The COVID-19 pandemic is crippling and toppling many U.S. small businesses. Often called “the backbone of the economy,” small businesses that are managing to survive face an uncertain future. As states start to reopen, consumer spending is in steep decline while unemployment skyrockets and many people remain hesitant to venture out. But some entrepreneurs find their … [More]
Using Social Media to Encourage Brand Engagement during the Pandemic
As the pandemic continues to unfold, more and more brands understand that having a voice and communicating through their social media platforms is especially important right now. But how exactly does a brand encourage consistent engagement with its followers during a global pandemic? There are a few ground rules and best practices that every brand should adhere to during this … [More]
Marketing: Are You Pivoting or Freezing?
Many businesses poised for huge gains at the start of this year are fighting to stay alive. Stable, longstanding enterprises are questioning their greater visions. Waves of layoffs and shuttered doors have — quite understandably — induced fear and uncertainty across the Valley, where small businesses serve as the backbone of the community. The need for a true pivot has never … [More]
Media Interviews and Promoting Your Brand in a COVID-19 World
Business leaders and professionals who want to promote their personal and business brands have faced a tough decision in recent weeks: Should they put those publicity efforts on hold during the COVID-19 crisis, or keep pitching their expertise to the media? In most cases, yes, they should keep pitching. There are many opportunities for getting in the media as long as one … [More]
Keys to Sales Success
The secret is listening. People tend to think that, as one of the most successful salespeople in the world, I must be a great talker and can influence people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Nothing could be more incorrect. The real secret to sales and most anything else is listening to the customers. Too many people talk. More success will come from being a better … [More]
Authenticity
A common problem in marketing is, what a brand says in advertising isn't always what customers and employees experience. This book shows how to align one’s marketing efforts with the purpose of one’s brand. Too many companies depend on marketing tactics that don't match the needs and concerns of their customers, or embrace messaging and causes that don't connect. Authenticity … [More]
Next Generation Leadership
Employers who refuse to adapt to the expectations of younger generations are losing out on top talent, as they leave for positions at companies with more modern practices. Learn what companies need to do to fit into the new normal in the workplace. Generation Y sees the world differently from any other generation in modern memory. And nowhere is this more evident than in the … [More]
The Expansion Sale
Industry analysts report that up to 70–80 percent of business growth comes from existing customers. So why are businesses still investing mainly in attracting new customers? And leaving renewals and upsells to chance? Or, worse yet, using a one-size-fits-all approach to acquisition as for expansions? The Expansion Sale provides everything needed for business owners to seize … [More]
Fanocracy
How do some brands attract word-of-mouth buzz and radical devotion around products as everyday as car insurance, surfboards and underwear? They embody the most powerful marketing force in the world: die-hard fans. In this essential book, leading business growth strategist David Meerman Scott and fandom expert Reiko Scott interview young entrepreneurs, veteran business owners, … [More]
Billion Dollar Brand Club
Dollar Shave Club and its hilarious marketing. Casper mattresses popping out of a box. Third Love’s lingerie designed specifically for each woman’s body. Warby Parker mailing customers five pairs of glasses to choose from. Each may appear, in isolation, as a rare David with the bravado to confront a Goliath, but taken together they represent a seismic shift in a business model … [More]
TIP
Brian Davis is an average salesperson who is fired without warning for being average. After 10 years at the same company, he is suddenly faced with no immediate prospects, an uncertain future and a young family to support. With minimal savings, and determined to not lose everything he’s worked for, he reluctantly takes the only job he can get at a popular bar and restaurant … [More]
Is Brand Obsolete in the Amazon Age?
Has the rise of e-commerce sites — Amazon in particular — made brands obsolete? Some people think so. In the Digital Age, or so the theory goes, customers don't even notice brand names. Online retailers offer endless supplies of in-stock products with plenty of user opinions to recommend them (or not). All the customer has to do is click through web pages and comparison-shop … [More]
Agent of Influence
Everyone knows spies are geniuses at surviving covertly. Their ability to communicate in code is practically written into their DNA. And while it’s true that spies receive some of the best survival training in the world, there’s another, more critical skill a spy must have to survive: business savvy. In Agent of Influence, bestselling author Jason Hanson, a former CIA special … [More]
Start at the End
Deciding what to create at modern companies often looks like an episode of “Mad Men”: People throw ideas around until one sounds sexy enough to execute and then they scale it to everyone. The result? Companies overspend on marketing to drive engagement with products and services that people don’t want and won’t help them be happier and healthier. Start at the End offers a new … [More]
Sales Truth
A blunt wake-up call to salespeople and sales leaders that debunks the myths of the latest miracle solutions and refocuses sales strategy on a proven approach that will drive the wanted results. This book is for those who are having trouble believing what the new self-proclaimed “experts” keep posting on LinkedIn and beginning to question their proclamation that everything in … [More]
Influencer Marketing: More than a Pretty Face
Evaluating how companies are evolving influencer marketing strategies in 2019, leading social listening and analytics platform Talkwalker conducted a global survey of more than 800 marketing and PR professionals. The 2019 Influencer Marketing report illustrates findings that point to an inevitable maturing of influencer marketing, but finds that many experts suggest that brands … [More]
Sales Badassery
This book turns the old way of doing things on its head to shift all the power to you. The common myth of sales strategy says prospects should be approached from a position of deference — they hold the superior position, forcing the salesman to supplicate, beg, make undue concessions and be at their beck and call during and after the sale. This indispensable work shows that … [More]
Menacing Mistakes on Social Media
Social media marketing was once relatively new and mysterious and many just weren’t sure how to effectively use it. Today, it’s a much different story. The online world has changed dramatically and we see widespread use — and misuse — of social media by businesses all the time. Organizations of all sizes and in all industries struggle to meet the challenge of using social … [More]
