Book Title: How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success

Author: Frank Bettger

Genre: Personal Development

Sub-Topics: Sales, Relationships, Courage

Rating: Must Read

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How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success In Selling by Frank Bettger chilled me to the bone on many occasions.  Packed with fundamental relationship and sales knowledge this book is a must read for anyone in sales, customer service, etc.  In reality, everyone is selling at some point in time, rather it be interviewing for a job or courting a spouse, we all could benefit from learning how to sell ourselves better.  That is exactly what this book teaches.

A Period Piece

One of my favorite parts about this book, is that since it was written in the 1940’s a lot of the examples and terminology is grossly out of context with today.  This however adds to the character of the book and makes it quite enjoyable to read.  From talking about his haberdasher to the fact that he always carries change in his pocket to make phone calls, Frank Bettger takes us back in time to a place where true salesmanship was requirement for success.  Free from, spam emails, junk mail auto-dialers and the internet, Frank walks through his life story in sales and does so in a charismatic and educational way.

Fundamentals

The book is a must read because the fundamentals in relationship building and sales are paramount.  It covers the basic stuff from enthusiasm, smiling, dressing well and asking questions and also the more deep themes such as personal character resolution, candid listening and honesty.  The book rounds itself off with Frank Bettger’s adaption of Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Subjects.  The core of the book focuses around these deep character based virtues as Franklin is mentioned many times in the book as one of Bettger’s morale idols.

 
Rather you are an old school or new school salesman, saleswomen or person simply looking to learn you will find much of what is covered to be somewhat of a reminder.  These reminders are however presented in a way and colored in with stories that help them to be more memorable and powerful.  I highly recommend this book to leaders of all ages and scope of influence.

Favorite Quotes

• “Enthusiasm is by far the highest paid quality on earth, probably because it is one of the rarest; yet it is one of the most contagious.”

• “Without records, we have no way of knowing what we are doing wrong.”

• “Selling is the easiest job in the world if you work it hard – but the hardest job in the world if you try to work it easy.”

• “All the leaders and successful men I’ve ever met have had courage and self-confidence, and most of them, I notice, are able to express themselves convincingly.”

• “I think we’ve got to cut ourselves out to be whatever we want to be.”

• “…in the long run, I know that tricks are a losing game in any business.  Nothing will take the place of complete honesty, first, last and all the time!”

• “Do you ever catch yourself thinking about what you’re going to say, rather than listening attentively?  I found that when I wasn’t listening to a man attentively, I got my facts confused, lost tract of the main issue, and frequently came to wrong conclusions!”

• “I have traveled all over the country attending sales meetings and clinics.  At those meetings, I’ve always noticed that the leaders are men who know their business.”

• “I shall never again want anything I’m not entitled to; it costs too much!”

• “Being really interested in people has been of great help to me in opening up many warm and lasting friendships.”

• “I discovered that a worried, sour expression brought results that were just about infallible-an unwelcome audience and failure.”

• “The truth of it is, I may not know whether he needs what I am selling.  So the purpose of an appointment is merely for a discussion.”

• “The crowd loves a good loser; everybody despises a quitter.”

• “Failures mean nothing at all if success comes eventually.”

• “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the conquest of it.”

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How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling (See all Business Skills Books)