THERE'S NO BUSINESS WITHOUT THE SHOW

Nebraska radio-show host and one-time fertilizer salesman Becka reflects on how celebrities transformed themselves from wannabes to household names–and encourages salespeople to steal their tricks.

According to Becka, salespeople can learn everything about sealing deals by observing Hollywood. The parallel isn’t a far stretch. After all, successful sales pitches often require some acting chops. The book (separated into three acts) has the fluidity of a well-written play, offering entertaining anecdotes from Salma Hayek, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and other celebrities who toughed it out on their road to stardom. Judging by these celebs, it seems that all it takes to thrive in sales is a cool website, adoring fans, funny stories, maybe a nickname (sorry, “The Rock” and “The Donald” are already taken) and yes, some integrity. Each act of the book describes a different success story, with the climax being a sale. Per Becka, attitude and self image are everything, and if salespeople pick a role and play it well, they’re likely to make the deal. The self-help continues with exercises–readers are encouraged to audition for plays or pick up the mike at a local karaoke joint. They’re also instructed to find their niche and stand out among the crowd. The book cites Tinseltown luminaries who triumphed over adversity, including Tom Cruise (a star despite his lack of height) and the blind Ray Charles. While Hollywood celebrates vanity, film can evoke sincere emotion–similarly, a good sales pitch can inspire. Becka also emphasizes the importance of evolving and adapting. Rodney Dangerfield never complained about the old days of comedy when the cable-TV scene exploded in the 1980s. Instead, he evolved with the times, and is used as a prime example of success by Becka. However, any good salesperson will know that they shouldn’t stick to the same formula. In this sense, the book functions more as a self-help tome for the masses than a sales how-to for established pros.

Comedic soul searching and inspiration for those who don’t want to stick to a script.