You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself

by Harry Beckwith, Christine Clifford Beckwith, Martin Ruben (Reading)

In You, Inc. Beckwith provides practical tips, anecdotes and insights based on his 30 years of marketing and selling his advertising services. Beckwith learned early on in his career that no matter what product you're selling, the most important component of the product is you. In You, A Field Guide to Selling Yourself , Beckwith relates tantalizing tidbits and real stories of how to harness your enthusiasm with an ability to impress your key accounts.Written in his traditional homespun style, Beckwith offers doses of humour and pithy knowledge to anyone who wants to seal the deal and thrive in business.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Leadership, Psychology, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Harry Beckwith heads Beckwith Partners, a marketing firm that advises twenty-three Fortune 200 clients and dozens of venture-capitalized start-ups on branding and positioning. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford, Beckwith is an internationally acclaimed speaker. He is the bestselling author of five books, which, collectively, have been translated into twenty-three languages.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most impressive thing about this book is the punctuation of the title. In a modern day book title, one rarely sees a comma, a period, and a colon.

From this title, you might infer that this is a book about how prostitutes can form corporate business entities. That would have been a better book. Instead, You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself is basically a rehash of Dale Carneige and of everyone who, to date, has rehashed him.

This book was thoroughly so-so. It consists of short one- or two-page "chapters" with a snippet of advice on how to, I guess, improve your salesmanship. The advice consists of warmed-over generalities. For instance, did you know that it is important to listen (I mean really listen) to your customers? Did you know that it was important to treat the support-staff with respect? Did you know that it was important to avoid talking down to your readers?...oops.

[Michael Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

ebook: https://goo.gl/VSNSMm
goodreads: https://goo.gl/P0tNkR

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The first thing you sell is yourself.

People "buy" optimists because they enjoy their company. Attitude sells.

People value - and pay more for - the way you make them feel. People buy "feelings".

What is your specialty?

To truly thrive, learn what makes you uncomfortable.

Be grateful for your strengths, but work on your weaknesses. Your strengths will take you only as far as your weaknesses will allow.

Seek tough love.

People do not gather data to make a decision; they often gather it to justify their decision.

The first thing to plan for is your first impression.

Keep reading, keep listening, keep learning.

The future belongs to the communicators.

Simplify and clarify. Communicate so that you cannot be misunderstood.

Pros focus not just on words, but silence. A pause give the listener and chance to breathe. Watch your white space, silence talks.

Be careful in complimenting yourself.

Tell stories.

Put the audience, not you, in the story's hero's shoes.

Your key sentence in every presentation is your first.

Find your message, keep it simple, and repeat it often.

Revise every memo, then revise it again. Read it out loud and ask, "How can this be said more succinctly?" Brevity is power. Cut every document in half. Read everything you write aloud.

Listening makes you captivating. People speak too much and listen too little. We mistrust words, but we trust - and we praise - listeners. Listen - actively and often - always.

Before you speak, take one second.

We do not remember words well. We remember images.

Put your entire body into it.

A great presentation must be motivational. A poor teacher describes; a good teacher explains; an excellent teacher demonstrates; a great teacher inspires. Great presentations are not intellectual; they are spiritual. Don't impress them; move them.

Look them in the eyes. Constantly.

In speaking, as in so many things in life, less is more.

Speak for 22 minutes. Keep it short. Don't just make it brief. Make if a little briefer.

Let your jokes be on you.

Reach the head through the heart.

Honor each person's craving to feel important. We want to feel loved, no matter how well we hide it. Make the person feel important.

Before you do anything else, make the other person comfortable. A relationship starts with comfort.

Reply quickly. Do everything fast.

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Be a source. If your problem falls outside those areas, we will help you find the person for that issue.

Get on to common ground, and praise other not yourself.

Before you meet, and in the first seconds after you do, find common ground.

To establish common ground, mimic your listener's pace.

If you're not five minutes early, you're five minutes late. Always, on time.

Above all, people choose the reliable. Be there.

Bot the "I's". Not everyone does.

Be predicable.

You tend to experience what you believe you will. Belief works.

Life is not what you make it. It is how you take it.

First rule: make yourself uncomfortable. Push - if it hurts, good!

Believe. Your clients will act as if they have no choice but to agree. Don't be merely confident; be certain.

People aren't rational. They choose the tiny over the huge; so sweat the tiny stuff.

