Palatine man authors book on using unexpected honesty

Palatine resident Todd Caponi has a book about to debut on how sales professionals should use unexpected honesty and transparency when looking to make a deal.

Caponi's "The Transparency Sale," produced in partnership with Ideapress Publishing, is set to launch Nov. 13 and will be available at Barnes & Noble stores and Amazon. Caponi has led several sales organizations and most recently served as chief revenue officer of Chicago-based PowerReviews.

In today's digital age, when customer feedback and reviews are prolific, it's nearly impossible to hide a company's flaws and mistakes, Caponi said.

"And when you don't own them," he added, "your customers will, and they'll cut off your ability to grow very quickly."

Caponi includes a personal story at the end of the book known to many residents in Palatine and elsewhere. He describes the escape of his family's German shepherd-beagle mix, Digger, from a Palatine boarding facility in the afterword of "The Transparency Sale" as a lesson to be learned when a business does not practice transparency.

Digger has been missing since getting out of the facility on Aug. 5, 2015. Digger was born in March 2011 and had a microchip implanted in him for identification purposes.

"In your business, you will make mistakes," Caponi said. "You will have upset customers."