Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It’s Only Common Sense: A Great Time to Read Great Books

There has never been a better time to sit down and read important books about your business and your craft of sales and marketing. One thing I am encouraged by is that people are contacting me, asking for some business book recommendations. I love that!

About three months ago, I came across a series of short, powerful books from Ignite Reads: “Spark impact in just one hour!” The publisher of these little handbooks makes the claim that the books can be read in one hour, but I would not advise you to do that. Instead, slow down so that you can think about the material, take notes, and borrow—or, more honestly, steal—the ideas that you’re reading. And let me tell you, these books are jam-packed with ideas worth stealing.

A few months ago, I wrote a number of book recommendations on this series. I suspect that until now, you haven’t given much thought to reading business books. Now, though, you have the time! I urge you to sit down in your most comfortable chair with your notebook and pen to start reading and taking notes. This will be one of the best things you can do for yourself during these weird times.

1. The 10 Golden Rules of Customer Service: The Story of the $6,000 Egg
Authors: Todd Duncan and Deb Duncan
Copyright: 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pages: 101
Price: $16.99

I consider this one of the most valuable books I’ve read in the past year. This clear, easy-to-read book is filled with great ideas for delivering fantastic customer service. Whether you own a small restaurant or a large business-to-business electronics company, this book has something for you.

A few great quotes from the book include, “Every decision to add value to the customer expands value to the brand,” and, “Never deliver bad news unless you can also deliver good news. Focus on the solution, not the problem.”

The book is filled with real-life examples of great customer service stories, such as the example of Mama D’s Italian restaurant. The restaurant is so good and popular that there is always a wait, so they found ways to make the wait as delightful as possible. While you wait, they serve free, hot buttered buns and ice-cold drinks so that you almost want to go at busy times.

The chapter on creating great relationships by problem solving is worth the price of the book. Also, from the book, the four steps to proper problem-solving:

1. Offer a deep and sincere apology for the problem
2. Offer a quick commitment to a solution
3. Deliver a solution that is more than expected
4. Follow up to make sure everything is okay

The book ends with two full pages of golden rules of great service, such as:

• If you don’t follow up with customers, they won’t follow through with you.
• If you are not in touch with your customers, you are out of touch.
• You are the architect of your client’s happiness (my personal favorite).

I want to urge you to buy all of the books in the Ignite Series, but I would start with this one. By the way, you’re going to love the $6,000 egg story!

2. Change Is Good... You Go First: 21 Ways to Inspire Change
Authors: Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein
Copyright: 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pages: 116 with an appendix and notes
Price: $16.99

If you need to change in order to change, then this is the book for you.

“Change” can be a dreaded word. People suffer, and companies fail because they don’t want to change. It’s natural to despise change because it makes people uncomfortable, and they would rather have things remain the same. Take social media platforms, for instance; some people have made fortunes by taking advantage of changes in that area, while others called Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook “passing fads.”

From Change Is Good…You Go First: 21 Ways to Inspire Change by Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein, here are six ways that you can inspire change in your own organization (you can also read more about these steps in one of my past columns here):

• Change what needs changing—not what’s easy
• Forget in order to succeed
• Believe
• Remove barriers
• Communicate/simplify the message
• Celebrate your successes

You can rest assured that we are facing drastic changes right now, and we will in the next year as well. Prepare yourself by reading this book so that you are ready to handle these changes.

Additional Titles
Other books worth reading include the following, and all are available online right now:

• Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others
• Every Monday Matters: How to Kick Your Week Off with Passion, Purpose, and Positivity
• Create Your Yes!: When You Keep Hearing NO: A 12-Step Strategy for Success
• Revolutionize Teamwork: How to Create and Lead Accountable Teams
• Attention Management Extended Excerpt: Breaking the Time Management Myth for Unrivaled Productivity

Conclusion
I would urge you to order these Ignite Reads series of books right now. Again, these books are written by experts and designed to be read in an hour—talk about an impactful hour. Also, make sure you add an hour to write down all the ideas you’ll want to incorporate into your business life.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.