Not long ago I wrote a post on overcoming objections, and I gave my roundup of the top books in that category. Well, today I’m offering my list of best all-around cold calling books to read this year. The topic is slightly more generalized, but by reading one or more of these books, you’re bound to level-up your cold calling skills.
These books are chock-full of tips and tricks to master cold calling. They are also pretty quick reads (for the most part). And if you know me, you know I’m a big fan of constantly improving and honing your craft. If you make a living in sales, then why not become the best salesperson or sales manager you can be? Why not level-up and blow the competition out of the water?
Each of these books, in some small way, will help you toward that goal of sales mastery. So without further ado, let’s jump right into the list.
The Best Cold Calling Books
#1 Sell the Meeting
This book is a great reminder to… well… sell the MEETING and not the product or service. It follows the two-step philosophy of sales. That is, first the discovery call, then the sales meeting. Too many rookie salespeople try to do a one-touch close, or close the prospect on the first call. This typically doesn’t work, especially in high-ticket sales.
Scott Channell teaches how to find “clones” of your best accounts, get their attention, and turn them into paying customers or clients. In this book, you’ll get Channell’s full proprietary lead generation process, along with cold calling scripts to knock your numbers out of the park. Just be warned that it is a bit long and can get repetitive at times. Even still, it’s a top pick and highly recommended.
Key Takeaway: Your lead generation process is probably broken, or at least has sizable cracks in it. And if you don’t have the right process in place, you aren’t getting meetings on the calendar. Channell’s book helps you to get your lead gen in tip-top shape.
Quick Stats
Rating: 4.6 stars
Author: Scott Channell
Pages: 297
Price: $16.95
#2 Fanatical Prospecting
The full title of this book is Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling. Yes, that’s a mouthful! But honestly, it really doesn’t tell us much. It doesn’t do this book justice from a pure buy-this-book-for-unique-insights standpoint.
Here are the insights you’ll get. First, your pipeline is your lifeline. The problem is, most companies don’t “flex the pipeline muscle” enough to keep leads pouring in. Instead, they do it to a certain point, let off the gas, and coast. Then, when quarterly numbers look bleak, they put the pedal to the metal and burn out their best SDRs. Also, Blount teaches his unique 30-day rule for keeping the pipeline full, and how the “law of replacement” can dig you out of your worst sales slump.
There are also loads of tactical insights in this book. My biggest gripe with Fanatical Prospecting, though, is that the author drones on and on about the importance of cold calling before getting to the real meat of the book. This 304 page book could probably shed 50 pages and be that much more impactful. Still, it’s a great cold calling book to put on your shelf.
Key Takeaway: Never stop prospecting. You and your team must become cold calling fanatics to keep your pipeline filled to the gills. The ones who prospect the most, win the most.
Quick Stats:
Rating: 4.7 stars
Author: Jeb Blount
Pages: 304
Price: $18.59
#3 Take the Cold out of Cold Calling
If you’re serious about sales, this is a must-have book in your sales library. It’s all about finding, accessing, and leveraging powerful intel on your prospects. This is something I teach a lot to aspiring and seasoned sales professionals: You have to know your prospect if you want to have a meaningful conversation that leads to a sale. It’s not enough to know their name and title, or even recent awards/accolades. You have to dig deeper, and when you do, your sales numbers and revenue/commissions will thank you.
One big drawback of this book is its price tag. It costs almost $45, which for many people is too much for a sales book. That’s one way to think about it. Another way to think about it is that $45 is a very small investment if you’re able to optimize your prospecting and sales even by 10% over your lifetime. So this isn’t one of those books you buy just so that it can collect dust. You have to read and apply!
Key Takeaway: Just like the name suggests, Take the Cold out of Cold Calling will teach you to find the information needed to turn (almost) any cold prospect into a hot prospect.
Quick Stats:
Rating: 4.5 stars
Author: Sam Richter
Pages: 312
Price: $44.30
#4 Be Obsessed or Be Average
Love him or hate him, Grant Cardone is one of the greatest cold callers in sales today. And honestly, I could have easily put his other books on this list: The 10x Rule, Sell or Be Sold, etc. While this particular book isn’t specifically about cold calling, it will help the cold caller build a winning mindset, which is more than half the battle when it comes to sales.
Cardone teaches that it’s healthy to desire success. It’s even healthy to become obsessed with being your best. What’s the alternative? Being average, with average goals, average income, average everything. So this book is a great kick-in-the-pants to get motivated for excellence. If you become obsessed in all the right ways, you WILL close more deals as a result.
Key Takeaway: Author, speaker, and preacher Eric Thomas said it best in his editorial review: “Anybody can be average, but why settle for average when you can be phenomenal?” That’s the takeaway of Grant Cardone’s Be Obsessed or Be Average.
Quick Stats:
Rating: 4.7 stars
Author: Grant Cardone
Pages: 240
Price: $15.99
#5 Way of the Wolf: Straight Line Selling
You don’t make it to the big screen without having something to say. And Jordan Belfort, immortalized by Leonardo Dicaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, has lots to say about selling in this seminal book.
I’m a big fan of systems. And Belfort shares his step-by-step system that allowed him to accumulate millions in wealth. Has Belfort always had the most scrupulous ethics? No – but he served his time. And today he teaches the art of persuasion so that you can sell just about anything, starting with the cold call.
Key takeaway: Looping the conversation! Objections are merely smokescreens, and they only signal uncertainty from the buyer, that’s it. Just uncertainty. So you can always loop the conversation back to the heart of the matter by asking relevant questions. When you do this, and you clearly communicate the value of your offer, you win the deal.
Quick Stats:
Rating: 4.7 stars
Author: Jordan Belfort
Pages: 256
Price: $8.99
Bonus Book: Don’t Admire, Acquire!
I’m including my own book in this roundup because it teaches how to get in the right frame of mind to win in sales (I call it the ‘RPM’ or ‘Rich Person’s Mindset’). You’ll find lots of gems on persuasion, whether it’s on the phones or in everyday life. I also go in depth on how to gain momentum and build on it, how to avoid crash and burn by celebrating too early, how to find mentors that have your roadmap for success, and approaching your career growth with a sense of gratitude.
At the end of each chapter, I include a workbook section where you can write your thoughts, which become action items for you to accomplish toward your goals. When combined, all of the principles in Don’t Admire, Acquire! can help you go from the high 5-figures in sales to 6-figures and beyond.
Key Takeaway: Never sit back and admire the success around you. Instead, work smart and educate yourself to acquire everything they have and more!
Quick Stats:
Rating: 5 stars
Author: Johnny-Lee Reinoso
Pages: $16.99
Price: 105
So there you have it – those are some of my favorite cold calling books to help get you motivated and become a master on the phones.
Whether you choose these books or some other books entirely, it’s important to always be feeding your knowledge base. If you want to be a well-rounded, high-achieving salesperson, you should also be watching training videos, listening to motivational and sales speakers, and participating in live workshops. The more experts you listen to, the more your experience and expertise will grow.
Just remember, if you want to make it in sales, you absolutely have to learn the art and science of cold calling. It’s easily the most powerful tool we have as salespeople, and it’s one of the most powerful tools in all of business… when it’s done right.
Until next time,
Johnny-Lee Reinoso