Books I Have Read

Everything that is in the book can be googled. Google "Pomodoro Technique". Pomodoro means tomato in Italian. The author (originator of the idea) found that breaking work up into predefined time periods and having a timer (a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato) and taking regular breaks increased their productivity.

Does the technique work? YES. I use 20 minute timers for most tasks. I get interrupted alot by phone calls, emails and instant messages. By setting a timer to focus on things that need to be done I can push those emails and calls back by twenty minutes and deal with them afterwards. (Does an email need to responded to right away or can it wait twenty minutes? It can wait.)

Should you buy this book? The whole idea is setting a goal you can complete in a short time frame (20 minutes) doing it (have a timer that goes off and stop working), then taking a five minute break. If you aren't done start another timer and continue.

That is it. I believe you can learn more by googling "Pomodoro Technique" than reading this book. The book does have an interesting section about how our brains work, but in the context of the title it feels like filler.

This is the timer I use. The timer comes in handy for limiting times on calls. I am bad about going over on call times. And TIME KILLS CALLS. Having a timer helps a lot. It is easy to lose track of time and having a simple timer seriously helps me focus on what I am trying to do and execute my tasks in a timely fashion.

The non-fiction book "32 Sales Objections Easily Countered" by Stepp Stevens Sydnor is a book about countering the most common sales objections and pushbacks. An example of an objections is "Is this the best price I can get?" The book is split into two sections. The first goes over the basics of countering objections, the second part lists the thirty two sales objections. Each example objection has a list of Do's and Don'ts and a tip from the author. I really enjoyed reading this book.

One exercise the author suggests is asking people when you buy things "Is this the best price I can get?" DO THIS. The results are amazing and will show you how most people can't or don't counter objections

The non-fiction book the "The Art of Witty Banter" by Patrick King is a book that aims to teach you how to have interesting conversations. The book was short and easy to read. The subject is pretty approachable by anyone who has had a conversation, which should be most people on the planet. I didn't think I got a lot out of reading this book. However these are the things I liked and did not like.

I doubt that this is the "Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need". The book is basically a complilation of themes and messages from other books. The book does have footnotes and references other books. The book by itself is not that great. However with the list of references and the ability to skim the subjects from the references in the book, it's easy to find other books that might interest or help you.

This is a great book to read if you are looking for information from other sales books. Most of the other books referenced are very good. There are a lot of sales books in the market, this book best serves as a reference of which books are decent.

Should you buy this? If you are new to sales or interested in learning, this is not a bad book. Treat it more like a reference to other books and decide which ones you want to read. That is where the true value is in this book. It's like a map that can lead you to read great sales books!

This is a very short, easy and fun to read book by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz. The book has a clear message about the word "NO". The book is written as a story where one man bumps his head and meets his more successful self in an alternate reality.

The premise of the book is that you improve through failure. It also makes it a point to remind the reader that looking to fail can be a successful approach. A good example of this is how most people see "FAILURE - YOU - SUCCESS" being like a needle where you want to avoid failure and keep the needle in the success portion. The authors state that this is a better approach "YOU - FAILURE - SUCCESS", success can only happen through failures. I believe this is true. I learn more from my failures than through my successes.