There is no such thing as too grateful or too appreciative. Thank people unforgettably.

Never talk politics nor religion.

Keep every secret.

Admit a weakness.

Always be fair. The rewards come and the penalties are huge.

Praise often; flatter - never.

Beware of playing the role of the tough guy.

Prove yourself with your price.

Follow up within a day.

[Tiff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frankly, I feel like this is a must-read for anyone starting and/or running their own business. It's applicable to birth work, and not a lot of resources really are.

The chapters are short (some are only a sentence), easy to read and process, and have a high take-away value. I really appreciated the frank, succinct, and conversational tone of this book. It isn't any longer than it needs to be, but it lacks nothing in the way of inspiration and information.

Since it was written recently, it also has some good applications for modern business owners.

Overall, I came away with some practical things I can start doing right now, today, to better my business. For a book that seems primarily inspirational and motivational, it has a lot of practical application! It's not a "how-to" manual, by any means. It is, however, an excellent source of the right road to take in business. Not a map, exactly, since a map shows your destination. It's more like a great set of road signs, easily understandable, and clearly written.

I checked this book out at the library on a recommendation, and I plan to buy it for my personal library. That's how much it impressed me.

[Henry Manampiring · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty good. Simple short lessons. Recommended if you are in sales or service industry.

[Loy Machedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loy Machedo’s Book Review – You, Inc.

When I was a young man, the first book I got my hands on was the Bible. Now for those of you who are spiritual enthusiasts, well, you may rejoice at this fact. Others may smile with the peace knowing that yes, I may be blessed and will get my seat heaven.

But on the other hand for the non-spiritual or non-Christian community, this piece of information would be meaningless.

The Good News (no pun intended) of reading the Bible – It improved my ability to read, my thirst for knowledge, the desire to become a good story teller and yes, a fundamental fear of a Christian sky god, whom I would occasionally remember when it was time for getting Christmas gifts or Easter Eggs (or for that matter when I wanted to pass in my exam or get lucky with a girl in my school).

Today, thanks to the teachings of this brilliant piece of literature, I am an atheist. But apart from that particular contribution to my life, I do not think the principles mentioned in any of the pages contributed that very much to my career or personal growth.

Why do I say this?

I am not using any of those war-stories or witty one liners in either my personal or professional life.

But here is the twist.

If I could go back in time and hand myself a book that I personally believe would make a big change in life, both personally, professionally and yeah, spiritually – You, Inc. would be that book.

You, Inc.—written by the husband and wife team of Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith, parents of six - is composed of around 300 pages with around 275 chapters. (Can you believe this? There were no markings as to how many chapters there were in this book! So I actually counted the number of chapters in this book!!!) And each and every chapter is so beautifully adorned with the wisdom and wit of the ages, that once you begin reading it, it becomes like an addictive chocolate.

The uniqueness of this book is that is it so compelling, so captivating and so condensed, you cannot but want to read this book once you get your hands on it. In fact, one of the greatest features about this book is that you can turn any chapter and read it without reading the preceding chapters – And it would still make sense!

Seriously, I do not wish to give away any of the nuggets in this book for free because I believe this is one book worth keeping and giving to whomsoever you love.

So, If there was a book which I feel whose practical application can change a person for the better, both personally, professionally and spiritually with tips that are easy to adopt, adept and administer, this would be among the top of my list.

One of those rare kind of books which you would want to keep at an arms reach, just in case you would want to brag or share tit-bits of wisdom that can amaze your audience and add a warm feeling of realization to your life.

Overall Rating
A perfect 10 out of 10.

Loy Machedo
loymachedo.com

[Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful. Beckwith's creative, clear, and compassionate voice, as well as Clifford's vast array of anecdotal stories combine to make a "career book" into a real joy. Chapters are short and concise, one or two pages long, and the font is large! This is great because it makes ideas quickly accessible and gives more time for reflection, it also makes it one of those books you can keep on your desk and return to daily to look up a new positive habit to practice. I read this book right as my job search was starting and it really helped me to level my head and feel comfortable in myself as a potential employee when facing career fairs and interviews. I also connected with Mr. Beckwith and Ms. Clifford on Linkedin shortly after reading the book and sent them both InMail's telling them how helpful their book has been for me...their responses were absolutely wonderful and inspiring! Great book written by good people, and applicable to any career person at any stage of life.

[Laurissa Larimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good.

