The best books that show you how to sell anything without losing your soul

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to read books. I read over 100 books a year and really try to implement principles and tips from those that I love. I also hate traditional sales advice and have worked on building my business differently from the typical salesperson, trying to serve my clients better by learning and practicing in a different way. Nothing happens until somebody sells something, but there is a better way. That’s why I wrote my book, The Mental Game of Real Estate, about the same principles that I teach my agents every day.


I wrote...

The Mental Game of Real Estate: How to Thrive as a Real Estate Agent

By Bradley Bevers,

Book cover of The Mental Game of Real Estate: How to Thrive as a Real Estate Agent

What is my book about?

I write about real estate to share what I have learned as a lifelong avid reader and from my experience in real estate. Over the course of 20 years, I have grown my business 100x compared to where I started, and I have done it without the traditional "hard sales" techniques taught in most real estate books.

If you want to learn how to sell real estate, or really anything at all, this book can help you by showing you my personal road map to success and giving you a comprehensive list of what to read next on your journey.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Bradley Bevers Why did I love this book?

If you are going to read one book about how to be a better salesperson, read this one. Cialdini is a master, and most modern sales psychology books are built off of his work in this book. I have used all six of the principles that he lays out in this book to grow the real estate business, but I especially love the principle of reciprocity.

In a nutshell, this is the power of giving gifts to build relationships, and it is one of the main things I learned from reading to grow my business. When I show a property, I bring water, snacks, and beer. I follow up with my clients with at least 5 personal gifts a year. Cialdini also teaches the power of accepting gifts from others, and I always accept a glass of water, a snack, or anything else my clients offer me. You are not your best if you have not read this book, period.

By Robert B. Cialdini,

Why should I read it?

23 authors picked Influence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The foundational and wildly popular go-to resource for influence and persuasion-a renowned international bestseller, with over 5 million copies sold-now revised adding: new research, new insights, new examples, and online applications.

In the new edition of this highly acclaimed bestseller, Robert Cialdini-New York Times bestselling author of Pre-Suasion and the seminal expert in the fields of influence and persuasion-explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday settings. Using memorable stories and relatable examples, Cialdini makes this crucially important subject surprisingly easy. With Cialdini as a guide, you don't have…


Book cover of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

Bradley Bevers Why did I love this book?

I first heard about this book on a podcast, and it sounded interesting. A self-help book written by the creator of the Dilbert comic had to at least be entertaining. After reading it multiple times, I have found it to be one of the best out there.

I learned to manage energy rather than time, that willpower is useless, that passion follows success rather than the other way around, and that systems are much better than goals.

This book gave me a better framework for much of what I was already doing, and I love how it is written as well. I can’t recommend this one more highly, it is is excellent and will change how you see the world.

By Scott Adams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Blasting clichéd career advice, the contrarian pundit and creator of Dilbert recounts the humorous ups and downs of his career, revealing the outsized role of luck in our lives and how best to play the system.

Scott Adams has likely failed at more things than anyone you’ve ever met or anyone you’ve even heard of. So how did he go from hapless office worker and serial failure to the creator of Dilbert, one of the world’s most famous syndicated comic strips, in just a few years? In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Adams shares the…


Book cover of Miracle Morning Millionaires: What the Wealthy Do Before 8AM That Will Make You Rich

Bradley Bevers Why did I love this book?

I have always been self-motivated, but this book gave me the tools to turn up the dial from a 7 to a 10.

In this book, I learned to apply the SAVERS system every morning (Silence, affirmation, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing), and I have been doing it for years now. I wrote my book by heeding this advice and waking up at 4 am for months in order to write before working out and heading to the office. Every morning, including today, I read excerpts from at least 20 books, review my annual goals, study a foreign language, exercise, and more. One of the things I have learned about this framework since building it into my life is that it is much easier to hang new habits you want to start onto this system.

Once you implement this, you never have to start from scratch again. I have been able to add new habits easily (as long as they are something I can do in the morning), and this book has changed the way I think about my daily routine and how I get things done forever.

