Conversational, easy to consume and well-packaged, with an infectious passion for selling that makes for an enjoyable,...
A top salesman shares his success strategies in this compact, nicely crafted volume.
Milstein (17 Cents & a Dream, 2013, etc.) is a leading loan officer and CEO of Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group, a national mortgage lending company. He attributes much of his success to his sales ability, and in this breezy book, he lays out his formula for achieving superstar-salesperson status. The book is clearly designed with the busy salesperson in mind; it has short chapters, plenty of bulleted points and clever cartoon illustrations to break up the text. The work is also liberally dosed with “Sales Pro Tips.” For some readers, these snippets of helpful advice may prove to be most valuable. “If no formal measurement for sales success exists for your industry, create your own,” writes Milstein in one tip called “Build Your Yardstick.” In another, he advises a bold idea: “[B]e a proactive mystery shopper by contacting the competition directly. You can ask them how they are different.” The sidebar “25+2 Ways to Enhance Your Sales Performance” could well become an experienced salesperson’s cheat sheet for how to rise above the rest. The tips themselves are probably reason enough for any salesperson, experienced or not, to add Street Smart Selling to a must-read list. The text is no less inviting, although weaving sales-war stories together with how-to advice isn’t new. Once in a while, readers may get the feeling Milstein is shilling for his company. He writes, for instance, about Gold Star’s hiring and training program and, later, about its methods for making new customers feel welcome. Still, the potentially self-congratulatory examples aren’t without their relevance. Given the overabundance of books on selling, it is exceedingly difficult to say something new; while Milstein’s effort does not entirely break through the morass, salespeople will likely appreciate the authentic battle-tested advice offered by such a skilled professional.
Conversational, easy to consume and well-packaged, with an infectious passion for selling that makes for an enjoyable, uplifting read.Pub Date: July 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0983552772
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Gold Star Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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