Best Business Book Reviews By Paul Simister

The full title of this book by James T. Squire is

“Get Them Buying: The Secrets to Not Competing on Price“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I have given it a four star rating meaning that I rate it as good to very good.

Here is what I posted.

A wide ranging book that helps you sell without reducing prices

At its heart, this is a book about selling but it takes a wide ranging view of the issues. This is NOT a traditional sales book that will teach you how to handle objections and manipulate or pressurise buyers to close the sales.

Included in the book are: [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Blair Warren is

“The One Sentence Persuasion Course – 27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it at the Four Stars level, meaning I think it is good to very good.

Here is what I wrote.

Well worth reading

I was one of the people who read the first, free version of this book and I made a deliberate effort to learn the one sentence. It is a great summary of persuasion.

Sadly in the intervening time, I’ve forgotten it but, I was interested enough to buy this new, improved version. The sentence is the basis for strong relationships. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Andy Cunningham is

“Get to Aha!: Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition“.

Normally I have a simple rule, the book has to earn four stars to be considered worthy of featuring on this blog. I only gave this book Three Stars in my review at Amazon.co.uk and yet, I’ve decided to feature it.

Let me explain why.

It’s a specialised technology strategic marketing book masquerading as a book written for the general market. As a result, I graded it as Three Stars, but, if it had included Technology Businesses in the title/subtitle, I’d have given it Four Stars.

Here is my review.

Very interesting for technology based businesses (Four Stars) but for the rest Three Stars

This book about positioning is interesting since it says that your position in your market isn’t so much about choice but is hardwired into the type of business you have – your business DNA.

You make the most of what you are and the natural advantages you have and, if you try to go against your DNA, success will be hard if not impossible. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Phil Rosenzweig is

“The Halo Effect: How Managers let Themselves be Deceived.”

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it at the Four Stars level, which means I consider the book to be good to very good.

Here is what I posted.

Can you trust what business books tell you?

As a business coach and advisor, I read a lot of business books looking for extra ideas on how to improve businesses.

This book provides a major warning that recipes for success in these books are often misleading. It’s particularly critical of best sellers like “In Search Of Excellence“, “Built To Last” and “Good To Great” for their research methods and extravagant claims.

The problem is the title of the book – the halo effect. It seems that generally people assess successful, growing, profitable companies as having a wide range of virtues while struggling companies must be weak at many things. It sounds sensible but problems occur when a good company becomes bad, despite carrying on with all the virtues. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by James Newell is

“Clear Sales Message: What are you selling, who are you selling it to and why should they care?“

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a Four Star book, which means I think it is good to very good.

Here is what I posted.

Helpful

This book splits the issue of creating clear sales messages (something others may refer to as a customer value proposition) into the answers to a series of questions that potential customers want answered. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Richard Dotts is

“What To Do When You Are Stuck And Nothing Seems To Work“

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a FOUR Stars book, this means I think it is good to very good.

Here is what I posted.

Focuses on your inner game

This book focuses on what I call your inner game, how your thoughts, beliefs and emotions control your actions or inactions. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by David Gomez is

“Stop Competing on Price: What every salesperson, entrepreneur and business professional needs to know to differentiate their product or service and make price irrelevant“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a Four Stars book, which means that I consider it to be good or very good.

Here is what I posted.

Thoughtful guide to differentiation

I read a lot of books about differentiation strategy and how to communicate those differences quickly and believe there is always room for more to increase understanding and clarity over what to do. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Scott Hallman is

“The 7 Success Drivers to HyperGrowth: How America’s Fastest Growing Entrepreneurial Companies Achieve Greatness“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the FIVE Stars level, this means that I consider it excellent.

Here is what I posted.

Packed with important lessons

Many years ago, I bought an excellent audio training product by the author that provided detailed implementation advice for Jay Abraham style marketing and profit building strategies. Since then he’s been one of my favourite experts and I’ve been looking forward to the time when he publishes his first book. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Verne Harnish is

“Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a FOUR Stars book, meaning that I think its in the range of good to very good.

Here is what I posted.

How you can grow past the normal constraints on growth

This is an interesting book which looks at how you can push past the constraints which stop most businesses from growing.

It’s split into four sections – people, strategy, execution and cash.

I started reading it and throughout the People section, I was convinced this was going to be a five star book but, the more I read, the more I was tempted to knock off one star. [continue reading…]