How to get to the Top / How to become a Great Boss Jeffrey J Fox

ISBNs: 978-0-09-193542-9

978-0-09-193543-6

Published by Vermillion

American as apple pie

Jeffrey J Fox is a Harvard graduate and founder of a very successful marketing consultancy. He is part of one of the world’s top business school case studies and a best-selling author. And he is an American. Not that you would doubt it when you read these books.

I know, I’m sounding negative and that may be unfair. But then again …

There is much to commend these books. Plenty of down-to-earth, sensible advice; stories that cut to the root; rules; pithy anecdotes and more. And yet I find him difficult to warm to.

Perhaps some of his chapter titles will show what bothers me:

From ‘get to the Top’:

Juggle like Mom / Don’t put General Patton in Charge of the Mess Hall / Buzzsaw the Buzzwords / Muddy Boots are Money Boots

From ‘Great Boss’:

Groom ‘Em or Broom ‘Em / Turn Termination into Determination / “Quit” is for Scrabble / Take a bullet for the team


See what I mean; it’s all just a bit too … American. Sincerity with added schmaltz.

And the pity is the content is generally genuinely useful. So, if you can stand the style, you will get plenty for your money – 55 tips from ‘get to the Top’ and 50 from ‘Great Boss’. At £7.99 (less on Amazon?) that has to be a bargain.

Boat to Boardroom, Alex Alley & Paula Reid

ISBN 978-1-84426-612-8

Published by Fastprint Publishing

Global Challenge to Business Challenge

Alex Alley and Paula Reid took part in the 2004/5 Global Challenge round the world yacht race. This book tells the story of that adventure and is worth the cover price for that alone.

But the race story takes up only 1/3rd of the book (don’t worry you may be short-changed, that accounts for 135 of the 362 pages). The balance concerns relating the experience and lessons learnt from crewing a yacht on one of life’s extreme adventures to running a business. Remarkably, it is almost completely successful. Admittedly there are stretches required here and there to shape the two contrasting realities, but the main thrust of the dialogue crosses the divide believably.

The ‘business end’ of the book encompasses ideas to apply to leadership, teamwork, communication, motivation and more. Unsurprisingly, Messrs Alley and Reid now provide workshops and sailing experiences to business through their company, Velocity Made Good Ltd.

So, would you like to read an exciting, exhilarating, frightening even, tale of eighteen months before the mast? Then this is as good an account of the Global Challenge experience as you will find.

Or would you like to see how these experiences translate to the world of business and discover some valuable ideas that will, if applied diligently, almost certainly improve your, and your firm’s, performance? Then this is as good a set of metaphors as you will find.

Get off your Arse, Brad Burton

ISBN 978-1-907451-00-3

Published by 4Publishing

Straight talking

In December 2004 Brad Burton told his employers to ‘shove it’ and set out to build his own business. Fast forward to November 2005, Brad is thousands of pounds in debt, delivering pizzas to put bread on the table and a friend invites him to a breakfast meeting of a networking group.

He hated it. But his business was going down the pan and networking seemed a likely lifesaver. So, as advocated in this book’s title, Brad decided to ‘get off his arse’ and do something. That something was to create a new business networking organisation that had none of the characteristics he hated. As we near the end of 2009, 4Networking has over 200 groups meeting regularly all over the country. A meteoric rise from near total failure to massive success.

In this book we are treated to Brad Burton’s story, his philosophy and some of his dreams. An engaging writer, he exhorts us to ‘Do something! Anything!’, to surround ourselves with smart people and to understand that the road to success is a hard one In short, he pulls no punches; he is overflowing with enthusiasm and his book is an easy read. He has some unusual viewpoints that refresh the familiar themes (such as ‘people buy from people …) and his treatise on the ten-minute appointment certainly gives food for thought.

All told, entertaining, largely original and well worth the time it takes to read.

Creating Magic, Lee Cockerell

ISBN 978-0-09-192912-1

Published by Vermillion

10 common sense leadership strategies

Lee Cockerell dropped out of college and joined the army where he learned to cook. After military service he went to work at the Washington DC Hilton where he entered the management training programme. Later he went to work for Marriott before being headhunted by Disney for its new Paris resort. He eventually spent over a decade running Walt Disney World Resort operations before becoming an independent consultant. So he should know what he is talking about – and he does!

