Sales Books

I had the pleasure of hearing Sam speak at a recent convention, where she excerpted this marvelous collection of IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE tools and techniques for producing breakthrough creative ideas on demand. I bought the book and now it never leaves my desk. Never again struggle for brilliant branding ideas, terrific taglines or compelling copy...use Sam's simple techniques to make yourself, your writing, your product or your brand unforgettable to your audience.

Sam Rocks!

I saw Sam speak at Mark Victor Hansen's Mega Speaking Event and I can tell you, she knows how to captivate an audience. Sam has a genuine style that comes across as sincere, professional, and experienced.

If you've never seen her speak, you're missing out. Sam delivers on content, humor, and info that each of us wants. She helps people re-evaluate their thinking in order to connect in a personal way with your audience by re-creating statements for personal branding.

Sam will teach you how to be creative in away that's practical. Pop is not about hype, it's about bringing your message to your people in a way that is unique and powerful at the same time.

I found that POP is for anyone who wants an edge over the competition because it's not about cheesy tactics to woo people, it's more about reaching people with the essence of who you are and transforming it in a punchy way in order to attract people to what you are selling/marketing.

I recommend it because it's valuable for people wanting to cut to the chase and grab the gems.

Need something different, something special to kick your business into overdrive? You'll find it in POP. When Sam Horn says you can stand out in any crowd, believe her! Rather than just talking about it, Sam Horn shows you how to make your own business "pop."

Like a cookbook, POP is filled with recipes to inspire your imagination with fresh ideas and fun exercises. Start anywhere. Keep going until you arrive at your own unique inspiration.

Way out of the ordinary . . . step out of the mundane and become extraordinary! Innovate with Sam Horn! This book can help you get there.

Five Stars and then some!

This is an amazing book! Sam shares with her readers new ways to grab our audience's interest and attention. She really does know how to help people get noticed in a crowd. This book has shown me how to positively inspire others to read my book, LifeChimes: A Collection of Simple TruthsLifeChimes: A Collection of Simple Truths, when they are looking for simple ways to stop zapping their energy. Because of Sam Horn's book, my work as an author and a motivational speaker has been made so much easier. Thanks Sam!

An awesome book for jazzing up your writing and speaking. Sam Horn crams so many ideas for creating buzz and imprinting your message and brand in the minds of listeners and readers that I found myself making checklists as I ran through the draft of my last book trying to find places I could use her principles and ideas. It's not all about marketing either. She has great ideas on the use of stories and quotes in your writing, how to create memorable content using lists and alliteration, and plenty of other techniques to make your writing come alive.

It's easy and fun to read as Sam is very clearly one of her own best students. Her writing is tight and wonderfully informative with no filler. The ideas are things nearly anyone that has to communicate (verbally or in writing) can use right away.

I felt a little bit self conscious rating this 5 stars: every other reviewer thus far has given it 5 stars as well. But 5 stars it is! I'd say that's a pretty clear message about the strength of the material.

It's the best marketing lesson you can buy for $15.

Helen Lester's books all combine sweet stories with terrific humor that both children and adults can enjoy. The stories are just the right length and have a nice hidden message as well--you may be different but that can be a plus! The whole Tacky series is wonderful.

I love this series. Besides being silly and fun to read, they also point out that it is ok to be different. This is a great message for kids, especially with the terrible shootings that have plagued our country. A message of acceptance is needed for all. Of course, my class just loves Tacky. He is a character everyone must get to know.

Very cute story, very engaging with hilarious illustrations. This is a great book - we travel alot so I tend to purchase a lot of paperback picture books (portable!) and this is one of our favorites.

It's been many, many years since I read this book, the last time being in my childhood. It's been a while, but I still remember Tacky with fondness. In fact, I was just thinking about him earlier today. I loved this book sooo much when I was a child, and highly recommend it for both kids and parents alike.

