Customer Reviews

Rivers of Revenue: What to Do When the Money Stops Flowing

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This book is divided into three parts. The good stuff is in part three. I would label the first 30 pages as "capitalism for 12 year olds." Part 2, I would label as "Another 'In Search of Excellence' flavor of the month", unfortunately, this takes you to over 100 pages in this 300 page book with large type.

Here is a sample quote, "Know what your customers want and find ways to give it to them, at a profit." I think about 90% of every business in existance is trying to do this, and if Kristin knew how to do this consistantly, she would be a multi-billionaire. Anyway.

I almost didn't make it, but in the remaining 200 pages, the author finally reveals her expertise. It is mostly advertising & PR planning, with a heavy emphasis on the internet. What was new to me was how she catagorized the buyer's scrutiny level into light, medium, heavy and intense. From these levels, she offers different advertising plans to be successful. Insights into the 'buyer process' were also helpful.

I think the book would have been a lot more effective if she had detailed how she and her husband changed the focus of their own consulting business. This is what much of the book is based upon, but instead, it is written in a vague manner. I'd pay double for Kristin to write, "Exactly what I did when the money stopped flowing."

Written by a worldside speaker with 35 years of experience in the business of the bottom line, Rivers Of Revenue: What To Do When The Money Stops Flowing is a no-nonsense business and career guide to coping with lean times. From learning how to tap into the five layers of buyer desire, to marketing and selling products of light, medium, or heavy scrutiny, to determining the right price to charge and much more, Rivers Of Revenue is a fountain of solid practical advice to maximizing one's profit and building a sustainable customer base. Especially recommended for small business owners in today's turbulent economic times.

I've known Kristin Zhivago and have been reading her newsletters and columns in leading marketing publications for years. So her new book, "Rivers of Revenue: What to do When the Money Stops Flowing" was required reading for me.

Kristin always seems to be able to cut through the fog of business, focus on the essence of a problem, then quickly identify the right path to a solution. Not always an easy task! But that's just what she does again in this book.

Although I mentally groaned when I realized the beginning of the book was a parable, I quickly got caught up in the tale and found it full of useful lessons.

Then Kristin changed directions, applying the lessons of the parable to today's real life situations. Although some of the lessons and suggestions seemed obvious to me, I found myself thinking that many business owners and managers I've met didn't appear to have learned these lessons, and must if they want their businesses to grow or prosper.

When I finished the book on a recent cross-country flight, I realized it was a engaging quick read, unlike many business books that provoke more naps than thoughts. And I also realized it was chock-full of insight and ideas that I could apply to both my own and my client's businesses.

I now plan to buy a number of copies of Rivers of Revenue to share with my clients and business friends. I highly recommend that you read it too.

It's almost a cliche but the key to doing well in business is knowing what your customer wants. I've read that line in a ton of business books but this book is the first I've ever seen that actually tells you how to do it! Zhivago gives very practical advice on how to quickly and easily figure out what your customer will pay for -- and thus which direction you should point your business. My only gripe with this book is there's no index. Still, an excellent book which I highly recommend!!!!

If you're like me, you have hundreds of marketing books in several bookcases. Rivers of Revenue will end up on that top left shelf with the classics. I don't have many books that are a worthwhile read from the CEO-perspective and the tactical marketing manager.

In one word, Rivers of Revenue is comprehensive. It goes deep and broad. It suggests strategies and tactics. It offers principles and practical real-word advice. And it starts with a memorable story of families on a river harvesting money. (Is your business like the stubborn family that wouldn't leave the dried-up river? Or are you flexible and ready to move where the river flows?)

Kristin Zhivago's approach to marketing is refreshingly buyer-centric. The second half of the book focuses on marketing from the perspective of the customer purchase process -- how to market light-scrutiny, heavy-scrutiny, and intense-scrutiny products. Contrast that to `how to market [xxxx] product' or `how to do direct mail' books.

Here are a few of the concepts I highlighted:
- Find "Buyer Desire" and you find the river of revenue.
- How Marketing can get the `power baton' -- be the customer experts
- How fixing work process problems removes your company's revenue barriers
- Questions to effectively interview buyers, new hires, and your CEO
- The way branding really works: Your behaviors determine the customer experience. Your customers' experiences determines your brand.

What an accessible and valuable business book! Unlike the latest fad-in-a-book from some cloistered MBA professor, Zhivago's "Rivers of Revenue" provides practical ways to generate revenue that any businessperson can use. Rather than complex theories, this book provides substance. I only wish I had come across Zhivago and her ideas when I was starting out in the business world. Better yet, I wish the book had been out several years ago at the time I was a VP of Marketing at a publicly traded company. I could have used one copy for me and one for the CEO!

Our society has taken it for granted that businesses come and go. American employees get laid off by the thousands. We have become used to it.

Reading Kristin Zhivago's book points to the many facts that lead to business failings, but most importantly, what can be done to keep this from happening. It is true that not every business can be saved, however, it is also a fact that many businesses fail because of avoidable fatal decisions, a lack of customer and market orientation, or simply by not caring for their most valuable asset: their employees.

Any business leader, executive, manager and entrepreneur will gain valuable lessons from the author's many years of experience with major businesses. Read it, before your money stops flowing!

I've been following the wit and wisdom of Kristin Zhivago for more than ten years and she has consistently been on the money. I have always paid close attention to her perspective on marketing because it is at once fundamental and cutting-edge:

"Your brand is the promise that you keep, not the one you make."
and
"You can only succeed by relentlessly talking to *and listening to* your customers."

In "Rivers of Revenue", Kristin offers up her whole philosophy of marketing that has served her name-brand clients for lo, these many years.

Your reaction will either be: "I knew it!" or "Now I see!" Either way, this is an important book. And a good read.