You Can Do It Too, Rachel Bridge

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Success tips

Rachel Bridge is the Enterprise Editor for The Sunday Times and she has already written two best sellers on the topic of entrepreneurial success – How I Made It and My Big Idea.

In her previous books she documented 70 successful entrepreneurs and their ideas. Here she looks at ‘20 essential things every budding entrepreneur should know’.

Chapter by chapter she explores these essentials, illustrating them with examples from successful business peoples’ experiences. Each chapter culminates in a more detailed success story in which a self-made millionaire emphasises the ‘lesson’.

Many of the fabulously successful featured will be familiar names, for instance James Murray Wells of Glasses Direct and Hilary Devey of Pall-Ex who featured recently in The Secret Millionaire on Channel 4.

Sometimes of course she states the blindingly obvious - for example, you need to know what you are trying to achieve or you should be careful who you take on as partners – but other chapters reveal things that may not instantly come to mind in the flush of entrepreneurial enthusiasm.

There is also a heartening tailpiece that completely goes against much of the advice given. Edward Perry persevered with his ready-meals company Cook against all the signs that it was a loser – his family didn’t want to invest, the banks turned him down and his first attempts were, by his own admission, ‘terrible’. But he believed in his idea and soldiered on. He now has 21 shops and a projected £18 million turnover for 2008.

Once again Ms Bridge has written a highly interesting and, for the budding entrepreneur, valuable book.

Branding Your Business, James Hammond

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Better brand building

Effective branding is critical; you do have a brand, whether you are aware of it or not – the question is, does your brand enhance your business?

James Hammond is a practical man who has produced a practical book on branding that will actually help the smaller business with little or no budget for something as esoteric as ‘brand building’.

How does he do it? He begins by examining in some depth what a brand really is. This is the beginning of a step-by-step process in which the reader gets to examine his/her current brand and (re)create it to better effect.

Mr Hammond applies his quarter century plus of brand management experience to the task of educating us in the concepts, the language and the practicalities of building a successful brand and communicating it to the client. Frequent references to human psychology and numerous real-world examples make this an interesting as well as informative volume.

Probably the most important idea in the book is the ‘Brand Halo’ – in itself a superb example of branding. Adopting the premise that you don’t have to get everything right all of the time, the author leads us through the creation of the ‘Brand Storybook’, ‘Brand Reflections’, ‘BrandEmotions’ and a few other trademarked expressions culminating in the ‘BrandBite’, a kind of sophisticated elevator pitch.

Persuasively written, well argued and very readable, this is probably the most useful book on the topic I have come across.

Discover the Simple way to Success in business, Richard Walters

Published by Harris Walters


Great tips for business owners

The eagle-eyed will have spotted the absence of an ISBN number above. I have a rule only to review books that have some kind of distribution, however feeble, and that generally rules out anything without an ISBN. However I am making an exception in this case because I believe this to be a very useful piece of work.

Harris Walters is a firm of accountants and, according to his biographical notes, partner Richard Walters has written a number of books for the business market.

Why do I like this book so much? Because it keeps the promise of the title – it is SIMPLE. Simple to understand, simple to read and simply covers the basics.

Mr Walters begins by getting the reader to consider what he or she really wants by asking “what is the most important thing to you about being in business?” Being different, asking the right questions, taking one step at a time and13 other vital steps are covered in the first few pages. I fact, in a total of less than 110 pages we cover sales and marketing, business management, people skills and vision and innovation. And it is done succinctly and SIMPLY.

Small enough to slip in your pocket, this book will repay its reading many times over. Not available on Amazon or even, so far as I can find out, from good booksellers, you will have to contact Harris Walters direct and part with about a tenner ($20) for your copy.

Well worth the trouble – http://www.harriswalters.co.uk/

YES! Noah J Goldstein PhD, Steve J Martin, Robert B Cialdini PhD

Published by Profile Books

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Getting your own way – but with subtlety!

I have long been a fan of Cialdini’s theories ( he is the academic who found a great way to jump the queue at the photocopier; see ‘Influence’ and its sequels) so I was delighted to come across this gem of a book though I have not previously heard of his co-authors.

Subtitled ’50 secrets from the science of persuasion’ it is exactly that – a bunch of tips for getting your own way. Each short chapter outlines an actual event involving (sometimes accidental) persuasion techniques; it goes on to look at relevant research and propose practical applications.

Persuasion, the authors claim, is a science and not an art. Fair enough, even though the theories have been developed by psychologists and psychology is widely regarded as a non-science. The important thing is that all the techniques discussed in this book have been shown to work more effectively than begging, threats or chance. So, if you are in the persuasion business (and who isn’t?) this will prove a useful handbook for you.

