Sales Career Resources
This page has basic resources for people entering or interested in professional sales.
PURPOSE:
For students that don’t know much about professional sales, the goal of this page is to provide a few ideas to consider, to help you land a sales role you like.
WARNING:
Materials on this page “scratch the surface” of things you might learn about sales. If you want to see other materials, email Bryan Lilly, sales program professor, lilly@uwosh.edu, Sage Hall 1449. Bryan is happy to share some of the materials we use in our sales certificate program.
Tips for Entering Sales:
Tips about sales roles; different types of roles exist.
Sales interview tips.
What do salespeople like about sales and what do they dislike or struggle with?
Compensation tips.
What makes a sales process good (or shitty)?
Sales Survival tips for when you start a first sales role.
Sales Books:
NOTE: These books cover various fundamentals. See Bryan (Sage Hall 1449) if you want to look at these or other books for a moment, to see if they interest you.
People Buy You, by Jeb Blount. This book addresses why customers prefer to buy from some salespeople more than others, especially if products are similar.
The Challenger Sale, by M. Dixon & B. Adamson. This book discusses how top salespeople challenge customers to rethink how they view problems and solutions.
The Little Red Book of Selling, by Jeffrey Gitomer. This book presents a wide range of Sales Principles starting with Principle 1: “Kick your own ass.”
The Little Blue Book of Customer Service, by Katy Kunst. This short book presents 20 Service Standards used by Fastenal Corp. Good service helps drive customer loyalty.
Networking is a Contact Sport, by Joe Sweeney. This book presents ideas about developing and leveraging connections for mutual benefit.
Handling Objections, by Phil Whitebloom. This book gives advice about listening to customer concerns, and then diagnosing and responding to them. As a side note, Phil is a UW-Oshkosh Alum and has received the UW-Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award.
NOTE: Hundreds of other good sales books exist. My best advice is, “It’s less about what you read and learn, and more about continuous learning.” Just learn something new every week, and over time you’ll do well.
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Business Education Enrichment Fund of Wisconsin 