Business Books

Meet And Grow Rich Review Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler

Meet & Grow Rich by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler

Book Review - 4 Stars

It's only in the last few years that I have become aware of how powerful mastermind groups can be and this book Think & Grow Rich is a raving endorsement for masterminds.

The mastermind concept isn't big in the UK and Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill doesn't have the reputation it does in the US.

How To Easily Create And Operate Your Own "Mastermind" Group For Health, Wealth and More

That's the subtitle of the book and the basic message of Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler.

Niche Marketing For Coaches Hannah McNamara Review

Niche Marketing For Coaches by Hannah McNamara

Business Book Review - 4 Stars

Coaching is becoming a big business, if lots of small businesses can be combined in that way and I am seeing more marketing experts identifying the "marketing advice to coaches" as a flourishing niche to target.

In fact I wonder whether the marketing for coaches niche is already filled to capacity but probably not as Dan Bradbury (another marketing expert specialising in coaches) believes that the coaching schools are churning out novice coaches on false promises (see the Life Coaching Conspiracy on my Business Coaching blog))

Hannah McNamara has written "Niche Marketing For Coaches: A Practical Guide For Building A Life Coaching, Executive Coaching or Business Coaching Practice" to help coaches build a thriving business.

Finance On A Beermat Review

Finance On A Beermat by Mike Southon, Chris West, Stephen King and Jeff Macklin

Book Review - 4 Stars

The Beermat series of books are a simple and clear explanation of how to build and grow a successful entrepreneurial business.

Finance On A Beermat continues with the traditional and regular authors Mike Southon and Chris West receive help from Stephen King and Jeff Macklin, two of the main people behind FDUK, the franchise for part time finance directors which has been taken over by The FD Centre.

It looks at the idea of finance cornerstones and provides an explanation of finance and accounting.

Instant Cashflow Brad Sugars

Instant Cashflow by Brad Sugars

Book Review - 4 Stars

Brad Sugars or Bradley Sugars is the founder of Action Coach, the world's biggest franchise of business coaches.

He is also responsible for a series of insipid books on management which only seem to be lowed by those connected to Action Coach but, guess, what?

Successful Project Management In A Week Mark Brown

Successful Project Management In A Week by Mark Brown

Book Review - 4 Stars

This project management book is a short guide which explains the basics to anyone who has to manage a project for the first time or forms a very nice refresher for someone who is experienced in project management but hasn't managed a project for some time.

The Quality Pocketbook Anthony Mitchell

The Quality Pocketbook by Anthony Mitchell

Business Book Review - 4 Stars

The Pocketbook series of books are small books presented in a note form and with plenty of diagrams and white space and are designed to present the key ideas quickly and simply.

Management Worldwide David Hickson & Derek Pugh

Management Worldwide by David Hickson and Derek Pugh

Business Book Review - 4 Stars

I had to read "Management Worldwide: The Impact Of Societal Culture On Organizations Around The Globe" as part of my MBA in the Organisational Behaviour module and I found it a fascinating read.

NO BS Time Management For Entrepreneurs Dan Kennedy Review

NO B.S. Time Management For Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy

Business Book Review - 4 Stars

The full title of this fascinating book is "No B.S. Time Management For Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Guide To Time Productivity & Sanity".

Quite a title for a book which could be called "how to manage yourself like Dan Kennedy."

This is a very personal view of time management and productivity as top marketer, copywriter and author Dan Kennedy shares his productivity secrets.

Moments Of Truth Jan Carlzon Review

Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon

Book Review - 4 Stars

In "Moments of Truth: New Strategies For Today's Customer Driven Economy" Jan Carlzon shares the story of his turnaround of three Scandinavian airline businesses and in particular the biggest - SAS - in the early eighties.

The focus is on customer service and leadership and in particular empowering the front line who deal with customers to deliver powerful moments of truth and make this a classic leadership for customer service book.

Why People Don't Buy Things Washburn & Wallace

Why People Don't Buy Things by Harry Washburn and Kim Wallace

Book Review - 4 Stars

"Why People Don't Buy Things: 5 Proven Steps To Connect With Your Customers And Dramatically Increase Your Sales" is an interesting book and stands out from a traditional sales training book which looks at prospecting, getting past the gatekeeper, handling objections and closing.

One Minute Sales Person Spencer Johnson

The One Minute Sales Person by Spencer Johnson and Larry Wilson

Book Review - 4 Stars

"The One Minute Sales Person: The Quickest Way To More Sales With Less Stress" follows the same pattern as The One Minute Manager which Spencer Johnson co-wrote with Ken Blanchard.

Value Drivers Mark Scott

Value Drivers by Mark Scott

 

Book Review Rating - 4 stars

The full title is "Value Drivers: The Manager's Guide To Driving Corporate Value Creation" and this is written for the busy manager who wants to understand competitive strategy and corporate strategy.

Finance For The Perplexed Executive Ray Proctor

Finance For The Perplexed Executive by Ray Proctor

Book Review Rating - 4 Stars

When I was eighteen I enrolled at University to take an Economics and Accounting degree because I recognised that "finance is the language of business".

