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SYNOPSIS Knowing how to sell is like possessing one of the rarest commodities on Earth.  Most of us just don’t realize how persuasive we must be on a daily basis. Secrets of Closing the Sale explains that “everybody is a salesperson and everything is selling.” We sell our employer on hiring us.  We sell our kids on doing well in school and going to college. We even sell ourselves on who we are and what we want to become. How well we carry out the strategies Zig has set before us in his book will ultimately determine how successful we are in getting what we want in life. SUMMARY What is selling? What is closing? What is the difference? Selling is when goods or services are proposed in exchange for money. Closing, on the other hand, doesn’t happen until the end of this process when you actually “ask” the customer or client for their business. In turn, if you’re presenting a product or service to a customer that is not handing you money, you’re only selling—not closing. ...

SYNOPSIS Why We Buy is filled with decades of research into customer behaviors. By watching customers as they move through stores, Underhill has been able to come up with good advice backed by science.  Marketers and retailers will find information from merchandising to statistics and learn exactly how customers behave when they shop.  Readers will learn how long customers stay in stores and how to increase that amount of time, resulting in more sales.  Most of all, they will learn how to use this advice to turn browsers into buyers. SUMMARY Filled with research results like “21% of browsers will buy a computer on Saturday at 5 o'clock”, Why We Buy explains the psychology of shopping and how to use it to get more sales.  The book is laid out in three sections. The first section is about the mechanics of shopping and what customers expect in a store layout.  The second section focuses on demographics.  The shopping behaviors of men, women, childre...

SYNOPSIS The Tipping Point is described by the author as “That magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” The book gives the reader some great examples of how trends take off using the analogy of how epidemics spread. “...ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.” The book explains how a product or service's popularity can spread just like an epidemic of a disease with three principles: Contagiousness Little causes have big effects Change can happen in a single moment SUMMARY While the book focuses a lot on this analogy and presents case studies of these social epidemics, the biggest lessons here are about human behavior. Knowing why and how a social epidemic happens gives readers an effective tool for competing in the marketplace. The three rules of epidemics break down the concept for a good understanding of how all this works. “...the success of any kind of social epide...

SYNOPSIS A rainmaker is anyone who creates revenue for a company, particularly in sales.  Jeffrey Fox's How to Become a Rainmaker teaches anyone how to make it rain. With short, to-the-point chapters filled with practical advice and humor, Fox teaches effective selling techniques that are easy to apply immediately.  While much of the advice may seem like common sense, the book offers proven techniques that will help new and experienced salespeople improve their sales.  From practical planning to professional attire, the focus of each technique is always on the customer and how to keep them happy. Common sense or not, the advice in this book works. SUMMARY Common sense isn't always so common and the advice here serves as a reminder of how important the basics really are. Readers appreciate the straightforward approach of the book and often find that they are “guilty” of not using some of the most basic techniques for sales. These reminders help seasoned salespeople ...

SYNOPSIS People will only do business with others once they know them, like them, and trust them. They will buy the salesperson first, way before they even consider what it is that they’re selling. The Little Red Book of Selling teaches salespeople—or anyone for that matter—how to win the sale by getting their prospects to value “them” before they value the product or service. SUMMARY The Little Red Book of Selling is like a pocket-reference guide for the salesperson who wants to learn how to sell their most important product of all—themselves. This book gives the reader 12.5 principles to improve selling themselves. There are at least three principles the author repeats, in one form or another, throughout the book. One principle is being prepared for the sale. Another is about creating value for the customer. The last is about engaging the customer in a way so they’ll feel fully convinced that the product or service is for them. Prepare to Win or Lose to Someone Else — This s...

SYNOPSIS Service companies often struggle with marketing efforts because their “product” is not a physical thing. Services are abstract and their effectiveness and value are hard to measure from a customer point of view.  Harry Beckwith explains that marketing and selling a service requires a completely different approach than marketing and selling a physical product. Though Selling the Invisible contains “how-to” sections, such as “Quick Fixes”, it is more of a “how-to-think-about book.”  Using entertaining and revealing stories from major corporations and artists to provide examples and drive home key points, Beckwith delivers effective tips and reminders that help service companies begin to think differently and grow their business. SUMMARY The approach of learning how to think, as opposed to learning simply what to do, is the foundation of the book and is what makes it so refreshing and effective.  Beckwith clearly outlines the foundation for this “how-to-thi...

