Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition Hardcover – June 5, 2013

David Newman’s “Do It! Marketing” is, for me, word for word, the best marketing “how to” guide for small businesses - and for those looking to provide marketing counsel - in existence.There are several great ones, several of which I’ve reviewed in glowing terms. But this is a bible I’ll turn to repeatedly. It has a number of unique qualities, several set out below. But where I think it truly nails it is in the blend of concision and precision. There are no wasted words here. The book’s coverage is comprehensive – from building your own business model, to learning your prospects, to generating good leads, to closing, to content marketing, to social media, to personal branding, to thought leadership and more – but never pedantic or weighted down. Fact is, marketing done right is smart and manageable. Mr. Newman offers a brilliant guide to producing – and selling – just that kind of marketing – with a much-needed emphasis on small and medium-sized businesses. Among the many highlights:• The author plays it straight: having read hundreds of books in the subject area, can’t tell you how refreshing it is to come across a title that’s just honest. Mr. Newman doesn’t try to pretend that good marketing is a magic formula that is in his sole possession. At the same time, he doesn’t pretend that it’s particularly easy for small businesses to do marketing well. Both principles ring true. Good marketing isn’t rocket science – but in a saturated climate, it does need to be done very well to break through.• The author pulls no punches in stating flat out, marketing is important and amen. It’s a critical enterprise function. Chief executives who don’t see it as such likely either aren’t doing it right – or their businesses aren’t going to be around for very long. Marketers who struggle to sell their services will do well to read Mr. Newman’s book closely – for all sorts of reasons. But the “make no apologies for wanting to provide a central business function more effectively” is dead on and it bears repeating and internalization.• I will be honest in that I am always wary about books that seemingly promise “x steps to great marketing.” First, to be very clear, that’s not what Mr. Newman is doing here and one realizes that nearly instantly. His promise is sincere. The book is indeed comprised of 77 practical steps that can really be implemented in very short order. Will your marketing immediately be magnificent? Not necessarily. But if you take the time to do the work, to grapple with the questions posed and to study the abundance of wonderful additional online resources that Mr. Newman offers, this book can get you from nowhere to a rock solid foundation quickly. Is there investment involved? Yes, but nothing extraordinary. In my opinion, successfully completing tasks 1-20 (to speak generally, centering around knowing your own business, your business model, your value proposition and, as importantly, how to speak the language of your top prospects and connect your value propositions to their paint points) are easily worth the price. If you can get through this stretch, you’re halfway to home. Second, part of the what makes this book so great is that it is indeed structured in a systematic way that matches intuition – but it’s hardly purporting to thrust a one size fits all marketing program down the throats of either providers of marketing services or prospective customers. Mr. Newman lays out both strategy and tactics – and critically distinguishes between the two – but the essence of the tactics themselves, the “contents of your content” etc. – are very much left to be individualized.• The lessons set out in this book are drawn up beautifully for small and medium size B2B marketing and sales. That’s a niche that many write in – often well – but few conquer it as does Mr. Newman. That makes the book a rarity in and of itself. But I would also feel confident in saying that the tools laid out here could and would improve marketing services (and the selling of such) for any business at any level.