Certain Success by Norval A. Hawkins: Master the Art of Self-Salesmanship and Assure Your Destiny
Norval A. Hawkins’s Certain Success is a powerful treatise asserting that professional achievement in any field—be it law, medicine, mechanics, or banking—hinges fundamentally on mastering the art of salesmanship. Hawkins, a master sales executive, dismantles the common belief that success is dependent on luck or circumstances, arguing instead that guaranteed achievement is attainable through the scientific application of proven sales principles to one’s own life and capabilities. The book systematically reveals the necessary characteristics, mindset, and step-by-step processes required to sell the “true idea of your best self” in any market, transforming potential abilities into assured success.
Who May Benefit from the Book
- Ambitious individuals in any vocation or trade.
- Those seeking career advancement or promotion.
- People who feel their merits are unrecognized or underappreciated.
- Sales professionals aiming to deepen their skills and confidence.
- Individuals committed to developing their utmost personal capability.
Top 3 Key Insights
- Success is assured only by mastering salesmanship—the skill to sell true ideas of your best capability in any field, regardless of your specific vocation.
- Do not copy others; develop your unique individuality and use sales skill as the dynamic factor to create and control your own opportunities.
- Failure often results from poor personal salesmanship, making it essential to train and coordinate your mind, body, and emotional character constantly.
4 More Lessons and Takeaways
- Preparation must be two-fold: readying your capabilities, and recognizing opportunities by keenly perceiving their full value.
- Effective selling relies heavily on suggestive tones and actions, as words are often doubted or resisted by the conscious mind of the prospect.
- To gain interest and desire, appeal to the heart first; convey a genuine service purpose, ensuring your ideas resemble the prospect’s way of thinking.
- Keep control by anticipating and handling objections as opportunities to strengthen your proposition, tactfully avoiding antagonistic conflict.
The Book in 1 Sentence
To achieve certain success, regardless of profession, you must become a master salesman, expertly marketing the true idea of your capabilities.
The Book Summary in 1 Minute
This guide shows that success is not due to luck but to mastering the art of self-salesmanship. The secret lies in knowing how to sell the true idea of your best self in the right market. This demands rigorous development of your physical and mental character (manhood). True salesmanship uses subtle suggestion—tones and actions—to bypass resistance, rather than relying on weak arguments. You must prospect relentlessly, plan your approach to emphasize service, and handle objections as chances to prove worth. Closing the sale requires vividly weighing your merits against objections to secure definite, prompt acceptance. Ultimately, success is not an endpoint, but a continual, self-driven process of achieving the next sale.
The 1 Completely Unique Aspect
The book meticulously details a system of developing personal and professional success by treating one’s entire life and capabilities as “goods of sale” that must be marketed using the formalized, 12-step techniques of master commercial salesmanship (Preparation, Prospecting, Approach, Sizing Up, Attention, Interest, Desire, Objections, Decision, Assent, Get-Away).
Chapter-wise Book Summary
CHAPTER I: The Universal Need For Sales Knowledge
“Therefore sales knowledge is universally needed to complement the three other principal elements of the complete secret of certain success.”
The foundation of Certain Success rests upon four essential elements: knowing how to sell, presenting the true idea, showcasing one’s best capabilities, and identifying the right market or field of service. Without mastery of all four, failure is certain. Hawkins contends that the typical reasons cited for failure—being misplaced, lacking scope, or being unappreciated—often mask the root cause: personal inefficiency in selling one’s qualifications. Sales knowledge provides the indispensable “dynamic factor” necessary to transform potential ability into assured accomplishments and seize deserved opportunities. Salesmanship, understood not as a science but as an art built upon scientific principles, must be practiced continually. This means consciously ensuring that every word, tone, and action conveys true, attractive impressions of one’s best self, whether through advertising, correspondence, or personal interaction. The chapter introduces the concept that to master this art, one must understand basic practical psychology—knowing exactly what impression specific words, tones, and acts will have on others.
Chapter Key Points
- Success requires four combined elements, with sales knowledge being the central dynamic force.
- Salesmanship is an art mastered by constantly selling “true ideas” about oneself through effective self-expression.
- The entire selling process is charted in twelve successive steps, forming the key to gaining opportunities.
