Radio Sales Café

This week's Friday Poll question is inspired by ProSalesGuy Dave Warawa's post on the importance of continuing education and his list of "must-read" books for 2019.

What sales, advertising, or business book are you reading right now? 

What book(s) do you plan to read this year?

Please share your answer(s) in the comments below - and thank you!

 

I’m working my way through HOW BRANDS GROW by Byron Sharp. He presents sound, evidence-based principles that will challenge many prevailing assumptions about why buyers buy, how brands/businesses compete, and how advertising influences consumer behavior and market share.

For example, three conclusions he presents in the preface of the book:

“1. Growth in market share comes by increasing popularity; that is, by gaining many more buyers (of all types) most of whom are light customers buying the brand only occasionally.

2. Brands, even though they are usually slightly differentiated, mainly compete as if they are near lookalikes; but they vary in popularity (and hence market share).

3. Brand competition and growth are largely about building two market-based assets: physical availability and mental availability. Brands that are easier to buy—for more people, in more situations—have more market share. Innovation and differentiation (when they work) mbuild market-based assets, which last after competitors copy the innovation.

Therefore, marketers need to improve the branding of their product (I.e., it needs to stand out) and to continually reach large audiences of light buyers cost effectively.”

Radio, more than any other medium, excels at reaching large audiences of light buyers cost effectively. The better we understand the inherent power of pure audio, human speech, to engage and persuade masses of individuals, and the more care we put into choosing the words we employ in reaching them, the more effective our ad campaigns will be for our clients.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/1511383933
This post was edited by Rod Schwartz at January 6, 2019 12:30 PM PST

From April Bliss: I am reading "THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG" by David Schwartz. I'm committed to making 2019 my best year ever!

I just finished Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away from Your Competition by Anthony Iannarino. Iannarino, who writes The Sales Blog, discusses a "red ocean strategy" -- selling in an environment with heavy competition. In this world, the competitor's product is just as good as yours and vice versa. In many cases, a skilled salesperson has the opportunity to pry away business from a well-established, complacent competitor. This book has some very good advice on how to do that. It's not a "radio sales book," but the world Iannarino describes sounds a lot like radio sales. Highly recommended.