9 videos every salesperson should watch

The best videos for salespeople are not always sales videos. These nine free TED talks teach the skills underneath good selling: how to listen, how people make decisions, how to keep an offer simple, how to speak with authority and how to cope with rejection and stress. Each one is under 22 minutes.

Watch one a week, and after each, write down one thing you will change in your next call, demo or email.

1. Celeste Headlee: 10 ways to have a better conversation

Length: about 11 minutes, recorded 2015. Watch on TED

Radio host Celeste Headlee shares ten rules for better conversations, starting with "don't multitask" and "don't pontificate". Her third rule is the one every salesperson should practise: use open-ended questions that start with who, what, when, where, why or how.

Sales lesson: a discovery call is a conversation, not a pitch. Be fully present, ask open questions and listen more than you talk.

2. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Length: about 18 minutes, recorded 2009. Watch on TED

Simon Sinek introduces his "golden circle": why, how and what. His argument is that people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it, and that inspiring organizations communicate from the inside out.

Sales lesson: lead with the problem you solve and why it matters before you list features. Customers remember purpose more easily than specifications.

3. Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation

Length: about 18 minutes, recorded 2009. Watch on TED

Career analyst Dan Pink uses experiments such as the candle problem to show that traditional "if you do this, you get that" rewards often fail for creative, non-routine work. He argues for three intrinsic motivators instead: autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Sales lesson: this talk is useful twice. For yourself and for sales managers, it explains why commission alone does not keep good people engaged. For buyers, it is a reminder that discounts are not the only lever. Showing progress and purpose can move a decision too.

4. David Pogue: Simplicity sells

Length: about 21 minutes, recorded 2006. Watch on TED

Technology columnist David Pogue takes aim at confusing product design and shows examples of products that get simplicity right. Yes, he also sings.

Sales lesson: complexity kills deals. Strip your demo, proposal and pricing down to what the buyer needs to decide.

5. Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier

Length: about 16 minutes, recorded 2011. Watch on TED

Researcher Sheena Iyengar describes her well-known jam study. In a store, more shoppers stopped at a tasting table with 24 jams than at one with six, but only about 3% of those who stopped at the 24-jam table bought a jar, against about 30% at the six-jam table. She offers four techniques to reduce choice overload: cut, concretize, categorize and condition for complexity.

Later research suggests choice overload depends on the situation, for example when buyers have no clear preference and no option stands out. That fits sales well: when a buyer is unsure, too many options stall the deal.

Sales lesson: do not present every plan and add-on. Recommend one or two options that fit the buyer's needs, and explain the difference in plain terms.

6. Julian Treasure: How to speak so that people want to listen

Length: about 10 minutes, recorded 2013. Watch on TED

Sound expert Julian Treasure lists "seven deadly sins of speaking", including gossip, judging, negativity, complaining, excuses and dogmatism. He offers four foundations instead, which spell HAIL: honesty, authenticity, integrity and love. He then shows how register, pace, pitch and volume change how you are heard.

Sales lesson: on calls and video meetings, how you sound matters as much as what you say. Slow down, vary your tone and never badmouth a competitor.

7. Jia Jiang: What I learned from 100 days of rejection

Length: about 15 minutes, recorded 2015. Watch on TED

Jia Jiang went looking for rejection for 100 days, with requests from borrowing $100 from a stranger to asking for a "burger refill". He found that rejection hurt less each time, and that simply asking often got a yes he did not expect.

Sales lesson: rejection is part of the job, not a verdict on you. Ask for the meeting, the next step or the deal, and when the answer is no, ask what would need to change.

8. Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend

Length: about 14 minutes, recorded 2013. Watch on TED

Psychologist Kelly McGonigal argues that how you think about stress changes how it affects you, and that reaching out to others is a natural way to recover from it.

Sales lesson: quota pressure, end-of-quarter pushes and big presentations are stressful. Treating the racing heart as your body getting ready, and talking to colleagues instead of withdrawing, helps you perform under pressure.

9. Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work

Length: about 10 minutes, recorded 2010. Watch on TED

Author and marketer Nigel Marsh argues that work-life balance is too important to leave to your employer. He describes what a balanced day could look like and why small, daily choices matter more than big gestures.

Sales lesson: sales can take over your evenings and weekends. Burned-out sellers do not sell well. Protect time for family, health and rest, and plan it like you plan your pipeline.

What else should salespeople learn from?

Videos are a quick start. For depth, read our lists of the best sales books of all time and the best sales podcasts, and see which qualities make a good sales rep. For hands-on skills, our guides to relationship selling techniques and tips for cold calling put these ideas into practice.