I don't normally review business books, but How to Become a Marketing Superstar is so intelligent, practical, and inspiring, I simply couldn't resist giving it a well-deserved plug. It should be required reading for anyone who owns their own business or who participates in corporate life. This book has one overriding strategic purpose: to make your register go "ka-ching." So if you want more cash in your register, click on the "buy this book" button and get the process started. Fox has the rare ability to cut to the chase and say what's important in a concise and powerful way. He demystifies marketing theories, makes them simple to understand, and even more importantly -- doable. Because of this, How to Become a Marketing Superstar fills you with the promise of what is possible if you truly value your customers.

I am usually somewhat jaded by advice books that have rules to follow since all industries and products differ. However, Fox is terrific in developing rules that make sense for all businesses. Fox is a quick read, as I read his book in about two hours. But it was two hours well spent and I have implemented some of his best advice about customers. The best is not all customers are worth keeping. Only the best customers are always right and those are worth devoting the effort to. Fox has many tips that make sense, easily implemented and do produce results.

I think his books are much better than the plethora of theoretical consultant speak books that dominate the market. You may not be a marketing superstar after reading this book but you will be a lot better off. That result is worth the time and modest price for Fox's latest.

I evaluate business and self improvement books very simply. Having completed the book, I ask myself; "am I better for having read it?" Pretty simple, however we've all invested our precious time reading stale ideas and impractical advice. I love Fox's books, because I extract insightful, workable, ideas from them. They are always a quick and productive recipe for sharpening my skills. What more can I ask than to be wiser and inspired at the end of a read? Marketing Superstar might be my favorite, yet. Regardless of your professional endeavor, business is marketing and no one writing today delivers like Fox. He thinks differently than most and yet, his angle, once shared, rings of common sense. If your looking to be great, recognize resources like this one and add it to your quiver.

Even if your educational background is in labor law, this book is vital for understanding the complex procedures of the National Labor Relations Board. Practicing before the NLRB is a very unique experience and you will quickly find the agency has its own way of doing things. I am a lawyer and I use this book every single time I represent a client in any kind of NLRB proceeding. It's expensive, but well worth every penny (besides, it's tax-deductible as a business expense).

This book is definitely great! Before reading this book, I have similar views on job-hunting and this is the first book so complete on the topic: You are the product to sell. Looking for a job is a job in itself. Well many principles I have discovered by myself and that I was glad someone else shares as well.

But I would like to underline some points. This book seems written for CEO/Directors in term of examples. Making an analysis of the company and suggesting changes to a company is not a task for everybody.

What I like the most in this book, it is different from 'traditional' books oriented usually either on cover letter or resumes. This one deals with the approach you should have. As Dale Carnegie said, put yourself in the baskets of your potential employer. (Look for the secretary example).

Hello all. Back again with an update. I am a PR executive by trade as well as a volunteer PR director and trainer of a career group in NJ...

After first posting here that recipients of Mr. Fox's direct mail letters had difficulty understanding intent, I have come to see this book as one of the single most effective books that you can use to re-enter the job market. I have since sent several letters and you might surprised to hear that some very well known CEOs have had their folks pick up the phone and give me a call after receiving a letter. I am now gainfully employed.

Particularly outstanding is Fox's formula for an "Impact Letter," where you as the candidate present to the reader ideas on how to improve their business based on your area of expertise. The effectiveness of this approach is, in part, determined by the amount of research you do on your target company and the ideas that you bring to the table. How do get the information? There are many ways - networking, the local dive bar near the company, their vendors -- but start at the largest library in your area.

Based on my execution of techniques in the book, I have some points on how to improve your letters:

1.) Think of ways in which you can help a company make or save money. Your letter is a business proposition. Demonstrate that YOU understand the business process.

2.) Write concisely. As you can imagine with such intense competition for positions, get to the point immediately and try to hook the reader from the very first line.

3.) Always add a postscript (P.S.). Studies show that 80% of readers read the postscript when one is present.

4.) Always send your letter to the CEO unless you were referred to another executive with the power to hire you.

Writing these letters demonstrates your desire to work for your target company as well as your passion for your chosen or intended field. That alone is a strong value, and should earn you an appointment to speak with the proper hiring influence at the company.

And once you are hired, read Fox's other outstanding books, including: "How to Become CEO."

Since I was moving into an entirely different field, I was concerned that my lack of direct experience would cause my resume to get overlooked. After reading this book I realized it didn't matter--I wasn't going to send them a typical resume. Instead I made up my mind to follow the steps of the book and land a job in this field.

I sent out 3 resu-letters and immediately got a phone call for an interview with one company. Several days later I had the interview, which I prepared for using Fox's interview "sales" techniques. The interviewer seemed very impressed with both my anwers and my prepared questions. At the end of the interview I was offered the job.

