After an injury that ended his baseball career, Frank Bettger decided to be a salesman. The going was tough. His conversion rate was low and he questioned if he had what it took to make it. He then started learning directly from the best salesman, and over the course of decades, became one of the best. In this book, he shares all the tips that helped him become a self-made salesman.

“The best way I ever found to help overcome fear and rapidly develop courage and self-confidence is by speaking before groups. I discovered that when I lost my fear of speaking to audiences, I lost my fear of talking to individuals.”

Short chapters give you a nice motivating kick in the ass. Advice includes the simple (plan a schedule) to the complex (word-for-word strategy on closing deals). The main issue with the book is that it’s dated. You may have to make adjustments to apply its face-to-face methods with today’s digital environment.

“The most important secret of salesmanship is to find out what the other fellow wants, then help him find the best way to get it.”

The above quote may seem obvious but many men don’t apply it. When I first meet a girl, I ask her straight-up what she wants in a man, and then in the following hours I will deliver the part of me that best matches her needs. If she wants a relationship, I’ll put out a provider vibe. If she wants fun, I’ll be more aggressive and energized.

One tip of Bettger’s that I’ve inadvertently used is finding out why a person isn’t buying. If you merely ask “Why?”, a person may give a reason that is not the real one. Bettger says you should dig in by saying, “In addition to that, isn’t there something else in the back of your mind?” If you don’t find out the real reason, you can’t give good counters that may change minds. Doing this with women has taught me that oftentimes the reason they don’t want to come over is because they’re on their period, not because they don’t want to have sex.

“When a salesman stops making enough calls, frequently the real reason is that he has lost interest and enthusiasm for his own sales story.”

“Prospecting is like shaving… if you don’t do something about it every day, first thing you know, you’ll be a bum.”

This book reminded me that most modern self-help is derivative from older books and that the best ways of selling or living or making money hasn’t really changed. While this book won’t hold your hand for selling in the 21st century, it does provide a variety of social engineering tips that you can add to your repertoire.

Read More: “How I Raised Myself” on Amazon

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