How To Get Your Dream Engagement Ring Without Breaking the Bank

What if everything you knew about marketing was wrong? In How Brands Grow, marketing professor Byron Sharp argues that many of the marketing principles commonly taught in business schools are unsubstantiated myths. By examining the real-world data that indicates which marketing techniques succeed and which fail, Sharp claims to have discovered a new set of empirical rules that directly contradict the widely-held “common sense” principles of marketing.

In this guide, we’ll explore what Sharp believes most marketers get wrong about where a brand’s profits come from and the psychology behind consumers’ purchasing decisions. Furthermore, we’ll define what Sharp believes to be the optimal strategy to market any brand. In addition, we’ll contrast Sharp’s theories with those of marketing experts who argue against his contrarian stance, such as Al Ries and Jack Trout (Positioning) and Seth Godin (Purple Cow). Finally, we’ll update Sharp’s theories in light of the most recent marketing developments and trends, including personalized advertising, social media engagement, and the renaissance of the subscription business model.

The process of selling can seem mysterious and incomprehensible, but in Secrets of Closing the Sale, salesman and public speaker Zig Ziglar pulls back the curtain on successful salesmanship. You’ll learn what qualities you must develop as a salesperson, how customers tend to behave in sales situations, and the strategies you can employ to maximize the impact of your pitch and close the sale every time.

Alongside Ziglar’s selling advice, we’ll include commentary connecting Ziglar’s ideas to other, more contemporary sales techniques from sales experts like Daniel K. Pink (To Sell Is Human), Jordan Belfort (Way of the Wolf), and Grant Cardone (Sell Or Be Sold). We’ll also discuss specific methods of implementing Ziglar’s advice and scientific support for his claims about human behavior in selling.

Tired of competing head-to-head with other companies? Do you feel like your strategy differs little from the competition surrounding you? W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne suggest that the answer to competitive problems is to create a blue ocean: a brand-new market for an innovative idea, allowing your company to avoid competing with rivals—because it has no direct rivals.

In Blue Ocean Strategy, Kim and Mauborgne discuss how you can create such a market by focusing on your product’s characteristics that customers really care about while discarding the characteristics they don’t. This creates a new product offering that doesn’t currently exist, in a space without direct competitors.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to develop a blue ocean strategy, how to execute it, and how to anticipate potential problems. We’ll also look at how a blue ocean strategy aligns with other business strategy frameworks, and where it differs.

Is “no-kill” meat the way of the future? There are two types of artificial, or “no-kill,” meat: meat made from plant proteins and meat made by growing actual animal meat cells in a laboratory. Studies indicate that artificial meat could be good for the environment, but both types are expensive and tend to appeal only to niche markets.

Florida and Alabama have banned a meat alternative that isn’t a commercial product yet—and might not be on grocery store shelves anytime soon. Lab-grown meat is far from replacing beef or chicken due to the economics, but politics has already made it a contentious subject.

Have you ever wondered how the economy works - how millions of individuals can buy and sell goods and services without a master coordinator? Have you wondered why we use money, rather than bartering our services with each other? Why do some nations prosper, while others stay poor despite vast natural resources?

Basic Economics by Stanford economist Thomas Sowell is an incredibly useful, broad introduction to economics. Containing no math, it instead communicates intuitive principles that will help you understand how market transactions work and the effect of policies on the economy. Understand how prices for goods are set, why rent control has bad side effects, and the purpose of brand names.

What if everything you knew about marketing was wrong? In How Brands Grow, marketing professor Byron Sharp argues that many of the marketing principles commonly taught in business schools are unsubstantiated myths. By examining the real-world data that indicates which marketing techniques succeed and which fail, Sharp claims to have discovered a new set of empirical rules that directly contradict the widely-held “common sense” principles of marketing.

In this guide, we’ll explore what Sharp believes most marketers get wrong about where a brand’s profits come from and the psychology behind consumers’ purchasing decisions. Furthermore, we’ll define what Sharp believes to be the optimal strategy to market any brand. In addition, we’ll contrast Sharp’s theories with those of marketing experts who argue against his contrarian stance, such as Al Ries and Jack Trout (Positioning) and Seth Godin (Purple Cow). Finally, we’ll update Sharp’s theories in light of the most recent marketing developments and trends, including personalized advertising, social media engagement, and the renaissance of the subscription business model.

Most marketing falls flat because marketers don’t understand how customers consume information. In Building a StoryBrand, marketing expert Donald Miller reveals how to turn your brand messaging into a story: a format so compelling that customers won’t be able to look away.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to attract customers by weaving them into a compelling narrative: casting them as the protagonist, presenting them with a problem, and showing how your brand can help them overcome their problems and reach a happy ending. Along the way, we’ll connect Miller’s ideas to the ideas of other marketing specialists, like Daniel Pink (To Sell Is Human) and Seth Godin (All Marketers Are Liars), and illustrate his concepts using real-world examples. We’ll also supplement Miller’s advice with additional marketing guidance that will allow your brand to reach its own happy ending of success.

In We Should All Be Millionaires, self-made millionaire Rachel Rodgers argues that all women, especially women of color, can and should strive to become millionaires. According to Rodgers, women succumb to myths and stereotypes that prevent them from earning more. Rather than simply work harder or live more frugally, women must change how they think and feel about money, reclaim their time and energy, and stop underselling themselves. By following Rodgers’s advice, you can become more financially confident, grow your wealth, and live with more freedom and autonomy.

In this guide, we’ll discuss ways to develop a positive money mindset, manage your time and energy, and increase your wealth by recognizing the worth of your work. We’ll also compare Rodgers’s advice with that of other entrepreneurs and financial experts and provide practical tips on how to implement her strategies.