First a word of congratulation for avoiding the dreaded ‘seven’ syndrome. Mr Cockerell offers us no less than ten strategies, from remembering that everyone is important through advice on training, staying ahead and more to developing character.

By all accounts the author was an outstanding and inspirational leader and he shares his insights and stories in a straightforward and immensely readable manner.

Is there anything world-shakingly new or revolutionary in these pages? Probably not but Lee manages to avoid management-speak and brings a sense of reality to the proceedings. Well worth a couple of hours – and you will certainly find at least some of his advice worth following.

The Meeting Magic Method, Katherine Woods & Kevin Holligan

Available at www.meetingmagic.co.uk


Seven steps to successful meeting design

Now here is something completely different. An A3 workbook (plus a pocket version for on the hoof meeting planning) designed to lead you along the path to the perfect meeting.

I say ‘path’ advisedly since the authors use the visual metaphor of a journey throughout the workbook. It is designed to help business managers realise more effective results from any meeting.

Based on seven steps (there’s that figure 7 again! What is it with authors?) each A3 page (template) provides the opportunity to advance the development of your meeting;

1. Clarify why (the fundamental reason(s) for having a meeting at all)
2. Understand expectations (yours and others’)
3. Define the targets (what you and ‘they’ expect)
4. Outline the flow (how the targets are to be achieved)
5. Design the agenda (what most of us thought came first!)
6. Prepare resources (complete with checklist to avoid embarrassing gaps!)
7. Document and review (we’ve all wondered after a meeting what actually happened!)

The worksheets are very practical and beautifully designed and could make a real difference to anyone who struggles with the preparation of meetings (so that’s everyone who ever prepared a meeting, right?). The kit represents a serious investment at £97.00 though that does include a facility to download and print more templates and a half-hour coaching session from one of Meeting Magic’s facilitators.

Come to think of it, your first session could potentially save more than the cost simply in time saved. Assuming you are as disorganised as me when it comes to planning!

Answering the Ultimate Question

Richard Owen & Laura L. Brooks

 

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

 

Applying ‘Net Promoter’

 

Not ’what is the meaning of life?’ but, according to Owen & Brooks, ‘how likely is it that you would recommend this business to a friend or colleague?’

 

Developed from a 2006 best-seller, Net Promotion begins with a simple premise; ask people to rate the chances of their recommending you on a scale of 1 to 10. Based on answers given it is claimed to be possible to predict future success or failure. A whole methodology has grown around this basic idea and many are the adherents to Net Promoter and its tenets.

 

What we are talking about here is customer loyalty and, let’s face it, the majority of CRM efforts fall down at the implementation stage (the minority fall down elsewhere; successful CRM is an elusive target). This book provides a plan for implementing Net Promoter successfully and running what Troy Stevenson of Charles Schwab refers to as a ‘customer-centric’ organisation.

 

The authors have drawn on their own clients to provide case studies and those clients’ enthusiasm shines through in every case.

 

Net Promoter is not for the faint-hearted though and, unless your business is already a convert, you would be advised to read Fred Reichheld’s ‘The Ultimate Question’ before venturing into this volume.

Sticky Wisdom

Published by Capstone

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

The revolution starts here

How would you like to switch on your ‘creativity’ any time you wanted? Or help everyone in your organisation (your life!) be more creative? According to the unnamed authors (all staff members of the organisation ?What If!) there is a step-by-step how-to-do-it guide – and Sticky Wisdom the book is it!

There are, the book tells us, six behaviours that can be seen in all creative people and teams;

Freshness
Greenhousing
Realness
Momentum
Signalling
Courage

Unsurprisingly, Sticky Wisdom is divided into six chapters (plus an introduction, a ‘call to arms’ and an index) that explore the behaviours and guide the reader towards their implementation.

