Terry Coates' Recommended Reading

Professional Resources

Leisure Reading

Book: Human Sigma

You may have heard of 6 Sigma, the process and product quality assurance system. This book, from the Gallup organization, takes the basic premises of that system and applies it to human interactions--specifically the customer relationship. They succeed where others have failed primarily by recognizing that materials and machines are distinctly NOT human.

Book: American Road  This is a fascinating book about the first cross-country "motor train". In 1919, the military set out to drive a set of military vehicles from coast to coast. The course laid out was the first, end-to-end American Road, which was called the Lincoln Highway. Most of the trip wasn't on anything like what we would call a "road" today.


As a management book, there is plenty of useful information in how to better manage those employees that have direct customer interaction. This is presently my #1 recommendation for this type of book.

 

   
How to Sell At Higher Margins Than Your Competitors

 The most common complaint I hear from sales consultants is that they can't make any money. Sometimes they'll say it's because the buyer knows the product's cost, other times it's that another store will cut the price too low.

This book can help with those and other price situations. Subtitled,  

Book: America, 1908 1908 was an incredible year in American History.  In one year there were 2 attempts to discover the North Pole, Henry Ford released the Model T, the Wright Brothers flew for the first time at Kitty Hawk, but also in France and Washington, D.C.  The first airline passenger was killed that year, too.  This is an amazing look at a snapshot of America.

How To Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors, this book was recommended by Dave Heath, head of American Honda Sales Training. This book isn't written specifically for automotive retailing but most of it is not only applicable, but wildly useful. The purchase price was justified half-way through chapter 2. This book is truly a must-read for anyone who sells anything for a living.

 

   
Book: First Break All the Rules First, Break All the Rules, subtitled, What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently is a real eye-opener. The auto industry is consumed by process improvement, attempting to solve daily operational issues. But managers still have to manage people--arguably a far more difficult task. Few books are truly helpful in this area, but this is certainly one of them.

Note:  These links will take you to Amazon.com to view more details about each book and optionally to purchase them.

 

 

 
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