If you don't understand finance, then no matter how much of a wheeler and dealer you are, no matter how strong your trader's instinct, you are likely to hit a finance problem.

The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook Jay Levinson & Seth Godin

The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook by Jay Conrad Levinson and Seth Godin

Book Review Rating - 4 Stars

The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook is notable for several reasons:

1. It is very practical - it is light on the theory and explanations of what makes Guerrilla Marketing so special and high on practical "how do I" advice.
    
   
2. It is one of the first books written by Seth Godin who has gone on to become one of the leading marketing thinkers and authors in the world. He may even be more famous than Jay Levinson.

Claude Hopkins Scientific Advertising

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins

Book Review Rating - 4 Stars

Scientific Advertising is considered to be an all time classic direct response advertising and copywriting book and when you read it, you can see what a big influence Claude Hopkins has been on Jay Abraham.

The book is over eighty years old and its contents is still very relevant today.

Putting Customers First

Putting Customers First by Andy Bruce & Ken Langdon
(Part of the Essential DK Managers series)

Book Review - 4 Stars

Putting Customers First by Andy Bruce and Ken Langdon is a small, practical book about putting your customers at the centre of your business.

Just 71 pages long including index it is packed with concise text, tips, photos and diagrams which will suit visual learners who struggle with heavy text books.

Blogging To The Bank Rob Benwell

Blogging To The Bank by Rob Benwell

Book Review - 4 Stars

Blogging To The Bank by Rob Benwell is one of the best known blogging guides on the Internet.

There is a lot to like about Blogging to the Bank when I reviewed it on my Business Coaching Blog.

Blogging To The Bank

Great Formula Mark Joyner

The Great Formula by Mark Joyner

Business Book Review - 4 Stars

Mark Joyner followed up the commercial and critical success of The Irresistible Offer with a more detailed look at some of the ideas introduced - The Great Formula For Creating Maximum Profit With Minimum Effort.

This is very much about building the back end of the business i.e. encouraging your customers to buy again after their initial purchase. What Mark Joyner calls "sell them a second glass."

Raving Fans Ken Blanchard Sheldon Bowles

Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

 

Book Review - 4 Stars

In normal One Minute Manager style (which was co-written by Ken Blanchard) Raving Fans has simple business lessons about customer service dressed up in a story.
 
Normally I like this approach since it makes the books easier to read but the story in Raving Fans is one of the most irritating I've read.

Sales On A Beermat Review

Sales On A Beermat by Mike Southan and Chris West
Review - 4 Stars

The popular Beermat Entrepreneur book has been followed up by "Sales On A Beermat" by Mike Southan and Chris West has the key message:

 Be Liked. Qualify. Close.

It is a light, easy read which will suit anyone who needs to sell - perhaps because you are the only person in your business - but doesn't want to fall into any of the typical stereotypes for sales people.

In fact I find that two things tend to hold people back in sales:

1. Fear of rejection - it is not nice when someone doesn't want (or like) what you are selling but you have to get over it.
    
   
2. Fear of being seen as a pushy salesperson.   

Ultimate Marketing Plan Dan Kennedy Review

The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Dan Kennedy

Review - 4 Stars

I am going through an intensive Dan Kennedy phase at the moment and have just finished reading "The Ultimate Marketing Plan Third Edition" by Dan S. Kennedy.

It is a book that has given me mixed feelings so let me explain why.

Copywriter's Handbook Bob Bly Review

The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly

Review - 4 Stars

The Copywriter's Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly (better known in the copywriting world as Bob Bly) is considered to be a modern classic.

Advertising legend David Ogilvy wrote "I don't know a single copywriter whose work would not be improved by reading this book. And that includes me."

Marketing Secrets Of A Multi-Millionaire Entrepreneur

The Marketing Secrets Of A Multi-Millionaire Entrepreneur by Jonathan Jay

Review - 4 Stars

Jonathan Jay, entrepreneur and founder of the Coaching Academy has written "The Marketing Secrets Of A Multi-Millionaire Entrepreneur" as part of the promotional activities for his new venture SuccessTrack.

Jonathan (or JJ) is giving the book away for free and it is an informative, quick read written in easy to understand language and makes a nice primer for any very small business.

25 Ways To Improve Sales Richard Johnson Review

Twenty Five Ways To Improve Sales Without Spending An Extra Dime On Advertising by Richard Johnson

Review - 4 Stars  

The latest book for review is "Twenty Five Ways To Improve Sales Without Spending An Extra Dime On Advertising: How To Find And Leverage Your Hidden Marketing Assets" by Richard Johnson.

A very long title there for a good, practical marketing book.

Contrarian Effect Michael Port & Elizabeth Marshall Review

The Contrarian Effect by Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall

Book Review Rating - 4 Stars

The full title of Michael Port's latest book is "The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (BIG) To Take Typical Sales Advice And Do The Opposite" and is co-written with Elizabeth Marshall.

This fascinating book is a well argued and powerful punch against the old, tired hard sell tactics. Unfortunately many salespeople still use hard sell tactics in 2008, whether from their own choice or because their employers insist on high pressure manipulative tactics that should be declared well past their sell by date.