Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success


Mike Schultz - 2009
    A necessary addition to your reading." --David Maister, author of Managing the Professional Service Firm"Professional Services Marketing will certainly become the bible of the field in short order! Without a doubt, the most useful compendium of marketing insight for the practicing professional services firm executive...BRAVO!" --Leonard A. Schlesinger, President, Babson College, and coauthor of The Service Profit Chain"It's no longer sufficient to be a good 'expert for hire'--you need a brand and a powerful marketing engine behind you. Professional Services Marketing is a gold mine of research based strategies, best practices, and specific techniques that will help you consistently win in the client marketplace and outshine your competition. It's thoughtful, funny, and filled with the how-to so often missing in business books." --Andrew Sobel, coauthor of Clients for Life"Schultz and Doerr offer tactics and information in an easy-to-read, concise, and enjoyable format. Professional Services Marketing should be a required resource in every professional marketer's tool box!" --R. Granville Loar, Executive Director, Association for Accounting Marketing"This book is an excellent resource for anyone involved in professional services. It is especially timely in our current challenging economic conditions, and the ideas and guidance are relevant for the better times to come as well." --Josh Lee, Partner, Monitor Group"Smart. Practical. Comprehensive. This is the one book that won't collect dust on my shelf." --Kevin McMurdo, Chief Marketing Officer, Perkins Coie"Professional Services Marketing is the first book to directly address the challenges of the professional services marketer. This book is filled with practical wisdom and research on best practices and processes specifically for this industry. A must-read for anyone in a professional services firm!" --Paul Dunay, Global Director of Integrated Marketing, BearingPoint

Rework


Jason Fried - 2010
    If you're looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don't need to be a workaholic. You don't need to staff up. You don't need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don't even need an office. Those are all just excuses.  What you really need to do is stop talking and start working. This book shows you the way. You'll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who’s ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs they hate, victims of "downsizing," and artists who don’t want to starve anymore will all find valuable guidance in these pages.

Paul Graham: The Art of Funding a Startup


Andrew Warner - 2011
    Thank you for your feedback and patience.From Andrew Warner:I first interviewed Paul Graham after I heard something shocking from Alexis Ohanian, a founder whose company was funded by Graham's Y Combinator. Alexis came to Mixergy to tell the story of how he launched and sold Reddit.If you're a founder, you know the kind of problems that founders have, right? Figuring out what product to create, how to build it, how to get users to try it, etc.Well Alexis didn't seem to have those problems, or at least they weren't as challenging for him as they were for most of the other 600 entrepreneurs I interviewed on Mixergy.Why? Because Paul Graham helped him launch his business.How did Graham make Reddit's launch easier and more successful than other companies' founding? How did he do the same for hundreds of other startups? And, more importantly, what can you learn from his experiences to grow your business?The book you're holding has those answers.Use what you're about to learn to build your successful startup. After you do, I hope you'll let me interview you so other founders can learn from your experience, the way you're about to benefit from Graham's.About Hyperink, the publisher:Hyperink is the easiest way for anyone to publish a beautiful, high-quality book.We work closely with subject matter experts to create each eBook. We cover topics ranging from higher education to job recruiting, from Android apps marketing to barefoot running.If you have interesting knowledge that people are willing to pay for, especially if you've already produced content on the topic, please reach out to us! There's no writing required and it's a unique opportunity to build your own brand and earn royalties.

The 16-Word Sales Letter™: A proven method of writing multi-million-dollar copy faster than you ever thought possible


