by Paul Simister
on October 14, 2016
The full title of this book by Lindsay Spencer-Matthews is
“Reading Customers Minds: Why Customers Don’t Buy From You And What To Do About It“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Five Stars. This means I think it is Excellent.
Here is my book review.
Very interesting and well worth reading if you have a colour screen
This interesting book is written by a psychologist with 20 years practical experience who has previously worked in sales and marketing.
The author contrasts what you know and what a customer knows using set theory diagrams. I’m a visual thinker so I like the clarity of this approach but unfortunately the diagrams don’t come out well on a standard Kindle reader with its black and shades of grey contrasts. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 13, 2016
The full title of this book by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg with Anthony Garcia is
“Buyer Legends: The Executive Storyteller’s Guide“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is good.
Here is my book review.
Customer persona plus use situation and moments of truth
This book, by introducing the concept of buyer legends, tries to solve a problem with marketing where all the little improvements you make don’t add up to a big improvement because some cancel out others in a one step forward, one step back dance.
Basically a buyer legend is a story that combines a customer persona with a use situation and the moments of truth in the buying process. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 1, 2016
The full title of this book by MIchael Kallett is
“Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the Five Stars level. I believe it is excellent.
A clear process for making better decisions
I was never really taught how to think at school. By that I mean that I’ve no memory of any teacher explaining a process of how to look at an issue or problem to find the best solution.
As soon as I started managing other people, it became very clear that other people had the same gap in their eduction or were too lazy to put it into action. So much happens without any questioning or things stop because people don’t know how to use their initiative. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on September 14, 2016
The full title of this potentially misleadingly titled book by Dan Bradbury is
“Breeding Gazelles: Fast Growth Strategies For Your Business“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is good.
Here is my book review.
Well worth reading for anyone who wants to grow their company
This is an important book that looks at why so many small businesses get stuck between the £500,000 and £1 million level of sales and what has to be done to make the transition into becoming a gazelle company with a consistent high growth rate that continues year after year.
Basically it can be summed up by the phrase “what got you here, won’t get you there.” [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on September 1, 2016
The full title of this book by Satyajit Das is
“A Banquet of Consequences: The reality of our unusually uncertain economic future“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I consider it to be good.
Here is my book review.
We’ve had the good times and it’s now time to pay
This is an important book which pulls together many of today’s issues to argue that we are at an economic and social turning point (2016 to 2020) and things will never be as good again. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on August 12, 2016
The full title of this book by Mervyn King is
“The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking and the Future of the Global Economy“.
I my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I consider it to be good.
Here is my book review.
Thought-provoking, revealing but also very concerning
As Governor of the Bank Of England, the author Mervyn King was an insider to the build up to the 2007/8 financial crisis and to the emergency steps taken to stop the financial systems collapsing.
This is not a “how I saved the world” type of book. King says that it’s the job of historians with access to all the papers when they are released to make the proper judgements. Instead this is a deep reflection on how the problems built up during a period known as the Great Moderation and how they might be solved in the future. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on August 8, 2016
The full title of this book by C S Wurzberger and Pam Foster is
“Wildly Profitable Marketing for Zoos, Aquariums and Other Animal/Nature Organizations: Attract more customers and profits with this hands-on field … marketing and other effective strategies.”
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is Good.
Here is my book review.
A good book for anyone who has an animal attraction type business who wants to learn about marketing.
I’m a big believer in the idea of marketing books for specific markets but I find that they rarely live up to potential.
As a business coach, I’m very familiar with the main marketing techniques but, when I get a new client in an unusual business (in this case an alpaca farm), I dip into these speciality books. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on August 8, 2016
The full title of this book by Steve and Holly Burns is
“Moving Averages 101: Incredible Signals That Will Make You Money in the Stock Market“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is good.
Here is my book review.
Useful book for anyone wanting to understand investing around trends
By nature, I’m a value based investor but in this years of QE pumped up and interest suppressed markets, momentum is the only game in town until the financial system repeats the 2008 crash.
This book looks at very short term moving averages suitable for traders and longer term moving averages that will help guide longer term investors. It takes each popular moving average and explains when to use it and what the movements are trying to show. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on July 28, 2016
The full title of this book by Jerry Banfield and Michel Gerard is
“Facebook Marketing and Advertising in 2016: What works for my Facebook page with 2 million likes?“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the Four Stars level. This means that it is Good.
Here is my book review.
A good, practical guide
This is a good, practical guide to promoting a business on Facebook in mid 2016.
The author admits that he has learnt from bitter experience after making plenty of mistakes but he is finally extremely successful on Facebook. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 27, 2016
The full title of this book by Keith O’Brien is
“Frugal Business Owner’s Guide to DIY Local SEO: How You Can Generate More Leads and Get More Customers without Breaking the Bank“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Four Stars rating. This means I consider it to be Good.
Here is my book review.
A very good introduction to the issues of local search engine optimisation
This book presents a choice if you have a local business and want it to be found easily on the Internet:
- Pay an SEO consultant between $1,000 and $2,500 to do the necessary work for you; or
- Do it yourself (or delegate to a trusted employee) provided you “have an additional 10-15 hours per month (maybe more in the beginning) to put towards this process”.
[continue reading…]
