HN Books @HNBooksMonth

Winning Through Intimidation by Robert Ringer is by far the best sales book I ever read.

His basic premise is that the outcome of any negotiation(especially sales) is inversely proportionate to how intimidated you are by the other person.

His solution is to invest in creating a strong image before selling and using takeaway selling, which is basically taking away the opportunity to do business with you so that they stop thinking about whether they want to buy and start thinking about how to get you to sell to them.

On a side note, Dan Kennedy says,"if you lose a sale because of price, you lose that sale long beforehand." your job is to differentiate yourself and craft a powerful image so they can never even start to compare you to others.

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri...

⬐ davemel37

My runner up sales books are:

Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton The Success System That Never Fails by W. clement stone The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Watch all of Brene Browns TED talks about vulnerability. Sales requires trust and trust is built on connection and connection is built by being vulnerable.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0449207862/ref=as_li_tl?ie=... (affiliate link)

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri... (Non affiliate link)

UPDATE:

I actually have a Prime account and Kindle so I was able to read the book for free using the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri... (kindle edition link affiliate free)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KQZU7SY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=... (kindle edition link with affiliate id)

"It's about leverage."

I highly recommend Winning Through Intimidation. It's not about what you think. I read it after someone else recommended it in another discussion on HN.

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri...

UPDATE: After posting this I read the sibling comments and see someone else also recommended the book. Seriously, read it!

This reminds me of a book I read 30 years ago called "Winning Through Intimidation"

(http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri...).

The book recommends that you dress, act, and basically pretend you are successful. People will then believe you are successful and want to do business with you. You then become a success.

I've read a few.

Negotiation Genius is probably the most accessible one:

http://www.amazon.com/Negotiation-Genius-Obstacles-Brilliant...

Winning Through Intimidation was a fun read, especially if you're into real estate. Apparently the book is worth a lot now (I had no idea, I have an old hardcover version that I don't even see here)

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri...

Indeed! One can also try the Amazon reviews, e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Through-Intimidation-Robert-Ri... ; the first one details how great a book on sales it is.

But to really get the flavor ... well, what about him entering a bank the minute it opens, dark suit and shades (in Florida perhaps?), with a check for at least $25,000 in today's dollars, cashing the check (which he knew the issuer would stop payment on, but he beat him) and stuffing the cash into his briefcase. This is a book both serious and funny, one that if you like will likely keep your interest which is not something I can say for the majority of business books.

I read it back when in came out in the '70s before I entered the real world and I think its advice was invaluable, even for an introverted scientist/engineer like myself who needs a day of recovery after doing my part of a sales call.