SYNOPSIS Financial statements do not always tell the entire story about a company and how well they are doing.  Accounting methods and financial reporting requires an executive to decipher the red tape, look beyond what is on the printed page and make decisions that will affect the bottom line.  Financial Intelligence gives non-financial managers the financial knowledge and confidence for their everyday work. SUMMARY Accounting and finance, like many other business disciplines, really are as much art as they are science. You might call this the CFO’s or the controller’s hidden secret, except that it isn’t really a secret, it’s a widely acknowledged truth that everyone in finance knows.  And that is where the trouble begins for many executives and other business professionals who work in the finance sector.  In other words, most people forget that nugget of intelligence, and make the mistake of believing that if a number shows up on a financial statement or ...

SYNOPSIS The big lesson readers will take away from this book is to have a passion for what they do and be willing to look at their industry with a broader, more open mind. The book teaches readers that by customizing each part of a customer experience, a product or service increases in value. Using key points from theater and stage, the book teaches readers how to make each step in the customer experience a bit like a mini-performance. The Experience Economy is the new state of the business marketing and readers will learn how to turn their product or service into an experience instead of just another commodity. SUMMARY The authors describe their concept as “Companies stage meaningful events to engage customers in a memorable and personal way." The Experience Economy isn't just about adding value; it's about transformation. The example of how the Rawlings company transformed baseball is a good way for readers to understand this game-changing concept. For a co...

SYNOPSIS Most of the traditional management theories practiced today can somehow be tied to Peter Drucker. Many readers will be familiar with his work, and this book is filled with some of the very best of his theories on management. Readers will find that many of these practices are familiar, but by learning or relearning these proven theories and putting them into practice, readers will have a reliable foundation for effective business management. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” The lessons in this book all revolve around the view that the manager is the foundation of every business and is essential to its success. The theories taught here will give readers an understanding of how to set clear objectives and measures that are proven to work. Readers will learn how to be the most effective in managing the business, managing other managers, and managing subordinates. SUMMARY Readers won't find any flash or fluff in this book. No...

SYNOPSIS So what is a purple cow? A purple cow is anything that stands out from the crowd. As the author, Seth Godin puts it, “...picture driving down a country road, with hundreds of cows, scattered across the fields. As you’re driving, you notice one cow. One cow standing out from all the rest, for one reason. It has purple spots. Wouldn’t that grab your attention?”  Once readers understand what a purple cow is, they will see that the complete title of the book, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable says it all. Using case studies and personal observations of successful and failed marketing efforts, the book makes a good argument that traditional marketing is dead. “In almost every market, the boring slot is filled.” The traditional 5 Ps of marketing, product, pricing, promotion, placement, and people, just aren't working anymore. The new “P,” Purple Cow, teaches readers that being remarkable is what gets them noticed. Traditional marketing is the Brown ...

SYNOPSIS Your salary used to reflect the value you generated or your years of experience. Today, it is more tied to the number of times you switch companies.. In the new knowledge economy, current employers provide salary raises that go hand in hand with inflation, while hiring companies provide a 10-20% salary increase when you switch. The increased salary offsets the risk you take by switching companies. One strategy to increase your salary 1.5X or even 2X across the next few years is to switch companies every two years. This strategy mostly applies to job functions in the knowledge economy. SUMMARY The CEO of Me: The evolution of human capital Worker roles in the knowledge economy require the adoption of The CEO of Me, Inc. mentality, where workers see themselves as a business instead of just an employee. The results of this shift in how people see their role in the workplace has created a labor force of quitters instead of career seekers. Gary Becker, an American economi...