Is this just another book of to do lists? Not entirely; though it contains lists a plenty. Let’s face it, we would all like a simple template that could be applied and provide instant positive results. Not only for creativity but for all the other challenges that face us in life and business. So the authors have tapped into a universal desire for quick fixes. However they are codifying what their organisation does, very successfully, for a number of impressive clients; Microsoft and ICI for example. While I don’t imagine either of these organisations is completely immune from snake-oil salesman their presence on the client list does make the arguments put forth at least worth spending a little time on.

Like the company the authors work for, Sticky Wisdom is a bit off-the-wall but a good read and with some interesting ideas that could make a big difference if you are prepared to put in the not inconsiderable effort that will be needed. Proving yet again that there is not really any short cut to success beyond winning a lottery, Sticky Wisdom has found a space on my bookshelf.

Beat the Recession: proven marketing tactics, Carol A E Bentley

Published by Sarceaux Publications, Dorset, England.


139 Proven Sales Letter Writing, Direct Marketing & Business Development Tactics Make Short Work of Recession Fears

So says the jacket blurb for Carol Bentley’s second book – and she backs it up with a money back guarantee if you buy direct.

Carol is a well-known copywriter who also writes a blog all about marketing (and sales and other stuff) for small businesses. This volume is a distillation of that blog plus comments she has received on various postings and a whole section of ‘guest blogs’ from other (mainly Internet-based) marketing experts.

Apart from the advice in the ‘guest blogs’ the book contains 139 business tips aimed at improving profits. And it has something that raises its potential value to any small business exponentially – links. The book is heavy with them; links to all kinds of clever material from all kinds of sources; I’d be willing to pay the cover price just to get the links!

It is not possible, in a short review, to cover everything that Carol talks about in over 400 pages but here is a taster:

· Marketing
· Web marketing
· Selling techniques
· Networking
· Time management
· Writing sales letters
· Cold calling
· Joint venturing
· Referrals
· Prospecting

You can get Carol’s book in all the usual outlets – but if you follow this link http://www.bentleybtr.com/ you will be able to get the ebook version as well as the printed book. This means you can use the many links direct from the ebook instead of having to key them laboriously in to your web browser. And if that is not enough, Carol gives you a whole year to evaluate the material and take a refund if you are dissatisfied!

No matter what you got for Christmas, give yourself a New Year’s gift that should pay for itself over and over again.

The Secrets of CEOs, Steve Tappin & Andrew Cave

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Published by Nicholas Brealey


Wise words from the top

How would you like the opportunity to quiz 150 leaders of major organisations about how they run their businesses? That’s exactly what Tappin and Cave do in this 300-page encyclopaedia of expertise.

For the first time, claim the authors, 150 top chief executives reveal what it is really like to be a CEO; what it has taken them to succeed; what motivates them.

Published just before the world economy imploded, the book examines the trends shaping the world, the early stages of the ‘credit crunch’ and the resulting fundamental change; change that most agreed was inevitable – and now have been proved right.

Later in the book, the different types of leader and their unique approaches are put under the spotlight. There is some inevitable simplification – for instance reducing leadership behaviour to five ‘types’ – but the conclusions have the air of authenticity and will be most useful in helping the reader understand his/her own ‘type’ and consequent potential shortcomings.

There is sound advice for up and coming leaders,` together with a dire health/happiness/relationships warning – just in case anyone believes the world of the CEO is one of endless milk and honey.

Not an ‘easy’ read but one well worth the effort.

Bare Knuckle Customer Service, Simon Hazeldine & Chris Norton

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Published by Lean Marketing Press


If your customers are so important to you, why is your customer service so bad?

That is the question posed by the authors right at the start. And it’s true, isn’t it? Who is not daily driven to despair by the antics of organisations claiming that the customer is king – and then treating that same customer like dirt?

Now don’t judge this book by its (horrendous) cover – there are lashings of good advice packed into these 150 or so pages.

Beginning with the above question, the authors go on to pose several more, such as ‘why bother?’ and ‘can customer service influence profits?’ and to answer them with common sense arguments and numerous examples from their and others’ business lives.

