Best Business Book Reviews By Paul Simister

The full title of this book by Steven Reiss is

Who am I?: 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Actions Define Our Personalities

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 5 Stars rating. This means it is Excellent.

Here is my book review.

Fascinating with very wide implications

This is a fascinating book for understanding yourself and others.

The 16 desires are present to varying degrees in all of us. It is the strength and direction of the desire along with the combinations that make us who we are. This then underpins or weakens our relationships as our desires complement or clash with others. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Dr Tim Lomas is

The Positive Power of Negative Emotions: How harnessing your darker feelings can help you see a brighter dawn

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 4 Stars rating. This means it is Good to Very Good.

Here is my book review.

Fascinating look at understanding emotions at a deeper level

A mentor emphasised to me that moving away from pain is a major source of motivation in getting a task started. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by by Kristen Cox and Yishai Ashlag is

The World of Decorating the Fish: Twelve Indicators That Will Make You Understand If You Are Decorating the Fish

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 4 Stars rating. This means it is Good to Very Good.

Here is my book review.

Better than their first book but more to do

I took a risk buying this book because I only gave the original book 2 stars – 3 for the content with a star deducted for the formatting which made the kindle version hard to read.

The core idea is that much of what is done in organisations to drive improvement is nothing but a distracting waste of time, effort and money. This is the “decorating the fish” which I’ve heard previously referred to as “putting lipstick on a pig”. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by David Abbott is

How to Price Your Platypus: Using an Understanding of Customer Psychology to Maximise Prices

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 4 Stars rating. This means it is Good to Very Good.

Here is my book review.

A plain talking, practical guide to pricing

Pricing is a major lever for improving profitability by adjusting margins and sales volumes but there are many factors to consider.

That’s why simple but sub-optimal pricing techniques like cost plus (standard markup) and charging the same as your competitors are often chosen even if it means leaving profit on the table.

This book goes into plenty of the issues but does it in an easy-to-read, plain-talking way that guides you through practical techniques for setting your prices.

Inevitably this means there are compromises made and the scope of the book is wide. There’s a big difference between setting your own prices and forcing potential customers to make the buy or don’t buy decision… or where prices are “negotiated” with a powerful buyer like the supermarkets.

I recommend this to business owners. Marketing consultants will need something more substantial.

You can buy the book from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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The full title of this book by Gino Wickman is

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 5 Stars rating. This means it is Excellent.

Here is my book review.

Comprehensive high level view of what to do to grow your business through internal excellence

I can understand why some ambitious entrepreneurs and business owners love this book. Its operating system makes a great deal of sense at a high level. While Michael Gerber’s classic small business book “The E-Myth Revisited” presents some similar ideas, this is much detailed and more of a “how to do it” guide. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by John Rosso is

Prospect the Sandler Way: A 30-Day Program for Mastering Stress-Free Lead Development

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 5 Stars rating. This means it is Excellent.

Here is my book review.

How to prospect without crushing your soul

Picking up the telephone and calling someone who could/should be interested in what you sell forces you to confront the possibility that person may not be receptive at this time.

This book will help you to do it without crushing your soul. [continue reading…]

In my review of the book

Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero’s Quick Start Guide to Writing Red Hot Copy

posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means it is Good and Well Worth Reading.

Here is my book review.

A very user friendly guide to writing copy with one big drawback

This is a very easy book to read and understand in contrast to some of the heavyweight tones on copywriting.

The author explains an interesting process of writing copy which, after her extensive experience, doesn’t involve starting with the headline and lead. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Dan Kennedy is

Magnetic Marketing: How To Attract A Flood Of New Customers That Pay, Stay, and Refer

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Five Stars rating. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.

Here is my book review.

Another tasty morsel from a master of direct marketing

Magnetic Marketing is the name of the author’s most famous premium priced course and it’s the one that has helped make his excellent reputation.

Kennedy didn’t invent direct response marketing – its origins go back at least as far as the late 19th century – but he’s done a great job of bringing it to the attention of business owners and entrepreneurs along with others including Jay Abraham. I’ve always felt Kennedy was stronger on the initial aspect of attracting new customers while Abraham was better at expanding the backend, that is the ongoing business with the customers. Books by both deserve a place on the bookshelf of a well read business owner. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Craig Simpson with Brian Kurtz is

The Advertising Solution: Influence Prospects, Multiply Sales, and Promote Your Brand

In my review of the book posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.

Here is my book review.

I wish I hadn’t ignored this excellent book for so long after buying

I’m ashamed to say I bought this book in November 2016 and hadn’t even opened my Kindle copy until January 2019. Why? Well I tend to go on buying binges and there’s the constant risk I start my next buying binge before I’ve worked my way through my last purchases.

The problem was I don’t like the main title – The Advertising Solution – or the subtitle if I’m getting picky because it mentions brands. After I’d bought it, I’d forgotten it was based on the work of six direct response marketing legends. Nor did my unfamiliarity with the main author – Craig Simpson – help me. It became a book to read some time, not next [continue reading…]