Jay Abraham

An excellent overview of methods to achieve business growth. Abraham introduces the fundamentals such as using direct mail and telemarketing. The book shines in describing ways to set up barter deals, rent lists, and the importance of emphasizing customer lifetime value. It is a marketing book that one could read more than once.

Suggestions for the next edition of the book:
1) the Internet marketing section needs a major update. Social media, pay per click etc are not even mentioned. i would show more also like to see an update and more detail on the telemarketing aspect as rules have evolved in that area.
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2) Fully developed case studies. There are many "case studies" summarized in a short paragraph of two. There just isn't enough "meat" in the examples here. I appreciate that there is a need to maintain client confidentiality. However, the lack of details frustrated me. I would recommend a future edition to include an appendix with 3-5 fully detailed case studies with scripts showing how these deals were done (especially for the more unconventional methods such as barter). show less

I love this book. If you think you don't have a business mind, if you think business is boring, but if you've got a brand to build or a product to market, read it! I'm full of ideas from one read-through.

Even though this is a fairly old book, it still has a few really great ideas—the main one being how to maximize what you have to get exponential growth.
For example, if you have 1,000 customers that buy $100 of goods from you twice a year, you would receive $200,000.
1,000 * $100 x 2 = $200,000

Just by increasing the number of clients, sales per customer and the frequency by 20%, the total income would increase by 73%.
(1,000 *1.2) * ($100*1.2) * (2*1.2) = 1,200 * 120 * 2.4 = show more $345,600

Basically, incremental improvements across anything you do (i.e., business, service, sports, marketing, etc.) can lead to exponential increases.
Another fresh idea from the book -- one place to get more customers is to look at your own inactive clients, the ones who bought once from you and never again. They are better prospects than trying to acquire new clients.

What I liked about the book:
For a 2000 book, it has an excellent design - large fonts, headings, great organization, and cover.
Business stories that are interesting and applicable to any enterprise today.

What I didn't like about the book:
Outdated material such as marketing through telemarketers and mailing lists (although that may be similar to email lists now).
Suggesting how to market on the internet is funny such as using the top 8 search engines: Lycos, AltaVista, HotBot, NorthernLight, Excite, InfoSeek, WebCrawler, Yahoo. Notice, no Google at this time. I don't recognize any except the last two.


Total 3.7/5
Readability - 4.5
Scope - 3.5
Depth - 3
Format - 3.5
Clarity -4

Read this book if:
You want some good ideas, and you don't mind an older publication.
You are not scared of an older book.
You want to grow your business, ideas, services, future. show less

I respect Mr. Abraham and his work. One of the most practical books I have ever read. This book provided so many ideas for me. Specifically, how to best utilize the assets within me and my business. Very easy to read and just flows very well. I really enjoyed the chapter on "Unique Selling Proposition".