and Influence People on Goodreads
First published in 1936, Carnegie’s classic is still one of the most widely read books on persuasion. Some of its examples have dated, but its core lessons about listening, showing genuine interest and making people feel valued apply to every sales conversation.
“It’s an oldie, it’s a goldie. There’s some advice there which is a bit old hat, but there’s an awful lot of it which still stands true. Some of it even more, like just making human connections. It’s an easy read, and I think it’s the thing that kick-started me on the journey that I’m on now.”
— Robin Burr (listen to the episode)
3. To Sell Is Human – Daniel H. Pink
Recommended by: Fred Copestake, sales trainer, author and founder of Brindis
Best for: Anyone who doesn’t think of themselves as “a salesperson”
Find it: To Sell Is Human on Goodreads
Pink argues that almost all of us now spend our working lives moving other people, whether we have “sales” in our job title or not. It’s a useful reframe for new reps who feel uneasy about selling, and for founders and specialists who’ve found themselves doing it.
“A little bit different. Everyone lives by selling something.”
— Fred Copestake, Brindis (listen to the episode)
Books on discovery and modern selling
These are the methodology books, the ones that change how you run a sales conversation. If you only read one section of this list, make it this one.
4. Gap Selling – Jim Keenan
Recommended by: Jarrod Best-Mitchell, sales consultant who has worked with brands including DHL and Microsoft
Best for: Running better discovery calls
Find it: Gap Selling on Goodreads
Keenan’s argument is that buyers don’t buy products, they buy a change in their situation. The “gap” is the distance between where your prospect is now and where they want to be, and your job is to understand it better than anyone else. It’s a practical, problem-first approach to discovery.
“Gap Selling is a game changer for anybody in sales. It’s a brilliant book by Keenan. I have it as my reread, because I read it five years ago.”
— Jarrod Best-Mitchell (listen to the episode)
5. Insight Selling – Michael Harris
Recommended by: Neil Bhuiyan, founder of Happy Selling
Best for: Using stories to get prospects talking
Find it: Insight Selling on Goodreads
A short, practical guide to building “insight scenarios”: stories that help a prospect recognise their own problem and open up about it. Neil was handed it by his VP early in his career, with an instruction to read it before any other sales book.
“It’s a hundred and twenty pages where it shows you how to create stories in sales and insight scenarios, of being able to get the prospect to come into the driving seat of that story that you’re telling, to then get them to open up. Insight Selling is the book that really helped me with storytelling.”
— Neil Bhuiyan, Happy Selling (listen to the episode)
6. Deconstructing Discovery – Richard Smith
Recommended by: Nia Woodhouse Secker, SDR Manager at My Sales Coach
Best for: Reps who want word-for-word examples of good discovery
Find it: Deconstructing Discovery on Goodreads
Written by Richard Smith, Head of Growth at My Sales Coach, this is a step-by-step guide to running discovery calls, built around tactics, talk tracks and real call transcripts. As Richard is Nia’s colleague, she was upfront that her pick was a plug, but it earns its place for how practical it is.
“I’m gonna do a shameless plug and go for Deconstructing Discovery. Read it.”
— Nia Woodhouse Secker, My Sales Coach (listen to the episode)
7. SPIN Selling – Neil Rackham
Editor’s pick
Best for: Structuring questions in larger, complex sales
Find it: SPIN Selling on Goodreads
Based on research into more than 35,000 sales calls, Rackham’s book showed that the techniques that work in small, one-call sales often backfire in bigger deals. His Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-payoff questioning model is still the foundation of how many teams teach discovery today.
8. The Challenger Sale – Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson
Recommended by: Charlotte Lloyd, founder of the Client Acquisition Club (also named by Neil Bhuiyan as one of the books he read next)
Best for: Moving from relationship-led selling to insight-led selling
Find it: The Challenger Sale on Goodreads
Drawing on research into thousands of sales reps, Dixon and Adamson found that the top performers weren’t the relationship builders. They were “Challengers” who teach buyers something new, tailor the message and aren’t afraid to take control of the conversation.
Charlotte brought it up while talking about objection handling, and why getting to the truth behind an objection matters.
“You’ve obviously read Challenger Sale, and I’m guessing most people listening to this have as well. We wanna challenge them to make the right decision and to think about their business differently. And that comes from asking really great questions.”
— Charlotte Lloyd, Client Acquisition Club (listen to the episode)
9. The JOLT Effect – Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna
Editor’s pick
Best for: Winning deals that stall at the final stage
Find it: The JOLT Effect on Goodreads
Dixon’s follow-up research, based on analysis of recorded sales conversations, makes a case every rep will recognise: many deals aren’t lost to a competitor or the status quo, but to the buyer’s own indecision. The book sets out a framework for helping customers feel confident enough to decide.