My son from an early age marched to a beat of a different drummer. We discovered this book when he was 5, and it was a great thing in his life. I was recently asked to name the most influential non-religious book in our lives and believe it or not this was it. Tacky helped our son believed that there was a place in the world for both the straight-laced run-of-the-mill kids and the more creative types. He is leaving to college today, his third year , and I just had to write this review in thanks. Our son has a lot of self-esteem and this book helped him find it. If you have a quirky kid, this book is a must. If you have a 'normal' kid, but they have a quirky friend this is a good book too, because it doesn't put down either sets of people, or penguins as the case may be. We of course have the whole book memorized and can make any of us smile by starting any of the phases in the book. If we save one of the children's books in our library, Tacky would be by FAR it.

Six degrees of separation: You've probably heard of that concept . . . that you can connect with anyone else through six contacts. The authors deconstruct that observation to point out that fewer than half the people (somewhere around 29 percent) can do that well, hence the title.

But do you really care if it takes three contacts or thirteen . . . as long as your message gets through? Probably not.

More important than getting through to others through mutual contacts is the ability to get help when you need it: That's the real value of being well networked.

So you can skip over the premise discussion. It just seems like a gimmick to help attract attention to the book.

Start with page 7 and the diagnostic questions to test how well you perform in creating, building, and sustaining a network. From there, perform one of the 52 assignments per week for a year. If you keep up on the prior lessons, you should become much better connected after a year.

This book is primarily designed for those who aren't very good at networking and haven't been introduced to the basics. So if you are new to the idea of getting acquainted with more people, this book is a good choice.

But if you have read at least two reasonably good networking books, you probably won't add that much value here . . . unless you find that a weekly lesson helps you maintain the discipline.

If you ignore the sketchy premise, this is a five-star book.

How many new connections did you make today that you will keep alive in ten years?

I have long been a believer of the power of effective networking. And, in the tough times we are encountering as a nation, I believe that effective networking will be even more important.

Ivan Miser, one of the county's leading authorities on networking, has collaborated with Michelle Donovan to write what I believe to be one of the best books in networking that has ever been written.(My other favorite is "Click" by George Fraser.)

I liked everything about the book...a lot...except for the title which is a case of copyrighting seemingly gone amuck. And to think that the subtitle doesn't even explain the mystery of the title. YUK!

But, get past the title and get on with the substance of the book and this book is an absolute gem. Jam packed with solid information, wonderful tips, and even helpful exercises.

Like some of the best things in life, there is no magic pill to effective networking. This point is reinforced by the central organization of the book into a year-long program to build networking effectiveness.

In turbulent times, being a silo, or a lone wolf, just is not going to cut it. I highly recommend that all professionals buy this book, follow the program and become one of the 29% who are separated from the rest of the world by just six degrees. (Ah yes, there is at least some rationale to the title.) Even more importantly than being part of that dubious group, by following this program you will increase the likelihood that you will have the relationships to help you prosper in tough times.

The week by week strategies with easy to follow actionable items helps to make you a more effective networker. Well done.

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! Look, I am a very small business owner trying to build a better business and gain clients. I've read so many business books. Common sense will tell you that you need to take time to network regularly for your business. I thought this book might be different. It is not. There are not any new ideas, just old ones broken into 52 weeks. Honestly you'd be better off buying Guerrilla Marketing for Free or Guerilla Marketing Weapons. If you must read this book, check it out from the library. Please don't waste your money. I took mine back to the store.

The authors start out with the premise that although networking is proven to be valuable in business, it is still rarely taught in business schools.

The book begins with a self-analysis test to help determine one's networking skills. Topics and assignments are broken down into 52 weeks, with spaces in some of the chapters for you to write in the book as you do that week's assignment. (Not every week has a writing area, so you may want to keep a separate notebook or keep notes and action steps on a Blackberry/PDA.)

It could almost be called Networking for Dummies or for Introverts or even for Clueless. I say that because the book addresses so many topics that brought some former co-workers and bosses to mind. MANY people who are in business at various levels could be helped by networking, but are not born schmoozers or networkers, and don't know where to begin.

This book charts out one of the simplest game plans for success that I've seen in quite awhile. It is not all new knowledge, but it is all in one place, so you can check off your progress and see what the next step is for growing your skills and your business. The plan is simple, but not always easy. As the authors say, it's netWORKing, not netEATing or netSITTing.

