It seems that in a world of Facebook & Twitter, Foursquare and LinkedIn, that social media is a cure-all for modern communication. After all, think of the number of connections that you can make in a single afternoon via a single tweet or status update. However the important thing is not the mode of communication, but the message.

Humans are social animals, and even the most reticent of people need to talk and to interact with others if they are not going to suffer in anyway. So if we take this primal urge and channel it properly then significant progress can be made in promoting or enhancing a business.Customer referrals are always the hardest to create, the most fragile but they provide the most chance for further business. Who hasn’t said to a friend or a colleague about what is the better product or service to purchase? It happens everywhere, and Andy Lopata’s book “Recommended – How to sell through networking and referrals” tries to tell you how.

The basis of using referrals and networking is that it’s all about trust. You trust the judgment of a second party with respect to dealing with another. Once this trust is in place, you can use various techniques outlined in the book to leverage your message, whether it be focussing on where your referrals should come from or using social media to build a network of like-minded people for your benefit.

The book is written in five parts, each explaining a different aspect of networking and referrals – from choosing the right network for your message, understanding that the scattergun approach doesn’t work and finding better ways to use the value of your existing contacts for the better.

I found this a very readable and accessible book, surprising me with the easy techniques that anyone can use to promote a message – whatever it is. If you are either interested in developing a referral strategy or if you are starting out in business and want to make the most impact, then this is the book for you.

This book review was originally published on ACEInspire, a site packed with advice on building the skills to UNLEASH the power of the internet.

How do you get started with something as big as building a business? I mean, the more you think about it the more terrifying it seems. There are people that say you should break it down into manageable lumps, so that you don’t get over-awed by the task ahead. But then you might not finish this list of jobs, and you’ll never become that business-owner that you’ve set your vision on.

in “Go Do!”, Jeremy Harbour has tried to answer all the questions that you might reasonably have when making the leap from a (presumed) stable employer, to the Big Bad World of making your own decisions and maintaining the drive towards your perceived destiny. In these straightened times there is even more reason to stay behind the barrier of conventional employment, but what happens if you stay there for the next five years; riding the storm of the Global Economic Meltdown may be the sensible option but will you still want to do that when the ripples from it ease off? Will you still have the passion that will drive you forwards?

There are no guarantees for success if you follow this book, in fact that is one of the first things that the author states. What you will have if you read and digest what Jeremy Harbour has to offer, is the motivation and fire to make that first leap. This will in turn make the second one easier and so on.

Go Do! is a book that doesn’t try and frighten you into following its regime. This is a book that takes your hand, listens to your worries and gives sensible advice. My favourite section is Chapter 4 which discusses the Five Worst Excuses for not starting a business. I myself have wrestled with these, and to be honest the jury is still out, but the responses in the book provide assurances that there is another way if you find yourself up against these barriers.

I found Go Do! to be a readable and engaging book that goes a long way to providing the reader with the motivation and the wherewithall to start a business. If you read this book your life will change.

Selling is everything. There wouldn’t be innovation in products and services without one person saying that they could do that for you, but for a price. But there are different types of selling. There is the organised, effectively mechanised style of corporate selling that big companies employ to further their £millions of profits. And there are also the retail selling techniques which most of us encounter in high streets all over the world. This is a gentler, more human way of persuading people to part with their hard-earned cash.Chip Averwater has written “Retail Truths” to dispense his experience of a lifetime of selling to ordinary people. Split into a multitude of sections, ranging from how to sell, how to price and how to deal with the reps from suppliers who will try and get you to sell their product in your shop. There are also sections on paying your staff, on how to fire an employee and how to deal with running multiple stores.

This is a book of quotes, stories and homilies that can only be collected if you are living and breathing a particular life. And it is to his credit that Chip Averwater has brought these together. There are such gems as “Complaints are opportunities to create loyal customers” and “Pricing is science in theory, art in practice”. For those that have been taught in the hard school of Branson, Solis and Trump, this book doesn’t give the same clear-cut answers that have been come to expect.

This is effectively a merge between a business book, a psychology book and a lifestory. It does however, put a human face into the story of one man’s retailing experience and the value inherent in that. “Retail Truths” is a valuable book because it focusses on the human contact that makes retailing successful or not. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

The world that we live in is a smorgasbord of communication delights. We can converse with people all around the world in a variety of different ways, in real or snail-mail time. It is verging on a utopian dream where everyone is connected and contactable.However, there are limitations to this type of world. Opinions can be reinforced quickly usinf groups of likeminded people, which can make compromise difficult. After all, if you can justify your stance why should you change your mind.

In “Advocates and enemies”, writer Colin Gautrey looks at ways to influence these opinion-formers, and how to work with the way that they’re organised. There are chapters on Spotting opportunities, mitigating against so-called ‘enemies’ and their attempts to derail your activities. In business this can be the difference between a successful company and one that peters out over time. The resilience of the business to outside interference is key, as well as the ability to formulate a communications plan which will be stuck to.

With plenty of advice and diagrams, this is a book that provides practical help for a world that like to obfuscate and distract. As with all business books there are pages to fill in (in pencil, maybe) that proves your understanding of the concepts at work, and easy to dip into sections highlighting different aspects of the client – customer – stakeholder relationship. This is a business book that wants to bridge that gap between business theory and practice, and is effective at this.

From this book, I found that there is still a lot to learn to understand the dynamic between stakeholders in any business relationship, and that there is no substitute for the human touch. Without that we are all doomed to produce mediocre companies that fail to delight or engage.

This book review was originally published on ACEInspire, a site packed with advice on building the skills to UNLEASH the power of the internet.

Sir Richard Branson is a worldwide entrepreneur. He needs no introduction to those of us who are business-minded, or to those who have a desire to follow in his footsteps. He is his brand personified, and there isn’t a corner of modern life that hasn’t been touched by the Virgin brand.His new book “Screw business as usual” sets out to take a more meaningful look at how the world can be changed through the engine of inspired and visionary business. With a philosophy built on something called ‘Capitalism 24902’ (read the book), and a new word ‘philanthrocapitalism’, Sir Richard has decided now is the time to give back.

The book starts with a fire on his holiday island of Necker that destroyed his home, at a time when he and his family & friends were staying. This allowed him to consider what was really important in his life, and if there wasn’t another way to deal with wealth and how it contributes to the world in general.

Screw Business as usual is not a compartmented, segmented business book of the usual style. It is written as a story where the Branson family start changing their focus to a more charitable facet of capitalism; supporting charities and using sustainable resources in their endeavours. This is not a book that turns away from capitalism. This is a book that realises that in the words of the former Costa Rican President, Maria Figueres, there is no Planet B.

From stories about providing medical aid into Africa, and introducing renewable fuels with Virgin Atlantic, into trying to tackle teenage homelessness in America, this is a book that promotes and supports the idea that we’re all stuck on this planet together. Richard Branson believes that we all have a duty to make sure that Earth is looked after for all of us, not just the mega-rich, and that by refocussing business we can change the world.

This has been a very interesting book to review. I felt that SBAU has opened another chapter up in the story of Richard Branson by looking at the problems of today and seeing what business can do about them. It’s made me realise that Governmental help is only part of the solution. We all have to do our bit, and that it doesn’t mean rejecting capitalism; more making sure that we can become responsible for our time on Earth whatever business we run.

This book review was originally published on ACEInspire, a site packed with advice on building the skills to UNLEASH the power of the internet.