To What Extent are Old Sales Books Still Relevant Today

[Almantas]

I am on a shopping spree for sales books and decided to fill-up my basket with some of the oldies from the 1990s. The question is pretty simple: to what extent do you guys think sales books written in the 1980-90s are still relevant today?

IMO although technology advancement has significantly changed the way we make deals, looking from a biological and psychological perspectives it's reasonable to assume that some of the oldies are still significantly relevant today.

What would you say?

 

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[Soleo]

I would personally agree to reading them. Knowledge is power! Anyone who uses both traditional and modern methods should do well. While my company isn't where I want it to be yet, we have had early success due to using both techniques.

 

[Paul Thomas]

Considering some of the top salesman on Wall St / Real Estate were raised/taught in the era of the books you mention - think the principles remain.

Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sales

Big ticket sales (company's, apartments/houses, large contracts, big deals) will be done in person for a while (in my opinion).

 

[Niptuck MD]

THE FELDMAN METHOD is a great book that is out of print and is easily applicable to all things sales. a hidden gem of a book published in 1989 i believe

 

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[ApparentHorizon]

To the extent that the market adapts to sales patterns.

Arbitrage opportunities arise when people rush to the next shiny object. When a vacuum is created.

Example:

When everyone rushed to online marketing in 2013, traditional media collapsed. Billboards, newspapers, TV spots....

All of a sudden, you see old money being oblivious to the shift.

How do you reach them?

They're not online at this time.

Wait a minute...sending them a sales packet, giving them a phone call? What is that? How do you do that?

While everyone else is ranking their website on Google, creating their drip campaigns, etc., you literally have millions of SMBs who no one is paying attention to.

 

[Almantas]

Thanks guys, great points!

 

[mayana]

A great deal of marketing/sales technique and theory is based on human psychology. And while we are evolving, I'd say that good books written in the 80's would still be useful today.

Information IS power. Go for it.

 

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[Mattie]

Wait a minute...sending them a sales packet, giving them a phone call? What is that? How do you do that?

While everyone else is ranking their website on Google, creating their drip campaigns, etc., you literally have millions of SMBs who no one is paying attention to.

I have to agree. Things keep changing year to year. I have to laugh every time I'm emailed with seminars and workshops my business school keeps sending me is always a year behind of what I learn myself. I believe it's good to have the knowledge, but the rules change constantly.

 

[TheGrind]

They're completely relevant. Human psychology hasn't changed in thousands of years. There were some fantastic sales books from the 1960's and even earlier. Don't limit yourself to only recent books.

 

[devine]

They're completely relevant. Human psychology hasn't changed in thousands of years. There were some fantastic sales books from the 1960's and even earlier. Don't limit yourself to only recent books.

Some of the most amazing books I know on business are almost 100 years old.

 

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[Invictus]

To the extent that the market adapts to sales patterns.

Arbitrage opportunities arise when people rush to the next shiny object. When a vacuum is created.

Example:

When everyone rushed to online marketing in 2013, traditional media collapsed. Billboards, newspapers, TV spots....

All of a sudden, you see old money being oblivious to the shift.

How do you reach them?

They're not online at this time.

Wait a minute...sending them a sales packet, giving them a phone call? What is that? How do you do that?

While everyone else is ranking their website on Google, creating their drip campaigns, etc., you literally have millions of SMBs who no one is paying attention to.

In addition, I've often thought that the generations that are being raised and taking their place in the world right now may be a good audience for older advertising methods.

I remember being younger and my mom receiving tons of sales packets, advertisements, etc. She would just dump it all in the trash because it was "Junk mail." You see so much of it, you start to tune it all out.

As more people use 'new media' to reach their customers (email, Facebook, etc) people will start to tune that out as well. A lot of us already have.

But, you see less physical mail advertisements now. There's less noise. Generations that are moving out on their own and starting their lives may be more inclined to actually review their mail, and not toss the majority of it in the trash.

 

[GMSI7D]

Some of the most amazing books I know on business are almost 100 years old.

books on success from the early 20 th century are amazing .

i can feel that the authors have a powerful mental attitude like they are human rocks against adversity


just go here :

http://www.iapsop.com/ssoc/

the old books you will find are amazing . this is unbelievable

for example read that :

http://www.iapsop.com/ssoc/1908__atkinson___the_secret_of_success.pdf

read and take a slap in your face as the author coaches your life.

 

[Dolf112]

In my experience of sales. You are much better studying psychology. Learning what motivates different people and how to find that motivation. How to impulse them, matching and mirroring (NLP Technique) and body language.

However sales books can be good for framing certain techniques.
Like impulse factors for example.
1. Jones Effect - keeping up with the jones. You're competitor just did this, however you can do it too, or be better than them.
2.Fear of loss - You can get it today for 100. Limited stock etc.
3.Buzz words - Save 100, Huge Discounts, Sale, BOGOF
4. Indifference - Only you lose out if you don't buy this (To be used as an advanced skill)

Learning Buying and non buying signs

Also things like the closing loop, what exactly to match and mirror. Most people assume that just means body language but it does mean excitement levels too. Also matching the vocabulary they use. Then when you are in rapport you can manipulate and influence their behaviour.

Many may disagree, but I believe if you have the things I have mentioned nailed, you are better than 80% of salespeople.

 

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[GMSI7D]

In my experience of sales. You are much better studying psychology. .

yes

the best " inner game skill " is matering ourself

the best " outer game skill " is mastering others


relationship, money, power : all this things are the results of mastering others in an ethical way for their best interest and ours.


1) money will give us relationship ( at least sex ) and power

2) power will give us money and relationship ( at least courtiers )

3) relationship will give us money and power ( at least followers)

they are connected


so if we had to choose just 2 things to master in life, this would be : mastering the self and mastering others.

so i am reading books for both things


for example :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1604590874/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20


by the way, most people ignore this kind of books


they are not interested in lifetimes of wisdom for 15 bucks !!




so smart people like me read those books in order to master the morons who ignore those books.

 

[devine]

Let's simplify things:

1) money will give us relationship ( at least sex ) and power

2) power will give us money and relationship ( at least courtiers )

Sex is about power.

How you achieve this power is up to you.

I can dress like I'm a poorest person on earth and it won't affect my relationships with women.

Same applies to selling, marketing and everything else.
Power is not in attributes.

 

[Nicoknowsbest]

While everyone else is ranking their website on Google, creating their drip campaigns, etc., you literally have millions of SMBs who no one is paying attention to.

AMEN.

My target market doesn't even read emails regularly.

Helping people is not as sexy as driving traffic I guess.

The question is pretty simple: to what extent do you guys think sales books written in the 1980-90s are still relevant today?

Principles never change.

Everything new is based on "old" principles.

Just look at copy writing - most classics are old, but gold.

 

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[Yratill]

Selling strategy is a masterwork that comes to understanding how a company's sales strategy--and the execution of it strategy