Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category

An interesting read by Jeanne Bliss, highlighting a strong approach to customer service. If you think you are good at Customer Service then perhaps you can learn some new things to make you even better. The book questions the value of Customer Surveys… or the resultant actions (or lack of) that follow them…. then provides a 10 step process to improve your level of Customer Service. Read the rest of this entry »

Gung Ho

An easy read that highlights the steps to increasing productivity by fostering excellent workplace  morale. 

Based on a storyline with the key figures being a new General Manager, Peggy Sinclair and a Native American Dept Manager, Andy Longclaw. They embark on a plan to save against the odds, a loss making plant full of poor management.

Andy explains that “Gung Ho” is apparently chinese for “working together” and the slogan of Carlsons Raiders in WW2 a troop formed shortly after Pearl Harbour. A subsequent movie made the term famous and described boundless energy, enthusiasm and dedication to the task.

Peggy soon works out that Andy has a very productive department and that he is her only hope of success. They strike up a great relationship and Andy starts to introduce Peggy progressively how he has created such a motivated department, based on his old Grandfathers Indian philosophy which comes in 3 stages. Read the rest of this entry »

Making It All Work

As a sequel to his best selling Getting Things Done…David Allen in Making It All Work focuses more on actually doing things, helping us with prioritization of the many items on our action lists. Probably not as simple a book to read as GTD with more complex issues to address, he spends a considerable amount of time explaining the “horizons” of focus. The clarity that comes of working from a trusted system rather than in our heads frees us up to more effectively trust our intuitions about what we should be working on in the heat of the moment.

Allen has added to this an attention to focus and perspective, and Making It All Work provides a valuable addition to Getting Things Done. The book’s subtitle, “Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life” highlights that he is committed to also bringing these systems into our non-work lives. Read the rest of this entry »

GOALS by Brian Tracy is effectively 21 great points to consider in achieving your goals. As one of the worlds renowned speakers and writers on this subject this book is an interesting summary of the main things that you need to make happen to set yourself up with a good chance of striking gold…Achieve Clarity on what you really want to achieve in life. 
The book also has a series of questions around this.

1. Unlock Your Potential
Brian starts by talking about our unlimited potential. He says to take the belief that no one is smarter or better than me…all I have done up to now is getting me ready for what’s to come. In others words have belief in yourself, think bigger, and overcome your fears.
2. Take Charge Of Your Life
It’s all about your attitude… Action clients will understand “Above & below the line”. Focus on positive emotions. Read the rest of this entry »

Good marketers know that cusomter centered marketing is mandatory. However, we are not the customer. What the customer perceives as relevant is the thing successful marketers must anticipate, plan, and deliver on. Don’t miss out on learning about this six-sigma marketing approach that can skyrocket the effectiveness of your interactive marketing.

Chapter 1: Dogs, Cats, and Marketing ? WIIFM, old marketing based on Pavlov’s Dogs

Chapter 2: Experiencing the Brand?Using Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ (diagram below)… Read the rest of this entry »

The One Minute Manager Meets The Monkey – Kenneth Blanchard

Kenneth Blanchard is well known in business circles as co-author of the best selling ‘One Minute Manager’ series of books. These quick and easy to read books (all around 150 pages) can be found on the bookshelf of any serious self-development book advocate, right alongside Blanchard’s other well known publications, ‘Raving Fans’, ‘Whale Done’ and ‘Gung Ho’.

Although published in the late 80’s it’s basic principles on dealing with day to day operational issues still apply today. Read the rest of this entry »

TRUST by Jeffrey Gittomer

• The reason you have to say ‘Trust me’ is that you haven’t earned it! 
• Gittomer focuses on service, networking etc rather than cold calling

Section 1 – Ask Yourself

• Before others will trust you first you must trust your judgement, instincts, thinking (confidence)
• Be decisive
• Trust others before they will trust you
• We seek people that we trust for advice on major issues
• Trust it moulded by people of influence
• People do business with friends, all the time
• You must earn trust Read the rest of this entry »

Brad Sugars’ book Instant Referrals explains the process through which entrepreneurs can grow their businesses by encouraging their existing customers to promote their business for them.

If you’re the kind of business owner who hates cold calling and chasing after new leads, then you’ll love the easy referral strategies in Instant Referrals

Instant Referrals follows the story of Charlie, an auto repair shop owner who dreams of turning his business into a referrals-based enterprise. With a captivating narrative story, Brad Sugars outlines proven methods that Charlie and other business owners can use in order to promote their businesses through referrals from current customers.

“One of the most inexpensive ways a business can increase its customer base is through referrals provided by current clients,” said Brad Sugars. “Instant Referrals focuses on teaching small business owners how to convert their business into a referrals-based enterprise, inexpensively boosting sales and increasing positive word-of-mouth.” Read the rest of this entry »

I find this book to be a fantastic, no-nonsense tool for making promotional material work for you.

This book is designed to give you the inside track on everything you need to know about promoting your business. It aims to provide you with an instant guide on how to produce the various promotional items just like the professionals. Read the rest of this entry »

The 9.5 Elements of How to Speak, Write, Present, Persuade, Influence, and Sell Your Point of View to Others

What I liked about this book is that Jeffrey takes the key principles of persuasion and influence and breaks them down into easy to implement ideas. Throughout the book he makes adding the persuasion and influence principles to your existing sales process not only simple, but effective.

One of the areas where I think this book really shines is when Jeffrey talks about speaking to influence. As one of the most prolific speakers working today, he brings a unique blend of personal insight, techniques that have stood the test of time and audiences. These tips alone are some of the most valuable in the book.

So if you are new to the area of persuasion this book will be a great starting point for you. If you are a seasoned pro who fully understands persuasion, you’ll find this book an exceptional review of core concepts. Take a little of this and apply it today and just watch how things just seem to happen when you apply it! Read the rest of this entry »