To build a successful business, you need to stop doing random acts of marketing and start following a reliable plan for rapid business growth. Traditionally, creating a marketing plan has been a difficult and time-consuming process, which is why it often doesn’t get done.

During economic contractions, it becomes much more difficult to sell your products, maintain your customer base, and gain market share. Mistakes become more costly, and failure becomes a real possibility for all those who are not able to make the transition. But imagine being able to sell your products when others cannot, being able to take market share from your competitors, and knowing the precise formulas that would allow you to expand your sales while others make excuses.

People don't buy from people they like. No! Your buyer doesn't care about you or your product or service. It's not your job to overcome objections, it's your buyer's. Closing isn't a skill of good salespeople; it's the skill of weak salespeople. Price isn't the main reason salespeople lose the sale. Gap Selling shreds traditional and closely held sales beliefs that have been hurting salespeople for decades. For years, salespeople have embraced a myriad of sales tactics and belief systems that have unknowingly created many of the issues they have been trying to avoid.

Loyal customers are the beating heart of every great business. So why do so many companies act like adrenaline junkies, chasing after new customers at the expense of creating deeper, more profitable relationships with the ones they already have? Evergreen exposes the mad pursuit for what it is: a brief spike in metrics and an ongoing revenue drain as one-time customers fail to return. A better solution is to shift resources from attracting new customers to engaging the base.

Coleman offers a system designed to dramatically increase customer retention and as a result, the bottom line. He identifies eight distinct emotional needs customers undergo during the 100 days following a purchase, whether it's as small as a new drink at Starbucks or as big as a house. If you can understand and anticipate these phases, you can use a myriad of techniques - in-person, email, mail, and video - to cement a long and valuable partnership.

The Thank You Economy is about something big, something greater than any single revolutionary platform. It isn't some abstract concept or wacky business strategy—it's real, and every one of us is doing business in it every day, whether we choose to recognize it or not. It's the way we communicate, the way we buy and sell, the way businesses and consumers interact online and offline.

Paul Jarvis left the corporate world when he realized that working in a high-pressure, high profile world was not his idea of success. In Company of One, Jarvis explains how you can find the right pathway to do the same, including planning how to set up your shop, determining your desired revenues, dealing with unexpected crises, keeping your key clients happy, and of course, doing all of this on your own. Company of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth, for any size business.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, an intrapreneur, or a not-for-profit leader, there's no shortage of advice on such topics as writing a business plan, recruiting, raising capital, and branding. In fact there are so many books, articles, and websites that many startups get bogged down to the point of paralysis, or they focus on the wrong priorities and go broke before they discover their mistakes.

Michael E. Gerber, the world's leading small business guru and best-selling author of the phenomenally successful The E-Myth Revisited, presents the next big step in entrepreneurial management and leadership with E-Myth Mastery. This audiobook presents a practical, real-world program that can be implemented in real-time in your business.

The one and only reason your business exists (and why it matters). Your business can have a dramatic impact on your personal life. Understanding why you are in business will help you enjoy your business more and will help you build the right kind of business.

Anthony Iannarino never set out to become a salesman. He fell into his profession by accident, and now has turned his focus to a question that's been debated for at least a century: Why are a small number of salespeople in any field hugely successful, while the rest are stuck with mediocre results at best? Since then, and for over 25 years, he has read hundreds of books, tested countless strategies, and interviewed dozens of the best salespeople to figure out what sets the extraordinary ones apart from the rest.

While a Vice President at Salesforce, David Priemer had an epiphany: The very sales tactics his team was using were not working on him. While the company — and his entire profession — was acting with more than enough gusto, they lacked emotional awareness and empathy. Put simply: They were not selling the way they buy.

As a salesperson, your pipeline is the key to your success. No matter what changes, that remains the same. Top producers prospect - and they do it all the time. "But how?" you ask, "In the age of the Internet, isn't cold-calling dead?" Now, in his new audiobook, sales expert Mark Hunter shatters costly prospecting myths and eliminates confusion about what works today.

How do you break through to impossible-to-reach executive buyers who are intent on blocking out the noise that confronts them every day? Old-school prospecting tactics or new-school techniques alone won't provide the answers. But Combo Prospecting will...by showing how to combine time-tested sales processes with cutting-edge social media strategies and clever technology hacks.

Does your competitor always get the sale, even though your products and service are just as good - if not better? The Power of Why tells listeners how to elevate their business performance regardless of their situation or position. Offering the same actionable, hands-on strategies Weylman has used to help companies of all sizes grow in the toughest conditions, The Power of Why is the new manual for business survival and growth.

As a salesperson, your pipeline is the key to your success. No matter what changes, that remains the same. Top producers prospect - and they do it all the time. "But how?" you ask, "In the age of the Internet, isn't cold-calling dead?" Now, in his new audiobook, sales expert Mark Hunter shatters costly prospecting myths and eliminates confusion about what works today.

