And therein lies the pickle.Women are the engine of the global economy, driving 80 percent of consumer spending in the United States alone. They hold the purse strings, and when they’ve got a tight grip on them as they do now, companies must be shrewder than ever to win them over. Just when executives have mastered becoming technology literate, they find there’s another skill they need: becoming female literate. This isn’t always easy. Gender is the most powerful determinant of how a person views the world and everything in it. It’s stronger than age, income, or race. While there are mountains of research done every year segmenting consumers and analyzing why they buy, more often than not it doesn’t factor in the one piece of information that trumps them all: the sex of the buyer. It’s stunning how many companies overlook the psychology of gender when we all know that men and women look at the world so differently.Bridget Brennan’s Why She Buys shows decision makers how to bridge this divide and capture the business of the world’s most powerful consumers just when they need it most.• No Matter Where You Live, Women Are a Foreign Country: You’ll discover the value in studying women with the same intensity that you would a foreign market. Women grow up within a culture of their own gender, which is often invisible to men. Brennan dissects this female culture and explains the important brain differencesbetween men and women that may cause your female customers to notice things about your products, marketing campaigns, or sales environment that you might have overlooked.• The High Fives: There are five major trends driving the global female population that are key to determining their wants and needs. These global shifts are just beginning to be tapped by businesses, and learning about them can provide you with an invaluable blueprint for long-range planning. • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Find out how the best and brightest companies have cracked the female code, and hear horror stories about those that haven’t. Through instructive case studies and interviews, Why She Buys provides practical, field-proven techniques that you can apply to your business immediately, from giants like Procter & Gamble and Toyota to upstarts like Method home-care products and lululemon athletica apparel. At a time when every company is looking for a competitive advantage, Bridget Brennan offers a new and effective lens for capturing market share.

    This book recognizes that we’ve come to a place where people can represent their real identity—both personal and professional—and use the social filters on the Web to connect with the world around them.” —Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook “...A must-read for CEOs and other executives who want to understand Facebook and more importantly take the right actions to stay relevant and stay competitive.” —David Mather, President, Hoovers, Inc. The ‘90s were about the World Wide Web of information and the power of linking web pages. Today it’s about the World Wide Web of people and the power of the social graph. Online social networks are fundamentally changing the way we live, work, and interact. They offer businesses immense opportunities to transform customer relationships for profit: opportunities that touch virtually every business function, from sales and marketing to recruiting, collaboration to executive decision-making, product development to innovation. In The Facebook Era, Clara Shih systematically outlines the business promise of social networking and shows how to transform that promise into reality. Shih is singularly qualified to write this book: One of the world’s top business social networking thought leaders and practitioners, she created the first business application on Facebook and leads salesforce.com’s partnershipwith Facebook. Through case studies, examples, and a practical how-to guide, Shih helps individuals, companies, and organizations understand and take advantage of social networks to transform customer relationships for sales and marketing. Shih systematically identifies your best opportunities to use social networks to source new business opportunities, target marketing messages, find the best employees, and engage customers as true partners throughout the innovation cycle. Finally, she presents a detailed action plan for positioning your company to win in today’s radically new era: The Facebook Era. Join the conversation—www.thefacebookera.com. Fan the book—www.facebook.com/thefacebookera. Right this minute, more than 1.5 million people are on Facebook. They’re interacting with friends—and talking about your brands. They’re learning about your business—and providing valuable information you can use to market and sell. In the Facebook Era, you’re closer to your customers than ever before. Read this book, and then go get them! Clara Shih offers best practices for overcoming obstacles to success, ranging from privacy and security issues to brand misrepresentation, and previews social networking trends that are just beginning to emerge—helping you get ahead of the curve and ahead of the competition, too.  Includes a practical 60-day action plan for positioning your company to win in the Facebook Era For companies of all sizes, in all industries—and business functions ranging from marketing to operations By Clara Shih, creator of Faceconnector, the first business application on Facebook Learn how to… Understand how social networking transforms our personal and professional relationshipsWhy social networking will have business impact comparable to the Internet Use online social networks to hypertarget your customersHone in on precise audience segments and then tailor custom campaigns with powerful personal and social relevance Define and implement your optimal social networking brand strategyAsk the right questions, set the right goals and priorities, and execute on it Implement effective governance and complianceUnderstand and mitigate the risks of social networking/Web 2.0 initiatives