[Chrisanne]

Did not finish. May, at some point.

[Imaculate Mosha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was eye opening, the second half was ok, loved the stories though!

[Mike Ly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took me 10 months to finish

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful, but not groundbreaking, advice on selling yourself. It's often unconventional and nonconformist. Like Beckwith's other books that I've read, this one is based more on his experience and opinions than research. The content is quite similar to What Clients Love, which Beckwith published 4 years earlier.

Notes
Good salespeople sell themselves, their company, then their product, then talk about price (how little it will cost to have benefit). Bad salespeople go in opposite order.

You can only improve your strengths so much, and usually not enough for people to notice. But people notice your weaknesses, so work on them. Your strengths will take you only as far as your weaknesses will allow.

Don't try to think outside your box. It has worked for you. Instead, expand your box by bringing new ideas into it.

People base trust more on ability to communicate then on credentials.

Telling a story that tells your prospects how you can help them is more powerful than listing your capabilities or credentials. Show how your client overcame their challenges. Tell stories that make your clients the heroes, and make your prospects identify with them. They will see how you can help them.

First rule of sales and marketing: you are who you appear to be.

Pause one second before answering, so the other person knows you heard them, rather than race to reply.

What clients value
An association of professionals surveyed over 300 clients about what they valued most:
1. Interest in long-term relationship
2. Speed of response (didn't matter if professional could answer client's question in this response)
3-7. Other attributes
8. Technical skills
9. Fees

Clients remember companies that refer to others when they can't help.

People don't want to hear how good you are. They want to hear how good they can be with your help.

People choose the reliable performer in a market.

The key to successful relationships is predictability consistency

People buy from people they like, because they like the salesperson's heart (spirit, enthusiasm, warmth), not their head (intelligence, persuasiveness).

To overcome the coldness of the call, overcome the recipient's stereotype of you. Before or early in the call, say or do something to show you don't fit the stereotype.

Admit weaknesses and mistakes, and people will perceive you as honest and trustworthy.

When you lose a deal, send a note thanking the prospect for considering you, and offering to be available if things change. In 2 months, remind them that you're there to help.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book twice, and love it so much that now I'm listening to the audio book!

[Dave Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely shows its age, both in the references and some of the ideas around gender and style. There are however many good points in the book. In many cases, people say that business or self-improvement books could have just been an essay. This book feels like a collection of essays or small blog posts, pushed together into a book.

There are anecdotes, stories, and lessons strewn throughout, almost haphazardly. I feel like a lot of them are off-base, but they do read quick and can therefore be quickly discarded. The book was written for a time, and timing, before the age of social media and its madcap dash through daily life. It comes from an era of 12 minute TV intervals, as opposed to the 6 to 30 second intervals of today. In some ways, this is a charm and in others, it is out of touch.

I feel like this is a book in dire need of update. I feel like some self-help guru could rewrite this into a dozen books, it is so packed with different stories around how to conduct yourself in the world of business, but package it for a post-2020 world.

Favourite lesson: To get the right help, ask the right questions. When presenting any ideas, go over them with someone before hand. An example given in the book "I think this might work, but I value your opinion, what might work even better?".

I doubt I would read this again, simply because I do think the lessons are from a different era. It would be like taking business etiquette lessons from Don Draper and applying them to todays climate. Not wrong perhaps, but from a different time. Still, I will come back and read specific portions that struck me.

[Dries Ketels · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is going to be fairly short. I've read the whole book and although found some nice insights and rules of thumb that I will use throughout my next 70 years of life. I did found that the author was lacking in credibility. Almost non of the claims the author made where backed up and several of the claims he made where simply wrong. Here's one of them:

The author claims that one of the most common first words of babies is "Story". He adds that this is true for every continent and all ethnicity's. He claims this to validate his point of view on how important stories are for communication and how babies (and therefore people in general) learn through stories. Although I do agree on the importance of stories. After my own research (google search) I found that the word "story" is not even in the '100 most common first words' that babies use. There are to many obvious little lies like this throughout this book. The author didn't put in enough research in it, sometimes he feels like a salesman trying to trick people in believing him.

Enjoy your search for the perfect book,
Cheers,
D.


Ps: The study I found and refer to was published just several years before this book was first published so the author could have found that piece of research easily.

[Derick M. M. Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Harry Beckworth and Christy Clifford Beckworth
Narrated by Martin Ruben and Lisa DeSimone

I listened to the audiobook version of this book at 1.3 speed for my personal listening preference.

