Selling

1. Marketing

Ageless Marketing: Strategies for Reaching the Hearts and Minds of the New Customer Majority
by David Wolfe, with two chapters by Robert E. Snyder when he headed J. Walter Thompson's Mature Market Group. This book connects important findings from recent brain research with tenets of classical psychology to demonstrate the need for new ways of thinking and marketing in an era in which people 40 and older now outnumber adults 18-39 by 125 million to 85 million. Writes Wolfe: "By 2010, adults 45 and older will outspend younger adults by $1 trillion … As boomers swell the ranks of older customers, many traditional marketing practices are becoming obsolete, for example, the idea that selling product features and benefits is primary. The customer experience is now primary. This and other departures from traditional ideas stem from the new dominance of the marketplace by people in the second half of life when experiential desires often overtake materialistic desires in their influence on lifestyles and buying behavior." (agelessmarketing.com).

Also download two fascinating research reports, "How Old is Old? Well how old are you?" and "It's all about values: Discovering Who's Who in Marketing to Matures" (jwtmmg.com/livewire/livewire07.html).

Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals
Members' goals are to leverage the value and growth of their businesses through forging alliances. This group hosts an annual conference and provides an archive of information on their Web site (strategic-alliances.org).

Authentic Promotion
"Learn to love marketing" is the central goal of Molly Gordon, author of Authentic Promotion: Grow Your Business, Feed Your Soul and owner of Shaboom Inc. Gordon provides an e-zine, teleclasses, retreats, other products, and consulting on "honest marketing that works." She has a loyal following of independent professionals who've discovered how to attract appreciative clients by sharing the passion they feel for their work. Her business model involves several Smart Partnerships (SmartPartnering e-book) that exemplify her standard of authentic promotion (authenticpromotion.com).

Brand Buzz
Kristie Tamsevicius describes how to build your personal and organizational brand in her Absolutely Fabulous Brand seminars and e-zine, Brand Buzz (BrandingontheNet.com). She's also the author of I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home and president of KCD Web Development and Hosting (KCDWebDesign.com).

Brand Channel
"The world's only online exchange about branding" has a wealth of ideas and is produced by the global conglomerate Interbrand (brandchannel.com).

Bull Market Directory
Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author of Permission Marketing, Free Prize Inside, Purple Cow, and other books, publishes an annual e-guide, that, with his usual modesty, he describes as a resource for connecting organizations with some of the world's most creative thinkers (sethgodin.com/bull/download.asp).

Business Advice for Creative People
by Lee Silber, who offers a series of practical books for artists, musicians, and other creative people who want their day job to be their creative work. Silber, who also leads his own public seminars, is a musician who makes it fun and fast to learn how to make your creative business thrive (creativelee.com).

Cool News of the Day
Marketing commentator Tim Manners offers pithy, cutting-edge insights in his daily briefing. Also, those who are interested in forging profitable Smart Partnerships (SmartPartnering e-book) will want to read the report he coauthored, Building Brands at Retail: Best Practices in Co-Marketing (reveries.com).

Duct Tape Marketing
John Jantsch writes a blog and offers many articles with canny marketing advice for small business owners (small-business-marketing-advice.com).

The Five Principles of Highly Effective Marketing
by Charlie Cook, a marketing consultant to small-business owners and also author of Creating Web Sites That Sell (marketingforsuccess.com).

Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World
by Shel Horowitz (frugalmarketing.com) and Marketing Without Megabucks: How to Sell Anything on a Shoestring (also by Horowitz) are two immensely helpful books for independent business owners. He also wrote Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and originated the Pledge for Ethical Business (principledprofits.com).

Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants
by former Deloitt Consulting executive, now independent consultant, Michael W. McLaughlin and Jay Conrad Levinson. Ask Michael to notify you when his book comes out in October 2004 (GuerrillaConsulting.com).

The Igor Naming Guide
What's in a name? Plenty if you want to become well known. This free, 51-page PDF file is a guide for naming and branding created by a San Francisco-based naming agency. It includes examples and case studies from a variety of industries (igorinternational.com/naming-guide.html). Also visit their blog, Snark Hunting (www.snarkhunting.com).

Marketing for More
A consulting program with Marcia Yudkin, perhaps the most popular marketing advisor to independent business owners. Yudkin provides a meaty e-zine, consulting, e-books, and yearlong consulting programs (yudkin.com/marketing.htm).

Marketing Hub
This extensive portal to marketing experts is searchable by name or topic (marketinghub.org). It is owned by David X. Manners Company Inc., who also publishes The Hub, a quarterly publication that features roundtable discussions among marketing's thought-leaders (hubmagazine.com) and "Cool News of the Day," Tim Manners' daily commentary on marketing, based on news and trends (reveries.com/coolnews).

