Shortform Books

Product Positioning in Marketing: 5 Steps to Success

What is product positioning in marketing? What role does product positioning play in customers’ buying decisions? “Positioning” refers to where potential customers place your product on the market landscape, or how they view it in relation to the competition. According to Geoffrey Moore, the author of Crossing the Chasm, positioning is the most significant factor in a customer’s decision to buy your product. Here are five steps to position your product for success.

The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib: Book Overview

Are you looking for an overview of The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib? What key ideas can you learn from the book? Marketing expert Allan Dib contends that for a small business, the surest way to make money and grow is to have a simple, clear marketing plan defining who you’re targeting as prospects and customers and how you’ll reach them. Find our helpful overview of The 1-Page Marketing Plan below.

The Whole Product Model: Sell the Complete Solution

What exactly is a “whole product”? Why is it important that you deliver the whole product to your customers? When you make a sale, you’re typically only obligated to deliver the core product. However, while innovators and early adopters are usually willing to take ownership of assembling the whole product for themselves, the early majority are not. If you fail to supply the whole product (a complete solution without native or third-party add-ons), you are risking losing those customers. In this article, we’ll take a look at two whole product models: Theodore Levitt’s Whole Product Model and Geoffrey Moore’s Simplified

Gary Vee’s Story: From Salesman to Proto-Influencer

What is social media guru and entrepreneur Gary Vee’s story? How did he go from working in his family’s liquor store to being a self-made millionaire? Gary Vaynerchuk (or Gary Vee as he is known online) is famous today for being one of the first internet personalities and for being a very successful entrepreneur. However, Vaynerchuk wasn’t always in the spotlight. Learn about Gary Vee’s backstory and how he grew to be so successful.

Maxwell Maltz: How to Improve Your Self-Image

What exactly is self-image? What can you do to improve your self-image and get closer to the type of person you want to be—your ideal self? Your self-image defines who you are, how you express yourself, and how you act in any given situation. To improve your self-image, you first need to think about the type of person you want to be. Next, you need to replace your negative thoughts and feelings about yourself with positive ones. In this article, you’ll learn how to improve your self-image and program your mind for success.

Cross-Cultural Negotiation: Tips for Success

How do you negotiate across the cultural divide? What are some things you should take into account when negotiating with people from different cultures? When negotiating across cultures, the key thing to take into account is how the people with whom you are negotiating approach persuasion. According to cultural expert Erin Meyer, different kinds of arguments persuade people from different cultures. In other words, what persuades you might not persuade someone from a different culture. In this article, we’ll explore the two primary approaches to persuasion and present some strategies you can use to effectively persuade people from different cultures

How to Introduce Yourself to Someone New

How do you introduce yourself to someone you don’t know? Why is learning someone’s name so important? Debra Fine, small talk expert, provides the following advice for introducing yourself to a stranger: choose a partner who is open to conversation, make eye contact, and learn their name immediately. There are also signals you can look for to tell whether or not the person wants to talk to you. Here’s Debra Fine’s advice on how to introduce yourself.

Predicting Success: Effort Beats Talent

Is purposeful effort really more important than natural-born talent? Why is our society so focused on talent? Is attributing success to talent just an excuse for underachievement? People tend to idolize talent and credit success to natural ability rather than hard work and perseverance. However, Angela Duckworth, the author of Grit, says that effort beats talent when it comes to predicting success. Here is why effort is more important than talent or luck.

Faith and Healing: Believe and You Will Heal

Do you believe that faith in God can cure physical ailments? How can trusting your fate in God’s hands help you restore your health and vitality? Faith can add to medical therapies and bring about well-being if it is in God’s plan for the person to live. We all have to die sometime, but if a person trusts their life in God’s hands, there is a high chance he/she will return to a healthful state. Here is how faith can help potentiate healing outcomes.

Range by David Epstein: Advice for Organizations

How can organizations benefit from having employees with a wide range of experience? Why are teams made up of specialists prone to mistakes? In his book Range, David Epstein argues that organizations should hire employees from varied and diverse backgrounds rather than specialists. This is because specialists tend to have narrow points of view whereas generalists tend to be more innovative and broad-thinking. Keep reading to learn why your organization should hire generalists.