• My own belief is that “brand” as an a concept in and of itself matters a bit, not as much as is hyped and more if you’re in the Fortune 500 already– and frankly, so few folks recognize what a brand is that, for your standard small business, it’s simply not worth taking the effort. Mr. Newman doesn’t say so explicitly – but given that a brand is in, reality, the collective set of perceptions that stakeholders have about your firm, the exercises this book takes you through – ranging from knowing your business, to speaking prospect, to your follow-up, to your CX, to your vocabulary bank, to your content, etc. – in nailing those down right, a firm almost inherently comes to realize what it’d like its “desired state” brand to be. And by being honest, substantive, creative, persistent, etc., the embodiment of that desired state tends to lead to a convergence between desired and actual – without the firm having thrown tons of money off the bat on a branding campaign. There’s no sense in branding if you don’t, for instance, have product-market fit or don’t understand your customers as well as they understand themselves. Putting the cart before the horse leads to what can be fatal incongruence,• My take is that particularly in the small business space, finding your niche and differentiating yourself producing the best and most valuable content in the field is the greatest and most cost-efficient manner to stand apart from peers – no doubt, content isn’t enough, the business needs to deliver on its promises and provide the utmost quality. But elite content is a game changer. And it’s precisely the opposite of, as Mr. Newman wisely points out, where you do not want to be: in a situation where your services are commoditized, and you’re forced to compete on price. Competing on price is an awfully difficult battle for marketers, marketing agencies and businesses in general to win, especially over the long-term.• The long term is another beautiful aspect of Mr. Newman’s book. While it can be operationalized quickly, it’s built to last. Make no mistake, it’ll take work and dedication. As it should be, by the way. But the 77 core action items espoused here are all very much evergreen in their centrality to a great marketing program. It doesn’t mean you don’t go back and iterate, based on market experience. Quite the contrary. But what makes this book so special is that it is, in my view, the best “minimum viable product” I’ve ever seen in the marketing world. For those who aren’t into lean startup techniques an MVP isn’t a negative. The notion is that with markets constantly changing, a business cannot afford to sit in a black box and plan and plan and plan. In those cases, by the time the master plan is ready, markets may well be unrecognizable. Rather, an MVP is that product or program that’s good enough to get you to market – into the ballgame. In other words, an MVP must be quality by definition, as lack of quality isn’t going to be viable. The MVP gets you to market and establishes relevance – and is conducive to being continually revisited based on experimentation and validated learning. It's the essential core and it needs to be good and to be out there.• I am admittedly not finished with it, but as I begin, in addition to my agency role, to privately consult, I’m using Mr. Newman’s 21 Day Marketing Launch to guide me in my thinking about my own little enterprise. Bearing in mind, I’ve been a senior marketing executive for quite some time, most of that in developing strategic marketing programs for clients. I’d like to think I know how to do it, but it’s a testament to Mr. Newman that I truly feel like his system offers me the best chance of success. Certainly Mr. Newman's ideas have broadened my own horizons in respect of counseling my existing and prospective clients.• You’ll need to read it to fully appreciate it, but time and time again, you’ll catch Mr. Newman very subtly practicing what he’s preached in earlier chapters. My favorite example is related to a community of thought leaders and testimonials. Mr. Newman, throughout the book, offers compelling additional content from guest contributors, who are widely acclaimed thought leaders. And it’s invaluable content. None of it pays homage to Mr. Newman. As intended. A true though leader, secure in his skin, understands that the mere presence of these contributions is a better testimonial than anything overt. And in turn, Mr. Newman goes out of his way to plug his contributors – much like with a prospect, the focus is on them, what their expertise is, how to contact them. It’s informative, classy and consistent and it’s executed perfectly.In some ways the marketing landscape moves so quickly that one feels like a book not published last week can’t be current. Not so for “Do It! Marketing”. Not that it’s old by any means – but it reads like it was written yesterday and especially when supplemented with the free online tools (download them) I expect it’ll always be evergreen. It’s a bible to be read, studied and enjoyed – over and over. Thanks to David Newman for a legitimately magnificent book.