Topics included may require major changes or just minor tweaks to a person's life. Examples are: being accountable to a group, writing thank you notes, being engaging, writing a press release, getting and giving referrals, following up, being a change agent, becoming an expert, and more.

Recommended for complete wallflowers and introverts who may even know but don't ever DO. It's also good for extroverts and "self-made" individuals who think they are the best networkers in the world but who need refinement and more focus on others than just their own abilities and personality.

Terrific reference book to use and refer back to again and again.

I purchased this Cookbook for my wife and she just loves it. Everything she makes from the book is great. The pictures and articles are fantastic.

I have lived in Mexico for eight years now and have done a lot of cooking, as well as reading other books about Mexican cuisine; This is the all around best I have seen.

Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook contains what it claims: beautiful MEXICAN recipes, which are traditional, therefore not owned by anyone and like all traditional recipes vary from family to family, cooking to cooking. The book is beautifully illustrated and easy to follow. I have used the book over and over and given it as a gift to numerous friends all over the world who all treasure it. Mrs Palazuelos reputation is due to high standards and extremely hard work and with very good reason is considered Mexico's number 1 caterer and now her equally talented son has just opened a hit restaurant of Mex-Thai fusion cuisine, unique in Mexico.

unique cookbook, explains some about the culture and has many true Mexican dishes that are yummy.

This book is beautiful and packed with appealing recipes. The quality of the paper, the vivid photography, and the engaging travel writing combine to make this more than just a book of recipes. It's a book you'll pull out and thumb through while you think about where you want to go in Mexico.

Excellent book. Have read two other sales books and this is my favorite. Gives information beyond the basics and doesnt rely on just saying motivational statments, gives real world advice. If you read and implement the ideas you are guarenteed to be more productive. 1st choice.

This is one of the best Sales books I have read! Simply outstanding - the go-to guide for complex sales. We use it routinely at our company to close business.

Solution Selling is the first book that exposed me to the world of complex, intangible and solution (vs. product) selling.

I had wanted to title this review as "The Idiot's Guide to Selling Solutions" BUT found that even though the instructions in the book literally takes a novice in sales through the process of selling complex solutions in a very straightforward manner, there STILL needs to be some thinking required by the sales person to profit from the knowledge within.

Solution Selling is the comprehensive guide for novice to learn the ropes, and a good reference book for seasoned sales pros as well. It is also a useful tool for sales managers to manage the pipelines of their teams too!

Great approach to selling, but must focuses on long sale cycle and does not pertain to all selling

Over the decades I've had the chance to work with the author at an early high tech company where he led the internal sales training classes. Later he become a consultant training some of today's largest high tech sales organizations in the world. Mike's always had tough, high standards. His ability to create a repeatable process to selling intangible products to complex organizations has led many of his pupils to excel. Many of them are now SVPs of Sales or CEOs and would be names you recognize.

But, as another reviewer says, you have to use the methodology. Reading the book is just the start.

Nutshell review - As is often the case with these types of books they are fluffed up with too much page-filling case studies to highlight the various points being made. That wouldn't be so bad except that there is nothing really new here that has not been covered elsewhere, most notably by Jack Trout and Al Ries. The basic message is differentiate, keep it simple, make it relevant, positioning, have sufficient resources. Chapter 9 is a two page summary and pretty much covers it in point form. An average book in this genre.

I can't take it anymore, I'm only on pg 73, this guy is driving me up the wall.

he keeps confusing product design (egg) and branding (chicken) as the samething and their not. what comes first, type of problem, the chicken or the egg.. (I can hear Adamson saying it the samething dummy)

This book, is his resume, he has to be looking for work

on pg 71 he makes a reference to VCR, u can't even buy one, much less use one....so why bring that up....i'm guessing, he pushed his old note.

if your still confused after reading the book, hire his agency so they can pick your pocket clean...brand-broke

the reason I didn't give it one star, u might think i'm some nut
I bet $20 he used his friends to pump the 4.5 rating

update:
finished the book and tossed it in the garbage can

BrandSimple is a refreshingly easy read that boils the essence of brands and branding down to, well, their simplest but most important basics. Anyone involved in business management of any kind should read this book.