From building a customer service strategy to recruiting the right people; from empowerment to service targets to complaints, performance improvement and, call centres they cover pretty well everything and anything that could conceivably come under the remit of customer service. And best of all is my favourite section; just two pages of ‘the 5 most stupid things to say to a customer’ all of which have been said to me and, I’m willing to bet, to you.

My only reservations – the aforementioned cover and a somewhat too liberal use of exclamation marks. Otherwise well worth reading.

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.

Cold Calling for Chickens. Bob Etherington

Published by Cyan Books (Marshall Cavendish)

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Something for the coward in all of us!

Have you ever had to make a business call absolutely cold? It sends shivers down the spines of otherwise fearless salespeople and causes fainting fits among sales trainees.

Well, Bob Etherington has been doing it for years and he knows all about the fear and how to handle it. Notice ‘handle’ not ‘eliminate’. The great strength of this book is that it allows you to remain a chicken and still succeed.

According to Bob, 85% of business goes to the 5% of people who know the secret of successful cold calling. Which makes this a very important book indeed.

Having established that we are to remain ‘chicken’ the author begins the process of showing us how to use our fears to make us ‘one of the best’ in the cold calling field. He does this by first ‘marking out the chicken run’; showing how to figure out what works best for your product or service and how to be convincing on the telephone.

The next section of the book is called ‘The big secret of successful chickens’ and here he reveals how we can get everything we desire in life. Mr E is deadly serious about the ‘everything’ bit and I have to say he makes a very convincing argument for his system.

The final two sections are concerned with persuasion and how to hang on to your customers – and keep them buying.

Part sales training, part personal development, all fascinating and could change your life (in a positive way!). I think you should probably buy it – especially if you are in sales or run your own business.

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/

Simply Success, Jack Miller

Published by Wiley

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Sound advice for entrepreneurs

Jack Miller founded Quill Corporation in 1956 with the help of a $2,000 loan from his father-in-law and a phone line in his father’s poultry store. In 1998 he sold out to Staples for a little under $700,000,000.

Not bad for a man who rates himself as only averagely intelligent!

Mr Miller is an old-fashioned businessman who believes in hard work and putting the customer first. Not in the glib “our customers are paramount” lip service that is almost universal today, but simply by treating customers as he would family, neighbours and friends (my interpretation, not his).

In this delightful to read book he expounds his philosophy and tells the story of Quill. He talks about the importance of having a vision, of strategic planning, of budgeting and all the other things you would expect. But he talks with his own voice, not the platitudes of the business school and is twice as readable as a result.

He talks about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, to build a healthy corporate culture and to grow into leadership. Above all he is passionate about what made his business different – its unfailing concern to provide a better customer experience than any of its rivals.

He is frank about the mistakes he has made and about the things he wishes he had done differently; but this is at heart a success story; success founded on old-fashioned values that are as relevant this century as they were when Jack and his brothers were building what became the Quill Corporation.

Naked Finance, David Meckin

Published by Nicholas Brealey

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Business finance pure and simple

David Meckin is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and his clients include FTSE-100 companies and international household names.

Despite this he manages to make finance interesting, simple and very nearly enjoyable.

Aimed mainly at non-financial managers – those are the ones expected to have a grasp of budget preparation, be able to understand financial reports and handle cash flow issues with absolutely no training - the book presents complex concepts in plain, almost jargon-free English. To his credit (non-financial) David explains the jargon when he has to use it.

Using simple illustrations of his arguments, he teaches us the skills necessary to manage sales and costs, to make sure cash is there when needed and to manage long term projects. Along the way he also reveals how you measure financial success, how to make real profits and which of the many figures you need to pay proper attention to.

The book is written in a straightforward style that makes it easy to read while still providing a thorough and practical guide to the essentials of business finance.

A worthwhile introduction to the topic that should be on pretty well every manager’s bookshelf.

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.

Working for yourself

Working for yourself, Mike Pywell and Bill Hilton – Published by Which

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Working for yourself, Jonathan Reuvid – Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Two books – one title!

Both have much to recommend them; comprehensive and well organised, they cover all the topics one would expect, from first considerations (why do it?) through getting the basics right to planning the long-term growth of your enterprise.

