Ditch the old sales playbook. For too long, professionals have been taught to prospect harder, pitch better, close faster, and treat every conversation like an opportunity to make a sale. But most people do not want to be prospected, sold, or closed. They want to be understood. They want to feel respected. They want to choose the person they trust.
In Ditch The Pitch: Stop Selling. Start Serving. Grow Referrals, L. Paul Dorsey offers a practical, story-driven alternative to the traditional sales mindset. Drawing on decades of experience building a referral-based financial advisory practice, Dorsey shows professionals how to stop chasing customers and start creating the kind of service experience that makes people want to refer them.
At the center of the book is a simple but powerful shift: replace prospecting, selling, and closing with time, empathy, and authenticity. Dorsey calls this the TEA framework, which becomes the foundation for building lasting relationships, earning trust before asking for anything, and creating a business that grows through genuine word of mouth.
Through memorable real-life stories, including Sweet Virginia’s disciplined customer-care model, the “hurricaneologist” lesson about letting people choose you, and the cautionary tale of getting “pitch slapped,” Dorsey reveals why service is not a soft skill. It is a growth strategy. The book’s table of contents also shows how the author builds this philosophy chapter by chapter, moving from first impressions and referrals to networking, relationship repair, and long-term referral growth.
When Larry Cooper witnesses a dog tragically die, it brings back the ghost of another dog and questions about his past. Maybe he's not who he thinks he is. In a small town, family struggles don’t discriminate. They bridge the past and present, and affect both rich and poor.
This character-driven debut crosses genres. Part psychological suspense, this domestic thriller, it blends mystery with a touch of family saga. Don’t miss it!
All families have scars. Some less visible than others.
For years, his father was haunted by an unspoken past. His health deteriorates, blurring the lines between truth and deceit as his mother protects her husband and the family reputation, no matter the cost. What she knows could devastate the people she loves.
And now, somebody close to him wants his father dead. Tension builds when an estranged uncle arrives uninvited, and Larry uncovers evidence that significantly alters what he knows about himself, his family, and the neighbors. Challenged by the moral implications of the impending Gulf War, Larry battles to save his father and find himself. The truth erodes into a question of what he said, what she said, and what actually happened.