From persuading hotel guests to re-use their towels more often (and then more often still!) to showing which common office item can make your influence stick (clue!) the authors provide fascinating tales and practical ideas. They rely not on anecdote but on solid research to illuminate the influence strategies that will ease your passage through your business, consumer and home lives.

There is no room here to discuss all of the tips, but among my favourites are the three-word change that shattered a twenty-year-old sales record, the aforementioned sticky influencer and how similarities can make a big difference.

Buy this book for fun, out of curiosity or as a business investment – but buy it!

Sales Promotion, Roddy Mullin & Julian Cummins

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

How to create campaigns that work

This is the 4th edition of the late Julian Cummins’ comprehensive work, the latest two editions having been revised by Roddy Mullin.

This book is regarded as essential reading both for students of the subject and experienced practitioners wanting to stay abreast of developments in sales promotion issues and techniques.

Sales promotion is probably used more than any other type of marketing effort and when one reads the numerous case studies in this volume it becomes easy to understand why – properly implemented, sales promotion ‘just works’.

The first nine chapters deal with the issues – among them marketing purpose, what the discipline can achieve, how to create and apply promotions and the legal considerations.

The second half of the book consists of a further six chapters on the various techniques available. The more exciting chapters, they deal with off-the-shelf offers and joint-, price-, premium- and prize-promotions respectively. The final chapter is saved for an examination of international promotions.

Complete with a plethora of case studies – 50 in total - plus self study notes and questions, this is about as comprehensive an introduction to the subject and text book as can be imagined. Little wonder it is a core text of the Institute of Sales Promotion’s diploma course.

How to get clients to come to you, Nigel Temple

Published by Words at Work

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

‘Temple’ supported by seven pillars

Marketing consultant and author Nigel Temple goes back to basic principles for this well-balanced work. To the very experienced there will be little that is new but Mr Temple puts the basics across clearly and even for the ‘old war horses’ there will be some very useful reminders of what they should be doing.

This book is aimed at you if you have ever wondered just who your customers are (or should be), what really is your ‘USP’ or how to get your message across.

Borrowing from the field of sports psychology, he begins by urging the reader to develop his or her ‘inner marketer’, developing a vision and the confidence to reach for it.

Subsequent chapters deal with such things as creating your marketing plan and what Mr Temple calls client attraction laws. Among these is a fascinating piece on reciprocity – giving potential clients something really useful such as relevant information instead of the usual self-promoting leaflets. This is on the grounds that they are then more likely to ‘reciprocate’ by giving you something useful – their business.

Internet marketing is covered, of course, and we also get some useful advice on low-cost promotional techniques; writing effective copy and the one everyone seems to forget – taking action!

There is also a useful appendix on analysing your competition; again something that seems not to occur to many businesses.

Altogether a useful short introduction to marketing from a man who has trained thousands in the subject and has a client list of over a thousand companies in Europe and Asia.

Commonsense Direct & Digital Marketing, Drayton Bird

5th edition

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books


Drayton is the man!


When it comes to direct (&digital!) marketing, Drayton Bird is the man. At £24.95 this is the bargain book of the century. At £249.50 it would still be a bargain. A top seller for 25 years, this is the definitive tome on the subject.

Why is it so good? Because Drayton knows more than anyone else about the topic, he is a very good writer and he is brutally honest - especially when it comes to his own mistakes.

At over 400 pages this is no lightweight volume. It is virtually a degree course in direct marketing and any reader would do well to treat it as such.

In the first three (of sixteen) chapters we are introduced to D&DM and what it can do for business. The following four chapters deal with the nuts and bolts of the subject; getting started, positioning, planning and the various media, then Chapter Eight covers digital marketing in depth.

Chapter Nine is all about lists (or databases, as they are now almost exclusively known) and Chapters Ten and Eleven will tell all you need to know about ideas and creativity.

From Twelve to Fifteen we learn about testing and agencies – including whether or not you need one – and what to do when it all goes wrong.

And so to the last chapter – predictions! As Niels Bohr once remarked, prediction is tricky, especially if it involves the future. So I will say no more than that his predictions are worth noting.

“No criticisms?” I hear you say, “That’s not like you, Jim.” Oh, okay; some of the plates could be better reproduced.

By the way, if you are interested in marketing training, you might like to Click Here! It will take you to an outfit called Marketing Sphere. I suggest you get the free report before you make any decisions!