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September 17, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Sales and marketing are the lifeblood of an advisor’s practice. There is no shortage of helpful books on those topics. If you’ve been looking for a good read to rev up your business, look no further.
Today we’re looking at the best business books that have a sales and marketing angle.
I welcome your thoughts on my selections and if you feel like I left any deserving books off the list, please leave a comment below or send me an email at [email protected]
15. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Penguin Books; Revised edition (May, 2011)
by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton
Background: Based on research from the Harvard Negotiation Project, Getting to Yes focused on the psychology of negotiation. In their research the authors found that the method of principled negotiation is based on five propositions:
- “Separate the people from the problem”
- “Focus on interests, not positions”
- “Invent options for mutual gain”
- “Insist on using objective criteria”
- “Know your BATNA (Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement)”
Takeaway: The book offers a step by step, how to find your way to a win-win solution that helps meet your goals while at the same time preserving the relationship so that future negotiations also go smoothly.
Quote: “Negotiation is a basic means of getting what you want from others. It is a back-and-forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other side have some interests that are shared and others that are opposed (as well as some that may simply be different.”)
Up next: Guerilla Marketing
14. Guerilla Marketing (Mariner Books; 4th Updated Edition; May, 2007))
Background: The long held notion that marketing requires money was debunked with the publication of Levinson’s Guerilla Marketing, a book that turned traditional marketing on its head.
Takeaway: Guerrilla marketing took off with the use of graffiti, sticker bombing, flyer posting…Today, guerrilla marketing may also include promotion through a network of individuals, groups, or organizations working to popularize a product or idea by use of such strategies as flash mobs, viral marketing campaigns, or internet marketing.
Quote: “Traditional marketing has always maintained that to market properly, you must invest money. Guerrilla marketing maintains that if you want to invest money, you can — but you don’t have to if you are willing to invest time, energy, imagination, and information.”
Up next: The Wisdom of Crowds
13. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations (Anchor; Reprint edition; August, 2005)
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