Any Good Books on Building a Strong Sales Force?

I have a few subscription based services which have grown consistently though affiliates and resellers. I want to get a strong sales force going.

Do you have any books, training, blogs, etc. that you would recommend for this?

I don't have a specific book but let me give you some good advice. I've managed national and international sales forces.

If you want a strong sales force, you will first need a good sales manager with sales management experience. FIND THAT GUY FIRST. You will need him to help you recruit the right people and also manage them. Sales and especially sales management is not something you can learn overnight and you can spend/waste a ton of money hiring the wrong people, lack of proper training, lack of systems/procedures, lack of correct software, etc. etc. the list goes on and on.

You can start with one sales rep, possibly 2, if you think you want to give it a try. Any more than that and the problems and inefficiencies will begin to pile up without a sales manager in place.

Im not sure what your budget is, but if your budget is small the best thing to do is find a really good young salesperson who has say 4-5 years experience, and aspires to be a sales manager (most do). Let him know that if he/she can get the sales off the ground and running, you will most likely build a team under him and he/she will actually be able to realize that goal.