
Clear A Spot On Your Bookshelf! - As a corporate director of human resources, the bulk of my day-to-day existence is convincing people - whether subordinate or superior - to do what I believe is best for the organization. I have just finished the new book, Yes! Three things in this great book stand out for me. 1. Real world case studies in the actual business arenas. 2. Contains a wealth of techniques that are easily implemented.3. An easy and fun-filled read. Truly well-written. I find the new book highly useful and a must-read for everyone that must persuade others in order to survive in the corporate jungle. I highly recommend it to all managers of all stripes.Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of Wingtips with Spurs
Wonderfully simple! - This is one of the most useful books I ve read in a long time. Short, to the point, easy to digest. Too often, many writers in order to fill the book with pages, ramble on and on with no purpose. Even worse, many of these books do not provide any realistic advice.This book provides practical guidance on being persuassive. Not only that, it s very easy to learn and absorb. I ve immediately put what I read into real life practice. Simply AMAZING!
Pretty good but why not read the masterpiece prequel first? - If you haven t read Influence by Robert Cialdini then I would strongly recommend skipping this one for now and starting with that one. Cialdini s original book was one of the best psychology books I have ever read. This one is more like a sequel and like most sequels, it is not as good. In Cialdini s Influence, he talks about 6 weapons of influence:1) Reciprocity2) Liking3) Social Proof4) Authority5) Scarcity6) Commitment and ConsistencyThis book consists of 50 short chapters where these weapons are at work. Very entertaining and insightful, but I felt that the authors violated some of their own advice by having so many chapters and not organizing them in any particular way. For example, the chapters each demonstrated one of the weapons of influence at work and perhaps the book should have been organized more formally into 6 parts with each part representing one of the weapons. I was very entertained but I am not sure if the book will have any long lasting educational value unlike Influence.This is a quick read and I highly recommend it AFTER you have read Cialdini s Influence.
Buy the Steak, Not the Sizzle - Having read the book, before reading the reviews, I m a bit taken aback but not surprised by the reviews I just read. The reviews have the zesty air of a sales team meeting.Why so?What sales or marketing person doesn t get excited about scientific proof that a sales or marketing technique works, right? So, add 1 star to the review.What modern consumer of information isn t easier to please if the information is sliced and diced into little digestible chunks? Add a few more stars.Lastly, show me a sales or marketing person who isn t hepped up by the promise of the answer and I ll show you a salesman in a morgue or casket. (Caveat: Whisper I ve cracked the code to selling widgets and the dead may rise. :P )Yes, the book, is a tasty little snack, but more a book of re-affirmations than a shift in the sales and marketing winds. (I wonder to what degree this book, by virtue of its content mirroring the minds of reviewer/readers - (mirroring is a topic covered in the book) - is generating buzz simply because it is simply reading back to the readers their own sales menu orders? You get that nuance?)Social proof? Since when is keeping up with the Joneses new science? Since when if following the herd, the pack or one s peers a surprise? Oh, I get it: It s scientific this time! Tell strangers to a social setting Everyone is doing this (bad thing) so don t you do it too and the message consumers do what everyone else is reportedly doing? That s a surprise? I guess past marketing studies don t count since they didn t use exactly these words: social proof.Reciprocity? Hello? News? How long have you engaged in the art or practice of giving - with intent?Authority (Expertise) and Respect? Scarcity? Commitment and Consistency?I hate to rain on the party but the sun only shines so bright here and a little rain would be healthy for the lawn. Translated: Buy the book and read it on the plane, instead of blowing the same $16. on a latte and a magazine. It s a good read. It affirms much that you already know with the aura of expertise and science but really . . Buy the steak, not the sizzle. You and you and you already are in touch and know, most by experience, what is being presented in this book, especially if you are paying attention and aren t asleep at the wheel. This isn t the book that will make you a better salesman or marketing person if you already know the business, but the book might confirm that you already are pretty good at what you do. For some (apparently a great many) - gaining that (perceived) extra inch - is enough to generate all sorts of ~sales and marketing excitement and buzz.But, really, given the audience, is that any surprise? :PClosing affirmation: YOU alread are pretty good at what you do. The gain of this book is inches, not miles, and more a matter of confirming what you already know if you have been paying attention. If you haven t been paying attention, or if your results are in a downward spiral, then this book is some great revelation, . . unless it s the economy, and not your sales or marketing skills, that sucks right now. Then this book won t fix the problem. :)
Easy to understand, great examples - I loved the practical examples that are included in the book ... and how sometimes such small adjustments can make such huge improvements in persuasion. For example, how survey responses jumped from 30 percent to 56 percent just by adjusting the name of the sender!The best thing I liked with Yes! is that I can relate the information easily to a business environment -- and see how I can make simple changes to tactics and copy to have a more effective and persuasive marketing piece. It s not really academically focused and that s a good thing.I loved Cialdini s Influence and think this book is good in combination -- I d buy both if I didn t already own them. I also enjoy Kevin Hogan on the persuasion topic ... both are great persuasion resources.The way the information is presented in the 50 examples should really make Yes! essential business reading. I ll also be using this book to help improve the communication and presentations made by our Rotary Club -- the content is useful for more than just a business setting.