This is a follow-up to Joe’s wildly successful “How to Sell Anything.” In so many ways, it’s much more of what most would call a self-help, not sales, book. I think we can all agree that carrying oneself with a confident, assured, and positive attitude is imperative in sales. It also happens to help in the rest of life, which, when we think about it, requires us to become self-made men and women (silver-spooners excepted). So, in that light, maybe it is a “sales” book after all. That’s Joe’s point.

Check out Joe’s discussion of the two most powerful words: faith and fear (pp. 45-57). He gives examples from his life and an insightful one involving George Eastman and a brownie. Norman Vincent Peale also offers his thoughts. Fascinating stuff.

Other tidbits I found very interesting included Joe’s discussion of the importance of using “move-forward” words (p. 106) and the need to use short words, citing none other than Winston Churchill (p. 110).

In the end, you have to do whatever it takes to create and use that confidence and attitude that it takes to sell yourself. That’s what matters. The tips and inspiration from this book will no doubt help a lot of people, and that’s why I recommend this book.

Rating: 5 / 5

Say it ain’t so Joe (Disappointing)

“Chances are you have seen and read a lot of other books, books that promise to give you the ‘secrets,’ the magic, the inspiration. You probably know a lot about how to hype yourself by looking in the mirror every morning and repeating certain phrases to yourself… and some other magical-power expressions and attitude builders…But let’s face it. What you want to know is how to sell real products and services now. And most of those authors never sold much in their lives except their books.” The above quote is from the first page of Joe Girard’s book “How to Sell Anything to Anybody”. The impression you get is that Joe is a straight shooter and he’s going to tell you about real strategies that will really help you sell, not some touchy-feely self-help garbage, and he comes through. However, the same cannot be said of “How to Sell Yourself”.

Now remember the quip about looking in the mirror, he doesn’t explicitly ridicule the practice, but it’s implied, and it’s almost like a joke between you and Joe where he’s saying “Yes that’s all fine and good for them, but we know better”. So, imagine my surprise when he advocates in his “How to Sell Yourself Book” that you “Put up a little card where you can see it every day, a card that says I am Number One. Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself I am my own best salesperson” (pg. 26). Say it ain’t so Joe. Tell me you didn’t just say that. Tell me you didn’t just suggest such a pathetic and ridiculous thing. Needless to say, I stopped reading the book right there. If that’s the sort of advice you are looking for then maybe this is the book for you, but I was looking for something that wasn’t psycho-babble self-help garbage. Why did I buy the book then? Because I read Joe’s “How to Sell Anything to Anybody” and was sold on his straight shooting, practical advice. I thought his next book might have some more interesting or valuable things to say; however, I was disappointed. It comes across as ungenuine. The impression is that someone offered Joe a truckload of cash to write another book, and even though he didn’t have much else to say after his first book, he agreed and this book is the result.

So, I’d definitely recommend Joe’s “How to Sell Anything Book” but I can’t recommend this book.

Rating: 1 / 5