Books on prospecting and pipeline
No pipeline, no sales. These picks are for SDRs, BDRs and anyone who has to create their own opportunities. For a deeper list, see our guide to the best cold calling books.
10. Cold Calling Sucks (And That’s Why It Works) – Armand Farrokh and Nick Cegelski
Recommended by: Harry Monkhouse, Global BDR Manager at LastPass
Best for: Anyone picking up the phone to prospects
Find it: Cold Calling Sucks (And That’s Why It Works) on Goodreads
Written by the hosts of the 30 Minutes to President’s Club podcast, this is a modern, tactical playbook for cold calling, from openers and objection handling to booking the meeting.
“I just think that’s a great book. It’s a must read if you’re doing cold calling, really.”
— Harry Monkhouse, LastPass (listen to the episode)
11. Fanatical Prospecting – Jeb Blount, and Combo Prospecting – Tony Hughes
Recommended by: Harry Monkhouse, Global BDR Manager at LastPass
Best for: Building a consistent, multi-channel prospecting habit
Find it: Fanatical Prospecting and Combo Prospecting on Goodreads
Harry named these two as his “favourite must reads” for BDRs, and they work well as a pair. Blount’s book is about discipline: prospecting every day, even when the pipeline looks healthy. Hughes’s book is about combining channels, with phone, email, social and video all working together rather than in isolation.
Books on qualification, negotiation and influence
Winning more deals often starts with chasing fewer bad ones. These books help you work out which deals are real, and how to handle the conversations that decide them.
12. MEDDICC – Andy Whyte
Inspired by: Robert Akerele, DataGuard
Best for: Qualifying complex B2B deals
Find it: MEDDICC on Goodreads
When we asked Robert for the one resource every salesperson should use, he didn’t pick a book. He picked MEDDPICC, the qualification framework that covers Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Paper process, Identify pain, Champion and Competition. Andy Whyte’s book is the most accessible guide to the framework and how to use it in real deals.
The original MEDDIC framework was created at PTC in 1996 by Dick Dunkel, working alongside Jack Napoli under SVP John McMahon (author of The Qualified Sales Leader, below). For how teams are adapting it for today’s larger buying committees, watch our webinar with Dick Dunkel himself: MEDDPICC in Practice: How Leading Sales Teams Win Complex B2B Deals Today.
“I think it’s a cliché answer, but I thought MEDDPICC was super useful for formalising what you need to know if you have a valid deal or not. It’s not a way to sell, but it’s more a good way for you to organise your thoughts and see what you have and don’t have.”
— Robert Akerele, DataGuard (listen to the episode)
13. Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss
Editor’s pick
Best for: Negotiation and handling pressure in late-stage deals
Find it: Never Split the Difference on Goodreads
Former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss applies what he learned in high-stakes negotiations to business, with techniques like tactical empathy, mirroring and labelling. When we asked Robin Burr for the best sales advice he’d ever received, he recalled something Voss once told him: “it’s better to lose a good deal than to win a bad one.”
14. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert Cialdini
Editor’s pick
Best for: Understanding why people say yes
Find it: Influence on Goodreads
Cialdini’s study of persuasion sets out the principles that shape buying decisions, including reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity. It’s essential reading for understanding the psychology behind every stage of a sale.
Books on sales mindset
15. No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline – Brian Tracy
Recommended by: Paul Thomas, CEO and founder of Lead Forensics
Best for: Accountability and resilience
Find it: No Excuses! on Goodreads
Sales is a job where nobody else can do the work for you. Tracy’s book is about self-discipline in every area of your working life, and it’s the book our own CEO recommends to every salesperson.
“It’s an old one, but it’s a good one. A lot of it is in the title. It’s that true grit. It’s the accountability, and it’s just about get off your ass and do something, basically, and don’t make excuses about it.”
— Paul Thomas, Lead Forensics (listen to the episode)
Books for sales leaders
The skills that make a great rep aren’t the same ones that make a great manager. These picks are for anyone stepping up, or trying to build a team that scales.
16. The Qualified Sales Leader – John McMahon
Recommended by: Andy Laws, sales development leader at Databricks
Best for: Current and aspiring sales leaders, and ambitious reps
Find it: The Qualified Sales Leader on Goodreads
McMahon served as CRO at five public software companies and has mentored many of today’s sales leaders. He was also the SVP at PTC when his team created MEDDIC. The book covers qualification, hiring, coaching and what it takes to build a sales organisation that performs.
“His pedigree goes without saying in terms of what he’s been able to build and scale, and his legacy lives on with CROs all over the world. I think it also provides a really valuable insight even to reps, both in terms of the core skills required to scale your career, but also what goes into building successful sales organisations, why things are structured the way that they are.”
