Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (from a sales perspective)

The premise for this book seems uninteresting on the surface and irrelevant for sales. There is an argument to be had that our trade is the exact opposite of deep work. It is almost as if we exist to take on the shallow work necessary in the business world so that the real artists, engineers, technicians, and innovators can focus on their more meaningful, “deep work.” While they are in the back of house doing something of importance, we are in the front of house responding and reacting to the shallow work; the emails, texts, phone calls, meetings, and needs of our clientele.

However, it is for these exact reasons that I found this book to be profoundly helpful.

For a sales professional, at the beginning of our careers, there are often long stretches of opportunity for deep work as we spend our days building our books of business. In fact, one of the common denominators I notice among the high performing newer sales people at my company is that they tend to be the ones who do engage in long extended sessions of focused, deep work. As opposed to those who live in the shallows; mixing their short bursts of thoughtless sales efforts in with their socializing, web surfing, and off campus food and coffee runs.

For successful sales people, who have been earning for a long time and are at the top of their game, this book can serve as nothing short of an awakening. Personally, I was struggling with this plateau myself when I came across this book. I was having trouble finding motivation to take on the tedious work of generating new business that would barely move the needle when compared to what my current book of business was generating. This book gave me a reason beyond my bank account to get back into the fundamentals of my trade.