Marketing is a struggleOur clients are struggling with marketing. It has become incredibly complex. The marketing mix, the communication mix, the channels available, measurement, the pressure on budgets, proofing the ROI, understanding social media and understanding technology are all hot topics.Marketing gets bad pressAnd marketing sometimes gets a bad press. Not accountable, manipulative (read "Brandwashed"), not understanding social media, old rules don't apply, marketing is dead and what's the point of marketing.Context and contrastWe have used lots of books (see the book flower) with our clients to create the contrast and context and help make sense of some of the issues that they are facing. A lot of them are fluffy and a lot are a repetition of the same theme, mostly to do with social media.Do it! MarketingDo it! Marketing is refreshing in that context. Blood on the wall, "Fierce competitor" type no nonsense marketing tips. All applicable. All 77 of them. All practical. Including a workbook at the end to help you go and do it.It restored some of my faith in marketing.The structureWho are your clients and why. Only focus on the "what" after you answered those two question. What do you want to be know for, speak the language of your clients, position properly, brand properly and sell. Some of the highlight:- Stop blah, blah, blah marketing. Your clients are not interested in your business. Apply the "so what test" and the "prove it" test. Your brochures, website and other collateral all likely all about you and it is boring. Could you say what has been written out loud to someone in a conversation? Without them having a laugh?- Use authentic client language from your conversations with your clients.- Stop selling sugar. Sugar is a commodity. What do customers love about you? Hate about you?- Visibility + credibility = buyability. Are you visible and annoying, visible and insignificant or visible, credible and consistent. Are you buyable? Are you obviously buyable? Is it a mistake not to buy you?- The only 3 problems you can solve. Process, people and profit. Which one is it? Ask the right questions and develop the right sales conversation.- Control is priceless. Position your offering in more control and less chaos.- Buyers will only remember one thing about you after one week. Clarity is key- Speak, write and use social media. It is called expertizing. However competency will not win you clients. That is a given. Be unique.- 52-72% of B2B professional service buyers are willing to switch- Do not revert to self promotion, self solicitation, pathetic begging or self commoditization (buy my crap).- Give to give, engage, earn their attention first.- Always include a call to action- Establish a referral circle of trusted contacts- Sell like a girl (it is relational, not transactional)- All leads are 911 one calls. You have 15 minutes- Stop wasting time following up. You have the wrong prospect, the wrong decision maker, you are dealing with goldfish, you weren't memorable and sheep dog bark, alpha dogs buy.- Branding is BS. A brand is a promise of an experience. What promises can you make?- Planning trumps passion every time. Think through, ahead and beyond failureBe seriousThe "Be serious" is one of my favourites:- your e-mail is a Gmail or hotmail account- you don't have a website- your business cards look shocking- your latest blog is from 2011- your latest tweet is four months ago- you have 2 likes on Facebook- your LinkedIn page looks barren, with only 20 connections- you are still referring to press releases and articles from 2005- you are self promoting all the time- you are an ass onlineThe contentsThe contents page says it all. This is what you get:PROLOGUE: DOING YOUR BEST IS NOT ENOUGH PART ONE: MARKETING ROCKS Introduction 1. Stop Throwing Money into a Marketing Black Hole 2. Determine Who, Then Why--And Your What Comes Last PART TWO: IT'S ABOUT THEM, REALLY 3. Who Are You? 4. What Do You Want to Be KNOWN For? 5. Who Are They? 6. Show Up With a Bucket 7. Hula Hoops® And Kool Aid® 8. Avoid Blah-Blah-Blah Marketing 9. Stop Selling Sugar 10. Visibility + Credibility = Buyability 11. 