You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself (Warner Business)

You, Inc. is really a great book. There is both good news and bad news about the book. It is extremely easy to read. You simply fly through the book. Which is good and bad. The lessons are so short and there are so many of them, it makes it difficult to absorb and remember all the great information.But it is a book that you can pick up anytime and start reading anywhere in the book and find something valuable. All the lessons stand on their own. Harry presents over 150 ideas and lessons about how to make your business and/or yourself better.If you are familiar with his other best selling works, "Selling the Invisible" and "What Client's Love", you will feel very comfortable with this book. (If you have not read these two book, I highly recommend them.)As you read the book, you will find yourself saying, "I know that." But as Harry instructs there is a huge difference between knowing and doing. And all too often, we think because we know, we do. As Beckwith points out, that is simply not the case.Christine Beckwith, Harry's wife, contributes to the book. Her writing is a lot more personal and touching.Harry gives a lot of insight into why we do the things we do. The book is filled with very valuable information and should be read ever so often as a refresher or reminder to do the things we know.Well worth reading ... two or three times per year.

If after reading a book you can walk away with just one view point or idea that inspires or enlightens, the book has succeeded. The Beckwiths do this time and again, delivering smart lessons in easily digestable sound bites. In this book, they shine a light on their own wisdom which has informed their own style. First, they aptly point out that everyone has to master the job of selling. Whenever you have to get the attention of someone, get them to understand and then get them to respond, you are selling. Sometimes you want to do that proactively and sometimes you have to do that just to be who you are, or as they say, "Some people will undervalue you. Make a plan to set them right."When selling, you are not competing against others necessarily, but against distraction and stereotyping among other influences. Given that, the Beckwiths' very own style -- presenting captivating stories which consider by-necessity short attention spans -- demonstrates how to communicate in a way which sticks. Some of the other lessons on dressing and communicating are pretty fundamental. But all the other lessons stitched together create a message with heart: "if you are selling yourself, you are selling your spirit."

The title was a bit of a turn off, but I liked Selling the Invisible and gave this a shot. Its a solid reminder of attributes that successful people have. Much of the advice is on the habits and activities that help you connect with others. They are substantive enough and presented in Beckwith's breezy but memorable writing style so that most anyone in business will benefit from reading this. There are a few points that seem shallow, but Beckwith addresses them candidly, and tries to provide advice based on integrity, not shallow manipulation. And let's face it, impressions sometimes are made in 30 seconds or less. So if some of what is here doesn't go as deep as we would like, we may have only ourselves to blame.

The author has a lot of advice and many many small stories. But the book lacks structure and sometimes is contradictory. For instance you are advised to be special ie not a "stereotype" and in other sections to live up to a perceived stereotype to sell more! And the book like many American books is too long and this gets repetitive and boring as you all know. Cut 150 pages and give it more structure then it is a decent book.

A fast-paced, quick hitting collection of tidbits that can spur some great change. Most of the book contains some good tips for being a better you and with its pace, the book can be read quickly. This will give you time to make things actionable. I really liked the chapters about being grateful and vulnerable to the sales process. In short, this is a book that is a very good pick-me-up for leaders and salespeople.

The book is definitely worth reading.It's pretty good, however I don't think its only about selling oneself. It's much about more than that. To a degree it is about good common sense which people somewhat lack today.Each concept is briefly explained, typically over one or two pages. This is both a strength and a weakness - it gives the reader the highlights of many very important concepts in a nutshell; on the other hand, sometimes the message is not quite clear.Read it! :-)

Nice and brief reading. Some ideas of everyday wisdom we all practice, but at the same time an innovative way to implement them. I enjoyed reading it.

Filled with tidbits on how to be a better business person, and person overall. Because it isn't a continual story-line, it is very easy to forget some of the points identified in there.

I can't remember what led me to buy this book, but I am glad that I did. It contains loads of inspiring stories that can help budding entrepreneurs on their quest to success. It has various chapters that are aptly titled and enough humour to get you reading it again and again. It's worth having in your library.

Great book. Very useful

Great book. Great ideas. Thanks. John.

As expected

This book was amazing for me. It's about so very much more than selling. It's about listening and knowing, to yourself, and to others. It's about believing in your heart and your values. It's about giving of yourself as the best selling tool you have. It's about building relationships.The authors write from personal experience and always demonstrate one of their main concepts that contribute to success in selling, they relate their experiences to your needs.. well, they did for me, and I believe they would for you as well. They seem to understand the human condition and speak directly from their hearts to ours. The writing is flawless and very easy to read, almost conversational.The concepts are all illustrated clearly and well inter-connected. The best books on this topic I've read, so far.Jim Stovall recommended to read this book and I am so happy to pass that excellent recommendation forward.Wishing you success, good luck, and good reading.M.