The contents within You, Inc. is fluffed. Not a lot of detail is given past the sometimes long anecdotes related to the topics, and if the core information on branding/marketing one’s self were to be presented without said anecdotes, the book would, perhaps, be about 15 pages long. Don’t get me wrong, the stories are well suited to the topics at hand and help relay reasoning to the audience. That being said, I didn’t feel as though I came away from this book with more than what I already knew about self-presentation.

A personal issue I have is with how the authors use she/her, he/him instead of they/them when giving generic examples.

Another issue I had was that when Martin Ruben and Lisa DeSimone switched for the section calls DeSimone performs, the difference was sometimes jarring. DeSimone’s longer readings didn’t come off as jarring.

Overall, I mildly suggest this book for experienced audiences, and more recommend this book for individuals new to the business and networking world.

[Asela Eloisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro parte sobre la premisa de que la vida es una venta, y el camino al éxito en vivir y vender es el mismo. Por lo tanto, da diversos consejos para venderte, ya que la primera cosa que vendes es a ti mismo. Consejos que van desde ser honesto, aprender a escuchar, ser confiable, admitir debilidades, ser agradecido, etc.; hasta consejos más "prácticos" como no religión, no política, llegar a tiempo, cuidar las diapositivas, etc.
Creo que es un buen libro que recopila muchas reglas/prácticas de etiqueta y de la vida social que parecen lógicas pero no todos las seguimos.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprising and I am glad I finally made the time for it.
There are great bits of advice and stories within the pages that I could apply and use in my everyday life and in my small business. I certainly plan on reading it again and taking copious notes. It feels like the sort of book where I actively review as I read it, to get what sticks out fresh off the page and into a condensed medium.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book years ago, and thought to read it again. I was much younger then, and the advice here—though commonsensical for a mature, experienced professional—was always warm, life-affirming, and kind. It was enough encouragement (and comfort) for a naive, freshly-graduated young man.

Rereading it today, with the experience I now have, is a good reminder to be human when you’re dealing with human beings, to actually care about what you do, and to be more selective with your generosity.

[Asparagus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting quotable quotes, inspiring perspectives, and advice (cliche and counter-cliche) but could use a little more depth, more story and some additional research to back up some of the claims.

[Stephanie Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book on how to be a likable seller, not a book on how to sell. Very short, sometimes underdeveloped, stories with anecdotes from business and life. Easy to read.

From the same school as How to Win Friends and Influence people, but choppier and less fluid.

[Daniel Farrell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've tried reading this book a few times now, and I simply can't. It's poorly written, and just feels strange. It definitely seems like there's some content here that could be useful, but it's like it's written for toddlers. It just drove me insane, so I gave up.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't sold on the approach taken here to deliver the content. Was it my fault for doing the audiobook? Or was it that I was listening to it while sick? Maybe it was when my laptop froze about halfway into disc #2? It could still be decent, though...

[Marian Melnychuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, the book is ok, but nothing new inside. Also, have one very healthy though that probably we don't have to search new in the scope of this topic, probably just need to follow rules which we already know.

[Rashida Serrant-Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by Larry Bailin in his book "Mommy, Where do Customers Come From?", I felt it worth the time. Lots of nuggets. I don't agree with everything, like the big rant against PowerPoint, but there were a lot of reminders of simple wisdom that we often forget about.

[John Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT book! Need to re-read at least 2 more times. This book is being added to my list of books to read every year b/c it has tons of actionable items and sound advice for those who want to increase their business and grow personally.

[Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

More a collection of essays than a coherent book, these are pretty good.

If there's a theme, it's the importance of paying attention to the unconscious, feeling brain as somewhat beyond ken, truly unconscious in many ways.

[Charles Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

74%

It's weird that after I finished reading the book I had to gather my thoughts and be like, okay what did I just read even?

It does an okay job at teaching you to promote yourself, bit of a hypocritical fuck as well, but you can't win them all.

[Ugis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK read, but not what I expected. It had some nice advice, yet by the title I expected a book that will be more about personal business. It is philosophically there, but not as much practically. [reading time: 5h7m]

[Sally Cripe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, inspiring and engaging. Good for motivation. You can just pick this up any time and read a bite. I liked it. Quick read.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, great points in here. I don't agree with everything here, and got bored in the latter half, but I would recommend it to some degree.