    Berman, Chief Operating Officer, Outside VenturesIn the newest edition of this valuable manual, Stephan Schiffman offers updated advice to salespeople about getting prospects and making the sale. It's not just what you do--it's what you don't do:Don't sell against a competitorDon't be satisfiedDon't stop getting ideasDon't use boilerplate proposalsDon't overuse e-mailThe book also includes a new introduction and updated text. Schiffman offers salespeople the kind of advice--from listening to the client to following up on the sale--that has made him the best corporate sales trainer today. With Schiffman's book in their pocket, salepeople can avoid common blunders and make the sale.

    For far too long, emotions have been ignored in favor of rationality and efficiency.  Breakthroughs in brain science have revealed that people are primarily emotional decision-makers.  Many companies have not yet accepted that fact, ignoring emotion in favor of rationality and efficiency.  Even fewer have acted on it. Emotionomics looks at emotions in terms of business opportunities, both in the marketplace and in the workplace.  In today's highly competitive marketplace where many products look alike, a product's emotional benefit can make the difference.  Moreover, a company with an emotionally engaged workforce will undoubtedly achieve competitive advantage. A revised edition that replaces the 2007 release, Dan Hill's book draws on insights gathered through facial coding, the single best viable means of measuring and managing the emotional response of customers and employees.  It shows how to leverage emotions for business success in branding, product design, advertising, sales, customer satisfaction, leadership, and employee management. Emotions matter, and this book will help readers not only step closer to customers and employees, but also to step ahead of competitors.

    Unquestionably the best-documented account of sales success ever collected and the result of the Huthwaite corporation's massive 12-year, $1-million dollar research into effective sales performance, this groundbreaking resource details the revolutionary SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff) strategy.In SPIN Selling, Rackham, who has advised leading companies such as IBM and Honeywell delivers the first book to specifically examine selling high-value product and services. By following the simple, practical, and easy-to-apply techniques of SPIN, readers will be able to dramatically increase their sales volume from major accounts. Rackham answers key questions such as "What makes success in major sales" and "Why do techniques like closing work in small sales but fail in larger ones?"You will learn why traditional sales methods which were developed for small consumer sales, just won't work for large sales and why conventional selling methods are doomed to fail in major sales. Packed with real-world examples, illuminating graphics, and informative case studies - and backed by hard research data - SPIN Selling is the million-dollar key to understanding and producing record-breaking high-end sales performance.

    What do Howard Hughes and 50 Cent have in common, and what do they tell us about Americans and our desires? Why did Sean Connery stop wearing a toupee, and what does this tell us about American customers for any product? What one thing did the Beatles, Malcolm Gladwell and Nike all notice about Americans that helped them win us over? Which uniquely American traits may explain the plights of Krispy Kreme, Ford, and GM, and the risks faced by Starbuck's? Why, after every other plea failed, did "Click It or Ticket" get people to buy the idea of fastening their seat belts? To paraphrase Don Draper's character on the hit show Mad Men, "What do people want?" What is the new American psyche, and how do America's shrewdest marketers tap it? Drawing from dozens of disciplines, the internationally acclaimed marketing expert Harry Beckwith answers these questions with some surprising, even startling, truths and discoveries about what motivates us.