Marketing to Women
by Marti Barletta, has received rave reviews by Tom Peters (tompeters.com), and deservedly so, as this book is research-based and incisive. At Barletta's firm's Web site, see the Gender Trends Marketing Diagnostic Tool (trendsight.com).

NEW Entrepreneurs, Inc.
Founder and executive director Christine Kloser's mission is "helping women ignite their business and fuel their soul." She offers a newsletter, teleclasses, and more (newentrepreneurs.com).

No Logo
by Naomi Klein. This revolutionary book on the controversial topic of sweatshop conditions covers the difficulties companies face when trying to ensure better working and living conditions for those who work for a sub-contracted company; the lies some firms perpetuate, inspiring college campus campaigns; and what you can and cannot do to make a difference as a consumer. What an engrossing writer Naomi is! Even if you don't think you're interested in this issue but you want to learn more about the world, read this book or at least visit the frequently updated Web site that includes mention of her film with Avi Lewis, "The Take," about an incident in suburban Buenos Aires where "thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act -- the take -- has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head" (nologo.org).

Re-Invention Blog
For women entrepreneurs, Kirsten Osolind offers "business and marketing sound bytes" plus an extensive list of resources for "Smart Women" (reinventioninc.blogspot.com).

Retail Wire
This e-zine provides brief summaries of retail news and trends, followed by short, lively commentary from respected thought leaders in the industry -- an interesting and efficient way to stay current about retail trends and innovations (retailwire.com).

Virtual Private Library
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A., is a bot expert and the executive director of this online library where you can conduct competitive market research or other detective work (VirtualPrivateLibrary.org).

What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business
by Harry Beckwith. When's the last time you found a business book so entertaining you wanted to read excerpts out loud to someone nearby? That's how I heard about this book. And the person who eagerly read to me wasn't even in business. From the movie Pretty Woman to how heart surgeons dress and over 250 other culture references, Beckwith draws original insights for delighting your clients. He suggests the four significant social changes that most affect your ability to grow your business, with numerous examples for each. Then he describes how to design your business to benefit from these changes.

Beckwith concludes by outlining the traits we need to succeed in "this Evolved Economy." Also included in the book is the most usable planning guide I've ever found, a checklist of questions for building an "exceptional business," a list of "traits clients love," and a reading list and closing interview. If you are like me, you won't be able to put this book down. Yet the chapters are short, some less than a page, so you can easily pick up where you left off if interrupted.

Any manager in business, government, or a nonprofit group can use this book to better attract and serve their clients.

In keeping with Beckwith's philosophy of demonstrating genuine, innovative care for your customers, see how you can offer them more value – with the right partners and offers. Join thousands of others who've enthusiastically adopted Kare's marketing tool to grow their business faster, even in soft economic times (Buy this book).

101 Ways to Market Your Language Program: A practical guide for language schools and programs
by Sarah Elaine Eaton is the most thorough and fun-to-read book on this topic. This adept trainer and consultant on language and cross-cultural education is now writing her second book, 101 Ways to Market Your Small Business (eatonintl.com).

2. Promotion

Annie Jennings PR
This is the only firm I've encountered where you pay only for the medic coverage you receive from her firm's work. No monthly fees. Sign up for her e-zine in which she summarizes the kind of stories that producers, editors, and reporters are seeking; then contact Annie if you want her to pitch you to the media. She also offers free teleseminars, with media experts and tapes and reports (anniejenningspr.com).

Beyond the Bookstore
by Brian Jud. More than half the books in the United States are sold outside of bookstores. If you own a consumer-serving location (from hospital to restaurant) you can create a new profit center by selling pertinent books to the people you serve while burnishing your brand and deepening your bond with those in your niche market. If you are an author, this book shows fresh ways to generate more sales. Either way, this book offers would-be Smart Partners (SmartPartnering e-book) many nuggets of advice about how to boost sales. For example, Jud says if your book is about pets, partner with veterinarians, aquariums, pet stores, kennels, book clubs, gift shops, and catalogs. The book comes with a Marketing Planning CD-ROM (bookmarketingworks.com/beyondbookstore.htm).

Cool Survey Tools
This free polling technology is easy to use (coolsurveys), as is the one offered, also for free, by Create Survey (createsurvey.com) and the more versatile, for-fee tools, Zoomerang (info.zoomerang.com) and SurveyMonkey (surveymonkey.com).

Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters
by Debbie Allen, international marketing expert, especially in retail, who has also written Confessions of Shameless Internet Promoters. Debbie grew up in a family of entrepreneurs who started businesses with little or no investment, so marketing has been as natural for her as breathing. She is generous and infectious in her enthusiasm for teaching others (confessionsofshameless.com).

CopyScape
Discover where your content or Web site is mentioned on the Internet, providing "Internet infringement protection" by using this free, Google-powered service by Indigo Stream Technologies (copyscape.com).

Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort
by Steven Van Yoder, a professional writer who suggests that "the best clients and customers are those who seek you out because they have already heard of you." This book shows you how to build visibility and credibility by making yourself a mini-celebrity and indispensable resource to your potential clients and customer (getslightlyfamous.com).

Feedster
This news search engine monitors mainstream information sources as well as hundreds of thousands of blogs. Sign up for myFeedster and you can customize your feed so that, for instance, any time someone is writing about the keywords you choose, you'll know about it and can contact the blogger or other kind of writer (www.feedster.com).

Google News Alerts
To find out when a person, organization, or keywords are in the news anywhere in the world, sign up for this free service that is one of my most vital tools as a writer and speaker (google.com/newsalerts).

How Does Your Web Site Rank?
Here are two tools to help you know:
1. Enter a word on this Web site and it bounces back related words that people search for. One strategy for successful search engine ranking is to ensure that you're using "keywords" throughout your Web site (inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion).

2. On this Web site, type in your URL and a report bounces back at you that lists all your inbound links (other Web sites linking to yours.) Link popularity is a key factor in your Web site's search engine performance (linkpopularity.com).

How to Position Yourself as the Obvious Expert
by Elson Eldridge and Mark L. Eldridge, with ideas contributed by experts (4expertise.com/how_to_Obvious_expert.html).

Hypnotic Marketing
Learning programs and other products by Dr. Joe Vitale, a marketer who lives well off his marketing breakthroughs and has helped several clients to as well (MrFire.com).

Imediafax
With the expert help of founder Paul Krupin, you can customize your own media list to either buy or for ImediaFax to send your press release by fax and/or e-mail. Also peruse his Resource Center of experts' articles on publicity such as "Why News Releases Fail and What to Do About It" and "Trash Proof News Releases" (imediafax.com).

Kidon Media-Link
The most complete, easiest to use, and free portal for locating newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and news agencies anywhere in the world (kidon.com/media-link).

The Kintera Media Network
Nonprofit organizations can improve their service by improving their communication between staff, supporters, and beneficiaries, using Kintera's technology. This firm helps these key stakeholders become Smart Partners (SmartPartnering e-book) in their marketing, programming, and fundraising efforts. For example, nonprofit organizations can use its Web-based software to create more successful real-world events (kintera.com).

Micro Persuasion
Blog by Steve Rubel, VP/Client Services at CooperKatz & Company, on "how blogs and participatory journalism are impacting the practice of public relations," according to Rubel, who also says," Blogs should definitely be a part of a public relations strategy today... if only because, if you're lucky enough to be written about by a high-profile blogger, chances are likely that the more mainstream media will pick it up." One Rubel tip: "Search the keywords you're looking for along with the word 'blog.' Then, using the advanced Google toolbar, look at the page rank of the site you're visiting, ranked from one to ten on the number and influence of inbound links coming into the site" (steverubel.typepad.com/micropersuasion).

NewsBuzz
Through this portal, gain exposure for your book, product, service, or issue through media interviews by using Lorilyn Bailey services that include GuestFinder.com, GreatGuests Newsletter, and ContactTheMedia.com (newsbuzz.com/newsbuzz).

NewsVoyager
This is probably the most extensive gateway to newspapers and media organizations worldwide because it is a service of the Newspaper Association of America. The home page displays a "Feature of the Week," an innovative product or service from a newspaper Web site (newspaperlinks.com).

Press Release Distribution Service
This is a free distribution service, yet you must establish legitimacy by establishing a login account. If you make a small contribution, your press release also appears in their internal Web archive search. You can also register for free to receive daily new feeds from PR Web and read tips on crafting a release (secure.dataovation.com/prweb/login.php).

Promo Xtra
This excellent free e-zine covers major promotional campaigns and news of the businesses that design and use them, provided by Promo Magazine (xtra.promomagazine.com/subscribe).

Publicity Hound
Joan Stewart, a past business newspaper editor, provides a very helpful newsletter, reports, teleseminars, and consulting to "use free publicity to establish your credibility, enhance your reputation, position yourself as an expert, sell more products and services, promote a favorite cause or issue, and position your company as an employer of choice" (www.publicityhound.com).