Adamson reminds us throughout the book that a brand is a very different thing than branding and that marketers cannot be great at branding without first creating a great brand.

The best brands are different. They promise something different and unique and deliver on that promise every time. They also find a way to simplify their brand message so that just about everyone instantly "gets it" and that the "it" resonates and seems obvious after the fact. Getting to that simplicity can require a lot of hard work and thinking, but making it seem so simple, obvious and intuitive is the key.

As Managing Director of Landor Associates, Allen Adamson peppers the book with real-world examples from his work at Landor and from his previous positions. His case studies show how the best brands work tirelessly to emerge with a simple promise and a simple message that is easily communicated in just a few words.

The real examples are brief yet clearly show the challenges and ultimate solutions from brands like Compaq, Visa, Apple, Aquafina, Baby Einstein, BlackBerry, JetBlue, Timberland, Pixar and many more. He uses these brands to show that often a simple insight that makes your product different is the real power in building a great brand -- as long as that difference is important and relevant to your potential customers.

The book is written at an easy reading level so that any business manager will be able to readily breeze through it without tons of technical branding terminology and grasp the important concepts. This in turn will inspire them to reevaluate and transform their own brands. The book is straight-forward, simple and highly insightful and useful.


On my "Professional Marketer Investment Scale";
($-Poor investment, $$$$$-Great investment)

Rating: $$$$$

- If you're starting an ad agency, marketing business, or developing your own brand you NEED to read this. I know while reading personally, I had to stop and breathe every 2 pages and take notes because it was packed with so many thought provoking truths.

- Every page has something important or special. Usually books like these are written with a lot of Filler in between chapters just to make the book longer. However BrandSimple avoids this, and stays clear, simple, and informative throughout the end.

- I'm keeping this one, If I ever hire employees for my Ad Agency this book will be a mandatory read.

- Also, Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples is a Must read as well.

This book provides insight about how to make your brand stick. With all the marketing noise that we as business people have to penetrate through, it is necessary to differentiate your product. This book details the process of creating a relevant brand in our global market. I recommend this book to anyone who has a business at any level from a home based business to a start up. It is written in a simple style and is highly informative with stories and interviews to highlight the key points. Learn how to establish your brand idea and align your signals for a profitable return.

This was a good read, full of helpful info and contacts. A bit lengthy but other than that is was cool.

Has a lot of helpful himts for how to get your music out...

Book arrived so quickly and is in pristine condition, thank you thank you thank you :-D

This is a great book full of contacts and resources where you can get exposure for your band. The majority of the book is a convenient collection of contact info such as email addresses, postal addresses, phone numbers and websites. There's also a helpful "how to" tips section. I recommend buying this item.

If you are a independent musician, you can't afford NOT to have this book. This book is incomparable. I have made so many contacts and have been introduced to so many new services and and products. I am currently using to services to help aid in the distribution of my music that I found in the Indie Bible. The money I saved in one month, paid for the Indie Bible. Then you have the contacts. UNBELIEVABLE!!! These contacts are so complete and organized that is hard to imagine how the author did it. It has every radio station that will play your music, plus every written and online publication that will review your music. I will never let an edition slip by me.

This book is an excellent tool. It focuses very specifically on effectively creating a business presentation. The tips were valuable to be and I have been creating presentations for several years. It will also be very easy to reference in the future.

This book is about making CONSCIOUS decisions for balancing the story board itself for hard facts, visual, ethical and psychological aspects, politicily correctness etc. but of course doesnt stop there.

The book shows and discusses which elements you need to convey your story and why you use certain presentation technics over others to achieve your goals.

The book is devided in 14 chapters. Each chapter is focused on either

a) How to create or develop your basic story or on
b) How to enhance it

(by using the described technics and its implications and reactons it will provoke).

What makes this book standing out is the careful analyzation of the aspects that came into play when giving an presentation.

