Start-up CEO’s Marketing Manual. Guy Smith,. 2012. ISBN 9780983240730.  Guy has an excellent blog http://www.siliconstrat.com/blog/,  from which Rocket Builders has pulled many gems over the years.  Our good friend, David Greer, alerted us that Guy had published this book.  This is the real thing folks. There is not a wasted word or diagram in it.  The book’s realistic market is just about any CEO we have every worked with.   Guy clears away the confusion and lets the CEO in on what he/she really needs to know about marketing , and how to see if his dept is getting him where he needs to be.  A short book, clearly written, you can read it on a 2 hr plane ride – but you should re read it on the way back and each year as well.  This is an essential part of a CEOs’ toolkit.

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Conversations That Win Complex Sales.  Erik Peterson & Tim Riesterer. 2011. ISBN 978007175090. We know that competition is fierce and your  prospects are being overwhelmed by information. Every now and again a book comes along that synthesizes and summarizes what you just know is happening in selling situations and then proves clear insight into what you can do. This is one of those books.  Their Point of View is based on what is going on in the mind of the receiver while your are in the middle of a pitch, and how we usually  faili miserably in helping clients move forward.  Based on lots of research and experience the authors will show you how to make much better use of your selling time, become a much more valuable resource to your clients and move those stalled deals forward.   Did you know :

• Your Old Brain views the simple approach and stories as coming from much more intelligent people – park the jargon
• In the Hero story, your job is to make the client the Hero
• The first and last ten minutes of a presentation are gold – do not waste it by telling the client about your self.
• Tie approaches  to the techiques taught in the  The Challenger Sale, You need to challenge the prospects status quo – to prevent the do nothing response.
• You are presenting stories and conversations not a pitch  (again the buy is emotional first than logical)

Terrific book. Needs to be in the kit of high performance salespeople. Perfect for a 4 hour plane ride.

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