Outsmarting Goliath: How to Achieve Equal Footing with Companies That Are Bigger, Richer, Older, and Better Known (Paperback)

~ (Author) "YOU HAVE CAPITAL, A SOLID BUSINESS PLAN, a good product or service at the right price-along with the competence to produce and deliver it, a..." (more)
Key Phrases: virtual employee, John Smith, United States, Pat Merenko Smith (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Entrepreneurs anxious to wrestle customers away from behemoth corporations will find a gold mine of guidance in this excellent resource. -- Today's Librarian

It provides small business owners and aspiring small business owners a plethora of marketing weapons to use against larger competitors. -- Fort

The author's insight into the needs of independent merchants in this time of accelerating change is remarkable. -- Oklahoma City

This book has it all. Common sense ideas you can use right now, technology tips for the future, and an easy-to-read, motivating style. Outsmarting Goliath is a must-read for every small business owner who doesn't want to stay small. -- Don Taylor, co-author of Up Against the Wal-Marts

This is not just a good read, but a handbook for coping. -- Full

Traverso provides small business owners with an artillery that includes tips on planning shrewdly, cultivating image, and marketing. -- Tradeshow News

Product Description

Big and proven strategies for small businesses. Business owners, consultants, freelancers, and other entrepreneurs are all looking for easy-to-implement, cost-efficient ways to go up against the big guys. They can now get tips from an expert--Debra Koontz Traverso--an entrepreneur herself who coaches others to success. This book gives them a powerful equalizer for winning business that would traditionally go to players with bigger staffs and established reputations. Despite the splash created by big budget ad campaigns, the fact remains--big business can't always do the job. Its Achilles heel? One-size-fits-all service coupled with often inexpert sales help. Outsmarting Goliath helps small businesses defeat larger competitors. This book shows how a single phone call, a cleverly crafted letter, an impressive catalog, a winning ad, or a skillfully prepared face-to-face presentation can influence customers to abandon big brand name products and services and embrace small business products and services that better address their needs. With these proven how-to strategies, small upstarts will capture more clients and challenge the Goliaths!

How to go Toe-to-Toe:
* Choose a name and location that scores big in consumer confidence
* Project a big image with a small staff
* Use everyday materials--billing, status reports--to build your image
* Produce major league marketing materials
* Capitalize on the Internet as the great equalizer
* Learn when to go with your strengths and when to seek assistance

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576600319
• ISBN-13: 978-1576600313
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,208,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, April 23, 2001

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Debra Koontz Traverso presents a compilation of tips telling the entrepreneur or owner of a small business how to compete with established companies as well as other start-ups. Traverso includes a few personal examples, although this is mostly a how-to guidebook. Much of the advice may seem familiar to those who have read similar books or attended small business workshops, but Traverso does manage to throw in a few pointers that make you stop and think. For example: Stand up while you talk on the phone - it will increase your energy level. (Try it: It really works!) In addition, the book offers guidance on creating the right image, partnering with outsiders and family members, making the most out of mundane daily activities and marketing on a limited budget. Top executives may want to skim this to learn how start-ups and small businesses are striving to compete with them, but we [...] recommend this book primarily to entrepreneurs and small business owners who don't want to stay small forever.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had sooner, May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This book has many great ideas for the small business person that I wish I had before I started my business. For example, just how to pick a name for the company or how to look like a big company without spending a fortune. The book provides examples from people who have done it and adds credibility to the content. I recommend for all businesses but especially fo the smaller business and one person operations.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to Basics and More...Way more, May 12, 2000

By A Customer

I have played a lot of sports going through school and each of my coaches at all levels have always stressed fundamentals and then gone on to teach advanced theories and plays . In reading Outsmarting Goliath I am struck with the degree to which the author has gone to stress the fundamentals of a healthy small business, and then moved on to add tremendously helpful, simple and yet sophistocated ideas. Bartering! What a great idea I would have never thought of. I bartered to get a new phone system with voice mail and it cost me less than 1/3 of the purchase price, and there was no tax! Her down to earth and sometimes funny anecdotal accounts of small business owners who have tripped or succeeded have provided me with a treasure trove of wonderful tips and ideas, some of which I have already implemented. I will add more over time.

By taking advantage of ideas in this book I feel I can now focus on the things I do very well and not have to worry about my image.

Thank you Coach Traverso. Can a small business Superbowl be far behind?