That obviously includes the analytical skills itself but also the time and effort to explicitely mention and discuss (dis)advantages of each element.


The carefully chosen presentation samples will be disassembled throughout the book and taken apart into its peaces, analyzed, explained and put back together.

Where required, the example will be (dis)assembled several times to bring the points across.

Its the analysation of those presentations and its aspects to a granular level and putting the gained knowledge into a conscious presentation creation process that make the book so valuable.

Most books tell you just how to use software to make graphics etc. but this book tells you what you have to present to your adience to actually win them over.

The fact that the many aspects are explicitely explained helps you visualize the options you have at your disposal and the reason why you chose one presentation form over another.

While this book focuses on presentations that show off your assets and the art of persuasion. There is also a companion book "In the line of Fire" which focuses more on the defense to hardball questions.

I do also want to recommend a third book - "Dan Roams: Back of the Napkin" which focuses more on the technical aspects of how to find your story, and a strong focus on visualizing it fool prove and providing rock solid hard facts that wont be beaten.

What Jerry*s books does express very well is the fact that giving a presentation is like being an athlet.
You will have to exercise "verbalize" regularly to be in top form when it counts.

Good luck to you !!

Presenting to Win is a terrific book. I got a clear, structured, sensible system to create presentations that will skyrocket the level of mine. I will keep this handy every time. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Jerry.

We've all sat through presentations that dragged on forever, but led nowhere. What's worse, we've probably even given a few. As the author puts it, "The problem is that no one knows how to tell a story...and no one knows that they don't know how to tell a story."
Author Jerry Weissman boils it down to telling a compelling story. That's easy to say, but hard to do. With this book's guidance, you can become an effective communicator--whether convincing employees of the need to change, persuading prospects that you have the best solution or leading skeptical community groups to support your cause.

Presenting to Win overflows with practical advice on how to engage an audience by telling your story with a focus on what's important to them. You become an `audience advocate' whose concern for your listeners' needs puts them at the heart of your presentation. As Weissman describes it:
"Persuasion is the art of moving your audience from Point A, a place of ignorance, indifference, or even hostility toward your goal...navigating them through an unbroken series of Aha!s...to Point B, a place where they will act as your investors, customers, partners, or advocates, ready to march to your drum."

By following Weissman's detailed roadmap, we can learn how to tell stories that move and motivate our listeners by keeping them engaged from a compelling start to a big finish.

Silicon Valley Presentation Guru

Weissmann's first career was as a Hollywood producer and screenwriter. His friendship with venture capitalist, Ben Rosen, led him to his second career as a presentation guru. In 1988, he launched a business that taught high tech executives to move from feature-laden, techno-speak dissertations to engaging, listener-centric presentations. Yahoo, Intuit, Cisco, Microsoft, and Intel all benefited from his teachings.

The Opening Gambit is Just the Beginning
Weissman offers plenty of real world anecdotes, how-tos, and helpful graphics that convey how to grab and keep your audience. His opening gambit concept typifies his approach. He first offers the rationale, supports it with multiple success stories, and describes a broad range of opening gambits.
To engage an audience, an opening gambit pulls them out of a state of disinterest or suspicion about you and your presentation. Asking questions is one of seven such gambits discussed. In 1993, Scott Cook founder of Intuit (maker of Quicken and QuickBooks) faced a jaded audience of investment bankers. Rather than launch into a feature packed discussion of his new product, he asked two questions:
* How many of you balance your own checkbooks?
* How many enjoy doing it?
After a round of chuckles, he continued, "You're not alone. Millions of people around the world hate balancing their checkbooks. We at Intuit have developed an easy-to-use, inexpensive home finance tool named, Quicken." With this `Aha' moment, Cook was off and running.
Beyond the Opening Gambit--Components of Successful Presentations
Equally insightful chapters on presentation essentials provide a level of detail and clarity that leaves nothing to chance. They include:
* Story development
* Graphic design
* Delivery skills
* Tools
* Q & A techniques
In each case, Weissman

Presenting to Win: A Blueprint Worth Following

Weissman demonstrates that even those of us who aren't naturals can present to win. Learning what he teaches requires significant effort because his approach contains such a broad range of interrelated elements--and includes variations that differ depending on purpose, topic, and audience. Making it easy for our audience is hard for us. But, as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Intuit, and Yahoo learned, the effort is well worth it.

