Sometimes, you get some of the best things in life when you are least expecting them. Recently, I met such a happy accident (serendipity, I must say). I was searching someone at Twitter when I noticed a bit familiar name Ali Pervez. I came to know that he is author of Get Your Black Belt in Marketing. I went to his website and couple of other sites and I got intrigued about the provocative and far-out contents of the book. I just finished reading this great treatise on marketing.
Awesome and Terrific are small and insignificant words while describing the wisdom behind 81 Moves of Get Your Black Belt in Marketing. The entire book is full of common sense wisdom which we conveniently ignore while studying the complex marketing theories.
Book consists of 81 Moves (or you can say small chapters) and each move revolves around one critical concept for revenue-generating system. When traditional marketing books start and end with words/concepts like Brand Equity, Top of Mind etc, it is very interesting to find that the entire book does not even mention words like Brand Equity and Top of Mind even for a single time. Rather, the focus is on revenue-generating system, networking, information sharing, cultivating relationships with the customers and converting customers into clients. Traditional marketers with humongous marketing budgets and addicted to glamorous world of models, shoots and hype and hoopla of advertising agencies may find this book going against their interests and aptitude but this book is "Holy Grail" for marketers whose aim is to create great streams of revenue with optimum budgets.
Get Your Black Belt in Marketing talks about Focus (Follow One Course Until Successful), Testimonials, Power of Telephone, Application of Social Media, Referrals, E-newsletters, Databases, Trade Shows, PR, Customer Feedbacks, UVP (Unique Value Proposition), Affiliate Relationships, Godfather Value Propositions and Surprising the Customers etc.
The entire book has been written in simple words.......sentences are flowing like running water. The grip on the reader is absolutely hypnotic. I would like to share some of the sentences for your pleasure reading.
* The headline is actually the advertisement of the advertisement.
* Fail early, fail often--just find out what works as quickly as possible!
* When the customers' problems become your problems, you make money.
* If you want to double sales, just double the time you spend with customers.
* It takes a minimum of seven impressions to get someone to take you seriously.
* People buy from people they know, like, and trust.
* Remember, in the court of marketing, you are guilty until you can prove the value of your product to others!
* Mind-set is always more important than method.
The book is an invaluable resource for professionals and entrepreneurs. Start 2010 with Get Your Black Belt in Marketing and surprise yourself with the present on New Year of the book that is all-set to become talk of the global town.
Ashraf Chaudhry
Pakistan's Premier Sales Trainer & Author of The Craft of Selling "YOURSELF"
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ashraf@ashrafchaudhry.com