SYNOPSIS Using examples of how habits impact daily life and business, The Power of Habit explains why people do the things they do. With an understanding of how and why habits have so much influence, it's possible to change behaviors. The book explains how habits are formed, how they become a part of the subconscious, and how they often go unnoticed. It's the lack of awareness that makes some habits so damaging and understanding how habits are built is the first step in recognizing them. “Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.” Full of practical advice and guidelines, the book provides ways to create and change habits. Free will, cravings, willpower, and other ingredients of habits are broken down into easy-to-understand concepts. Once current habits are dissected, they become more manageable and are easier to change. Using the tools outlined in the book, it's possible to create new, more desir...

SYNOPSIS This book explains how people tend to think that the world revolves around them. The "it's all about me" approach comes from the ego, and this thinking distorts failures and successes because the ego is so subjective. When efforts fail, the ego blames everyone else and stresses out. When efforts are successful, the ego pats itself on the back, ignoring the contributions of others and blowing the win out of proportion. The ego is the enemy because it creates such a distorted view of results. By understanding how the ego gets in the way and learning how to reign it in, it's possible to create a more balanced view of efforts and results. SUMMARY Aspire Talk, talk, talk — Everyone loves to talk about their aspirations. They talk about doing great things or creating something new and different. The ego says that all that talk is necessary because it's about important ideas and worthy endeavors. Besides, it just feels good to be able to talk about t...

SYNOPSIS People often aren't able to come up with an answer that is logical and practical when faced with making a decision. This problem happens because we approach issues with a combination of viewpoints. Experience, biases, emotion, instinct, and, of course, logic all play a role in decision making. This book breaks down these viewpoints into two systems of thinking – the fast and slow systems. System 1 is a mode of thinking based on emotion and subconscious reaction. This type of thinking happens quickly, typically called “gut instinct,” and can be impractical and flawed. System Two is a mode of thinking based on slow, deliberate thought and a more logical approach. By understanding how and why the two systems affect decision-making and new experiences, it's possible to learn how to make better decisions and create new ways of thinking based on reasoning. “Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability...

SYNOPSIS This book is all about finding what is truly important in life and discarding everything else. The language here is irreverent and abrasive, but it helps drive home the idea of just saying “f*ck it” to things that don't matter. The book may seem like another self-help program dressed up in gritty terms and scare tactics. But a closer look reveals that the lessons here are more about “wake-up” than they are about “self-help.” Layer after layer, the book peels away those ineffective “feel good” tactics and replaces them with a good dose of reality. SUMMARY “Look, this is how it works. You’re going to die one day. I know that’s kind of obvious, but I just wanted to remind you in case you’d forgotten. You and everyone you know are going to be dead soon. And in the short amount of time between here and there, you have a limited amount of f*cks to give. Very few, in fact. And if you go around giving a f*ck about everything and everyone without a conscious thought or ...

SYNOPSIS Growth hacker marketing is a concept that uses a test-and-learn method along with a process of rapid experimentation. By experimenting across marketing channels and applying the results to product development and the campaign structure, companies can quickly identify the most effective channels for marketing. Readers will learn that by experimenting, adapting, and modifying products, their marketing efforts will be more targeted and more successful. This “hacking” approach has helped companies like Airbnb, Zappos, Uber, and many others bypass the constraints of traditional marketing. By questioning the accepted methods of marketing, these companies opened up a whole new road map to growth. Readers will learn how these businesses rapidly developed a product or service that people wanted, using experimentation and market feedback. They will learn how to create a different perspective of marketing and question common assumptions. “The end goal of every growth hacker is to b...

Inbot  – A chat bot that develops and organizes leads on your behalf. Exit Monitor  – Turn abandoning website visitors into customers. LeadCrunch  – High-precision B2B leads using artificial intelligence. SalesforceIQ  – Supercharge your sales team with relationship intelligence. Brisk  – Finds the fastest paths to sales. Know which accounts need the most attention. AirTraffic  – Small teams have sales too — finally a tool just for you. Leadfeeder  – Turn website visitors into sales leads. See which companies visit your site. Sellsy  – Modular, easy-to-use and mobile online sales software. Ivyleads  – Sales software powered by the notion that good habits lead to success. Steward  – Sales research done on-demand. No more grunt work. Lead to SMS  – From your sales contact form to your phone. Reply  – Send cold emails that feel warm. PersistI...