Evaldo Albuquerque - 2019
    For years, I've been asking myself: How can a guy whose native language is not even English be one of the best U.S. copywriters in history? Now I have the answer... nicely reduced to a simple, understandable formula. And the best thing is that it’s a usable formula. Anyone seriously interested in copywriting should discover Evaldo's secret.” —Bill Bonner, Founder of Agora. “It’s not often that I come upon a copywriting strategy that feels new to me. And even less frequently do I encounter one that is both new and exciting. Evaldo Albuquerque’s “16 Word Sales Letter™” is such a strategy. I’m going to recommend this as a must-read to all my copywriting proteges.” —Mark Ford, best-selling author and chief growth strategist for Agora. “Evaldo is the world’s greatest copywriter you’ve never heard of. Why haven’t you heard of him? Because while others are selfpromoting ... heck, while they’re eating, sleeping and relaxing... he’s cranking out the next blockbuster. He never stops. He’s a 9-figure sales machine and our business’s secret weapon. This book is your blueprint to how the machine dominates. Read it and put it into action. Your royalty check will thank you.” —Peter Coyne, founder of Paradigm Press, Agora Financial’s largest imprint “I'm recommending this book to everyone in my company, and making it required reading for all new hires. When it comes to books on "writing" I try to read everything new, and no matter how many books I pick up, I rarely find any ideas that are innovative (or even useful), but this book shattered my expectations—I found page after page packed with fresh ideas. It's engaging to read, and very easy to implement the writing techniques. “Evaldo has uncovered a new way to write sales copy that is perfect for today's buyers; I really love this book, and after you turn the first two pages, you'll see exactly why. It’s a must-read primer for anyone who writes sales copy…. Read this book—and learn from one of the best.” —Oren Klaff, best-selling author of Pitch Anything and Flip the Script “Few people know his name. Yet, those at the highest levels of direct response advertising consider Evaldo Albuquerque the Michael Jordan of modern financial copywriting. His new book, The 16 Word Sales Letter™, reveals for the first time the secret to his astonishing success. In split tests, the selling formula Evaldo reveals in his book has won, repeatedly, against ad copy written by the world’s top copywriters. When asked at a recent seminar I gave what are the two best books I’ve ever read on copywriting, my answer was Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz and The 16 Word Sales Letter™ by Evaldo Albuquerque.” —Caleb O’Dowd The 16-Word Sales Letter™ is a copy system that has generated over $120 million dollars for Agora Financial in the last two years alone. It’s a simple formula that could help you generate millions in online sales... No matter how competitive your niche is….No matter what kind of product or service you’re selling…And no matter your level of experience. That’s because it can not only help you identify a new big idea for your market, but also help you structure your sales message for maximum emotional impact. And now, for the first time ever, Evaldo Albuquerque is revealing the details of this system in this brand-new book.

How I Lost 170 Million Dollars: My Time as #30 at Facebook


Noah Kagan - 2014
    What was life like in the early days of Facebook? How did the company operate when it was just a small startup? Who were this team of misfits that built one of the most powerful tech companies in the world? In How I Lost 170 Million Dollars, Noah Kagan paints a compelling picture of the ups, downs, hard work, wild partying, and fascinating characters that populated the office during his time as Facebook's 30th employee.

Ultimate Guide to Link Building: How to Build Backlinks, Authority and Credibility for Your Website, and Increase Click Traffic and Search Ranking


Eric Ward - 2012
    Who links to a site and how they link to it is one of the most important factors that search engines rely on when ranking results. But how do marketers control this? Link building expert Eric Ward provides the answers.Sharing little-known techniques for link building via social media platforms, blogs, partnerships, public relations, articles, and more, Ward teaches marketers which link-building techniques will maximize the quality links that point to their site, allowing them to charm both search engines and customers and which methods to avoid.This one-of-a-kind guide details a variety of link building tools, tactics, and techniques illustrated by case studies, expert interviews, and resources. Ward leaves no opportunity unexplored, and no link-building questions unanswered.

Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google


Aaron Goldman - 2010
    Aaron Goldman has written an essential book that goes beyond telling us how Google became so important to explaining why the revolution it's leading will affect everyone in media and marketing." --Brian Morrissey, Digital Editor, Adweek"An insightful tour of the elements that have made Google successful combined with a usable guide on how to apply this learning to your business." --Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, VivakiAbout the BookYou know you've hit it big when your name becomes a verb--and no one knows that better than Google. In just over 10 years, Google has become the world's most valuable brand, consistently dominating its category and generating $6 billion in revenue per quarter.How does Google do it? In a word: marketing.You may not think Google does much marketing. Indeed, it doesn't do a lot of what has traditionally been viewed as marketing. But in today's digital world, marketing has taken new shape--and Google is at the cutting edge.In Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google, digital marketing expert Aaron Goldman offers 20 powerful lessons straight from Google's playbook. Taking you deep into the inner workings of the Googleplex (which are simpler than you think), Goldman provides the knowledge and tools you need to build and grow your brand (which is also simpler than you think).Along the way, he shows how Google's tactics are being used by a wide range of successful corporations, from Apple to Zappos. Key principles include:Tap into the Wisdom of Crowds: Get the signals you need directly from your customersKeep It Simple, Stupid: Craft messages people can grasp in a nanosecond and pass alongDon't Interrupt: Join the conversation-- but avoid disrupting itAct Like Content: Provide value, not sales pitchesTest Everything: Take no detail of your program for granted; you can always improveShow Off Your Assets: Distribute your brand everywhereThe beauty of it all is that these Googley lessons can be applied to every aspect of marketing, in organizations of any size. Whether you run a PR department in a multinational corporation or serve as the sole marketer in a small business, these tactics work.In its mission to "organize the world's information," Google has rewritten the book on marketing. Use Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google to remake your own organization's marketing--and engage more customers than ever.

