Most upper level marketing folks know the name Jay Abraham. If you google Jay, you’ll you’ll see he’s a well-known and accomplished marketing guru. About 35 years ago, before I started Media Relations Agency, I had the good fortune of working for a company that hired Jay. For about five years, I spent hours on the phone with him almost every day.
Jay was older, smarter, and a prolific writer and thinker. I loved listening to him because he was a no-nonsense, no bullshit guy. If I was to sum up how Jay felt about me at the time, it would probably sound something like this, “Lonny, work fast and shut up because I don’t care what you think.”
In later years, after my agency became successful, Jay said, “I always suspected you were smarter than you let on.” I’m smiling as I write this because I remember those years so fondly.
One day Jay to told me to read My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins. And he told me I was to read it three times. Jay said the first time you read it, you won’t get much out of it. The second time you read it, some ideas will come to you and so you won’t be paying full attention as you read. So you’ll miss some information. The third time you read it, is when you will get the big payday. That’s when your brain will really be able to ingest the material.
He was right. And ever since then, when I run across a book I find particularly useful, I read it three times. Sometimes more than that. And when I say “particularly useful”, I’m talking about books I sense are money-makers.
I suggest you practice this habit on my money-maker book: The CEO’s Guide to Marketing. See if you have the same experience I had and that Jay described. You can probably read it cover to cover in an hour and a half.
Besides, The CEO’s Guide to Marketing isn’t for passive reading. It’s not one-time entertainment like a Lee Child or Stephen King novel. The book introduces a six-step process called Strategically Aimed Marketing, or SAM 6® for short. It’s a practical book that’s meant to be implemented.
Pay special attention to steps 2 and 5. Step 2 shows you how to put together a brand playbook that will be extremely helpful when creating your promotions, and step 5 deals with directing your creative team.
I tell people The CEO’s Guide to Marketing is a $29 solution to a multimillion dollar business problem. Does your business have the potential to bring in millions more than it already is? Sure it does.