Of course not everyone is going to have such immediate results, and I feel fortunate to have had such good results so quickly, but the ideas expressed in this book are direct, powerful, and clear. By the time I had finished reading the book I felt confident that I was going to land a job in my new field soon--I just didn't realize how soon.

This book doesn't tell you how to become CEO, but it does give a hanful of rules - some useful, some not so useful - for behaving in a large corporate environment. A lot of those tips don't really seem to apply for small internet companies (often one and the same). One theme in particular that doesn't fit in the small office environment is taking the idea that "CEOs should be distant" and taking that to mean "you should act distant, even if you're not a CEO."

A lot of the rules, or tips really, that Fox presents are the sort of thing my Dad (who worked in a large corporation) kept telling me as a young man. He really enjoyed reading the book, since it was a sort of 3rd party validation. On the other hand, for someone without that background who graduates school and finds themselves working for a large company, this would be VERY useful.

Some of the tips in the book focus on the theme of maintaining distance, because of the notion that CEOs are expected to *be* distant. The CEOs of small companies that I have worked with are definitely *not* like that. Small companies often have a culture more like a family or fraternity, and when someone remains distant, that's a negative, not a positive. One tip, for instance, is not to go running with "the noontime crowd," and instead run before work. If people know that you run, but you for some reason won't run with them... this doesn't gain you the respect of your peers... it instead convinces them you're a jerk. Better not to run at all!

I read this book while dining alone on a business trip in Toronto. It is such an easy read, you can do just that ... read it over dinner (you may not want to do this if your spouse is eating with you). The berevity of the book is one of its key strengths.

It's like a "101 Ways" sort of guide, with many small, short, and to the point chapters. The tips provided are more lifestyle changes than things to do. My favourite is to use the two most powerful words, "I need". This works so good!

I quickly realized that most of the advice in the book can be applied to almost anything in life, not just moving up the corporate ladder. The advice given in this book will help you improve yourself and become more popular with friends and family.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants an easy to read, take it with you (nice compact size too), and enlightening gathering of tips on how to get ahead in business, and in life.

Short, concise, priceless.

Read the book in less than one hour. Great writing style. Excellent points that will help you move up in the ladder in any company - even if CEO is not your intention. Great points that for the most part take little effort, but just a little ingenuity and desire to want to be the best. Key tips about things to do in different situations from traveling with the boss, to socializing at office events, to relationships with fellow employees, to key contacts to make along the way, to key positions that will increase your chance of being noticed and getting promoted...

A favorite of mine is that he mentions that if all members of upper management went to Harvard, then it will help if you went to Harvard....(well duh, right?), but say you didn't go to Harvard, follow the same concept by looking at other areas. Not trying to be too simplistic, but if all members of upper management are married men, then if CEO is your life's ambition it's about time to marry your fiance. Not to sound heartless and what not, but if you really want to be on top and you aren't married and all of them are its a check mark against you...you want to build checks marks in your favor. I think that's what this book conveys. The above was perhaps not the best example, but you get the idea - his book helps you analyze your life and professional behavior and improve it so that you have a better chance of getting there. Of course knowledge and skill are still THE keys, but these are the behaviors that go along with those pieces to complete the puzzle.

Too many valuable gems to list here, (there were 75 in all) but excellent add to your business library.

En este libro J.Fox basado en toda la experiencia que posee como Director General, nos pone de la mano todos los pasos que debemos seguir si queremos llegar a Ser Director General de Nuestra Empresa o la Empresa donde estemos Trabajando.

Jeff Fox writes his chapters short and sweet, just how I like them. No drawn out, boring examples, just "in your face" advice that you should know.

The draw back to this book is that it's mostly things I've read elsewhere. The advantage is that Fox says it more succinctly than others, so for the time-challenged, that is a nice perk.

If you've already read dozens of books on management, you may not need to pick this up. If you're a new boss or having trouble with employees, this is probably a worthwhile read.

Anybody who truly wants to be the right kind of leader will pay very close attention to the pearls of wisdom written by Mr. Fox. As with his previous books Mr. Fox not only provides a no-nonsense guide on how to succeed in the business world, but more importantly he shows us how to do it with honor and integrity. He makes it very clear that a real boss is first and foremost a teacher that guides his/her employees to be proud of their company and it's product by striving for excellence. I recommend this book, as well as all of Mr. Fox's other books, to those individuals that have decided not to accept mediocrity as a lifestyle. It's first-class reading, pure and simple.

Recently, I read HOW TO BECOME A RAINMAKER: THE RULES
FOR GETTING AND KEEPING CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS by
Jeffrey J. Fox . . . it was one of the best business books that I have come across in a long time.

