A must read

This book works really well with Bare Knuckle selling, a must read.Written in Simon's personal, practical style.

It motivated me to set up a (profitable) blog

I'd known about blogging since 2002, but never really"got it". Then on a whim, I bought"Naked Conversations." <br /><br />The book is firmly aimed away from geeks (and consequently doesn't waste time on the sordid details of the RSS specification), and firmly aimed towards business owners and marketeers who want to communicate better with their customers.<br /><br />Lots of good case studies of widely-read blogs, balanced out with some good analysis of what the succesful blogs have in common.<br /><br />Now, if your intention is to set up a blog to communicate with your school friends and family members round the world, then this isn't for you.<br /><br />If your intention is to improve your relationship with your customers, then it would be a good use of your time at get this. The material covered is very similar to that in"Blog Marketing (Jeremy Anderson)", but Scoble and Israel have a rather deeper coverage, and to me, their book is more succesful at conveying WHY blogging works, rather than just what to do (which is where the Anderson book concentrates.)<br /><br />Oh, and yes, two months in, the direct revenue I can track back to my blog has paid for the book many, many, times over!

Winning Results with Google Adwords

Looks comprehensive and should be but virtually ignores the vital importance of Quality Score and problem of being outbid so rendering your keywords inactive. It's a lot more complex than the author makes out.

Very, very handy

I have found this book packed with very useful, practical and pragmatic information. Particularly the sections on contracts and copyright are a must for anyone who does not wish to fall into a trap. The important thing in a contract is often what's not in it!<br /><br />Written in an easy to understand style and prose, I can only recommend this book to all aspiring artists.<br /><br />

Full of Practical Wisdom

What is a rainmaker?

Rainmakers have the ability to gain access to decision makers while they have high concern about confidentiality and are still in the process of formulating their needs around specific problems.

This access means knowing key people so well, they feel comfortable confiding in you.

One has to be a good sales professional to be an effective Rainmaker. But one need not be a Rainmaker to be an effective sales professional. Sales and Rainmaking are not necessarily the same thing, even though both contribute to the revenue side of the accounting equation.

At Stybel Peabody, we value this book so highly we use it as the basic text in our work with professional service providers who seek to develop rainmaking skills.

The title of this book, however, is somewhat misleading.

Ford Harding has written a first rate"how to" book on attracting new clients via all kinds of sales and marketing techniques. Rainmaking is only one of those ! ! techniques.

One of the book's strengths is that Ford Harding doesn't"preach." He talks about his own failures as well as his successes. Harding integrates his own experiences with survey research he has done with practitioners. Finally, his approach is contingency-based. By contingency, we mean that he provides readers with descriptions of different client development techniques available and some frameworks when tech technique is appropriate or inappropriate.

We'll be surprised if you don't get at least three good, useful ideas from this book.

Laurence J. Stybel and Maryanne Peabody STYBEL PEABODY & ASSOCIATESEND

Well Designed

Very easy to read, tries to pin down what can be a nebulous concept, the idea of 'brand gap', basically the hole down which marketing attempts fall when the marketers ideas don't match those of the buying public. The layout is business, powerpoint style friendly. It is pithy, to the point and easily digestible for those business people with the need to address this problem or at least understand it, and not much time in which to do it. Good glossary in the revised edition.

Insightful!

Author Adam Morgan went hunting for the second most successful brands. He sought commonalities among them to develop guidelines for those who are challenging the number one brands in their fields. In other words, if you are coming into the battle in the number two slot, here ’ s your strategy for winning the marketing wars. Morgan is very adept at breaking things down into precise action steps. Witty and engaging, he offers a detailed analysis of the current consumer attitude about brands plus strategies you can use to market your second or third rank brand. We recommend this compilation of competitive ideas to those who want to boost their “ Challenger ” brands.

....to obtain the absolutely essential answer

Those who have already read Reichheld ’ s two previous books, The Loyalty Effect and Loyalty Rules!, are already well-aware of his exceptional reasoning and writing skills. Throughout most of his career, he has demonstrated those skills when rigorously examining one of the most important and yet least understood business subjects: loyalty. Now more than ever before, the success or failure of individual careers and even entire organizations has depended on the presence or absence of loyalty in one form or another. Obviously, loyalty depends upon trust which must be earned over time but quickly lost, sometimes permanently.

In this volume, The Ultimate Question, Reichheld again examines various dimensions of loyalty while extending his attention beyond it to what I consider to be an even more important issue: knowing what is most important to customers by accurately measuring the nature and extent of customers ’ satisfaction. As Reichheld explains, “ What this book offers...is a wholly new kind of measurement, a measurement that can focus an entire organization on improving every customer ’ s experience day in and day out. The process is both simple and radical. Companies need to ask just one question -- the Ultimate Question -- in a regular, systematic, and timely fashion. ”

After struggling with one issue, I have decided not to reveal the question itself but can assert that it is the one question which must be asked because the responses to it are needed to guide and inform efforts to achieve “ good profits and true growth. ” Unlike bad profits which are earned at the expense of customer relationships, good profits are earned with customers ’ enthusiastic cooperation. “ A company earns good profits when it so delights its customers that they are willing to come back for more -- and not only that, they tell their friends and colleagues to do business with the company. ” True growth is based on good profits. It is real, verifiable, and sustainable.