    Now you can have them--in a boxed set of HBR's Must Reads. This six-title collection includes only the most critical articles from the world's top management experts, curated from "Harvard Business Review"'s rich archives. We've done the work of selecting them so you won't have to. From leadership and strategy to managing yourself "and" others, HBR's Must Reads offer foundational articles on essential business topics to help you maximize your organization's performance and your own. The series includes: HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials This book brings together the best thinking from management's most influential experts. Arm yourself with the insights of Michael Porter on competitive advantage, John Kotter on leading change, Daniel Goleman on emotional intelligence, Peter Drucker on managing your career, Clayton Christensen on disruptive innovation, Tom Davenport on analytics, Robert Kaplan and David Norton on measuring strategy with the "balanced scorecard," Rosabeth Moss Kanter on innovation, Ted Levitt on marketing, and C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel on core competence. Once you've read these definitive articles, you can delve into each core topic the series explores: managing yourself, managing people, leadership, strategy, and change management.HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself The path to your professional success starts with a critical look in the mirror. Here's how to stay engaged throughout your 50-year work life, tap into your deepest values, solicit candid feedback, replenish your physical and mental energy, and rebound from tough times. This book includes the bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen.HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing People Managing your employees is fraught with challenges, even if you're a seasoned pro. Boost their performance by tailoring your management styles to their temperaments, motivating with responsibility rather than money, fostering trust through solicited input, giving rookie managers the support they need, and building high-performing teams.HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership Are you an extraordinary leader--or just a good manager? Learn how to motivate others to excel, build your team's confidence, set direction, encourage smart risk-taking, credit others for your success, and draw strength from adversity.HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy Is your company spending too much time on strategy development, with too little to show for it? Discover what it takes to distinguish your company from rivals, clarify what it will (and won't) do, create blue oceans of uncontested market space, and make your priorities explicit so employees can realize your vision.HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management Most companies' change initiatives fail--but yours can beat the odds. Learn how to overcome addiction to the status quo, establish a sense of urgency, mobilize commitment and resources, silence naysayers, minimize the pain of change, and motivate change even when business is good.

    And follow one simple rule: Convey only what needs to be said, clearly and concisely, in three minutes or less. That’s the 3-Minute Rule.Hollywood producer and pitch master Brant Pinvidic has sold more than three hundred TV shows and movies, run a TV network, and helmed one of the largest production companies in the world with smash hits like The Biggest Loser and Bar Rescue. In his nearly twenty years of experience, he’s developed a simple, straightforward system that’shelped hundreds—from Fortune 100 CEOs to PTA presidents—use top-level Hollywood storytelling techniques to simplify their messages and say less to get more. Pinvidic proves that anyone can deliver a great pitch, for any idea, in any situation, so your audience not only remembers your message but can pass it on to their friends and colleagues. You’ll see how his methods work in a wide range of situations—from presenting investment opportunities in a biotech startup to pitching sponsorship deals for major sports stadiums, and more. Now it’s your turn. The 3-Minute Rule will equip you with an easy, foolproof method to boil down any idea to its essential elements and structure it for maximum impact.Simplify. Say less. Get More.

    . . and get ahead!All too often, introverts get passed over for job offers and promotions while their more extroverted colleagues get all of the recognition. But it doesn't have to be this way.In Self-Promotion for Introverts(R), business communication coach and intrepid introvert Nancy Ancowitz helps introverts tap into their quiet strengths, articulate their accomplishments, and launch an action plan for gaining career advancement.You will learn how to:Promote yourself without bragging--when networking, on job interviews, and at workUse your quiet gifts (writing, researching, and listening)to your advantageBe a commanding presenter, despite your quieter natureFormulate your best plans, set goals, take action--and even find a better jobFeaturing exclusive advice from Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black, and marketing guru Seth Godin, Self-Promotion for Introverts(R)helps you progress inward, outward, and onward.