Recognized Expert
Bob Sommers hosts the Recognized Expert Marketing Show online (recognizedexpert.com).

Revolution in the Mailbox: Your Guide to Successful Direct Mail Fundraising
by Mal Warwick, founder of Mal Warwick & Associates, a successful company that launches fundraising campaigns for progressive political candidates and causes. The firm offers seminars and a print and electronic version of "Mal Warwick's Newsletter: Successful Direct Mail, Telephone, and Online Fundraising" (malwarwick.com).

Soul Proprietor: 101 Lessons from a Lifestyle Entrepreneur
by Jane Pollak. As Susan Keane Baker, author of Managing Patient Expectations, writes in raving about this book, "A lifestyle entrepreneur is someone with a successful business and a meaningful personal life" and this book gives a first-person success story and step-by-step plan to illustrate how you can too (janepollak.com).

Sponsorship
Solid news and analysis of sponsorship methods (sponsorship.com).

Success Strategies
An e-zine published by Michael E. Angier who is also the creator of The World Class Business Conference and CIO of SuccessNet (SuccessNet.org).

Wordcraft: The Art of Turning Little Words into Big Business
by Alex Frankel, a business journalist. Frankel defines "brand" as "an amalgamation of everything that one thinks about when a particular word is uttered," and corporations today spend millions to make sure you think of a specific idea every time you see or hear their name (Amazon: new Grisham best-seller! Wal-Mart: cheap prices!). Mr. Frankel writes that our economy is entrenched in "a linguistic war waged by corporate America, where good, novel, fresh and inventive ideas substitute for ammunition." His Web site also contains his blog (wordcraftbook.com/bio.html).

3. Sales

Discover Your Sales Strengths
by Benson Smith and Tony Rutigliano. As with the three other groundbreaking books by people at the Gallup Organization, this one is based on extensive research. After questioning 250,000 sales reps, 25,000 sales managers, and a million customers to find how the best salespeople sell and how the rest can sell better, they've made a few key findings. The best salespeople are actively engaged in their jobs, know where their strengths lie, find the right fit, and work for the right manager -- yet, they found, it is not true that "A good salesperson can sell anything." (Buy this book).

How Customers Think
by Jerry Zaltman, who created a patented process dubbed ZMET (olsonzaltman.com) that uses a metaphor elicitation technique. Subjects are asked to explain with images, not just words, their true feelings about anything from socks to search software -- in other words, to ferret out the subliminal appeal of their products. "Ninety-five percent of thought, emotion, and learning occur in the unconscious mind -- that is, without our awareness," Zaltman says, and that includes 95 percent of the thoughts, emotions, and learning that drive our purchases, according to Zaltman. Coke, for example, discovered through ZMET that its peppy soft drink elicited feelings of solitude as well as sociability.

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
by Barry Schwartz, a psychology professor (swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bschwar1) who said in a public radio interview, "Just because some choice is good and essential for well being, it doesn't follow that more choice is better. We have, I think, long since passed the point where additional choice, rather than liberating us, which is the point, paralyzes us, tyrannizes us." He then offered this advice: "If you're a maximizer, give it up. Satisfiers have lower expectations, fewer regrets, happier lives." Later he explained, "We can make choices about when to make choices, decide that there are certain areas of life where we're not going to care and other areas where we're really going to devote all of this time and attention to making sure that we do the right thing," as he eloquently illustrates in this treasure of a book (harpercollins.com).

Referral Flood
by John Jantsch, on how to create a flood of new business without spending one dime on advertising (ReferralFlood.com).

Sell it, Baby! Marketing Angel's 37 Down-to-Earth & Practical How-To's on Marketing, Branding & Sales
by Kimberly McCall, columnist (Entrepreneur, inc.com, The Wall Street Journal's StartupJournal.com), freelance copywriter, and marketing consultant with an e-zine (MarketingAngel.com).

Trading Up: The Transformative Power of the Mass Luxury Brands
by Michael Silverstein of the Boston Consulting Group (bcg.com) and Neil Fiske, now chief executive of Bath & Body Works. This is a valuable primer about how and why you should create a version of your products or services to attract big spenders. Get two snapshots of the authors' message on our emotional spending at (robwalker.net/html_docs/emotional.html) and (tompeters.com/cool_friends/content.asp?id=53). They write, "Practically everyone is willing to pay a premium in at least one category, partly because shopping is now a source of emotional fulfillment and meaning for many.

Unlocking The Secrets of Successful Women in Business
by Linda Brakeall, covers many situations from starting business conversations to staying calm and collected in an interview. This experienced sales trainer also wrote How to Get Men to Take You Seriously in Business and in Life (TheRespectedWoman.com).

