Ten Steps Ahead: What Separates Successful Business Visionaries From the Rest of Us.
By Erik Calonius
Summary: Erik Calonius, a former journalist for the prestigious Wall Street Journal talks about people and in particular businesspeople, who see opportunities where others see problems and chaos. The author discusses the insights gained from interviews with the likes of Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and those intimate with Walt Disney.
My Opinion: This book gives a lot of insight into how visionaries think differently than others. It also piggybacks off of some of Malcolm Gladwell's findings in Blink while also contrasting from those findings. Anytime you begin a book with a story about one of my favorite entrepreneur's Richard Branson, you have my attention. Mr. Calonius struggled to hold my attention though by going into too many studies, data and statistics in Chapter 9.
Key Point: to paraphrase Ovid - "Fortune & Love Go to the Bold."
Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use to Control the Mind of Your Prospect to Motivate, Influence and Persuade.
By Joseph Sugarman
Summary: What makes a kid want a Schwinn bike instead of a Huffy, or makes a customer pull out their wallet to buy a "limited edition" rather than "come back later" to "maybe" buy a standard edition at some unspecified point in the future. What makes you want the brand name shoe that the super-star basketball player wears rather than the generic. no-name tennis shoe with all the same basic features at a fraction of the cost? Answer = Triggers.
My opinion: After you've finished the 3rd or 4th Chapter you quickly realize that Mr. Sugarman is either an excellent salesman, a masterful storyteller or possibly a little bit of both. Mr. Sugarman's stories are witty, compelling and keep you turning the page. This man who apparently made his fortune selling calculators in the 80's and BluBlocker sunglasses in the 90's brings a lot of wit & humor as he explains several different ways to "trigger" or convince a prospect to buy. Throughout the book he tells great stories - from the time he calmed a near panic at an airport by showing confidence and knowledge to the time when, as a little kid, he tried, unsuccessfully, to impress the girl next door by tying her up and setting the garage she was in on fire!
Key Point - know what motivates your prospect.