Important Quote
“Sales skill is the dynamic factor of success. It transforms potential powers into actual accomplishments.”
CHAPTER II: The Man-Stuff You Have For Sale
“Realize at the outset that the time has passed forever when the little man, with the narrowly selfish outlook for ‘Number One,’ might succeed.”
To achieve assured success, technical sales skill must be supported by right sales-manhood. The modern era demands “big MEN,” whose success is measured by the quality of human service, requiring expansive ability, vision, and high ideals. The author stresses that potential success is often hampered because a man operates below his full capacity, like a motor developing only a quarter of its power. This lack is remediable, as character can be rebuilt without changing one’s fundamental nature. Developing full “man-power” involves meticulous self-training across physical, mental (e.g., alertness, concentration), emotional (e.g., courage, optimism), and ethical domains. Crucially, character development must use the discriminative-restrictive method, focusing training on specific traits (like persistence or determination) by exercising their correlated mind-brain-muscle centers. Since the mind depends on muscular action both to receive incoming knowledge (sense impressions) and to express outgoing thoughts, physical training is vital to intellectual growth and self-expression.
Chapter Key Points
- Success demands developing “big manhood,” characterized by service-oriented ideals and maximizing one’s innate capability.
- Personal growth is achieved through the constant, discriminative exercise of coordinated mind-brain-muscle centers.
- Any desired quality (e.g., persistence, judgment) can be developed by purposeful self-training and sustained effort.
Important Quote
“If you do not pay dividends on the divine investment in him, his dereliction is justly punished by failure in life.”
CHAPTER III: Skill In Selling Your Best Self
“Your success with the best that is in you can be made directly proportionate to your skill as a salesman of ‘your goods’.”
Skill is the element that makes salesmanship effective and success easy. Hawkins warns strongly against relying on pure logic or argument, as debating only generates antagonism in the prospect. Instead, the master salesman employs mental suggestion and emotional persuasion. This strategy leverages the fact that words are often consciously doubted, while subtle suggestions conveyed through tones and acts are accepted by the prospect as his own discovered ideas. Words should be restricted to common, short, definite, and vivid language. Tones are analyzed by pitch: the high mental pitch (head tone) conveys facts but can irritate; the medium emotive pitch (chest tone) dissipates opposition and builds heart rapport; and the deep power pitch (abdominal) suggests force and commands respect. Similarly, physical actions—Poise, Pose, and Action—must be skillfully controlled, with movements like straight gestures appealing to the mind and curved gestures denoting feeling.
Chapter Key Points
- Avoid arguing; use suggestion in tones and actions to create desire and bypass mental resistance.
- Words are less effective than tones and acts because suggestions conveyed unconsciously are believed absolutely.
- Mastery involves selecting the right pitch (mental, emotive, or power) and movement (line, direction, plane) to achieve the desired psychological effect.
Important Quote
“He will believe absolutely any characteristic he himself finds in you.”
CHAPTER IV: Preparing to Make Your Success Certain
“If you would make your success a certainty, you must get all ready for it in advance.”
Preparation must be comprehensive and two-fold: readiness in capability and readiness in perception (recognizing opportunities and appreciating their full value). Rushing unprepared risks failure and blemishing one’s record. Preparation should be varied and broad enough to grasp any possibility, even if one specializes in a particular vocation. Full knowledge of one’s worth protects against undervaluing services. The fundamental purpose of preparation must be service to the prospect. Crucially, one must prepare to please everybody everywhere always by adopting “company manners” that become characteristic. This includes cultivating grace, courtesy, politeness, and especially virility in demeanor and voice. Pleasing tones should vibrate naturally through the nose, making them agreeable. A successful salesman adapts his salesmanship to the specific psychological traits and needs of the various kinds of men he is likely to meet.
Chapter Key Points
- Assuring success requires readiness to perceive opportunities and fully appreciate the value of one’s capabilities.
- Preparation must include developing a genuinely pleasing character, constantly marked by courtesy and politeness.
- Adapt your presentation to the differing buying motives and characteristics of your various prospects.
Important Quote
“Grace means the least possible expenditure of energy in efficient action.”
CHAPTER V: Your Prospects
“He makes his own luck to a very large extent by skillful prospecting.”