Why CRM Doesn't Work: How to Win by Letting Customers Manage the Relationship
by Frederick Newell, who explains why he believes "it's time to change the name of the game to CMR -- customer management of relationships." This international marketing consultant also wrote, Wireless Rules: New Marketing Strategies for Customer Relationship Management Anytime, Anywhere and co-hosts, along with The Retail Management Institute, an annual conference on customer relationship management. Also find case studies on the Web site (loyalty.vg).

4. Service

Be Connected
This blog offers commentary about how to become more intuitive about your customers' needs (betuitive.blogs.com/beconnected).

Concierge-Style Service
Nearly 25 years ago, Holly Stiel was the first American woman admitted to the exclusive international concierges' association, Les Clefs d'Or. As one of America's foremost authorities on service and hospitality, she's the author of Ultimate Service: The Complete Handbook to the World of the Concierge and Thank You Very Much (thankyouverymuchinc.com).

Consumed
New York Times magazine weekly column by Rob Walker, author of Bobos in Paradise and Slate's "Moneybox" column. Walker writes about how people are increasingly defining themselves through brands -- echoing the sentiments of the Trading Up book coauthors. Watch for his 2005 book titled Consumed: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are (robwalker.net).

The Hidden Profit Center
by speaker, Helen Wilkie, is a business fable about CEO Richard Pemberton on how profits are lost and found through communication (HiddenProfitCenter.com).

Homemade Money
by Barbara Brabec. This two-volume edition is invaluable for those who work out of their home. Barbara also provides down-to-earth tips with a healthy dose of humor at her friendly Web site and in her Brabec Bulletin (BarbaraBrabec.com).

Positively Outrageous Service
by T. Scott Gross, a spellbinding speaker, adventurer, pilot, and writer of several books on service, including Why Service Stinks, Borrowed Dreams, and MicroBranding. Once again, he and Melanie, his wife and partner in all projects, put his customer-loving ideas to work in Sporty's, near their home in Center Point, Texas (www.tscottgross.com).

5. Trendwatching

Headline Scanner
Customize the kinds of topics, via news headlines, that you want to have sent to your computer (www.headlinescanner.com).

The Herman Trend Alert
Roger Herman and his colleagues consult and track issues related to workforce and workplace issues (hermangroup.com).

Iconoculture
Covers emerging trends and cultures for marketers through two fee-based online publications, Iconoculture Online and Iconoculture Online Latino, plus the free e-zine, "Iconowatch" (iconoculture.com).

The Pew Research Center for People and the Press
This highly respected center sponsors poll research and commentary on timely issues, including The Pew Global Attitudes Project that was first to find high worldwide distrust of the United States a year after the beginning of the Iraq war (people-press.org).

SpringWise
An e-zine of new, global business ideas, accompanied by photo illustrations (springwise.com/newsletter/newsletter.html).

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell. Opinion leaders rave about this best-seller because Malcolm is the first to research and concisely explain why ideas spread -- or don't.

What causes fads, trends, or buying crazes? Why can't we stick to a plan to stop smoking, lose weight, learn a language? How can a few people inspire a huge number of people to act differently? Clue: It is not a matter of money or intelligence. If you want to spread an idea, alter your behavior, build a following, sell an idea, support a cause, or get the best expert to give you free advice, read this book. Want to be a change-maker? Discover how "mavens," "connectors," and other particular personality types are "natural pollinators" who create the phenomenon of word-of-mouth.

Gladwell studied fashion trends, children's television, spread of syphilis and graffiti, direct mail, and other social phenomena for clues to how random incidents become infectious. See how to start and sustain behavioral epidemics.

Learn why some campaigns to change behavior fail and how actions lead to unintended consequences. Writes Gladwell: "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." In this book you'll learn exactly how so you can apply the principles to spurring change in yourself or others.

Every salesperson, parent, advocate, and government professional can benefit from the behavioral insights in this book. I've re-read this book five times and always come up with fresh insights and ideas for my work and my life. He is such an insightful writer I'd read about mud if that were his topic (Buy this book).

Tom Peters Times
Still brash, wide-ranging, and interesting after all these years, Tom Peters serves up a monthly e-zine of his latest thinking about what's going on in business and in the world (tompeters.com/your_world/join_the_fray).

Trendwatching
This e-zine (45,000 subscribers) and sister organization to Springwise uses 1,500 trend spotters in 50 nations to find emerging hot trends and hosts seminars to announce their findings (trendwatching.com).