So when I came across an earlier book by Fox--HOW TO BECOME
A GREAT BOSS: THE RULES FOR GETTING AND KEEPING THE
BEST EMPLOYEES--I just had to get hold of it . . . and I did, getting the chance to listen to the taped version . . . I'm glad I did, too; it's another winner!

Fox presents nothing brilliantly new, but he writes in a clear and readable fashion . . . in doing so, he presents lots of ideas that you can immediately apply to almost any management
situation . . . he also makes it clear that management involves
just about anything that we do, and a result, we should perhaps
think of many folks as "managers" that might not ordinarily
fit into that category (I'm thinking parents here, for example).

In particular, I liked his following "Great Boss Simple Success
Formula":
1. Only hire top-notch, excellent people.
2. Put the right people in the right job. Weed out the wrong people.
3. Tell the people what needs to be done.
4. Tell the people why it is needed.
5. Leave the job up to the people you've chosen to do it.
6. Train the people.
7. Listen to the people.
8. Remove frustration and barriers that fetter the people.
9. Inspect progress.
10. Say "Thank you" publicly and privately.

As a lawyer and as an MBA that is currently running his own consulting business, I picked up this book as a way of giving myself a refresher course on sales. I was not disappointed by the book, nor was I amazed by the advice given. The book is easy to read and contains 160 odd pages of large font, widely spaced text. I read this entire book during the course of a brief flight from Los Angeles to San Jose(about an hour).

Others have commented that the book contains a lot of simple, obvious and straight forward advice and I tend to agree with this assessment. However, advice does not always need to be complex or particularly insightful in order to be useful. For example, it is always good to remember the value of embracing your client's objections and to develop a client-centric view of the sales process. While this is obvious to most sales people, many of us tend to overlook this principle from time to time.

The book has other fundamental weaknesses. For one thing, most of the examples contained in the book are non-specific and often feel like made up clichés. For example, the truly predictable tale of the sales person who was able to land a huge account by being nice to a secretary that later became an executive VP...

From my perspective the book also has another serious deficiency - most of the examples given in the book deal with tangible products. The author almost completely ignores the often much more challenging and complex process of selling services.

The bottom line is this: this is a decent book if you need a quick refresher or if you are completely unfamiliar with the world of sales. If that is not the case, look for a different book.

A student recently lent me HOW TO BECOME A RAINMAKER
by Jeffrey J. Fox and suggested that I might like it . . . was he ever right! . . . this was one of the best business books I have read in a long time.

The idea behind the book lies in the American Indian tradition of employing a Rainmaker to use magical powers to nourish the crops to feed the people . . . updating this, a Rainmaker today is a person who brings revenue into an organization (be it profit or not-for-profit).

Even though this premise might sound so basic, it is amazing
how many companies tend to forget it . . . Fox says you
mustn't, and he presents a series of simple-to-follow principles
that can be applied to a wide variety of situations.

There were many memorable passages, but so as to not
overwhelm you with all of them, I'll just present the his series of six "killer" sales questions:

1. When you have the customer on the phone, suggest a meeting
and then ask, "Do you have your appointment calendar handy?"

2. The Rainmaker asks the customer, "Will you look at the facts
and decide for yourself if they make sense?"

3. [when a competitor is mentioned] You answer exactly as
follows: "Yes, that is a good company. Would you like to know
our points of difference?"

4. When a customer asks for a product demonstration, the
Rainmaker responds as follows: "We would be happy to give
you a demonstration. If the demo is successful, is there
anything else prohibiting you from going ahead?"

5. To close the sale, to get the final customer commitment, the
Rainmaker might say: "You've looked at everything. Your concerns
have been answered. Time is of the essence. You've heard our
recommendation. Why don't you give it a try?"

6. [always conclude an interview with a customer by asking
one killer sales question] The killer sales question is: "What
question should I be asking that I am not asking." Variants
or follow-up questions, are: "Is there anything I have missed?"
"Have I covered everything?" "Have I asked about every
details that is important to you?"

I bought the book two days ago and I read it really quickly (2-3 hours). Like other books on improving sales you need to APPLY these techniques and principles in order to get maximum value out of the book. If anything, you will at least learn to recognize good sales people from bad ones.

This book is, for some, common sense. For others, this book is a quick refresher course of the basic principals of selling and finally, it might be a completely new experience for many and it may have you thinking about the art of selling. The reality is that the value of this book, to you, probably depends on how much training and common sense you already have. In general, I really enjoyed the book and thought there were many interesting sales concepts, which I am looking forward to employing to see how effective they are in real life. Fox continually emphasized the concept of dollarization throughout the book and gave examples of different sales techniques throughout the book