This post will explain what you need to know about the One-Up Book Club. It will summarize why it’s necessary, how it will help you become a better salesperson, what kinds of books we will read, and what resources you can expect.
Why the One-Up Book Club Is Necessary
If you spend time on LinkedIn, you’ll see many people who show you the books they read (or pretend to read). With a few exceptions, these books cover topics in personal development or self-help. While this type of development is important, it doesn’t allow you to create value for your clients and prospective clients.
While these wonderful books may help you get a better sense of yourself and your goals, they don’t provide you with information that will help you position yourself as a consultative salesperson. Part of being One-Up is knowing more than other people do. If you read the most popular books on LinkedIn, you’ll know about as much as every other salesperson out there. To know more than your competition and clients, you need to do a different kind of reading. I know the power of being well-read and having a set of valuable insights.
How the One-Up Book Club Will Improve Your Sales Performance
The more well-read you are, the greater your information disparity. The greater your information disparity, the easier it is to create value for your clients in the sales conversation. When you know valuable things your client doesn’t know, it is easy to create value for them by providing information that will help them make better decisions.
To be fair, being a well-read person will also make you a more interesting person at a dinner party or happy hour. But for this to be true, you must read the right books.
What Kind of Books We Will Read
Let me start by telling you we will not read my books, apart from The Negativity Fast. We will not read my sales books or anyone else’s as part of this program.
I’ve chosen the first three books for the One-Up Book Club. I am not yet ready to disclose them, but I selected them because they are rich with insights and data.
One way I determine the value of a book is by considering whether it allows me to see something that is invisible to others. Like you, I am curious about how the world works, and we can benefit from understanding it better.
Those who have read my books will know that The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Journey into the Forces of History by Howard Bloom is a favorite because it allowed me to better understand memetics—how we infect each other with our beliefs and our culture. This book isn’t one of the first three books. You may also know that Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder is another favorite of mine. It explains how you can gain from disorder (and, no, that isn’t on the reading list).
We will read books that allow you to see what others can’t see, including your clients and your prospective clients. That’s all I will say for now.
The Different Levels of This Program and Resources
Some people will want more access and conversations about the books we are reading, while others prefer to read on their own, occasionally contributing to the conversation. To give people what they want, we are offering four tiers of book club membership. The cost of the program starts at $3 a month and goes up to $100 a month, and benefits increase with membership tier.
The Best-Read Salesperson: $100 a month
This is the top tier. It is designed for the most serious readers who want to invest in themselves. We will limit this tier to 30 people to ensure we provide the right experience. Benefits of the Best-Read Salesperson membership include:
- Exclusive content
- Bi-weekly meetings
- Downloadable content
- Early access to episodes
- Backstage access
- Private community
- Video lessons
The Erudite Salesperson: $50 a month
This is for the person who wants more conversation and additional resources to make the most of their reading. We will limit this to 40 people. Benefits of the Erudite Salesperson membership include:
- Exclusive content
- Monthly Q&A sessions
- Downloadable content
- Early access to episodes
- Backstage access
- Private community
- Video lessons
The Consultant: $25 a month
This tier provides some extra content and access to conversations, including a Q&A and a private community. Most people will probably choose this tier, which includes:
- Exclusive content
- Monthly Q&A
- Downloadable content
- Early access to episodes
- Backstage access
- Private community
The Reader: $3.00 a month, plus the cost of the books
To join us while staying within a budget, you can participate at the Reader level. You will receive:
- Exclusive content
- Backstage behind-the-scenes
- A reading guide and plan
No matter which tier works for you, by reading the books included in this program, you will be one of the best-read people you know, and the best-read person your clients know. Some have said that who you become is determined by who you spend time with and what you read.
We will start this program in November after we launch The Negativity Fast. You can use the form below to add your name to the early bird list of people interested in joining this program. Meanwhile, you can start to read posts about how to read books and identify insights and some helpful tools you may want to use.