In salesmanship, “prospects” are not mere hopes or expectations, but opportunities the salesman controls and accumulates through active exploration. Unlike a gold miner, the salesman can assure success in finding chances because they are created by diligent effort. Prospecting requires intelligent, continuous hard work and persistence. The salesman must actively seek opportunities, as prospecting “supplies the food of salesmanship”. It is vital to investigate every minor prospect, as small clues may lead to major success. Modern communication means there is “no poor territory for success”; opportunities abound everywhere, though one must know local conditions and turn knowledge into practical use. The core of prospecting is the service purpose: discovering what the market lacks and needs, and then positioning oneself to satisfy that need. Skillful prospecting involves being cheerful, frank, sympathetic, and using a strong “leader” idea—a capability that concentrates attention on your fitness for the job.
Chapter Key Points
- Prospects are opportunities accumulated by hard work and persistence, allowing the salesman to control his destiny.
- Effective prospecting focuses entirely on discovering the prospect’s real needs (lacks) that one can satisfy.
- Success is determined by small margins; therefore, maximizing every chance found is essential for a good “batting average”.
Important Quote
“Success is a matter of making a good batting average.”
CHAPTER VI: Gaining Your Chance
“The secret pass-word to Opportunity is, ‘Service’.”
Gaining a chance requires achieving two distinct and successful “entrances”: into the prospect’s physical presence and into his mind. The salesman holds the advantage by planning the approach thoroughly to dominate the interview. The essence of a successful approach is a genuine service purpose—a carefully thought-out idea of supplying exactly what the prospect lacks. The salesman should adopt methods that are “different” from ordinary applicants, ensuring their unique personality stands out. When seeking a promotion or raise, this is achieved by contrasting selfish motives with a demonstration of increased capability for service. Initiative must remain with the applicant, including anticipating every possible objection and preparing “come-backs”. Four qualities are essential for approach: mental alertness, memory, friendly courage, and constructive imagination (the ability to visualize future situations from the prospect’s viewpoint by enlarging, diminishing, separating, or recombining ideas).
Chapter Key Points
- The approach must demonstrate a strong service purpose to unlock both the prospect’s presence and his mind.
- Success in gaining promotions relies on demonstrating increased service capacity, not merely demanding higher pay.
- Cultivating constructive imagination allows the salesman to anticipate and strategically manage the interview.
Important Quote
“If you are to gain your chance with another man, you must be able to see imaginary future situations, through his eyes.”
CHAPTER VII: Knowledge of Other Men
“The true signs of character are to be read only in the words, tones, and movements of a man—and in his muscle structure as he has developed it or has left it undeveloped.”
Before presenting ideas, the salesman must size up the prospect accurately. Hawkins asserts that analysis by inherited physical features (like phrenology or complexion type) is unreliable. Instead, true character signs are read in the changes and structures of the prospect’s muscles and movements, which reflect his developed habits of thinking and feeling. Although men differ in mind, they are fundamentally alike at heart; thus, emotional appeals based on one’s own heart knowledge are universally effective. A cold or gruff reception should be interpreted as mere self-defense or wariness, not personal antagonism, allowing the salesman to proceed confidently with a service motive. Sizing up involves interpreting specific muscular indications: tense jaw muscles indicate persistence; a long, easy stride suggests strong will; and the speed of muscle response indicates the rate of mental activity. The ability to read character signs swiftly allows the salesman to adapt the presentation and gain confidence.
Chapter Key Points
- Accurate character analysis relies on interpreting developed muscle structures and unconscious actions, which reveal mental habits.
- A gruff manner is usually a defensive pose that melts away when met with a confident service purpose.
- Determine the prospect’s mental speed by observing his physical quickness to ensure appropriate pacing of the presentation.
Important Quote
“You are a psychologist already.”
CHAPTER VIII: The Knock At The Door Of Opportunity and The Invitation To Come In
“The sense doors are always open. They are held open by the subconscious mind.”
Gaining a chance is a two-step sequence: compelling attention (the knock) and inducing interest (the invitation). Attention is involuntary (governed by the subconscious mind) and must be forced through unobjectionable sense-hitting methods. Interest, conversely, is voluntary (governed by the conscious mind) and must be induced, not compelled, because forcing interest creates antagonism. To induce interest, the salesman must impress the prospect with suggestions of likeness—ideas that resemble those already in the prospect’s mind. Sense-hitting techniques (like displaying neat work or using striking changes in tone) must be employed agreeably and persistently to regain attention if it wanders. Successful sellers use headlines—vivid, forcible opening statements—to strike the senses and rapidly introduce interesting ideas. Because the sense doors are always open, the master salesman uses these avenues continually to make favorable impressions, leading assuredly to attention and interest.