Of course, most companies try to grow but only a few succeed. In Chapter 1, Reichheld cites this statistic: almost 80% of the world ’ s firms failed to meet a true-growth threshold of 5% a year in real terms from 1994 to 2004. Why? “ The reason is that growth and short-term profits are often antithetical. Most companies can boost their short-term profits simply by following the practices just mentioned [in Chapter Ten]. But no company can do that and achieve sustained growth, because its customers will resent the company and will leave at the earliest opportunity. ”

Hence the importance of formulating and then applying “ a measurement that can focus an entire organization on improving every customer ’ s experience day in and day out. ” Reichheld recommends what he calls the Net Promoter Score (NPS) which he explains in Chapter Three. Once again, I have decided not to provide any details. Both the Ultimate Question and NPS are best revealed within the context of Reichheld ’ s lively narrative. But I can assert that for decision-makers in most (if not all organizations), what Reichheld has to say about both the Ultimate Question and NPS could well be the difference between success or failure.

Here ’ s what I consider to be Reichheld ’ s most valuable insight: there is a direct and practical link between NPS and profitable growth. Therefore, have customers determine your current NPS. Their responses to the Ultimate Question will suggest what must be done to increase your NPS. Moreover, by continuing to use what is indeed “ a wholly new kind of measurement, ” your organization (regardless of its size or nature) can then sustain profitable growth which will increase in direct proportion to an ever-improving NPS.

Reichheld ’ s latest book is a brilliant achievement. Bravo!

Excellent Marketing for Small Businesses

In a very readable style CJ Hayden presents a well structured method for building up your marketing. The book is aimed at the self employed and small businesses and Ms Hayden shows a good understanding of the difficulties we face in marketing ourselves. This is a workbook with sheets to fill in and tasks to do, and it is well worth the effort. Stick at it and you will improve your market profile, the leads you generate, and the number of presentations you get. There are no magic pills here. The author guides you through what you need to do, but ultimately you need to make those calls !. This is the best small business marketing plan I have seen. There are no secrets to marketing a small business. It comes down to legwork and"Get Clients Now" provides a very good structure to guide your efforts.

One Minute Manager Salesperson

Heading into Sales for the first time and at a mangerial level was very daunting to say the least, I was recommended to read this book by one of my future boss! I found the book to be an excellent tool and it really helped me build my confidence. It really does prove that it is presence of mind, determination and attitude that win those sales!!!

A good foundation book

A great book for anyone wanting basic knowledge of how to start an online buisness. I'd say it's definetly geared more towards online stores than selling skills online. None the less a good book for beginners, if you don't mind hearing the word Yahoo! advertised on everyother page.

Weak methodologies and writing

Methodologies are weak and lack sufficent backup. Writing style is overly padded.

For those who sell, this book is a must-read!

The authors lay out a"DREAM" buying path (do something or nothing; repeat or not repeat; evaluate a new choice; access where to buy; and money...agreement that the price is in an acceptable range. They show how this process is applied, customizing your sales approach to the profile of the customer. Based on extensive interviews, the authors have identified three dominant buying profiles; these are explored in detail. This is a thoughtful presentation of an approach to sales that breaks down the buying decision from the customer's point of view. The keys are the ability to read the customer, determine the appropriate buying profile, and customize the message accordingly. An informative and intuitively appealing approach, that has the added allure of being well tested in the field. For those who sell, this book is a must-read!

Simply a 'Must' Buy!

This book is simply a common sense approach to 'prospecting'- particularly for business to business sales. Once you have read it you may feel it simply states the obvious, but it takes a book like this, (and an author like Stephen Schiffman), to really bring the purpose and methodology of prospecting into focus. It is fairly short and very easy to read, and if you apply the principles advocated within it, you will improve as a salesman - whether you are a new to the field or a seasoned veteran.

cold calling for chickens

if you are involved in selling by phone then this book is a must regardless of how experienced you think you are.I picked up lots of tips and hints from the book but I have been in sales all my life and been on loads of training courses.If you just put into practice just some of the methods you will see you sales increase. I was top sales person last month, could that be to do with just having read the book? I have only been in my current job for 2 months so I think yes both conciously and subconciously this book helped me acheive this.Once you have read it you will keep going back to it over and over-its a excellent investment in your future!

Improve your Cashflow NOW

Too many of the businesspeople I've come across say they've tried everything they know to improve cashflow in their business. Basically they run out of ideas and give up. Or place all their efforts into one or two ideas oblivious to all the other opportunities for cashflow. This book contains 100s of ideas to improve cashflow in 5 different areas of your business (did you even know there were 5 areas to work on?). Each idea is rated as to its expected effectiveness. Never be short of cashflow ideas again...

Fantastic resource

For me this book is not just a case of reading and catch-up. I use this book in my profession and as a tool to help define the e-marketing strategy for a large UK company that is in the top teir in what it does. What I love about this book is its ability to communicate complex subject in simple, concise and clear language. The novice to the expert will find this a great resoruce.<br /><br />Its well reaserached, thorough, great real world examples and is a good invement for any one taking online marketing seriously.<br /><br />Regards