Authors Unite - The Better Business Book: 100 People, 100 Stories, 100 Business Lessons To Live By (The 100 Person Book Series 2)

THE

BETTER BUSINESS BOOK

VOL. 2

AUTHORS

UNITE

Copyright 2017 by Tyler Wagner

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.

Contents

Jim Estill

Jaret Henhoeffer

K. Bill Dost

Michael McCourt

Colin Lake

Meredith Jayme

Daniel J. Bockman

Claire Allison

Brad Climer

Wendy A. Barba

Ashley Ward

Matthew Palm

Charlotte Igo

Kimberly Allen

Jeremy Margent and Adam Margent

James Ranson

Scott Anderson

Andrew Prater

Todd Snyder

George Mocharko

Aisha Wahab

Edward Farrell

Abed Medawar

Greg Plum

Sam Jacoba

Chris Snoyer

Scott Carson

Stephen R. Simmons

Shane Yeager

Avi Huberman

Daniel Schwartz

Liz Gramm

Aaron Schneider

Regina Partain Bergman

Jay Mudrick

Sarah Miller

Jessica Stedman

Charles C. Broadhurst

Mike Kunkle

Sharon Aizen

Greg ODonnell

Grant Nadell

Jennifer Leake

Melody Rider

Jake Bross

Lisa M. Miller

Rudolph Rudy Antonini

Cassandra Wesch

Theresa Ashby

Ryan M. McDougald

Patricia Suflita Wilson

Mari Ramirez

Patricia Lenkov

Mark Orlinsky

Shinjini Das

Jeremy Meyer

Amanda Fleischut

Todd Medema

Danielle Gomez

John Wayne Zimmerman

Christine Dura

Daryl Crockett

Alex Kapralov

Robert Devon Christenson

Elizabeth De Zulueta

Terrence Cash

Kujaatele Kweli

Patrick Ahern

Gail Mercer-MacKay

Mitchell John Campagna

Angelina Samadhi

Amy Zdunowski-Roeder

Vera Kolesnik

Maria Guerrero

Jordan Griffen

Lizet Zayas

Mark Everhart

Karin Raffa

Michael Caira

Dana Cirincione

Stacie Walker

Lana Guernsey

Anais Bock

Eric Himel

Rosemary Shapiro-Liu

Brandon Larson

Adriana Albritton

Ryan Twedt

Corey B. Schuler

Nadav Wilf

Troy West

Frank Natanek

Albert Jans

Sean Patrick

Sara Stibitz

Linda Pharathikoune

Constant Lu

Michael Robins

Leonard Burg

Christina J. Gheorgie

Jolie Dawn

Jason Economides

Nick Van Driel

Erica Collins

Pablo Garcia de la Fuente

Phil Stodola with Kristen Stodola

Jeanne McPhillips

Kenneth T. Davis

David Weber

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Dedication

To all the contributors in this book. You changed my life.

I will always be here for you.

Welcome to Volume 2 of The Better Business Book.

This series started as a way to take 100 business books, reduce them to the 100 most important nuggets of wisdom, and put them all in one place. What we didnt realize was that it would turn into far more than that. Yes, its a library of lessons, but its also a community. Over 100 very different people came together in the shared desire to pass on their value to you, the reader, and to each other.

And then something amazing happened: we did it again. Several of us joined close to 100 new authors to share even more value in this second book. And others are already getting ready for a third book. What started as a compilation and became a community is growing into a movement. Maybe one day soon youll be part of it.

We hope you enjoy reading this book half as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.

Love,

Us

IN THE BEGINNING

JIM ESTILL

Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products.

Al Ries and Jack Trout

Inexperienced marketers are easy to spot in a crowd.

In a moment, Ill tell you how you can do this. But first, who am I and why should you listen to me?

My name is Jim Estill. Im the CEO of Danby Appliances - a compact appliance distributor and manufacturer in North America. Before selling bar fridges and wine coolers, I sold computers. My first company was a technology distribution business I started out of the trunk of my car while in University. I grew that company to $2 billion in sales.

Ive retired twice - both times unsuccessfully. As an angel investor, I have advised and invested in many technology companies, including a founding board member of Research in Motion/Blackberry, before the company went public.

I share this so you know Ive grown through all stages. I have started from zero and grown companies to billions. My goal today is to help you become a better marketer. Marketing is my biggest strength and its the one skill thats helped me scale every one of the companies Ive run and advised.

The good news about marketing is its not difficult to do well once you understand how it works.

If you can avoid one of the major pitfalls in marketing Im about to reveal, youll give your business its best chance at success.

As I said, inexperienced marketers are easy to spot in a crowd. One way to tell is by how much emphasis these marketers place on measuring their return on investment (ROI) for their marketing efforts. Experience teaches that ROI in marketing cannot be measuredaccurately, and we are fooling ourselves if we think it can.

The main reason ROI in marketing is virtually impossible to measure is that most effects from marketing are not instant. Many effects and results of marketing are caused by accumulation of impact over time.

Think about this example. Did you buy the pair of Nike shoes because you saw the ad on a billboard? Because you saw the ad on Facebook? Because you saw the ad on television? Because the store clerk suggested them? Was it the ad this month or last? Or was it the ad you saw when you were 12?

The answer is you dont know exactly why you buy the shoes when you do. It is a combination of all these factors that make up marketing that cause the consumer to take action. Marketing effects happen over time. Good marketing creates the perception needed to cause purchasers to buy. It can also create the warm feeling towards the company or product that prompts the purchase.

If you are selling water and there is no perception that your water is any different than anyone elses water, then a marketing campaign or promotion or price reduction can potentially shift share from a competitor. Look at FIJI water or any bottled water you buy in airports.

FIJI does a good job differentiating their product. It is much easier to sell Natural Artesian Water over bottled city water if Natural Artesian can sell the refreshment and health benefits of the brand. Airports also have a unique advantage because theres low competition. You can get away with charging $4 for a bottle of water when no one else is selling or allowed to sell water in your marketplace.

Because of all these variables, measuring ROI becomes nearly impossible. As a result, some companies will stop marketing. This is great news for those that keep marketing. In time, share will shift to those that continue to invest.