Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive

Harvey Mackay's business handbook draws on his experience as a salesman, sportsman, public speaker and self-made millionaire. It is organized around four aims named in the subtitle. The selling advice covers how to get appointments with people who do not want to meet. The management advice rests on the Mackay 66, a system for gathering information on prospects, customers and competitors. Motivation and negotiation get their own lessons, including when to smile and say no. Throughout, Mackay reviews the techniques he developed for soliciting and closing sales. According to the publisher, it has sold almost 2 million copies.

Thom Singer, host of the Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do podcast, read it in his 20s and said it taught him how to build relationships and sell. Serial entrepreneur Boban Dedovic names it among five books he recommends to young people.