About the book
Neil Rackham's study of large sales rests on Huthwaite's 12-year, $1 million research program into what makes salespeople effective. Rackham, the firm's founder and former president, who has advised companies such as Honeywell and IBM, focuses on selling high-value products and services. He explains why closing techniques that work in small sales fail in larger ones, and why methods built for small consumer purchases do not carry over to major accounts. In their place he offers the SPIN strategy, whose letters stand for Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-payoff. Case studies, research data, graphics and real-world examples support the argument.
HubSpot chief revenue officer Mark Roberge called it an old favorite and points founders learning to sell face to face toward it. ProteusThemes co-founder Primoz Cigler said it taught him how to structure sales calls and user interviews, singling out its fourth chapter.
We hope you love the books people recommend! Just so you know, The CEO Library may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.
This book has 5 recommendations
Mark Roberge (CRO/Hubspot)
The other book on selling is an oldie but goldie, never goes away: SPIN Selling, by Neil Rackham. It's the one when a founder is trying to learn how to sell, belly to belly, I tell them to check out Spin Selling.
Michael Herrmann (Founder/Terminerinnerung)
Good book on sales.
Primoz Cigler (Co-Founder/ProteusThemes)
Yes, it was sometime earlier this year. I read a book SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham. Chapter four has invaluable insights and instructions how to do sales calls and improve the probability that you make a sale.
This year, I had to change my role at ProteusThemes, as I have thoroughly explained in my other interview. I learned in the SPIN Selling book how to structure both the user interviews and the sales calls in a way that people like to participate and eventually buy from you because you show that you care about them and their business. Everything became easier since.
Recommended by Tudor Teodorescu (Founder/Transylvania Uncharted)
Santiago Basulto (Co-Founder/rmotr.com)
If you want to make the transition into business, sales is a must. Most sales books are bloated and spand many thousands of pages without much insight, but there are a few that are different and you MUST read:
- Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
- SPIN Selling
Get this book on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books
See more books recommended by
Mark Roberge, Michael Herrmann, Primoz Cigler, Tudor Teodorescu, Santiago Basulto
See more books written by
Often recommended alongside
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz (2 shared recommenders)
Appears in collections
Sources
- How HubSpot Skyrocketed from $0 to $200M By Combining Inbound Marketing + World Class Sales Training
- Interview with Michael Herrmann
- Primoz Cigler, Co-Founder of ProteusThemes, on the Books that Helped Him Perfect His Sales Technique
- Tudor Teodorescu, Founder of Transylvania Uncharted, Shares the Story of How a Book Shaped His Life Path
- Santiago Basulto, Co-Founder of rmotr.com, Provides a Reading List for Founders, Coders & Stoics