Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal


Oren Klaff - 2011
    Over the past 13 years, he has used his one-of-a- kind method to raise more than $400 million--and now, for the first time, he describes his formula to help you deliver a winning pitch in any business situation.Whether you're selling ideas to investors, pitching a client for new business, or even negotiating for a higher salary, "Pitch Anything "will transform the way you position your ideas.According to Klaff, creating and presenting a great pitch isn't an art--it's a simple science. Applying the latest findings in the field of neuroeconomics, while sharing eye-opening stories of his method in action, Klaff describes how the brain makes decisions and responds to pitches. With this information, you'll remain in complete control of every stage of the pitch process."Pitch Anything" introduces the exclusive STRONG method of pitching, which can be put to use immediately: Setting the Frame Telling the Story Revealing the Intrigue Offering the Prize Nailing the Hookpoint Getting a DecisionOne truly great pitch can improve your career, make you a lot of money--and even change your life. Success is dependent on the method you use, not how hard you try. "Better method, more money," Klaff says. "Much better method, much more money." Klaff is the best in the business because his method is much better than anyone else's. And now it's yours.Apply the tactics and strategies outlined in "Pitch Anything" to engage and persuade your audience--and you'll have more funding and support than you ever thought possible.

Service Fanatics: How to Build Superior Patient Experience the Cleveland Clinic Way


James Merlino - 2014
    There was atime when this revered organization ranked among the lowest in the country in this area. Within ten years, however, it had climbed to among the highest and has emerged as the thought leader in the space.How did Cleveland Clinic turn itself around so effectively and so quickly?More important, how can you do the same with your organization?In gripping, visceral, on-the ground fashion, Service Fanatics reveals the strategies and tactics the Clinic applied to become one of today's leading patient-experience healthcare organizations--methods that seamlessly translate to any business seeking to improveits customer experience. This strategic guide covers:How the Clinic's leaders redefined the concept of patient experience and developed a strategy to improve itCritical lessons learned regarding organization, recruitment, training, and measuring service excellenceWays in which the Clinic aligned its entire workforce around its Patients First strategyHow leaders improved the critical element of physician communicationRather than view patients simply as sick people who need treatment, Cleveland Clinic sees them also as important stakeholders in the organization's success. Patients are customers--who desire, pay for, and deserve the best possible care and experience during what is often a challenging time in their lives.Featuring customer service case studies, as well as invaluable insight from C-level executives at top corporations in various industries, Service Fanatics provides actionable lessons for any manager and business leader beyond healthcare.Whether you run a healthcare institution, nonprofit, or for-profit business, Service Fanatics will help you create the kind of customer experience that promises to transform your organization into an industry powerhouse.

How to Improve Your Leadership and Management Skills - Effective Strategies for Business Managers


Meir Liraz - 2013
    It points out that you must be a leader that people follow, keep informed, make timely decisions and take effective action. In effect you must control the activities of your organization rather than being controlled by them. Here's what’s in the book: * How to lead and manage people; powerful tips and strategies to motivate and inspire your people to bring out the best in them. Be the boss people want to give 200 percent for. * How to Make a Good First Impression * How to Motivate Your Employees in the Workplace * How to Manage Change Effectively * How to Deal With Difficult Employees * Effective Business Negotiation Techniques * How To Set and Achieve Goals * Effective Delegating Strategies * How To Ensure the Profitability of Your Business * How to Create a Business Environment that Supports Growth * All these and much much more. My name is Meir Liraz and I'm the author of this book. According to Dun & Bradstreet, 90% of all business failures analyzed can be traced to poor management. This is backed up by my own experience. In my 31 years as a business coach and consultant to managers, I've seen practically dozens of managers fail and lose their job -- not because they weren't talented or smart enough -- but because they were trying to re-invent the wheel rather than rely on proven, tested methods that work. And that is where this book can help, it will teach you how to avoid the common traps and mistakes and do everything right the first time. Table of Contents 1. How to Lead and Manage People 2. How to Make a Good First Impression 3. How to Motivate Employees in the Workplace 4. How to Manage Change Effectively 5. How to Deal With Difficult Employees 6. Effective Business Negotiation Techniques 7. How To Set and Achieve Goals 8. Effective Delegating Strategies 9. How To Ensure the Profitability of Your Business 10. How to Create a Business Environment that Supports Growth Tags: leadership development, student leadership challenge, business leadership, leadership development program, leadership dynamics, management skills and application, developing management skills.

