Book reviews for entrepreneurs who just want to know the best parts of the best books to grow their startup

What This Book Is About

Sales people are under incredible pressure to make their numbers and the more pressure they feel, the less curious and authentic they become because they’re so focused on the sale. But when salespeople shift their mindset from “how can I get this deal” to “what is most on the mind of my customer right now—and why,” they see sales opportunities that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Through their new book, “Naked Sales: How Design Thinking Reveals Customer Motives and Drives Revenue,” co-founders of Somersault Innovation, Ashley Welch and Justin Jones reveal how you can reinvigorate your sales organization, create new opportunities, and build competition-proof customer relationships when you start thinking like a designer.

Topics explored in Raise Capital On Your Own Terms include:

• How technology is disrupting sales and how to keep up
• A proven recipe to drive revenue and add more art to your science of sales
• A series of tools to uncover more insights about your clients
• Specific prompts to discover untapped problems
• How to use agility to hear fewer “Nos” and inspire bigger “Yeses”
• Get into the C-Suite quicker and easier
• How to integrate Sell by Design as a sales manager
• Reduce pressure on yourself and your team by kicking serious butt

Why You Should Read It

“Naked Sales” kicks out that old “salesy” philosophy, to make way for a new way to think about selling your products and services. It kills the “close this sale immediately” energy that often turns clients off, and attempts to push sales professionals toward a process that is about connection, problem-solving and interaction, which in the end, drives revenue.

If you’re a person who is working on your sales game, this book is for you. This book is also an excellent read for those entrepreneurs who want to score major partnerships. It gives you some great things to think about before approaching your ideal partners.

Best Takeaway

“Deal size is limited by conversation scope — why not allow for bigger ones?”

Skip To Page

Page 106-116.

We love Welch and Jones’s tips on how to accelerate to a massive deal. Great, practical solutions, without the BS. We love the reminder they give readers: when presented with a change, no is usually the customer’s “default answer.” This book will help you get on the road to more yeses.