Chapter Key Points
- Compel attention by striking the senses; induce interest by suggesting ideas similar to the prospect’s existing thoughts.
- When attention is lost, stop talking and use sense-hitting devices (e.g., visual aids, tone changes) to recover exclusive focus.
- Employing “headlines”—original, strong statements—ensures rapid and engaging entry into the prospect’s thoughts.
Important Quote
“If you think it would not be worth while for you to master the selling process, since you do not expect to engage in the profession of selling, you misconceive the functions and work of the salesman.”
CHAPTER IX: Getting Yourself Wanted
“Desire proceeds from the heart. It is emotional, not mental.”
Gaining attention and interest is insufficient; the crucial step is getting yourself wanted by making the prospect realize he has a present lack in his business that you can fill. Desire is an emotional process originating from the heart, and when truly stimulated, the feeling will move outward after the services offered. To stimulate desire, the salesman must appeal to the heart by being genuinely likable and friendly. The two-part process of getting wanted involves showing the prospect the unoccupied opportunity (the lack) and vividly picturing yourself filling that place to his satisfaction. When pointing out a lack, use extreme tact and diplomacy, employing subtle suggestion rather than direct criticism that might wound the prospect’s pride. Never overstate ability or capacity, as negative suggestions—such as falsehood or encouragement of unrealistic dependence—will kill desire. By postponing the admission of faults until desire is established, the salesman ensures the prospect’s heart becomes an ally in overcoming mental objections.
Chapter Key Points
- The turning point of the sale is creating desire, achieved by proving a service need and being genuinely likable.
- Appeal to the prospect’s heart and emotions, using suggestion to convey your competence without arrogant statements.
- To secure the job, one must picture themselves actively at work for the prospect, making it mentally harder for him to decline.
Important Quote
“The secret of certain success in life for you, then, whatever your vocation or ambition, lies in knowing HOW to sell true ideas of your best capability in the right market or field of service.”
CHAPTER X: Obstacles In Your Way
“An objection really is a favorable sign.”
Success requires confronting and conquering obstacles. Objections are favorable because they prove the prospect is engaged and on the defensive, indicating the sale has progressed significantly. Objections should be welcomed as opportunities to strengthen the proposition and weaken the prospect’s resistance. Anticipate every possible obstacle and prepare effective “come-backs”. Turn objections into sales aids; for example, reframing a lack of experience as advantageous adaptability. Evasions or postponements must never be taken lightly, as they cause loss of ground gained. The salesman must either push straight ahead or close an intermediate sale to strengthen his position. When meeting resistance, use high diplomacy and tact, avoiding any appearance of fighting back aggressively. Determine if the objection is based on the mind (purely mental) or the heart (emotional) using tone pitch as a clue, and address it accordingly. Never stop at a refusal; continue to use forceful, suggestive answers until the objection is completely undermined and cleared away.
Chapter Key Points
- Objections are opportunities to demonstrate skill, strengthen the proposition, and prove the product’s worth.
- Evasions must be met by driving the sale forward or closing an intermediate commitment to retain strategic control.
- Resourcefulness and adaptive originality are essential for quickly countering objections without antagonizing the prospect.
Important Quote
“When your prospect attempts to evade the issue by making an excuse or by postponing further consideration of the subject, he tacitly admits that your position is strong.”
CHAPTER XI: The Goal of Success
“Success is made certain when failures are reduced to the minimum and successes are increased to the maximum of practicability.”
