“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Theodore Geisel (Dr. Suess)

When was the last time you read an inspiring biography, autobiography, or memoir? If you are a sales professional or solopreneur, I am certain at some point during your career you have read self help books and possibly the classics: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” Carnegie and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Covey, but how much have you used from those books religiously to increase your business sales and improve your life.

Consider adding a biography or two to your reading list this year. In many cases the biography will have more useful lessons than most self-help best sellers and offer personal development wisdom that you can actually apply to your own life.

1. Reading biographies will allow you to be right along side the people who achieved specific targets and overcome boundaries. However, not all biographies are about successful people but typically life experiences can provide lessons to your own situation.

2. Unlike specific self-help books that offer detailed steps, guides and approaches to test, which can add significant value, but for many are too strict and process oriented. If you want to discover ideas on your own through the stories of others, then the biography might be a good fit.

3. Reading biographies will assist in future conversations with your prospects, friends and clients. Expanding your reading base with biographies will allow you to provide recommendations or use examples as you hone your relationship skills.

4. Think of several individuals that have achieved success that would be amazing mentors to learn from regularly. Think about their examples of overcoming big challenges and use the advice just like a mentor.

5. Reading biographies will assist with life lessons not only for yourself but also for your children. Consider passing on the values of understanding background differences as they get prepared to build relationships. It will assist with their viewpoints in the future.

6. Pass on great biographies that match your clients and prospects. If you have a prospect that is the creative space and a voracious reader, consider mailing them a copy of Leonardo Da Vinci’s biography. It will show that you are genuinely interested in building a long-term relationship by understanding them personally.

7. Biographies are informative and by building more knowledge in your personal toolkit you will have the ability to pull from the lessons as situations arise with customers. It’s a good way to test methodologies outlined in the book to a real client situation.

8. Improve your sales goal results. Think of potential role models and their corresponding biographies that might be similar to handling situations just like what you are dealing with.

Consider these 12 biographies to add to your reading list for 2019, it’s just one per month:

• Leonardo Da Vinci, Walter Isaacson
• Ben Franklin
• Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson
• The Everything Store, Jeff Bezos, Brad Stone
• Sam Walton: Made in America
• Born Standing Up: As Comic’s Life, Steve Martin
• The Story of My Life, Helen Keller
• The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
• Confessions by Saint Augustine
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
• A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway
• Gandhi: An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth, Gandhi

Have an Exceptional year and happy Selling!