The best books on sales, marketing, neuromarketing, and persuasion

Patrick Renvoise Author Of The Persuasion Code
By Patrick Renvoise

Who am I?

Patrick Renvoise is an award-winning author, international speaker, trainer, and C-level coach. He pioneered the field of NeuroMarketing which is based on a scientific understanding of how humans use their brains to make buying decisions. Over the last two decades and by teaching how to reach the Primal Brain of their customers, Patrick has been helping over 2,000 companies to achieve more growth, including many fortune 500 companies – Airbus, Microsoft, Prudential, Volvo, GE, Epson, Siemens, Hitachi and many more. Since March 2020, and because of Covid19, Patrick has created new neuromarketing programs optimizing how executives can deliver convincing presentations using virtual platforms.

I wrote...

The Persuasion Code

By Patrick Renvoise, Christophe Morin

Book cover of The Persuasion Code

What is my book about?

Based on the seminal work of Daniel Kahneman, the book presents the ONLY scientific yet simple, step-by-step approach to persuasion. First, the book demonstrates the dominance of the primal brain (system 1) and how this brain can only be triggered by six stimuli -Personal, Contrastable, Tangible, Memorable, Visual, Emotional. The book explains how the stimuli require that companies follow four steps to achieve persuasion: Diagnose the Pain, Differentiate their Claims, Demonstrate the Gain, and Deliver to the Primal Brain. The entire model called NeuroMap® is presented visually. The book also includes 32 real-world business cases.

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The Books I Picked & Why

Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman

Book cover of Thinking, Fast and Slow

Why this book?

Warning: This is a great book but not an easy read! Professor Kahneman taught psychology to Ph.D students at Princeton. His research work got him the Economic Nobel prize in 2002 to discover that the brain of homo sapiens contains two brains: the fast (but limited if not stupid) system 1 or the primal brain, the slow (but smart) system 2 or the rational brain.

His research states that “System 1 still rules today”. According to Kahneman, "Probably Approximately Correct" is the driving norm of human decision-making. His work lead to the development of a new scientific branch called “behavioral economics” or “neuro-economics. His book teaches profound lessons for anybody in business, sales, marketing, parenting, education, etc. It is a fascinating but complex (at times very complex if not irritating) book you will love or hate. You’ve been warned!

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

By Robert B. Cialdini

Book cover of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Why this book?

In this easy to read book Cialdini-- who taught at Arizona State U.-- unveils 6 laws of influence or persuasion: reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and social proof. In a clear and to-the-point format, Cialdini explains his findings using scientific but always accessible explanations. A great book that contains many nuggets for marketing and sales professionals.

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Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

By Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein

Book cover of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Why this book?

Thaler (2017 Economy Nobel recipient) was a student of Kahneman. 15 years after his teacher he also received the Nobel prize. In this book about improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness Thaler presents how to shape choices using the newly discovered laws of irrationality, or choice shaping. Although not as complete and detailed as Thinking fast and slow, the book is a lot easier to read. Similar to Stephen Hawkins who wrote A Brief History Of Time without a single equation, this is the book for people who want an introduction to the subject… without the headaches!

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Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

By Dan Ariely

Book cover of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Why this book?

When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're making smart, rational choices. But after reading this book you may self-devaluate your own IQ by 50 points!

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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

By Yuval Noah Harari

Book cover of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Why this book?

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Every page captivated me with simple, accurate yet entertaining explanations of why we ended up doing what we do and being who we are. Starting 70,000 years ago the book reconsiders through biology, psychology, and history all the milestones that brought our species to today. It even considers what we should do now for a better future. This book is to understanding Homo Sapiens what A Brief History Of Time is to understanding the universe!

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