Jonathan Reuvid includes the more comprehensive set of contents – useful if you are scanning for topics. He also puts handy checklists at the end of each chapter. Pywell and Hilton scatter ‘jargon-buster’ explanations throughout and include a glossary of terms.

While both give a list of useful addresses I rather liked Reuvid’s inclusion of ‘sector information for low investment, part-time and freelance opportunities’ which is basically a list of trade associations from The British Acupuncture Council to the Wine and Spirit Educational Trust with the addition of Kogan Page book titles where relevant works are available.

I was also impressed by the Which volume’s ideas on press releases, a much abused form of publicity explained with refreshing simplicity.

All in all it is difficult to separate these two; each has minor goodies the other lacks but either will provide all the essential information you need to strike out on your own. I can only suggest you nip down to Blackwell’s and thumb through both before deciding which is the guide for you.

And if you are a budding entrpreneur who hasn't found your 'niche' yet - here are some ideas:

Niche finder Click Here!

Free advertising Click Here!

PLEASE NOTE: I am not recommending these products! The decision (and responsibility) is yours. But whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck!

The 80/20 Principle, Richard Koch

Published by Nicholas Brealey

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

A classic returns!

Just in case you have been in a coma since the first edition in 1997 let me explain that The 80/20 Principle asserts that approximately 80 percent of positive results come from 20 percent of the effort input. First posited in the nineteenth century by a mathematician named Vilfredo Pareto, the principle seems to hold good in all areas and led to Richard Koch writing his original best-selling and highly influential treatise on the topic. Now he has produced an updated edition for the twenty-first century.

Littered with examples showing that this counter-intuitive theory does indeed produce results, The 80/20 Principle confirms Richard Koch’s status as one of the great theorists of the last century.

In the ten years since it was first published many thousands of people have confirmed the premise that most of what we do is a waste of time and effort.

A successful business consultant and author of a dozen other books, Mr Koch expounds his theories in a down-to earth manner and leads the reader (student?) through why their current strategy is wrong, how they can always get what they want and ways to become a ‘lazy entrepreneur’.

The book is divided into four sections; introductory, explaining the principle in broad terms; business; personal; and finally an examination of some of the responses received during the ten years since the first edition – including some serious criticisms of the principle which Mr Koch in no way tries to avoid or minimise.

If you have not read the original I recommend you invest now – it could save you time and effort and increase both your wealth and leisure time.

And if the book inspires you to start a new business, you might want to take a look at

The Ultimate Business toolbox!

Meeting Magic, Katherine Woods & Ingrid Uden

Published by Writers World

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

What to do when it all goes wrong

Graphic facilitators Katherine Woods and Ingrid Ugden have trained hundreds of business managers, facilitated thousands of meetings and have a client list littered with major international names like Microsoft and Coca-Cola.

Now they have distilled their experience into 138 densely packed pages explaining how and why meetings ‘go wrong’ and what you can do about it when you are doomed to lead or facilitate.

Apart from the introduction, which sets the scene, each chapter concentrates on a particular issue, introduced in the form of a question from a frustrated facilitator. The issue is then examined for possible causes and practical solutions are suggested.

As the authors point out, the common problems crop up again and again. So chapter titles such as ‘Talks too much’, Unclear outcomes’ and ‘I feel like a spare part’ will no doubt strike a chord with the multi-meeting attendees this book is aimed at.

The authors admit in the introduction that they have not attempted to provide all the research that has led to their proposed solutions though there is a comprehensive bibliography for anyone wanting to delve. Instead they have concentrated on offering practical help.

Not, perhaps, a book to be read through from start to finish, rather a manual to be consulted when you know the type of problem that will arise at that next meeting. And each chapter concludes, as all books of this type should though sadly not many do, with a summary of tips so you can quickly refresh your understanding.

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.

How to Get Rich, Felix Dennis

Published by Ebury Press

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Someone's having a laugh!

I’m not sure that hippy-turned-tycoon-turned-poet Felix Dennis’s book will help you get rich; in fact it may well put you off the whole idea!

