Bill Farquharson's

Recommended Reads

These books are like old friends. Equal parts professional and personal improvement resources, I return to these selections time and again.

I like to think I am a reader. In truth, I don’t qualify. It’s not that I can’t read. I can. It’s just that I don’t put in the time I should in order to qualify for the title. Interestingly, none of these books are specifically about sales and yet each one can contribute to your sales abilities, particularly when you read them all and combine the pearls of wisdom each offers…. Enjoy!

– Bill

“Driven to Distraction” by Edward Hallowell

When I was 38 years old and my oldest daughter was eight or nine, we found out that she had ADD. At the same time, we discovered the source, a

“The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz

According to the author, everything a person does is based on agreements they have made with themselves, with others, with God, and with life itself. If I ran the world,

A Much-Needed LinkedIn Exchange

If Bill Farquharson ran the world, he’d make a few changes. Baseball would lose the Designated Hitter. Perfect weather days would result in a paid day off. The next item on his wish list is something he’s been championing for years. Find out in this week’s blog.

“Strengths Finder” by Tom Rath

Here’s another book that has been on the New York Times bestseller list for years, and for good reason. It’s a self-assessment test on steroids, measuring your skills, strengths, and

“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey

This is another classic read. There is a lot of time management and human behavior discussed in these pages. I found it rather stuffy and stiff compared to some of

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

This is the single best book on sales ever written…despite the fact that it has nothing to do with sales. In other words, this is not a “How to sell

“The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman

What could love possibly have to do with sales? And how could understanding how love works within relationships improve your sales? Good questions. The concept itself is surprisingly simple. This

“Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss

This is a book about negotiation. Author Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator who brought his tactics to the business world. Most of us are lousy negotiators. This

“Integrity” by Henry Cloud

Dr. Henry Cloud wrote this book about managers and employees and the need to consider some vital characteristics when gauging their impact on others and the company. He has a

“The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking” by Edward Burger & Michael Starbird

I probably recommend this book more often than the others in my personal library. The world is not overflowing with creative thinkers and I certainly do little to change that

“Essentialism” by Greg McKeown

This was a game-changer for me. The subtitle of the book—The disciplined pursuit of less—says it all. This is not a business book and definitely not a sales book, but it will help you with both. The author provides a fascinating way to filter through new opportunities (see page 110).

“What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” by Marshall Goldsmith

This book has a rather simple message: Congratulations on your success…but get over it! Now forget everything you know and start over. Think about this lesson as a salesperson. There

“We live in an Amazon world.”

Bill Farquharson’s weekly sales tips are typically taken from conversations he has with his customers. In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales tip, Bill turns things around and gives his three most frequent sales tips – commentary he finds himself sharing multiple times a week.