How do you break through to impossible-to-reach executive buyers who are intent on blocking out the noise that confronts them every day? Old-school prospecting tactics or new-school techniques alone won't provide the answers. But Combo Prospecting will...by showing how to combine time-tested sales processes with cutting-edge social media strategies and clever technology hacks.

Whether you’re new to marketing or a seasoned pro, this book gives you a crystal-clear road map to grow your business, make more money, maximize your impact in your market, and love what you’re doing while you’re doing it. Author Brian Kurtz takes you inside the craft to help you use all the tools at your disposal - from the intricate relationship between lists, offers, and copy, to continuity and creating lifetime value, to the critical importance of multichannel marketing and more - so you can succeed wildly, exceed all your expectations, and overdeliver every time.

Small business marketing doesn't have to be a mystery. It's just a series of simple decisions (and the action steps to implement those decisions) that will help you regain the clarity, confidence, and control you need to succeed. Do It! Marketing is an encouraging kick in the pants that will reignite your marketing mojo. The underlying premise is that "only action creates results."

Selling is tougher than ever before. Potential customers are under extreme pressure to do more with less money, less time, and fewer resources, and they're wary of anyone who tries to get them to buy or change anything. Under such extreme conditions, yesterday's sales strategies no longer work. Sales strategist Jill Konrath tells you how to overcome obstacles, get more appointments, speed up decisions, and win sales with today's short-fused, frazzled customers.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, an intrapreneur, or a not-for-profit leader, there's no shortage of advice on such topics as writing a business plan, recruiting, raising capital, and branding. In fact there are so many books, articles, and websites that many startups get bogged down to the point of paralysis, or they focus on the wrong priorities and go broke before they discover their mistakes.

Paul Jarvis left the corporate world when he realized that working in a high-pressure, high profile world was not his idea of success. In Company of One, Jarvis explains how you can find the right pathway to do the same, including planning how to set up your shop, determining your desired revenues, dealing with unexpected crises, keeping your key clients happy, and of course, doing all of this on your own. Company of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth, for any size business.

Anthony Iannarino never set out to become a salesman. He fell into his profession by accident, and now has turned his focus to a question that's been debated for at least a century: Why are a small number of salespeople in any field hugely successful, while the rest are stuck with mediocre results at best? Since then, and for over 25 years, he has read hundreds of books, tested countless strategies, and interviewed dozens of the best salespeople to figure out what sets the extraordinary ones apart from the rest.

Book Yourself Solid has been one of the most popular marketing guides in the world for service-based businesses since its initial release in 2006. This new third edition includes updated and expanded strategies, techniques, and skills to help you get more clients and increase your take-home profits.

The power of glitzy advertising and elaborate marketing campaigns is on the wane; word- of-mouth referrals are what drive business today. People trust the recommendation of a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger with similar tastes over anything thrust at them by a faceless company. Most business owners believe that whether customers refer them is entirely out of their hands. But science shows that people can't help recommending products and services to their friends....

In an age of Twitter, smartphones, and self-service kiosks, high-tech but still high-touch customer service is the answer. Today’s customers are a hard bunch to crack. Time-strapped, screen-addicted, value-savvy, and socially engaged, their expectations are tougher than ever for a business to keep up with. They are empowered like never before and expect businesses to respect that sense of empowerment - lashing out at those that don’t. Take heart: Old-fashioned customer service, fully retooled for today’s blistering pace and digitally connected reality, is what you need to build the kind of loyal customer base that allows you to survive - and thrive.

In Silicon Valley slang, a "bozo explosion" is what causes a lean, mean, fighting machine of a company to slide into mediocrity. As Guy Kawasaki puts it, "If the two most popular words in your company are partner and strategic, and partner has become a verb, and strategic is used to describe decisions and activities that don't make sense"...then it's time for a reality check.

The best companies in the world discover what their customers desire - and then deliver it in memorable and deeply human experiences. How well do you know your customers? What Customers Crave examines how the hyper-connected economy is radically changing consumer expectations, and reveals what companies need to do to stay on top. The solution rests on two simple questions: What do your customers love? What do they hate? Find the answers, and you're well on your way to success

A Wall Street Journal best seller! There is a major difference between being a salesperson in business and being in business as a salesperson. Being successful in sales has a lot to do with what's on the inside of a person, and the person's ability to establish and foster loyal relationships.

Not all salespeople plan on a career in sales. Often, sales chooses them and suddenly they find themselves in a profession they aren't fully prepared for. The Accidental Salesperson is the answer, providing the advice and inspiration they need to master the essentials and hit the ground running. Fully updated to reflect the changes in the marketplace, the second edition provides a much-needed roadmap anyone can use to excel in sales.