Talk to the Human™

Hooray for long titles!

Seriously, I just received Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars by Mitch Meyerson. I’ve been waiting for this book, so rather than wait for Sunday to do a review after I finish reading it, I thought I would clue you in to a great purchase you can make today.

Mitch Meyerson has authored and coauthored a number of great books on marketing, including titles such as Guerrilla Marketing on the Front Lines and World Class Speaking with Craig Valentine. He also certifies Guerrilla Marketing Coaches and works with Craig to certify World Class Speaking Coaches. 

This book is a compilation of chapters from very successful people with specif advice on using Social Media. One chapter (which I read immediately), How to Communicate with Impact Using Social Media, was written by Craig Valentine. Others were written by well know authors and blog experts Chris Garrett, Chris Brogran and Brian Clark. I wrote about Brian’s site, CopyBlogger in a previous post. There is also a chapter by Sham Hyder Kabani, author of The Zen of Social Media Markeing.

With 22 chapters in all, this look like a great resource for using social media. Take a look at the Facebook site for the book launch, you can find some good information from Mitch to see if this book is one you should add to your library. Watch for the full review soon.

At the Toastmasters International Convention, I was fortunate to hear and later meet Carolyn Kepcher, founder of workherway.com, star of NBC’s The Apprentice, and author of Carolyn 101 Business Lessons from The Apprentice’s Straight Shooter.

When Carolyn accepted Toastmaster’s Golden Gavel Award at the convention, she gave an amazing, entertaining, and memorable acceptance speech for the award. Because of her presentation, I decided to to purchase and read her book.

I have read a number of business books, and this one is as good as any I’ve read. There were a couple of things that I liked specifically about Carolyn’s style in this book:

1. Captivating stories that lead to usable business lessons, labeled “Carolyn 101“. Such as:
The best team is the team that continues to perform even when the manager is absent.
To get the job, act as if you already work here.
Never use your title as the sole answer to a question.
Not all resources are good ones.

2. Chapters on how to be a good manager and what it takes to be a good employee, including rules for good employees and mistakes to avoid.

3. Interesting stories from her experience working with Donald Trump, including some unique insights to how Trump’s organization works.

Bonus note: How cool is Carolyn? When she came to the President’s Dinner Dance the next night, I caught her just after the dinner and asked if she would make a quick video for me to say “I hope you enjoy the book” to my wife. She said yes without blinking, and when I started to video her, she asked, “Aren’t you going to be in it?” Duh! Of course I did that BFF pose next to her while she said her line to encourage my wife to read the book. Pretty cool…  

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price (although it’s like six bucks on Amazon now)
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback (of course, it’s already in paperback)
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

This last year I’ve read a ton (at least a few pounds) of books, especially on marketing, the web, consulting, writing and speaking. I created some reviews on this website, but I think it’s time to highlight the best for those of you just getting on board with this whole 21st century reading-thing.

This list presumes you are looking to become successful at speaking and/or consulting about something you are good at. Of course, you also need to be up to date on whatever subject you are choosing to speak about.

Speaking
World Class Speaking – Craig Valentine and Mitch Meyerson
Money Talks – Alan Weiss

Writing
Six-Figure Freelancing – Kelly James-Enger
Made to Stick -  Chip and Dan Heath

Marketing
Guerrilla Marketing – Jay Conrad Levinson
Permission Marketing – Seth Godin

Consulting
Million Dollar Consulting – Alan Weiss
Book Yourself Solid - Michael Port

Web
The Zen of Social Media Marketing – Shama Hyder Kabani
WordPress for Dummies – Lisa Sabin-Wilson

Ideas
What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell
SuperFreakonomics – Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner

As I made this list, I did realize there were still a couple of book reviews I could do, for those rare (!) weeks when I don’t finish a book.

Also, I know Made to Stick isn’t so much a book about writing, but it is a book about making your ideas worth remembering. And that is a great skill to have as a speaker and as someone who writes down what they are going to say.

If you are behind on your reading, pick up something off of this list. They are all worth your time…

Although I waited a week or so before ordering the new CL for myself, I now have a nice, new copy. On first look, I don’t mind telling you I like it. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend throwing away that current CL manual you are working on.