First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat Into a Cultural Phenomenon


Darren Rovell - 2005
    If you blinked, you might have missed them, because Gatorade has swiftly and decisively fended off every would-be rival. Although a few other brands hold slim market shares, the fact is that Gatorade single-handedly created the sports drink industry 40 years ago and has absolutely ruled it ever since.But Gatorade is more than just a triumph of branding. First, it's a trusted product that has been scientifically proven to do what it claims to do.Second, Gatorade is an enthralling story, brought to life in bright color and sharp detail in First in Thirst. Author Darren Rovell, a skilled, objective, and passionate journalist, chronicles every astonishing milestone of the company's history.With unprecedented access to the inventors, the marketers, the analysts and observers, and key company figures past and present, Rovell recounts the sweat-drenched University of Florida football practices, the first (unpalatable) prototypes, and the commercial and financial interest that quickly took hold following the drink's first on-field successes. Then came the advertising, sponsorships, product placements (many of them fortuitous), and finally the two milestones that cemented Gatorade's iconic status once and for all -- the ubiquitous Gatorade bath and the Michael Jordan ""Be Like Mike"" endorsement deal.With refreshing candor, First in Thirst also offers an inside look at the negotiations, battles, lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions, product strategies, lucky breaks, and even the missteps (there have not been many) that have attended Gatorade's reign as the 800-pound gorilla of the sports-drink scene. Rovell places the reader inside labs and brainstorming sessions, at board meetings and ad shoots, on the sidelines and in the dugouts, even in the winner's circle at NASCAR events -- where Gatorade manages maximum exposure even at tracks whose official sponsors include chief rival POWERade.The book identifies the nine Gatorade Rules, business principles that have helped Gatorade become one of the most dominant brands ever. By adhering to these principles, businesses in other industries may achieve greater brand recognition and market share.Long before America knew what ""deep-down body thirst"" was, a team of university scientists had already invented something to quench it. First in Thirst is the story of the product and the company, and of America's fascination with the one and only Gatorade.

Obvious Adams (Illustrated): The Story of a Successful Businessman


Robert Rawls Updegraff - 2013
    Hardly anyone has heard of it, but those who do swear by it, and they tend to be some of the world's top copywriters. For example, Gary Bencivenga, who retired in 2003 as the world's most effective and highest paid copywriter, named Obvious Adams as one of the most important copywriting and business books he's ever read. Some say that Bencivenga was given the book by David Ogilvy himself, the father of modern advertising. And some even whisper that the allegorical character of Obvious Adams is a veiled reference to Claude Hopkins, whose work is studied by serious marketers to this day. So make use of this treasure that you hold in your hands. Read it once, to enjoy the story. Then read it a second time, to appreciate the wisdom that it shares. Make notes in the margins, and carefully apply what you learn - and your future customers will thank you for having done so!

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It


Chris Voss - 2016
    Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most – when people’s lives were at stake.Rooted in the real-life experiences of an intelligence professional at the top of his game, Never Split the Difference will give you the competitive edge in any discussion.

Million Dollar Coach: The 9 Strategies That Drive A 7-Figure Coaching Business


Taki Moore - 2016
    Increase the income you earn, work when and how you want, watch your clients get incredible results...... and become empowered to live a life of massive personal freedom. Million Dollar Coach is designed to shift these issues you may be experiencing such as: • Too many coaches hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the 3 plateaus: Survival, Stability or even Success • Most coaches blame themselves, and try to work on their MINDSET — But nothing changes because it’s not your mindset that’s the problem. It’s the MODEL that needs to change. • The model that you bought into when you started your coaching business is completely unscalable (Manual prospecting to get a few leads, followed by one-to-one selling and dealing with objections, excuses and stalls... and time-for-money coaching so there’s never any time for you). • For the last 5 years, the author has been working with a select group of coaches, taking them from Stability to Success and Scale. Taki Moore has a very new approach and he shares the very best of what is working for them to become a Million Dollar Coach. This book is essential reading for coaches of all types and experience-levels and is of particular value for anyone looking to start a coaching business to short cut growing pains and quickly rise to become a Million Dollar Coach.

A CEO Only Does Three Things: Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite


Trey Taylor - 2020
    Many owners and CEOs think they have to be involved in every aspect of their business. They spend valuable brainpower on low-priority decisions. Before long, they're overworked and burned out.Instead of doing everything, it's time to focus on the right things.A CEO Only Does Three Things zeroes in on the three pillars of business: culture, people, and numbers. Steeped in twenty-plus years of practical knowledge, training, and consulting with some of the world's largest companies, this indispensable guide shows how to articulate the right culture for your business, hire people with the right mindsets, and inspire your teams to produce optimal results.Hundreds of CEOs have used Taylor's methods to create fulfilled, efficient, professional lives, and you can join them. Learn how to focus on the work you love-and avoid CEO burnout.