    In his breakthrough handbook, Ditch the Pitch, Steve Yastrow, founder of a successful business strategy consulting firm, asks us to throw out everything we've been taught about pitching to customers. Steve’s advice: tear up your sales pitch and instead improvise persuasive conversations.Ditch the Pitch is an essential read for salespeople, business managers, and anyone wishing to persuade those around them. Organized into six habits, with each habit consisting of three practices necessary for mastery, Ditch the Pitch is designed to teach Yastrow's approach to fresh, spontaneous, persuasive conversations. These new skills will show the reader how to identify the details that make each customer unique and subsequently navigate a conversation that focuses on the right message for the right customer at the right time.Throughout the book, the author quotes well-known improv comedians and musicians. He translates the techniques these artists use when improvising to create persuasive situations with customers. With the new confidence Ditch the Pitch offers, you will become master of the art of on-the-spot, engaging, and effective customer interactions. Let go of pre-written scripts and embrace Yastrow's guidelines for effortlessly enabling spontaneous conversations that persuade customers to say "yes."

    Industry insiders hail it as one of the most successful campaigns in the history of advertising, and the star of the ads is always the beautiful, artful, chameleon-like bottle from Sweden.The Absolut ads are celebrated as much for their ingenuity as their longevity. They are full of wit, artistry, and imagination as they deftly communicate the brand's values, often containing little challenges to the reader to interpret just what's happening inside the ad.Flip through the over 250 pages of magnificent bottle art featured in this beautiful graphic design book. This advertising book features 15 chapters each chronicling the long life of this world-famous glass art. In Absolute Book author, Richard Lewis of TBWA Chiat/Day, Absolut's advertising agency from the beginning, shares an intriguing, behind-the-scenes account of the birth and growth of this heralded campaign, its personalities and creators, and the paths they've taken to keep it perpetually fresh.

    . . even entrepreneurs and brand managers. It reveals dozens of copywriting techniques that can help you write ads, commercials, and direct mail that are clear, persuasive, and get more attention--and sell more products. Among the tips revealed are• eight headlines that work--and how to use them• eleven ways to make your copy more readable• fifteen ways to open a sales letter• the nine characteristics of successful print ads• how to build a successful freelance copywriting practice• fifteen techniques to ensure your e-mail marketing message is openedThis thoroughly revised third edition includes all new essential information for mastering copywriting in the Internet era, including advice on Web- and e-mail-based copywriting, multimedia presentations, and Internet research and source documentation, as well as updated resources. Now more indispensable than ever, The Copywriter's Handbook remains the ultimate guide for people who write or work with copy."I don't know a single copywriter whose work would not be improved by reading this book." --David Ogilvy

    This is her finest work, a book that ought to be read by everyone on your team, and somehow hidden from your competitors."—SETH GODIN One of the biggest challenges we face as entrepreneurs and innovators is understanding how to make our ideas resonate. We tend to have no shortage of ideas, but we struggle to tell the story of how they are going to be useful in the world and why they will matter to people. Marketing is the way we communicate how our ideas translate to value for people in a marketplace.Marketing has become a necessary evil for every business, but what if we adopted a different view of it? What if marketing was less about promotion or coercion and more about reaching out to people and helping them to solve problems? What if marketing was how we found more ways to do better work and to matter to our customers?What if marketing was where we began our journey towards understanding what people need and want?What if it was our vantage point for seeing the world through the eyes of our customers? How different would marketing be then?

    Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.--back cover

    In this modern and interconnected world, con-men are lurking everywhere – it’s never been easier for them to dupe us, take from us, and infiltrate our lives.  One of the world’s leading and celebrated experts on con-games takes the reader through the history of cons, how they’ve been updated to the modern age, how they work, how to spot them, and how to protect yourself from being the victim of one.R. Paul Wilson is a con-man who works for the other side – our side. He has spent a lifetime learning, performing, studying, and teaching about the ins and outs of the con world in order to open up our eyes to the dangers lurking about us – and to show us how not to get taken. Paul has never made a living as a con-man, profiting off of marks – he has used his expertise throughout his life to help people avoid cons.In this fascinating book, Paul takes the reader through the history and developments of the con game, what elements from the past are based on basic human psychology and have stood the test of time, what has been updated for the modern era and how it’s getting used in the computer age, the structure of how these cons work, and – most importantly - how to recognize one, protect yourself and your loved ones, and avoid becoming just another sucker.