The Marketing Agency Blueprint: The Handbook for Building Hybrid Pr, Seo, Content, Advertising, and Web Firms


Paul Roetzer - 2011
    The old guard, rooted in tradition and resistant to change, will fall and new leaders will emerge. Hybrid marketing agencies that are more nimble, tech savvy, and collaborative will redefine the industry. Digital services will be engrained into the DNA of every agency and blended with traditional methods to execute integrated campaigns. The depth, versatility, and drive of their talent will be the cornerstones of organizations that pursue a higher purpose. The Marketing Agency Blueprint is a practical and candid guide that presents 10 rules for building such a hybrid agency.The new marketing agency model will create and nurture diverse recurring revenue streams through a mix of services, consulting, training, education, publishing, and software sales. It will use efficiency and productivity, not billable hours, as the essential drivers of profitability. Its value and success will be measured by outcomes, not outputs. Its strength and stability will depend on a willingness to be in a perpetual state of change, and an ability to execute and adapt faster than competitors. The Marketing Agency Blueprint demonstrates how to:• Generate more qualified leads, win clients with set pricing and service packages, and secure more long-term retainers.• Create diverse and recurring revenue streams.• Develop highly efficient management systems and more effective account teams.• Deliver greater results and value to clients, and win their loyalty.This is the future of the marketing-services industry. A future defined and led by underdogs and innovators. You have the opportunity to be at the forefront of the transformation.

The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage


Roger L. Martin - 2009
    They yearn to come up with a game—changing innovation like Apple's iPod, or create an entirely new category like Facebook. Many make genuine efforts to be innovative—they spend on R&D, bring in creative designers, hire innovation consultants. But they get disappointing results.Why? In The Design of Business, Roger Martin offers a compelling and provocative answer: we rely far too exclusively on analytical thinking, which merely refines current knowledge, producing small improvements to the status quo.To innovate and win, companies need design thinking. This form of thinking is rooted in how knowledge advances from one stage to another—from mystery (something we can't explain) to heuristic (a rule of thumb that guides us toward solution) to algorithm (a predictable formula for producing an answer) to code (when the formula becomes so predictable it can be fully automated). As knowledge advances across the stages, productivity grows and costs drop-creating massive value for companies.Martin shows how leading companies such as Procter & Gamble, Cirque du Soleil, RIM, and others use design thinking to push knowledge through the stages in ways that produce breakthrough innovations and competitive advantage.Filled with deep insights and fresh perspectives, The Design of Business reveals the true foundation of successful, profitable innovation.

Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing and Selling


Michael Port - 2006
    It gives you simple, yet effective techniques for creating relentless demand and endless leads. It includes more than 200 proven marketing strategies for attracting new clients, earning more referrals, and building profitable, long-lasting professional relationships. If you want to take your service business to the next level, start here and "Book Yourself Solid.

Get Over Your Damn Self: The No-BS Blueprint to Building A Life-Changing Business


Romi Neustadt - 2016
    In this book she offers you the same direct, no-BS coaching she’s given to tens of thousands to help you acquire the skills to build this sucker and teach your team to do the same. And, equally important, she’ll work on your mindset so you stop overcomplicating it all and stop letting the negative voices in your head win.You’re going to learn:• The Posture to confidently connect with anyone about your businessand your products.• The Possibilities for a lucrative, efficient and enormously rewarding turn key business.• The Power that’s already within you to build the life you really want…if you dare.

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies


James C. Collins - 1994
    It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time.Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies -- they have an average age of nearly one hundred years and have outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926 -- and studied each company in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?"What separates General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, and Philip Morris from their rivals? How, for example, did Procter & Gamble, which began life substantially behind rival Colgate, eventually prevail as the premier institution in its industry? How was Motorola able to move from a humble battery repair business into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith never became dominant in anything other than TVs? How did Boeing unseat McDonnell Douglas as the world's best commercial aircraft company -- what did Boeing have that McDonnell Douglas lacked?By answering such questions, Collins and Porras go beyond the incessant barrage of management buzzwords and fads of the day to discover timeless qualities that have consistently distinguished out-standing companies. They also provide inspiration to all executives and entrepreneurs by destroying the false but widely accepted idea that only charismatic visionary leaders can build visionary companies.Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the twenty-first century and beyond.

Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale


Zig Ziglar - 1984
    This new guide by America's #1 professional in the art of persuasion focuses on the most essential part of the sale—how to make them say "Yes, I will!" Zig Ziglar lets you in on the secrets of his own sure-fire, tested methods:Over 100 successful closings for every kind of persuasionOver 700 questions that will open your eyes to new possibilities you may have overlookedHow to paint word pictures and use your imagination to get resultsProfessional tips from America's 100 most succesful salespeopleDo what millions of Americans have already done—open this book and start learning from Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale!

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It


Michael E. Gerber - 1985
    500 CEOs.An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.The E-Myth Revisited will help you grow your business in a productive, assured way.

Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won't Teach You at Business School


Richard Branson - 2012
    From his top tips on succeeding in business to some hard-hitting opinions on the global finance crisis, this book brings together his best advice on all things business.It's business school, the Branson way.