The Success System That Never Fails

2017 Reprint of 1962 Edition. W. Clement Stone was a phenomenal salesperson who built a great company — the United States Casualty Company. He was also a close friend of Napoleon Hill and co-author books with him. In The Success System That Never Fails, Stone shares his story as well as many other success stories. The key to Stone’s success is in the title of his book — The System. Stone believed the key components of a success systems that never fails are (1) inspiration to action; (2) know how; and (3) activity knowledge. The system should be managed based on a record of “success indicators”, which was his sales log. The system should be constructed by documenting what works, including phrases that customers respond to. His first key phrase was his sales opening — “I believe this will interest you also.” When the customer responded, “What is it?” he had the opening for his sales presentation. He developed a two-page form letter and two circulars for direct mail that he used for recruiting for many years in his business, and a screening process for hiring salespeople. One of Stone’s key concepts is, you are subject to your environment. Therefore, select the best environment that will best develop you toward your desired objective. He also said that sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect. To keep priorities in order, that money shouldn’t be the main objective, his favorite quote is from Alexis Carroll, a French scientist, “When a man understands that the aim of life is not material profit, but life itself, he ceases to fix his attention exclusively on the external world.” The Success System That Never Fails is another self-improvement classic that should be on your reading list.