Customer Mania!: It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company


Kenneth H. Blanchard - 2004
    In fact, many experts believe that you build a business from the customer up. With coauthors Jim Ballard and Fred Finch, Blanchard explains why the customer is the right starting place from which to build a successful business. By drawing on examples from the world's largest restaurant company, Yum! -- owner of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, and A&W Restaurants -- the authors explain how any company, large or small, can develop a unified, people-first, customer-oriented culture. Packed with practical insights, Customer Mania! emphasizes four critical steps:• Set Your Sights on the Right Target. The bottom line grows from taking care of customers and creating a motivating environment for your people. • Treat Customers the Right Way. Determine the kind of experience you want your customers to have as they interact with every part of the company. • Treat Employees the Right Way. Use strategies ranging from smart hiring to training and development to managing performance and creating a recognition culture. • Build the Right Kind of Leadership. You can't do it all yourself, so let your people put their own brains to work and then support them all the way.By relying on these concepts, businesses everywhere can cultivate passionate and engaged team members who contribute to the company's overall success. From CEO to middle manager to the person facing the consumer, Customer Mania! is a vital tool for enhancing their experience -- and their customer's.

The Qualified Sales Leader: Proven Lessons from a Five Time CRO


John McMahon - 2021
    As an executive, board member, advisor, and investor, John has not only coached a generation of companies on selling, but he has also influenced a generation of executives and leaders in technology, Mike Speiser-Managing Director-Sutter Hill VenturesThe learnings in The Qualified Sales Leader will help you and your sales team sell more, make more money and grow your career in enterprise sales. Luca Lazzaron-CRO SprinklrMost sales books are boring, clinical "textbooks" that "cookie-cutter" a few generic ideas into a monotonous, dull read, that puts you to sleep. The Qualified Sales Leader is an easy read, dripping with the fundamentals of enterprise sales. Real world advice that you'll put to use the next day. Chris Degnan-CRO-SnowflakeThe Qualified Sales Leader is an easy to read book that will absolutely resonate through any enterprise software sales team. Realistic, usable advice for any sales leader or sales rep. If you're in enterprise sales, you'd be crazy not to read this book Cedric Pech-CRO-MongoDBMonthly someone asks:, "When are you going to write a book". When I ask, "Why?", I'm told, "Because no one has written a sales leadership book with practical, solutions to real life issues in enterprise SaaS sales forces", Why:6 of 10 sales reps fail, not because they couldn't sell but because they were assigned the wrong accounts. Sales leaders don't align skillsets to account complexity.Rep attrition at most SaaS companies is over 20%Sales leaders can't recruit A playersSales Leaders don't coach their reps on deal advancement issuesMost sales leaders are "glorified scorekeepers"Most sales leader don't motivate their sales teamThey're focused on deals, not rep competencySales forecasts are inaccurate because most reps game the CRM system.Sales team leaders lack qualification of sales stage exit criteriaMany salesforces only win 50% of their proof of conceptsThey're unable to frame a winning POC Criteria because they skip steps 8 of 10 executive buyers say the sales meetings they take are a waste of time.Sales reps lack the ability to sell business value aligned to specific personas and use cases. 4 of 10 reps in enterprise sales say one of the top 3 biggest challenges is to establish urgency. Reps don't quantify critical business pain to create a buying influence.Reps can't find high-level business champions, only low-level coachesLeaders don't teach them to find pain above the noise.Reps find pain but can't attract a championManagers have them selfishly focused on closing a sale instead of earning trust.40% of reps say they feel out of control during the sales process.Leaders don't teach them how to control the process.Reps can't get high in the tree to drive large deals.They don't speak the language of the Economic Buyer.50% of reps say they can't overcome price objections while sales leaders struggle to increase the average deal size. Managers are pushing their sales reps into vending, not selling. Reps can't answer the simple "3 Whys" for forecasted dealsWhy do they have to buy? Why do they have to buy from us? and Why do they have to buy now?Top sales leaders will find the answers to these issues and more in The Qualified Sales LeaderFrom the PublisherJohn is widely recognized as the only person having been the CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) at five public, enterprise software companies, PTC, Geo-Tel, Ariba, BladeLogic and BMC.John's expertise was formulated as a pre-IPO member of 4 of the 5 companies listed above.Today, John is a board member at public software companies Snowflake, MongoDB and private, pre-IPO companies Lacework, Sigma, Cybereason and Observe. In the past, John has been a board member or executive consultant to: Hubspot, Glass Door AppDynamics and Sprinklr.

