Here is a list of my top recommended books every leader who is responsible for growing revenue should have in their library. This list includes books focused on sales, marketing, leadership and personal development.

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read. - Abraham Lincoln

What is my criteria for adding a book as a “favorite”? Such a book keeps me interested and offers a return on investment for the time. The return on the time invested to read the book might be a new idea or something that improves the business in a significant way. These books have influenced not only my business decisions, they have also offered new opportunities for personal development. 

Customers have a unique perspective in the classic sales versus marketing battle because they are what both teams are fighting over. However, instead of feeling honored that both teams want to win their favor, the battle has a high probability of turning them off and driving them away. 

Paradoxically, pulling on a customer from each side only serves to push them away from both.

CEOs are all too familiar with the struggle for dominance between sales and marketing. Yet despite being on top of the organizational chart, they are not immune from its deleterious effects. The in-fighting grates on CEOs and derails companies in much the same way that children quarreling upsets parents and sabotages harmony in a home.

Marketing teams are all too familiar with the daily sales versus marketing battle. The fight does not have to be perpetuated for it to continue raging because the stakes are highly personal for marketers. Winning means being rewarded with increased responsibility, autonomy, and recognition. These prizes not only advance marketers’ careers, they also allow them to remain passionate about their roles. An us versus them mentality permeates the culture across every variety of marketing from branding to digital. But in a marketer’s mind, the fight is hardly fair.

The sales versus marketing battle is an age-old tug-of-war that permeates most corporate cultures. Everyone from entry-level salespeople to Senior VPs are familiar with the fight, and most have taken up arms to participate. In fact, joining this fight is one of the surest ways to unify a sales team, which otherwise would simply be a cohort of individuals out to achieve their own quotas. By combining efforts, a sales organization can demonstrate value as one unit rather than leaving individuals to fight alone, which strengthens its position.

C-level executives know that a battle is raging at most companies – the classic battle between sales and marketing. Executives encounter it from all different vantage points ranging from their earliest days in the workforce down in the trenches to the 30,000-foot view summary in their current positions. It is a problem that plagues many organizations, and yet it is rarely discussed at any level. However, without addressing it and fully understanding how it affects profitability, it cannot truly be solved.

The CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) is expected to be paid well because it is more demanding, complex and challenging than either a Sales VP or a Marketing VP role.  As we review compensation, it is helpful to remember that titles are not always a representation of responsibility. CROs who finds themselves closing the initial sale, then outsourcing the upsell, cross-sell and renewal processes to functional peers, might find 'VP of Sales' to be a better title.

Nobody wants to have a ‘networking conversation,’ especially those who are at the highest levels of business. They are hungry for real conversations and real relationships. It has to be authentic, genuine and sincere.”  -  Rich Stromback

Even with a plethora of information, books, classes and generous experts, rooms are full of people who have yet to develop excellent communication skills (and who you prefer to avoid).