By David Osborn, Hal Elrod, Honoree Corder

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Miracle Morning Millionaires as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What if the real secret of millionaires isn’t about doing more, but becoming more?
Millionaires know everything in your present is a result of how you thought, decided, and acted in the past. But your present circumstances can easily change. Right now. Because, with this revolutionary manual to wealth, you’ll discover...

• The undeniable connection between mornings and wealth.
• Why becoming wealthy is never a sedentary pursuit.
• The simple five-step wake-up process that’ll guarantee you’ll rise early...like a millionaire.
• Four choices you must make to become wealthy.
• The specific actions you must take when you choose…


Book cover of No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy

Bradley Bevers Why did I love this book?

I love this book and re-read it at least every couple of years. All of Dan Kennedy’s books are fantastic, but this one is special.

As a real estate agent, I didn’t realize how much my view of the world and the economy held me back. This book helped shift my perspective, and I now see the world from an abundance mindset instead of a scarcity mindset. I give this to anyone who is stuck in an "if I win, then someone loses" mindset, and it will shake them out of it. I also love his chapters on the magic of generosity and on learning to expect "the phenomenon" at least once every few years (you will have to read it to learn more).

I love how this book has freed me up to go after my goals without hesitation because, as an entrepreneur, it is my job to grow the pie for everyone. When I win, everyone else wins, too.

By Dan Kennedy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Become A Money Magnet

The old economy is shattered, and GONE FOREVER. It's never coming back as it was, and in its place a generally tougher, more demanding marketplace is emerging. The realities of the business and financial landscape that you knew have been forced to change.

HOWEVER, when it comes to wealth, one instrumental reality is unchanged: No matter the economic conditions-booms or recessions, including the fast-emerging New Economy-there is wealth. And who better to show you how to lure, bait, attract, and become a magnet for it than "Millionaire Maker" Dan S. Kennedy?

Kennedy covers:

How to experience…


Book cover of The Luck Factor: Changing Your Luck, Changing Your Life: The Four Essential Principles

Bradley Bevers Why did I love this book?

One of the biggest reasons that I have been able to become a successful real estate agent is also one that surprises other people: I got lucky. Luck is one of the biggest reasons for my success. I am sure that you know "lucky people," those people for whom everything seems to go right. I know them too, and this book tells you their secrets.

It turns out that luck is not a fortuitous chance but rather a set of rules that you can implement to become more lucky yourself. I love this book and the four rules it gives on how to become more lucky in your life. My paraphrased short version of these rules are: maximize your chance opportunities, expect good things to happen, turn your bad luck into good luck, and listen to your gut.

I love this book, and if you want to have more good luck in your life and career, you will, too.

By Richard Wiseman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Luck Factor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Luck Factor: The Four Essential Principles [Paperback] by Wiseman, Richard


You might also like...

Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Ethan Chorin Author Of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Story-lover Middle East expert Curious Iconoclast Optimist

Ethan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of citations and interviews with more than 250 key protagonists, experts, and witnesses.

So far, the book is the main -- and only -- antidote to a slew of early partisan “Benghazi” polemics, and the first to put the attack in its longer term historical, political, and social context. If you want to understand some of the events that have shaped present-day America, from political polarization and the election of Donald Trump, to January 6, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russian expansionism, and the current Israel-Hamas war, I argue, you need to understand some of the twists and turns of America's most infamous "non-scandal, scandal.”

I was in Benghazi well before, during, and after the attack as a US diplomat and co-director of a medical NGO. I have written three books, and have been a contributor to The NYT, Foreign Affairs, Forbes, Salon, The Financial Times, Newsweek, and others.

By Ethan Chorin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On September 11, 2012, Al Qaeda proxies attacked and set fire to the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing a US Ambassador and three other Americans.  The attack launched one of the longest and most consequential 'scandals' in US history, only to disappear from public view once its political value was spent. 

Written in a highly engaging narrative style by one of a few Western experts on Libya, and decidely non-partisan, Benghazi!: A New History is the first to provide the full context for an event that divided, incited, and baffled most of America for more than three years, while silently reshaping…


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