But this roistering, rambunctious tour de force will certainly entertain and enlighten you. And I suspect that, taken to heart, his ideas could well pay off for the determined wealth seeker.

However, Mr Dennis does not come from the rose-tinted dream worlds of positive thinking or do-as-I-did formulae. He is brutally honest about the downside of riches; in fact he begins his book offering solid reasons not to seek wealth. That takes just 17 pages – the next 300 cover getting started, getting rich and what to do when you have made it big.

Liberally laced with anecdotes and asides, warnings and wit, poetry and polemic, this is a compulsive read; more fun and containing more wisdom than the last ten ‘get rich’ books I have read combined.

I can find little fault with this vastly entertaining volume; perhaps on occasion the author overdoes the rambling and musing but he is never less than fascinating as he bitches and blusters his way to his final piece of advice – “Remember to duck!”

Highly recommended for fun or profit, whichever is your fancy. My final piece of advice – don’t lend it to anyone; you will never see it again.

E-MAIL Selling Techniques (that really work!), Stephan Schiffman

Published by Adams Media

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Everything you ever wanted to know

Billed as America’s No1 corporate sales trainer, I remember Mr Schiffman as the author of ‘Telephone Selling Techniques – that really work!’ And I have to say that they did.
Now at least two decades later we have this comprehensive guide to a new era in selling.
Described by Stephan as a compilation of concepts and principles developed over a long period of time, the book is crammed with good advice for all who struggle with the ‘instant’ world of cyber space.
Beginning with an explanation of the basic differences between selling now and selling in the last century, he shows how communication has changed, how emailing is different, sometimes irritating, and why it can seldom stand alone.
He goes on to develop a concept of selling as a series of ‘next steps’, covering relationships, buying signals (yes, you get those with email too!) and, importantly, creating the ‘perfect’ email.
In a final short section we are treated to a list of 22 unforgivable mistakes – most of which I confess I have made.
Mr Schiffman clearly understands the technology; I am sure this book will prove as useful in the Internet age as his last was in the telephone age. If you use computers and email for business (and who doesn’t today?) get this book – Stephan Schiffman will show you how to do the business.

Instant Creativity, Brian Clegg & Paul Birch

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Creativity catalyst

Competitors, costs, customers; life would be so much simpler without them. But they are facts of life and Messrs Clegg & Birch claim that creativity is the way to handle these and all the other problems business throws your way.. Creativity, they say, is a survival factor.

The authors have set out to create a handbook that is easy to use and will make the most of whatever creativity is available – yours or others’. They begin by establishing what exactly creativity is and what gets in its way before going on to look at specific creative techniques. These they split into two sections;

First, establishing exactly what the question is. This is handy when you know you have a problem but you aren’t quite sure what it is or what the cause is. So the techniques in this section are designed to help you get a clear understanding of the nature of the problem with, perhaps, some idea of a general approach. Once you have a clear statement of the problem, you are ready for …

Second, what’s the answer? You know pretty well what you want to achieve but how to achieve it is proving elusive. The problem solvers and idea generators in this section will get your juices going, the authors hope, and ultimately drag the optimum solution out into the open.

You may have briefly to suspend judgement as some of the techniques can seem bizarre. In fact, some of the titles seem bizarre, take ‘Time Slices’ for example, or ‘Mud Slinging’, ‘Cacophony’ and ‘Psychiatrist’s Couch’. Stick with it though; it all makes sense in the end.

This is a ‘dip-in’ book with more than seventy techniques explained and a selection guide to help you choose the best technique(s) each time you use it.

Recommended if you have problems or simply want to increase the amount of creative thinking that goes on in your business.

Are Your Customers Being served? Pauline Rowson

Published by Rowmark

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Exceptional customer service

Pauline Rowson is a prolific author of crime fiction as well as non-fiction books on a variety of business and self-help topics. This is her latest, part of the ‘Easy Step by Step’ series, and has all the virtues we have come to expect.

It is short and to the point – you can read the whole thing in under a couple of hours. Each chapter is summarised for reference and stuffed with tips and techniques. Finally, the guides are written by people with real-life experience who do not constantly lapse into jargon.

