[RESOURCE] Sales and Marketing: Learn What You Need in 2 Hours

Having a great business idea isn’t enough.  You have to know how to use marketing to attract customers and then sales to complete a purchase.  While it would be great if every entrepreneur had the time to go through a comprehensive six month long course on marketing and sales, that’s not very realistic.  If you’re looking for a relatively quick read that will immerse you into the sometimes complex world of attracting and keeping clients, pick up Sales & Marketing: Learn What You Need in 2 Hours (A Crash Course for Entrepreneurs) by serial entrepreneurs Scott L. Girard, Jr., Michael F. O’Keefe, and Marc A. Price.

The book is divided into six sections, including Creating a Game Plan, How to Win Customers and How to Keep Customers.  Subchapters go into more detail and offer practical advice on things like pricing your products, creating a referral network, cold-calling and marketing outside the box.  It doesn’t purport to be a book that tells you everything you’ll need to know, but you will receive “a high-level overview of the critical things you need to know and do if you want to sell and market your offering in this super-competitive world.”  There is a lot of great content packed into a quick read.  Most chapters are only a few pages long and offer bullet points and other information separated into easily digestible pieces.  The chapters are so short that you can easily revisit topics when necessary.

While I like the ambitious approach to pack as much information as possible into a short book, it would have been great to read more examples and case studies of people who have found success with these tips.  Also, some of the advice can seem repetitive at times.  The authors do, however, mention an accompanying website for extra help and include a comprehensive glossary and index at the end of the book.

One subchapter I appreciated was Avoiding Sales Burnout. In the midst of delivering section after section of advice, the authors took the time to remind readers that it’s okay to be human.  It’s great to work your business, but in order to be truly successful, you need to allow yourself periods of rest.  I recommend Sales & Marketing: Learn What You Need in 2 Hours (A Crash Course for Entrepreneurs) if you’re looking for a quick read on how to get your products and services in front of customers and then close the deal.  The book is available in both Paperback and Kindle format.