When it comes to b2b marketing, there’s a big question that’s been kicking around for years. It’s not a complex question at all, but it has an ever-changing answer, especially in the digital age…
what makes an average b2b marketer become a great b2b marketer?
If you’re looking for a one line answer that will serve as your silver bullet to overnight success, I’m sorry to tell you, but you’ll be looking for it for a long time. great b2b marketers like dan shure, aaron ross, steli efti, shayla price, and aaron orendorff are great because they realized one thing in particular early on:
You are reading: Books on b2b marketing
You can never stop learning.
If you want to be successful in b2b marketing, you need to commit to constant learning. Fortunately for you, there is no shortage of incredibly useful insights to be had from the best marketing books.
Of course, you can’t expect to read every one of these 21 marketing books and instantly become a great b2b marketer. there’s a key step in the process that often scares people…
You have to act.
If you spend your time gathering all this knowledge and learning from the best of the best, what good will it do you if you keep it all in your head and never ship or implement what you’re learning? ?
So, on that note, here are the top 21 marketing books every b2b marketer should read if they want to be successful in the field:
1. how to win friends & influencing people
author: dale carnegie | 4.7 stars
This Dale Carnegie classic is a must read for all b2b marketers, no questions asked. In a field that will require you to talk to people and influence them to do what you want, relationships are key. This book teaches you the fundamental techniques for dealing with people, the six ways to please people, twelve methods to get people to agree with your way of thinking, and the best ways to change someone’s mind without feel bad for you.
order how to win friends & influence people now.
2. the 10x rule: the only difference between success and failure
author: cardone grant | 4.6 stars
To be successful in the b2b world, you can’t just sit back and do only what makes you feel comfortable. The real breakthroughs come when you commit to experimentation and take what Grant Cardone calls “mass action.” In this must-read for marketers, he talks about the steps you need to take to implement the 10x rule, from where to start, to where most people get stuck.
order the 10x ruler now.
3. influence: the psychology of persuasion, revised edition
author: robert b. cialdini | 4.5 stars
As a b2b marketer, you want people to start saying “yes!” more than not. This book dives into the psychology of what really drives people to say yes, and what you can do to apply these findings to your sales efforts. If you can understand how the brain of the person you’re selling to works, you’re putting yourself in a much better position to get that “yes!”.
influence of order: the psychology of persuasion now.
4. marketing for women
author: martha barletta | 4.8 stars
If you’re not focusing a real portion of your marketing budget exclusively on women, this book will tell you exactly why you should. In it, marketing expert Martha Barletta talks about how the path to a buying decision is vastly different for women than it is for men, and provides guidance on how you can structure a marketing plan to capitalize on this untapped market.
apply for women’s marketing now.
5. the go-giver, expanded edition: a short story about a powerful business idea
author: bob burg | 4.7 stars
give and you shall receive. It’s a simple saying that you’ve heard a million times before, but it still holds true in the world of business and b2b marketing. If you give more than you take and have no expectation that the favor will be returned in time, the results you seek will find you. This book is a classic story about how this exact idea helped a young entrepreneur find the success he was looking for.
order the go-giver extended edition now.
6. ogilvy in advertising
author: david ogilvy | 4.6 stars
In the digital age, advertising has been transformed. It’s not just about giant billboards, magazine ads, and Super Bowl commercials anymore. This book by David Ogilvy, the founder of a successful international advertising agency, tries to show you what he needs to know to be successful in advertising. everything from how to write copy that converts, to how you can run a successful agency yourself.
order ogilvy in advertising now.
7. the magic of thinking big
author: david schwartz | 4.5 stars
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Sometimes achieving success in your field isn’t just about your natural ability at what you do. If you want to be successful in B2B sales and marketing, you don’t need to be born with the ability to sell anything to anyone. This book is about the process of thinking and behaving in ways that can help him find the success he is looking for.
order the magic of thinking big now.
8. energy sales writing
author: sue a. hershkowitz-coore | 4.6 stars
Writing sales messages that grab your potential customers’ attention is one of the most important steps in the entire sales process. With this book, you’ll be armed with the knowledge you need to master the art of impactful sales writing. it’s packed with powerful word lists, tips on how to deliver bad news and still get the result you want, techniques for getting your prospect to tell you what they’re really looking for, and more.
order the power sale deed now.
9. drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us
author: daniel h. pink | 4.5 stars
As a b2b marketer, much of what you do will be aimed at motivating people to do certain things. Whether it’s something as simple as motivating a Facebook user to click on a blog post, or as complex as motivating a Fortune 500 prospect to say yes and close a deal. this book breaks down the ideas in your head about what motivates people and offers insight into what really motivates someone to act.
order impulse: the surprising truth about what motivates us now.
10. Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Starting Sales Conversations and Filling the Channel
author: jeb blount | 4.9 stars
When it comes to selling on b2b, there is one key step that must be taken before a real sale can be made: prospecting. if the pipe is empty, sales will slow, revenues will drop, and the company will find itself in survival mode. This book talks about the impact that prospecting can have on driving business success and what you can do to make sure your pipeline is always full of qualified prospects.
order fanatic prospecting now.
