 | The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Buy new: $12.91 / Used from: $2.37 Probably the most important book you'll read as a small business owner. The concept of working *on* the business as opposed to working *in* the business (ie, building up a proper sales pipeline and good processs instead of just making widgets) really shook me up and made me rethink everything.
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 | Getting business to come to you by Paul Edwards
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $1.56 What an amazing book. Paul and Sarah Edwards break the world of marketing down to something even a second grader could understand. They say that the most important thing to do is to find the authentic you and then use that authenticity to market yourself through showing, telling, walking, and talking.
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 | Get Clients Now!(TM): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches by C. J. Hayden
Buy new: $13.57 / Used from: $11.50 A practical workbook for figuring out where your marketing/sales pipeline is broken (getting new leads, presenting, writing proposals, closing deals) and using different techniques (writing, demos, speaking, networking, cold calling, etc) that you feel comfortable doing to fill up the pipeline again.
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 | Jump Start Your Business Brain: The Scientific Way To Make More Money by Doug Hall
Buy new: $12.23 / Used from: $6.75 This book presents an engaging series of studies that posit the existence of "marketing physics" all of it backed up by long studies of how messaging really works out in the marketplace. For example, having an extreme differentiator almost always makes your marketing more memorable and believable.
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 | Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money (Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Books) by Jeffrey Gitomer
Buy new: $13.59 / Used from: $3.99 Jeffrey Gitomer will kick you out of your complacency. He will get you moving again. He will shake you out of your doldrums. An extremely engaging speaker and a direct, funny writer. If you ever have the chance to catch him live, do so. You'll get a lot out of it.
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 | How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients by Jeffrey J. Fox
Buy used from: $2.96 Another short book that packs a big wallop. Jeffrey Fox has forgotten more about being a rainmaker than most of us will ever know. If you are a consultant, this book is especially valuable as it goes through many scenarios ('coffee killed the deal') that you will recognize instantly.
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 | Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice by Alan Weiss
Buy used from: $3.11 Alan Weiss is the consultant to the consultants. I own about 10 of his books, but this was the first (and probably the best). He really opened my eyes to the possibilities of really growing a practice. His thoughts on value-based fees were especially helpful.
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 | 1001 Ways to Market Your Services: Even If You Hate to Sell by Rick Crandall
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $0.47 My copy of this book has color-coded tabs in it. Every 3-6 months I pick it up and just try four or five things depending on the time of year. It never fails to spark great ideas. What a treasure!
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 | The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Buy new: $13.57 / Used from: $4.00 This book will shock you out of the status quo. I'm not sure we'll ever get to a four-hour workweek, but you can start using the ideas in this book to reexamine whether you own a business or vice versa. My guess is that the business owns you. BTW, I met Tim Ferriss briefly at SxSW 2008, and he is just about the nicest fella you will ever meet.
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 | The Referral of a Lifetime: The Networking System That Produces Bottom-Line Results Every Day (The Ken Blanchard Series) by Tim Templeton
Buy new: $12.21 / Used from: $7.64 A very short business parable about setting up a personalized referral marketing system. You'll never forget the power of 250x250 or the simple action of categorizing prospects and then reaching out to touch them periodically and systematically.
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 | 6 Steps to Free Publicity: "For Corporate Publicists or Solo Professionals, Including...Publishers, Consultants, Conference Planners, Politicians, Inventors by Marcia Yudkin
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $2.62 A nice little handbook on publicity from the consummate PR pro.
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