Good counsel, solid and concise, and not just for selling.
The latest in lawyer and investment adviser Solin’s (The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read, 2009) Smartest series, this one geared to improving sales.
Solin seems to stretch the definition of sales to its broadest limits by suggesting that lawyers are, in essence, salespeople. Don’t many lawyers depend on reputation, referrals and success in past cases? This claim aside, and despite the highly readable book’s brassy title, Solin says that a healthy sense of limitations is more likely to bring sales success than unbounded, often unfounded self-confidence. Studies show, he says, that people with slightly lower self-esteem prepare better and are less prone to the perils of overconfidence. He savagely debunks self-help gurus who preach that visualizing success will magically make it happen. That’s hokum, he opines. There’s no substitute for the hard labor needed to get to the top or anywhere near it, and many at the top are only there due to the fact that they worked harder and longer. Solin makes all his points with wonderful clarity and bolsters them with references to studies and reports, ending most chapters with a “What’s the Point?” box that summarizes the preceding material so there can be no doubt about what he’s trying to convey. His holistic approach seems to transcend the mere improvement of sales; since, as studies show, happier people are better salespeople, the author whizzes through what it takes to be a happier, more relaxed and effective human being. Convinced by research he did for the book that a secular form of meditation is relaxing and focusing, he awards the subject an entire chapter. Elsewhere, he emphasizes the crucial importance of empathy and making an emotional connection with customers. In his mind, successful salespeople are never data-dumping pitchmen, but rather question-askers and careful listeners who refrain from interrupting; they couch all they say with extreme sensitivity for what their prospective customers want out of the deal. Practicing empathy, Solin says, not only improves a salesperson’s ability to execute this sales technique, but makes for overall personal happiness.
Good counsel, solid and concise, and not just for selling.Pub Date: March 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-0986047800
Page Count: 277
Publisher: Silvercloud Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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