— Andy Laws, Databricks (listen to the episode)
17. The First 90 Days – Michael Watkins
Recommended by: Andy Laws, sales development leader at Databricks
Best for: Anyone starting a new management role
Find it: The First 90 Days on Goodreads
Watkins’s guide to the critical first three months in a new role is a staple for new managers. Andy recommends it “for anyone that’s moving into a management role or moving from one management role to another”.
18. The Sales Acceleration Formula – Mark Roberge
Editor’s pick
Best for: Leaders building and scaling a sales team
Find it: The Sales Acceleration Formula on Goodreads
Roberge led sales at HubSpot during its early growth, and this book explains how he applied a data-driven approach to hiring, training, managing and generating demand. It’s especially useful for leaders who want to make sales performance more predictable.
Beyond sales: the books our guests swear by
Some of the most interesting answers weren’t sales books at all. These are the books our guests credit with shaping how they think about people, leadership and business.
19. Team of Rivals – Doris Kearns Goodwin
Recommended by: Steven Birdsall, Chief Revenue Officer at Alteryx
Best for: Sales leaders interested in servant leadership
Find it: Team of Rivals on Goodreads
Goodwin’s account of how Abraham Lincoln brought his political rivals into his cabinet is a study in leading people who don’t always agree with you. Steven has read more than a hundred books on Lincoln.
“Lots of really, really good leadership moments that he had leading through the civil war in the 1860s. He was very much a servant leader, very much out in front.”
— Steven Birdsall, Alteryx (listen to the episode)
20. Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Recommended by: Steven Birdsall, Chief Revenue Officer at Alteryx
Best for: Understanding what really motivates people
Find it: Man’s Search for Meaning on Goodreads
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s account of surviving Nazi concentration camps, and what it taught him about purpose, is one of the most influential books of the 20th century.
“An incredible book. It’s a life changer. It’s heavy, but it’s full of great principles of what truly motivates and drives people.”
— Steven Birdsall, Alteryx (listen to the episode)
21. Entrepreneur Revolution – Daniel Priestley
Recommended by: Martin Knowles, founder of Sales Untangled and author of Untangle Your Sales
Best for: Founders and salespeople who want to think more commercially
Find it: Entrepreneur Revolution on Goodreads
Priestley’s book explores how the modern economy is changing the way businesses are built, and why that matters for anyone selling their expertise.
“A really powerful book that made me think differently about business and the environment that we’re operating in right now.”
— Martin Knowles, Sales Untangled (listen to the episode)
How to get the most from a sales book
It’s tempting to measure progress by the number of books on your shelf. Our guests were clear that what matters is what you do with them.
“You’re better reading one a couple of times and extracting the goodness and doing something about it, than reading one because you’re trying to read one a week and you want to put a picture on LinkedIn with fifty-two books. Implementation beats information every time.”
— Fred Copestake, Brindis
A few practical ways to put that into action:
- Pick one idea per book. Choose a single technique and use it on your calls for a fortnight before moving on.
- Reread the ones that work. Jarrod Best-Mitchell keeps Gap Selling as his reread, and you’ll notice different things each time.
- Balance books with real conversations. As Neil Bhuiyan pointed out, sales books can date quickly. Pair your reading with call reviews, coaching and podcasts from people still selling today.
FAQs
What is the best sales book?
There’s no single answer, because the best sales book depends on where you are in your career. Among our podcast guests, Gap Selling by Jim Keenan and Insight Selling by Michael Harris stood out for improving sales conversations, while The Qualified Sales Leader by John McMahon was recommended for anyone who wants to lead.
What is the best sales book for beginners?
The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer is short, tactical and easy to dip into, which makes it a good first sales book. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is another classic that teaches the basics of rapport.
What is the best sales training book?
For structured, methodology-based training, SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham and The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson are two of the most widely used. For qualification, Andy Whyte’s MEDDICC is a practical guide to one of the most popular B2B frameworks.
Are sales books still worth reading?
Yes, as long as you put what you read into practice. Many of the principles in older books, such as listening, understanding the buyer’s problem and building trust, haven’t changed. Combine them with newer, tactical titles and real-world coaching to stay current.
Hear the full conversations
Every recommendation on this list comes from What I Wish I’d Known About Sales, the Lead Forensics podcast where sales leaders share the highs, lows and lessons from the front lines of selling. Listen to the latest episodes to hear the stories behind their picks.
And if reading has you thinking about your pipeline, Lead Forensics can help. Our website visitor identification software shows you which businesses are visiting your website, so your team can reach out while interest is high. Book a demo to see it in action.