Failure is complete if the sale is not clinched, regardless of how close the salesman came to victory. The biggest danger at the close is the salesman’s fear of asking for a decision; he must never weaken but maintain control and confidently prompt the prospect. Closing involves two stages: successfully achieving a favorable mental conclusion (weighing evidence) and prompting the pronouncement (action) of that decision. The salesman must act as a weighmaster, vividly contrasting the lighter negative points with the heavier affirmative evidence. Honest weighing is key; failure to mention weaknesses causes the prospect to fill in those negatives with extreme prejudice. Logic and reason are futile in closing, as they provoke resistance. Instead, the salesman must combine three effects: intellectual judgment, increased desire, and an immediate impulse toward favorable action. This impulse is often secured through suggestion (e.g., asking an alternative question, extending a hand, or assuming acceptance). Never ask for the decision as a personal favor or flatter the prospect, as this suggests weakness.
Chapter Key Points
- Never falter at the final stage; confidently prompt the prospect’s decision and even speak it for them.
- Closing requires skillfully weighing favorable evidence against objections to show a visible “preponderance” of merit.
- Impel acceptance through an easy, non-threatening physical suggestion (act) immediately following the mental conviction.
Important Quote
“Do not consider any ‘No’ final until you have run out of both contrasting weight and attractive colors; so that you cannot change the scales.”
CHAPTER XII: The Celebration Stage
“The celebration stage of the selling process should be the first stepping-stone leading to another successful sale.”
Success is the ultimate test of salesmanship; the risk is that success may “spoil” the individual by breeding self-complacency or causing them to “break training” mentally and physically. The successful man must continue to move upward; if he stops advancing, he risks rusting in self-satisfaction and declining without realizing it. The master salesman celebrates success by immediately tackling the job ahead and planning the next sale. Every goal achieved must be viewed as a new starting point for bigger success, requiring continual accumulation of efforts, like building a house brick by brick. The good salesman maintains dynamic confidence, avoiding the static quality of self-complacency. True wealth and success are measured not in accumulated dollars, but in accumulated friendships and expanded service value, such as exemplified by Henry Ford or Charles M. Schwab. Success is a continuous, revolving process; one sale should seamlessly lead to the next opportunity.
Chapter Key Points
- Avoid the downfall of resting in self-satisfaction after success; static contentment leads to decline.
- Celebrate success by immediately pursuing the next opportunity and packing more achievements into every day.
- Continual growth, enlarging one’s service value, and building genuine friendships represent the truest measures of achievement.
Notable Quotes from the Book
- “Capabilities, like goods, are profitless until they are sold.”
- “The individual should develop his individuality,’ instead of attempting to imitate anybody else.”
- “Your knowledge and use of the selling process are essential to assure your success in life.”
- “Only the poorer jobs are crowded.”
- “A man can accomplish things with ease and grace that a child or a woman would make hard work of and do awkwardly.”
- “He makes his own luck to a very large extent by skillful prospecting.”
- “You cannot browbeat your way into opportunities to succeed.”
- “It is far less wearying to walk than to stand still.”
- “You should feel absolute assurance that with its aid you can open the treasure house of your desires.”
- “Most persons never perform an act of pure reasoning.”
About the Author
Norval A. Hawkins is the author of Certain Success (Third Edition, 1920) and its companion volume, The Selling Process. Hawkins served as the Commercial and General Sales Manager of the Ford Motor Company for twelve years. During his tenure, Ford sales multiplied 132 times, increasing from 6,181 to 815,912 cars annually. Hawkins states that the fundamental principles and methods he tested and proved successful in selling automobiles and goodwill are universally applicable to any profession, business, or trade. His chief purpose in preparing these books was to stimulate readers’ comprehension of the value of skillful salesmanship to their personal ambitions, compiling the general principles of effective selling for universal application. Thousands of readers of The Selling Process attested to its practical value and resulting increase in earning power.
How to Get the Most from the Books
Study this book and its companion volume, The Selling Process, for continual reference. You must apply the scientific principles daily to perfect your salesmanship art, making its use second nature, to assure success.
Conclusion
Certain Success is more than a sales manual; it is a holistic guide to personal effectiveness and strategic self-governance. Hawkins successfully makes the case that true failure is not a result of bad luck or insufficient talent, but a failure of marketing one’s latent capacity. By viewing life through the lens of a professional salesman—meticulously preparing one’s capabilities, constantly prospecting for service opportunities, using psychological art to persuade, and closing relentlessly—any individual can chart and assure their desired destiny. The book’s comprehensive, step-by-step approach ensures that the reader gains not just knowledge, but the indispensable skill and confidence necessary to transform ambitious goals into guaranteed achievements.