Sex Doesn’t Sell, Confidence Does
Book Design
Sex Doesn't Sell, Confidence Does (SDSCD) contains 50 quick and easy read articles that take an in depth look at situations salespeople find themselves in and solutions on how to conquer these obstacles.
Approach
The project was to compose the layout in its entirety, design direction, and curate 50 images to represent each article. The goal/problem of the project sought a modernized and updated design from the first book while retaining the simple and to the point structure the industry’s readers are used to.
The design was to embody James’s personality – bold, confident, and unabashed. James picked the title and there was no point in hiding it, so I pushed the cover’s design to maximize its impact (readers have commented on certain looks they have received by passersby).
We transitioned from a classic serif body font to the sans-serif, Avenir Next. Titles are in Oswald and the top page chapter titles and book title are Minion Pro.
The book’s major test were the 50 images representing each chapter. James is my father and while this made the job easy to acquire, this did not make the job easy to accomplish. Curating multiple options for each chapter with my suggested direction – James being very particular and detail oriented made this a challenge. Some chapters were quick but some required lengthy back-and-forths to discern the exact meaning the chapter was to convey.
Reality Sales Training - Sex Doesn't Sell, Confidence Does
About
“I titled the article and the book, Sex Doesn’t Sell, Confidence Does, because I believe that confidence is the grand differentiator in life. Humans, including our customers, are magnetically attracted to confident people; they can’t help it! The opposite is also true; they will run from lack of confidence. Master sellers have different strengths but what they have in common is confidence.”
While these articles are written for the Lumber and Building Materials Industry, James not only believes the skills and mindsets he writes about translates to salespeople across all industries, but transcends into important life skills to become successful.
SDSCD is the second iteration of James’s collection of articles written for The MERCHANT and Building Product Digest. The first book is named, “An Unfair Fight”. The two titles are named after articles found within the books.