11. how I went from failure to sales success
author: frank bettger | 4.8 stars
If selling is part of your job, this book can help. Even if you’re not a dedicated salesperson who spends your day cold calling, the insights in this book can help you understand the entire sales process and the role you can play in that process as a B2B marketer. no matter what you’re selling, this book is designed to help you sell it.
order how I went from failure to success selling now.
12. sell to large companies
author: jill konrath | 4.6 stars
Being on the radar of those fortune 500 companies isn’t always the easiest thing to do. your calls are not being answered, your emails are not being read, and you are losing faith in your marketing skills. This book will help you chart your own roadmap to Fortune 500 success by giving you the new strategies needed to close enterprise-level accounts in today’s crowded marketplace.
order to sell to big companies now.
13. how to master the art of selling
author: tom hopkins | 4.4 stars
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Just because you’re not working directly in sales doesn’t mean you’re not part of the sales process. An understanding of how to master the sales process can help you think about the big picture with all of your marketing efforts. In this book, sales expert Tim Hopkins shares his best techniques on how to create a sales climate primed for success, how to secure that first meeting, how to handle objections and the word “no,” plus dozens more key points. of the process.
order how to master the art of selling now.
14. The Ultimate Sales Machine: Accelerate Your Business With A Relentless Focus On 12 Key Strategies
author: chet holmes | 4.6 stars
As the title says, this book is about the 12 key sales strategies to focus on that make the biggest difference between closing a deal and letting it slip away. the goal is to help you optimize all aspects of your business and free up the time you need to really move the needle.
order the ultimate sales machine now.
15. jill rowley on #socialselling: 140 tweets about modern social selling
author: jill rowley | 5 stars
It’s 2022 and if you’re still ignoring social selling, I can guarantee you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. This book delves into the ideas behind developing a modern marketing strategy around social media and sheds some light on how successful businesses today are leveraging the social world to drive results.
order jill rowley at #socialsale now.
16. indirect sale: situation problem implication need-payment
author: neil rackham | 4.3 stars
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This book answers a handful of important questions in the world of sales. everything from why some sellers consistently outsell their competitors to what techniques work best when it comes to closing big accounts. Neil Rackham’s Pivot Strategy is one that all B2B salespeople and marketers should understand.
order the rotation sale now.
17. yes!: 50 scientifically proven ways to be persuasive
author: noah j. goldstein | 4.4 stars
If you want to be a successful b2b marketer, you need to know how to persuade people. Instead of expecting you to be a persuasive person, this book is a science-backed manual designed to help you be more persuasive in your daily life. is packed with 50 small and simple techniques that can have a drastic impact on your persuasive skills.
order yes!: 50 scientifically proven ways to be persuasive now.
18. challenging selling: taking control of the conversation with the customer
author: matthew dixon | 4.4 stars
everyone is always looking for the secret to success in sales. the common answer many business leaders give is relationships. In this book, Matthew Dixon takes that simple answer much further. he believes the best salespeople don’t just build relationships with prospects and customers and rely on that to close the deal. instead, he says they go one step further and really challenge their customers and prospects. This book challenges you to think differently about how he approaches these sales conversations in the b2b world.
order the challenger offer now.
19. present anything: an innovative method to present, persuade and win the deal
author: oren klaff | 4.5 stars
according to oren klaff, the art of persuasion in a speech is not really an art, it is more a simple science. In this book, she talks about how the brain actually processes and analyzes the information that comes to it, and introduces her own robust method of launching that is designed to keep you in control of the entire launching process.
order something now.
20. selling is human: the surprising truth about moving others
author: daniel h. pink | 4.4 stars
In this book, Daniel H. pink arrives with a fresh take on the science behind selling and draws on a body of social science insights to back up his arguments. if her goal is to influence people, she considers this book to be her research-backed sales guide.
the sales order is now human.
21. zig ziglar’s secrets to closing the sale
author: zig ziglar | 4.6 stars
The best b2b marketers know how to be persuasive. This book from persuasion guru Zig Ziglar is about getting prospects to say “yes!” and close the deal. it’s packed with some of his tried and tested methods in the field of persuasion that you can hit the ground running with. If he wants to persuade people to act, this book is definitely a must read.
order zig ziglar secrets to close the sale now.
now I come to you…
It’s time for you to start reading. Of course, I don’t expect you to read every single one of these books in the next week. This is what I’m asking you for right now:
Step 1: Choose one or two that you want to read over the next two weeks.
Step 2: Start implementing what you learned from those one or two.
Step 3: Go back to this list and pick one or two more.
step 4: build on the knowledge you gained from the first two and continue to implement it.
step 5: go back to step 1.
here’s the deal…
Success in the world of b2b marketing doesn’t happen overnight.
It takes real commitment if you want to be among the best b2b marketers out there. Even if you’re already generating fantastic results for your B2B business, sitting back and ignoring the endless resources out there designed to help you improve is a sure way to fall behind. the key here is to never stop learning.
what other books have you found that have helped you generate results in b2b marketing or sales? Leave a comment and tell us which ones are missing from the list.
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