Jerry Weissman is one of those rare people who has written an authoritative sounding book about how to present and has the real experience and background to justify every claim he makes.

The book starts with the premise that the presenter must focus on the audience and that he must make them focus on him. He must understand the mental point they are at (Point A) and moves them to Point B. He must understand what is in it for them (WIIFY) and constantly use it as he constructs every slide to walk them to Point B. He must also understand the setting of the audience, and his main points of argument. Finally, he must tie those points together with a flow structure that fits his argument.

That's the first half of the book and as someone who has through some awful presentations, I can only wish reading this book were the equivalent of a driver's license for public speakers.

The back half of the book draws on his background in television and employs standard cinematic techniques to improve the appearance of PowerPoint. It's easy to overlook this part, but it makes a huge difference as well.

I've now had a chance to see people who have used these techniques for years present, and it makes a huge difference. I have also seen someone present in a tough situation using these techniques for the first time. This person is level-headed and not given to fads. His comment? "I wish I had run to Jerry's book ten years earlier."

If you speak in public, this is the one book you have to read, and re-read. It is common sensical, based in fact, and surprisingly intuitive.

I have found that most books about marketing are about someone's one success in the past and just discuss the barriers they had to break to make their winning strategy work...they tend to be egocentric. I have wanted a book that really lines out the steps to take to create people loyal to a brand. I am not looking for a magic step-by-step I know everything takes time, but this book is doing a great job explaining practical things to do to create a loyal following. I got turned on to this book by their blog which is amazing...check it out at http://www.churchofthecustomer.com/

Ben and Jackie have written a great book about how to harness the power of your happy and loyal customers to build relationships with new customers. Their authentic ideas allow brands to build trust with customers.

Dr. Karen Mishra
Author, "Trust is Everything: Become the leader others will follow"

I have the original hard cover book and absolutely love it, it is my bible. So I bought this new one to share it. Looks updated but still has all the good stuff in it. This book has amazing ideas and examples that really work when you put them to use.

This book provides all the research needed to help you easily find customer evangelists! It's a great book, I highly recommend it.

This book is a perfect companion for wannabe-evangelists, or simply to understand the mechanisms behind some kind of "marketing" efforts (such as Dallas Mavericks' or O'Reilly Media's) that can be unclear at first.
I suggest it, a great purchase!

To anyone who has a dog, read this book, share with your family and friends. The story of loyalty in this book explains the love a boy and his dog share.

If you have a young reader in mind, give it to him or her. You will be glad you did.

This is a wonderful and touching story. It is a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever had a pet. I especially like that it has a jack russell in the story.

This book is the story of Willie Morris' childhood companion, a dog named Skip. Willie recounts his adolescent years and all the fond memories of his dog and friends as they grew up together in small town Mississippi. The story is heartwarming and the author paints a very clear picture of all the shenanigans, good times and bad that he and his dog had together over the years. I liked this book; but I think a male reader would appreciate the bond between a boy and his dog more than I can.

This was a great book! It was so touching and heartfelt. I love dogs and this book is an example of someone who loves dogs like me so I can connect! Greatly recomended!

Willie Morris was a truly great author! This story of his childhood with his dog was really heartwarming. It is so simple and warm and humorous, you will just love it. Warning: you will cry your eyes out at the end, but it's worth the pain. One of the best animal stories ever, I hope many kids read this in school. If you loved the movie "A Christmas Story" you will love this book. The movie version of "My Dog Skip" is also quite good, though it is kind of upsetting that in order to create drama the wonderful father of the book is kind of nasty in the movie. Willie Morris was a great author who also wrote a cat book entitled "My Cat Spit McGee" and several books about his life that remind me a little of Russel Baker's memoirs. One is entitled "North Toward Home", another "Good Old Boy" and one is about life in New York City.