50 Reasons People Should Buy from You PART THREE: LEARN TO SPEAK PROSPECT 12. Build Your Marketing Language Bank 13. Seven Questions to Identify Your Best Buyers 14. Don't Fall into the Same-O Lame-O Trap 15. Zero In on Your Pain/Gain Factors 16. How to Build Your Prospect Phrase Book 17. The Only Three Problems You Can Solve 18. You Solve People Problems 19. You Solve Process Problems 20. You Solve Profit Problems 21. Control Is Priceless 22. Your Buyers Are Lazy, Busy, and Befuddled 23. Clarity Indicates Expertise PART FOUR: EXPERT POSITIONING 24. How to Profit from 3PR 25. CEO Speaking ls Your Best Weapon 26. Find Out Which Audiences Pay Off 27. Be Serious 28. Chasing Chum Makes You a Chump PART FIVE: DOMINATE SOCIAL MEDIA 29. Create Killer Social Media Scripts 30. Seven Rules for Your E-Mail Signature File 31. The (Real) IDIOT's Guide to Social Media Marketing 32. I: "I, Me, My" Syndrome 33. D: Dumb It Down 34. I: Information Without Invitation 35. O: Overselling 36. T: Talk Without Action 37. S: Short-Term Focus PART SIX: THE "S" WORD 38. Sell Like a Girl 39. Your Sales To-Don't List 40. You Don't Need Sales Training PART SEVEN: GET BETTER LEADS 41. Market to People Who Are Already Listening 42. Why You DON'T Want to Be in the Book 43. Old Media Is Dead! Long Live Old Media! 44. Nobody Is Going to Steal Your Idea PART EIGHT: GET BETTER PROSPECTS 45. Five Reasons You're Getting Referred to Losers--And How to Fix It 46. Build Your Referral Blurb 47. Don't Be a Referral Jackass 48. Work Your Network 49. Why Your Inbound Leads Are a 911 Call 50. Seven Stupid Ways to Blow Up Your Sales Process 51. Five Signs That Your Prospect Is Giving You Too Much BS 52. Your Nine-Point Client GPS 53. How Good of a Client Will You Be? PART NINE: ELIMINATE ROADBLOCKS 54. RBI Meets CSI 55. Become the Missing Piece 56. Stop Wasting Your Time Following Up 57. Nobody Leaves Hungry PART TEN: YOUR BUSINESS DNA 58. Branding Is BS 59. Your Name Supports Everything You Do 60. BMW at One Dollar Over Invoice! 61. You're Competing With Idiots--And They're Winning 62. Diversify While Still Specializing 63. Focus on Strategy, Not Tactics 64. Planning Trumps Passion Every Time! PART ELEVEN: PERSONAL SUCCESS STRATEGIES 65. Confidence Is Sexy 66. Charm Is NOT a Four-Letter Word 67. Lone Wolves Starve to Death 68. Live Out of Your Calendar Not Your Inbox 69. Five Ways to Use E-Mail Without Getting Sucked In 70. The Secret Sauce 71. Do WHAT You Love for PEOPLE You Love PART TWELVE: TAKING ACTION 72. Five Marketing Moves for Business Success 73. Move Up 74. Move In 75. Move Ahead 76. Move Aside 77. Move Alone PART THIRTEEN: YOUR 21-DAY MARKETING LAUNCH PLAN DAY 1. Who Are YOU? DAY 2. Who Are THEY? DAY 3. Develop Your Platform-Building Plan--Part I DAY 4. Develop Your Platform-Building Plan--Part II DAY 5. Personal Branding, Domain, and Web Setup DAY 6. Research and (Re-)set Your Prices DAY 7. Article Day DAY 8. Rest Day DAY 9. Website Setup or Review/Revision DAY 10. Building Inbound Links DAY 11. Assembling Your Basic Presentation DAY 12. Build a Simple Speaker One-Sheet DAY 13. Find Speaking Leads and Places to Deliver Your Client-Magnet Presentation DAY 14. Ask for AIR (Advice, Insights, Recommendations) DAY 15. Article Submission Day DAY 16. Rest Day DAY 17. Product Development Day DAY 18. Create Your E-Mail and List-Building Platform DAY 19. Social Media Day DAY 20. Map Out Your Organization Chart DAY 21. You Made It! Your 21-Day Do It! Marketing Playbook

This book hooked me in the opening pages. Let me tell you why. I had just cleaned off my desk. I threw away without exaggeration a hundred postcards and nonsense mail all marketing something. Every day I clean out my spam folders. I was just thinking what a waste, why do those companies do this when in the opening pages of "Do IT! Marketing" David says:"Did you see that spam e-mail from the toner cartridge company? Did you respond to that great deal on vacation cruises? No? Ok. Now pop over to your paper mail pile on your desk. Did you check out the latest triple-play offer from your friendly cable company? How about that compelling cell phone offer from Verizon? When's the last time you gave your credit card number to a cold caller who interrupted your family dinner?...But you seem pretty excited about YOUR cold calls - and sending out YOUR spam, YOUR offers, YOUR postcards, YOUR sales messages."Yup I was hooked from that point on. This is a well written, highly illustrated fun productive read. Not only doe Do it! Marketing give you 77 techniques and a 21 day plan for success but it is full of advice, business expertise, and tips. The book covers social marketing, how to get better leads, better prospects, techniques for making a business into a marketing machine.Do It! Marketing isn't an academic book on marketing. It doesn't have a bunch of theory, irrelevant stories or case studies. It moves quickly from technique to technique - 77 of them with an Action Plan divided into 13 parts. This book is all about doing so that the sale gets made, the cash register sings. I think that if I could only have one book on effective small business marketing or business lead gen this would be it.