Side Note: For those of you with the existing manual (I’m working on one myself), I do recommend downloading the New Project Completion Record. It works for the old or new manual and makes it far easier to track the progress than the one in the old manual.

If you are wondering what the hubbub is, read on for a short synopsis of the changes:

1. The Project Completion Record moved to the front of the manual (maybe because it’s important!)

2. Pre-project evaluations are at on a 3-point scale and included in each project

3. The evaluation questions have changed. Now each role has a few questions (typically 3-5) that are rated on a 3-point scale. 3=outstanding, 2=Average, 1=Needs Work. After the scored questions, there are one or two open-ended “how did they do?” types of questions. 

4. The appendix includes additional on-line resources, including links to Manuals, Flyers and Toastmasters Magazine articles. There were some links even new to me (and you know I do my research!)

5. Ummm…they took out the mission of the club. That was odd…

One thing that didn’t change – There had been some feedback that TI should include some “beyond the club” projects to help encourage involvement outside the club (i.e. Area Contests, Conference Presenter, etc.)

I was a bit surprised that one or two of these weren’t added as optional tasks on existing projects. However, not having these doesn’t hurt the manual. There are still plenty of options for improving your skills and supporting your club. In fact, I believe that if every member of every club would open one of these books and work on it, three things would happen:

- Members would learn more about running meetings and activities in their real lives.
- Quality of club meetings would improve, as would member performance (speeches, contests, etc.).
- The number of clubs under 20 members would drop to almost zero.   

Verdict: If you are not currently working on a CL manual, you should be. Either the Current or New manual. If you’ve been holding off waiting for them to “fix” the manual, then you are in luck. It’s teed up to work better than before. Now’s the time…

Believe it. I’m still reading marketing books. the zen of social media marketing, An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue is touted as “The last social media guide you’ll ever need.” With the excellent coverage of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, it’s may also be the first one you need for today’s web.

The author, Shama Hyder Kabani is the president of The Marketing Zen Group (previously known as Click To Client), a full-service web marketing agency that serves clients around the world.

The specific information on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (each gets it’s own chapter) is very timely and thorough. Plus! There is online content that is kept up to date. You can access this content with the information in the book. There are also references to integrating other sites such as ping.fm, digg, StumbleUpon, and Delicious into your plans.

You’ll find one of the keys early in the book helps to crystalize your plan for using social networking. A lot of the book references these concepts, specifically how to use the three sites to achieve these goals.

The acronym is ACT:
Attract – get people to your website
Convert – turn strangers into consumers and then customers
Transform – turn your successes into attraction magnets

One interesting additional aspect of this book it that it contains a number of excerpts from other works. Normally just a paragraph or two, they are references that help lend credibility to the point as well as provide additional reference opportunities. Examples:
Mitch Meyerson  -  www.MitchMeyerson.com
Samantha Hartley – www.EnlightenedMarketing.com
Suzanne Falter-Barns – www.GetKnownNow.com

My favorite paragraph:
“Be Human. Remember that behind every Twitter name or Facebook profile is a real live human being. The ultimate goal is to always connect with that person.”

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback (of course, it’s only in paperback)
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

The Six Figure Speaker, Formula for a Six-Figure Income as a Professional Speaker was written by Cathleen Fillmore. It is a series of short, easy to digest chapters discussing different aspects of being a professional speaker, with real world examples from other successful speakers and writers.

What’s great about this book:
Very concise. Lots of great, specific advice. Many of the chapters include relvent stories and good reflective questions about topics such as time management, why you need bureaus, your referral strategy, and even writing your own book.

Recommendations:
Some of the material is similar to other works on the subject, but this is a well-written perspective. If speaking for a living is your goal, then you should read this book.

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback (of course, it’s only in paperback)
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

Are you struggling to get momentum behind your message?

Recently, Seth Godin posted a blog entry about the phrase drill baby drill. This has become a catch phrase that, prior to the disaster in the gulf, people with a certain mindset were able to get behind, rally around, and repeat with ease. The phrase really crystallized the concept of Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.

