The Best Tech Sales Book | Every New Sales Rep Needs To Read This Book

Looking for the best tech sales book? Look no further!

Have you ever read a book that's just meant for you? I don't mean the author literally dedicated it to you. It would be a little weird for your name to be next to their spouses and children. No, what I mean is when you read it, everything just makes sense!

After I got my first Business Development Rep (BDR) job in 2017, that's exactly how I felt after I read The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson.

It's become one of the best-selling sales books of all time because the book begins by highlighting the author's findings, that all sales representatives fall into one of five categories.

The Different Types Of Sales Reps According To The Challenger Sale

We have a variety of different types of sales reps.

You have the:

• The problem solver
• The relationship builder
• The lone wolf
• The hard worker
• The challenger

Each of these five salespeople shows different characteristics and tendencies in how they approach their job.

While the lone wolf just wants to crush the quota, the relationship builder isn't afraid of taking it a little bit slower. None of the five are wrong, and you can be a successful salesperson as any of these five. However, Matt and Brent found that among the highest-performing salespeople in the industry today, most of them are challengers.

In fact, they found that of high performers in sales roles, nearly 40% of them would identify as challengers.

What is the challenger?

So you might wonder, what are challengers, and what is The Challenger Sale? The Challenger Sale is the idea that to get buy-in from your prospects, you need to teach them something valuable, tailor your sales pitch, and take control of the conversation.

Where many new salespeople go wrong is coming to the table with the assumption that the prospect they're speaking to is already a subject matter expert on their product, or at least the market that their product is in, which could be true, but depending on the product and service that you're selling, might not be the case at all.

How is the challenger sale different?

The Challenger Sale emphasizes educating your prospects. Look at it this way. Who are you going to want to do business with more? The personal trainer who, when you tell them that you're struggling to live a healthy lifestyle for them, and they respond with, "Oh, don't worry. We'll get you signed up for this monthly diet and have you living your dream in no time."

Or the personal trainer that's going to ask you about what you've already tried, maybe tell you a little bit about their philosophy when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, and provides you with additional options that you might be able to go home and test by yourself.

I know who I'd pick, and I think I know who you'd pick too, but let's talk about why that's important. It's because their goal isn't actually to sell. Their goal is to teach us about how their product or service can make our lives better.

Trying to take someone's money versus showcasing how you can help them save time, save money, or get more of both are two very different motions, and the difference is going to be noticeable to your prospects.

Hope you enjoyed our take on the best tech sales book. If you are interested in learning more about sales careers within the tech industry, check out the resources available in our Career Success Catalog. With career-focused courses, workshops, webinars, coaching, and more — you'll be guaranteed to get the most up-to-date sales techniques and be directed towards the best sales resources like The Challenge Sale.