Beginning with why we need to provide decent service and a brief consideration of customer profiles, Ms Rowson sets out a methodology for building a customer-friendly organisation (an increasingly rare beast!) mainly through good communication in various forms. Dealing with people and listening skills, assertion without aggression and with a whole chapter devoted to the telephone, she has produced an interesting and practical handbook deserving a place in any business bookcase.

While we all chase new business it is only too easy to overlook the fact that our existing customers are what sustain us – and they can enhance our profits if we look after them! They will spend more, tell others about excellent service and sometimes even sell for us.
This book will help you develop the right kind of customers; a welcome addition to the literature on customer relations.

The Game Plan, Steve Bull

Published by Capstone

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Winning through ‘mental toughness’

Steve Bull is consultant psychologist to the England cricket team. He has been the Great Britain Team Psychologist at three Olympic Games. He has a twenty year track record of success working with people in sport and business. He has an honorary doctorate for outstanding work as a sport psychologist. His book is filled with good advice; quotes from famous successes from all walks of life; a whole final chapter on how to put it all together and succeed.

Why then did I find Steve’s book so unsatisfactory? Firstly, I think, because of the continual emphasis on ‘toughness’. It begins to grate after a while. I know ‘macho’ is the flavour these days, but wouldn’t ‘resilience’ have done the job just as well without the overly aggressive connotations? Then there are the ‘four key areas of toughness’ (at least it wasn’t seven!) – ‘turnaround’, critical moment’, ‘endurance’ and ‘risk management’ toughness. They all sound so naff!

Now this is a shame which may say more about my prejudices than it does about Steve Bull’s book; but I have to say I found it all mildly depressing. The content is full of good ideas and his record, in and out of sport, is outstanding, so please pop along to your local bookshop and thumb through a few pages before making your decision.

And don’t let Britain’s sporting record put you off – just think how bad it might have been without Mr Bull!

The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills, Paul Sloane

Kogan Page - £9.99

Buy it now from Blackwell Books


Just how creative are you?

Lateral thinking? Isn’t that a bit old hat? Well, as management fads go, it’s been around a long time. Never entirely out of fashion but perhaps in need of a Trinny and Susannah-type makeover? If so, Paul Sloane is your man.

Inspiration, innovation and creativity are what Paul promises. With his executive skills honed at the likes of IBM and Ashton Tate plus a string of top-name clients such as American Express, Shell and HP, his CV is impressive and his book revelatory.

There are 21 chapters plus a couple of appendices in just under 200 pages. So, at an average of less than 10 pages per section, even an attention span like mine can cope.

The book is replete with lateral thinking puzzles to amuse, bemuse and encourage new ways of approaching problems. There are also plenty of real-life examples to reassure you that this stuff does work.

But perhaps the most telling point made by Mr Sloane comes quite early in the book – around 20 pages in. At this point the author demonstrates, with the help of just four examples, his premise that innovation will beat efficiency pretty well every time. A very useful book – especially if you find yourself striving to improve efficiency!

Writing a Business Plan and Making it Work, Brian B Brown

Rowmark - £9.99

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Creating the future

“Show me your Business Plan.” Words to chill you! A business plan is something you dream up to keep your bank happy and then ignore while you deal with real life. Or is it?

Another in the ‘Easy Step by Step Guide’ series, this small book has all the attributes we expect from Rowmark:

Easy to read
Short and practical
Full of useful tips

It also has lots of tick lists and those invaluable bullet point summaries at the end of each chapter.

Assuming no prior knowledge, the author begins by asking ‘what is a business plan?’ and continues via SWOT analysis, planned objectives and market research to a consideration of customers and competitors.

Mr Brown uses a training company, TDC, throughout the book to illustrate his method of creating a sound business plan – one you can actually use as opposed to a bank manager pacifier. Whether TDC is a real company or a figment of Mr Brown’s imagination matters not. Taking the reader step-by-step, he shows exactly how to incorporate all the elements needed. Follow the directions and you will end up with, if not the perfect business plan, at least a good solid one with every prospect of success.

Ideal material for the sole trader and SME.