I reviewed their latest book, Switch, a couple of months ago. Now I’ve gone back and purchased Made to Stick to see what all the fuss was about.

The fuss? The tag-line, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die pretty well sums it up. The six principles, Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories (SUCCESs) give you a usable road-map to help make your ideas stick.

What’s great about this book:
The concept of The Curse of Knowledge captures how our minds work, and why we find it difficult to accept when others don’t receive our message. So often, we think we’ve delivered our message in a way that everyone will understand. Read this and you’ll understand why that doesn’t work like you think it should (and what you can do about it).

Also, there are a plethora of great examples of sticky ideas and not-so-sticky ones. Placed throughout the chapters are clinics to help reinforce the points with practical applications.

I’ve already got three different blog posts ready based on concepts in this book, so look for those to be published in the coming week.

Recommendations:
Any speaker or writer should have already read this book. Don’t put it off like I did.

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback (of course, it’s only in paperback)
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

Matrin Lindstrom has put together an intriguing study of how we think with regard to our purchase decisions. Using some state-of-the-art medical technology, Buy-ology: Truth and Lies About What We Buy sheds light on how advertising affects our decision making process.

What’s great about this book:
Many interesting examples of why we make the types of purchasing decisions we make, including how marketing (and specifically advertising) affects us.

Limiting Factors:
I have to admit, it turned out this wasn’t as interesting of a topic as I expected up front. The beginning included more description of the process than was needed.

Recommendations:
This is probably a must-read for those considering different forms of advertising. For others, it might be an interesting read, but not necessarily the best use of your book-reading time.

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback (of course, it’s only in paperback)
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

Alan Weiss, PhD has a long list of successful books. The book Million Dollar Consulting is considered “THE definitive work to grow a solo consulting practice.” Just by itself, you can learn a great deal about the process of starting your own business. However, to take your learning and preperation a step further, there is the Million Dollar Consulting Toolkit.

In this work, you’ll find checklists, guidelines, forms, templates, examples, suggested reading material (referencing greats like Peter Drucker), and additional helpful resources. Also, there are links to downloadable forms and templates from the publisher’s web site. Of course, Alan’s website has some great information as well.

What’s great about this book:
You can read it cover to cover, or if you have some focused concerns you can work through the areas of greatest interest first. Alan covers all of the essentials, such as:
Managing your office or home practice – including checklists for equipment, insurance, and other professional needs (Tax, Attorney, Web Designer, etc.)
Marketing and Selling your services – including techniques and examples on how to make cold calling less “cold”
Traveling for Business
Managing your own web site
Balancing life and work
Finding new leads and repeat business
Forms – invoices, expense reimbursments, etc.
Article Writing – including a “letter to the editor” template
Advanced Marketing techniques – like interviews, book publishing and professional speaking
And – as it say on the back of the book – Much More!

Limiting Factors:
While you can easily use this without reading Million Dollar Consulting, it really does work better as a companion product.

Great Quotes:
Speaking and Consulting should be a synergy

Recommendations:
This is both a useful read and a critical reference if you are looking to consult or speak for a living.  Since I purchased it last year I’ve referenced it countless times as I have begun the process of my own business.

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

 Rework was written by the guys that brought you the 37signals website. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson have created quite a buzz with their web site and “no business model” style of success.

What’s great about this book:
It’s a quick 280 page read. Lots of breaks in the text in a way you can stop and come back. In fact, it’s written a lot like a series of blog posts; easy to digest.

I like the examples given for how to limit your focus, instead of trying to be all things to all customers. Some of the more interesting topics:
You need less than you think
No time is no excuse
Making the call is making progress
Out-teach your competition

Limiting Factors:
The tone right off of the bat is “we’ve got it right.” There is some stimulating talk about why some conventional wisdom isn’t really as solid as we’re led to believe.

The downside is you might take that advice to the other extreme. Maybe that’s okay, but then again not all meetings are pure evil…

Great Quotes:
Good enough is fine
The real world isn’t a place, it’s an excuse
Build half a product, not a half-assed product

Recommendations:
Another great read. If you’re a fan of books that give you a new way to think, then you’ll enjoy this one.

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it