The Real-Life MBA


Jack Welch;Suzy Welch - 2016
    Over the same time frame Jack has advised more than seventy-five companies through private equity and dozens more in a senior advisory role at IAC. Now Jack and Suzy Welch draw on their experiences to address the biggest problems facing modern management and offer pragmatic solutions to overcome them.Going beyond theories concepts and ideologies they tackle the real stuff of work today. When you get down to it they argue winning in business is all about mastering the gritty inescapable make-or-break real-life dilemmas that define the new economy the old economy and everything in between.Work is a grind. We just got whacked. My boss is driving me nuts. I m stuck in career purgatory. My team has lost its mojo. IT is holding us hostage. Our strategy is outdated the day we launch it. We don t know what our Chinese partners are talking about. We re just not growing. These are some of the day-to-day issues the Welches take on. Coupled with Jack s years of iconic leadership and Suzy s insights as former editor of the Harvard Business Review their new database of knowledge infuses The Real Life MBA with fresh relevant stories and equally powerful solutions that every manager at any level can

Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company-And Revolutionized an Industry


Marc Benioff - 2009
    Showing how salesforce.com not only survived the dotcom implosion of 2001, but went on to define itself as the leader of the cloud computing revolution and spark a $46-billion dollar industry, Benioff's story will help business leaders and entrepreneurs stand out, innovate better, and grow faster in any economic climate. In Behind the Cloud, Benioff shares the strategies that have inspired employees, turned customers into evangelists, leveraged an ecosystem of partners, and allowed innovation to flourish.

Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want


Étienne Garbugli - 2014
    It's the kind of book you don't read once, you go back to it on a regular basis. » - Carmen Gerea, CEO & Co-founder, UsabilityChefsLean B2B helps entrepreneurs and innovators quickly find traction in the enterprise.Used by thousands around the world and packed with more than 20 case studies, Lean B2B consolidates the best thinking around Business- to-Business (B2B) customer development to help entrepreneurs and innovators focus on the right things each step of the way, leaving as little as possible to luck.The book helps:• Assess the market potential of opportunities to find the right opportunity for your team• Find early adopters, quickly establish credibility and convince business stakeholders to work with you• Find and prioritize business problems in corporations and identify the stakeholders with the power to influence a purchase decision• Create a minimum viable product and a compelling offer, validate a solution and evaluate whether your team has found product-market fit• Identify and avoid common challenges faced by entrepreneurs and learn ninja techniques to speed up product-market validation« The book will pay itself off in the first couple of pages! » - Ben Sardella, Co-Founder, Datanyze« Treat this book like a map to show you where you are and a compass to show you the direction. I wish I could have read it 2 or 3 years ago. » – Jonathan Gebauer, Founder, exploreB2B« Lean B2B is filled with rock-solid advice for technology entrepreneurs who want a rapid-growth trajectory. Read it to increase your certainty and your success rate. » - Jill Konrath, Author of AGILE SELLING and Selling to Big Companies« Probably the most slept on book in the Lean startup market right now.... There is no sugarcoating here. Garbugli tells you exactly what needs to happen and how to make it happen... literally holds your hand and spells it out. I was really impressed with the overall depth and advice presented. » - AJ, B2B Entrepreneur« The book I read of which I have learned the most. » - Etienne Thouin, Founder and CTO, SQLNext Software« This book is essential reading for would-be entrepreneurs who face the daunting task of entering B2B markets. » – Paul Gillin, Co-Author, Social Marketing to the Business Customer

The New Strategic Selling: The Unique Sales System Proven Successful by the World's Best Companies


Robert B. Miller - 1985
    Rejecting manipulative tactics and emphasizing "process," Strategic Selling presented the idea of selling as a joint venture and introduced the decade's most influential concept, Win-Win. The response to Win-Win was immediate and helped turn the small company that created Strategic Selling, Miller Heiman, into a global leader in sales development with the most prestigious client list in the industry. The New Strategic Selling This modern edition of the business classic confronts the rapidly evolving world of business-to-business sales with new real-world examples, new strategies for confronting competition, and a special section featuring the most commonly asked questions from the Miller Heiman workshops. Learn: * How to identify the four real decision makers in every corporate labyrinth * How to prevent sabotage by an internal deal-killer * How to make a senior executive eager to see you * How to avoid closing business that you'll later regret * How to manage a territory to provide steady, not "boom and bust," revenue * How to avoid the single most common error when dealing with the competition.

Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business


Jay Conrad Levinson - 1984
    Based on hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson’s philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success including* strategies for marketing on the Internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it)* tips for using new technology, such as podcasting and automated marketing* programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business* management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employeesGuerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur’s marketing bible -- and the book every small-business owner should have on his or her shelf.