Resource Center

What is the AlterSeekers Resource Center?

Marketing in general and technology in particular moves at the speed of light. Just when you think you’ve figured something out, something new comes along and impacts what you thought you knew. Warren Buffet himself said that the only difference between what you’re doing today and what you’ll be doing a year from today is the people you meet and the books you read.

We whole heartedly agree. And let’s face it, there are a number of companies out there that would love to hire us, but can’t for whatever reason. We understand. This section is especially for you. Why? Because our clients get the benefit of our continually growing knowledge and experience based on the information contained within this section. We’ve read it, we’ve embraced it and we continue to live it day in and day out.

So these aren’t trade secrets. What’s contained within this section is a reflection of our philosophy and beliefs. A number of these authors are our friends and part of our network. We’ve brought them into our client engagements and have worked together to help frame seismic change events for our clients.

So please, take advantage of these resources. They will shape your perspective and help keep you sharp. We’ll all be better off if we work together to improve the effectiveness of our collective marketing efforts; and your clients and your team will thank you for your efforts.

The People You Meet

How’s your network? We’ve worked hard to continue to grow our base of really amazing people and we invite you to be part of our network. There are several ways to do this:

1. Use LinkedIN to connect with Bill Carmody, Lisa Valentine and Brent McLean individually.
2. Use Facebook to connect with Bill Carmody, Lisa Valentine and Brent McLean individually.
3. Follow AlterSeekers on Twitter
4. Become a Fan of AlterSeekers on Facebook
5. Join our SociaLunch Pilot program (email bill [at] alterseekers.com for details).

The Books You Read

The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff by Clara Shih. If you haven’t read this book, you’re probably still confused about how to make money with Facebook. This is the first book that goes well beyond the “social media is important” mantra and gets down to business. Part history, part strategy and part “How To”. If you’re serious about learning how to monetize Facebook, read this book first.

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm. Is anyone making money with Twitter? Yes. And Joel dives right into the strategies and tactics your business needs to make money with Twitter; especially as you integrate Twitter into your overall social marketing strategy. He even provides a 30 day step-by-step plan on how to launch a powerful presence on Twitter. If you want to know what Twitter is all about. This is the book to read immediately.

Online Promotions by Bill Carmody. Yes, this is a shameless plug for my own book that crosses the chasm between traditional promotional marketing and online promotions. Integration of your online marketing activities is critical for success, but this book takes an in depth look of what are the best strategies and tactics to use given diverse marketing objectives.

Tactical Transparency: How Leaders Can Leverage Social Media to Maximize Value and Build their Brand, by Shel Holtz and John C. Havens. This book details the what, why & how of creating transparency in the marketplace for your company or brand – especially as it relates to blogging and social media. It illustrates its points with industry true stories, both good and bad, and serves as a guideline for organizations that are just beginning to test the waters of social networking.

Lead Generation for the Complex Sale: Boost the Quality and Quantity of Leads to Increase Your ROI, by Brian Carroll. This book is the gold standard for B2B enterprise lead cultivation including lead qualification, lead nurturing and universal lead definition. Brian Carroll nails the process of the complex sale, provides insightful recommendations and clearly illustrates the process businesses should follow to turn leads into sales. If your sales teams are wasting time on non-qualified leads, this book will help right your ship.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, by Jim Collins. When it comes to insightful business strategy, few are as eloquent as Jim Collins. This book changed my life. To this day, I still refer to his “hedgehog” analogy. That is, defining the ven diagram of what you (and/or your company) is (or can be) Best in The World at Doing, are Passionate About, and Have an Economic Model around. This was an amazingly insightful exercise that helped define the focus of our businesses and can also be applied to your personal growth.

The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, by Thomas L. Friedman. Never has one book so utterly captured the essence of the global transformation that has taken hold and continues to transform every aspect of our business. From detailing the direct impact of the Internet to Open Source to Outsourcing and everything in between, Thomas Friedman takes a critical look at the challenges we all face today and the even scarier challenges that face us tomorrow. If you have kids, tell them to study math, science and engineering. And it wouldn’t hurt to study Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell. From the author of The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell explores common misconceptions around what makes a person truly great. His argument around 10,000 hours of experience is extremely compelling and he follows through with many real life examples that help you put into perspective what really makes someone extraordinary – it’s not what we’re taught to believe.

The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, by Timothy Ferris. Think of this book as a “How To” manual for launching that great idea you’ve had in the back of your mind for the past few years. The first part of the book helps you “think different” about work and the next part launches into all the ways you can work smarter, not harder. If you’re looking to start a business (full time or on the side), this is a great book to get you into the right frame of mind.

Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds. You’ll never look at PowerPoint the same way after you read this book. It applies the principles of effective design, Feng Shui, and Zen philosophy to sales presentations in a way we’ve never seen before. Wonderful graphics help drive home its points. Seth Godin recommends this book especially because it embraces his overall approach to really good presentations.

Free Prize Inside!, by Seth Godin. The author of Permission Marketing (see below) and Purple Cow (also a wonderful book), examines the power of the “free prize” – from helping to sell cereal boxes and Cracker Jacks to innovation at retail. My personal favorite is the Babies R Us example where the free prize is reserved parking spaces for pregnant women. (Hint: Try to buy the version that comes in a cereal box).

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell. Procter & Gamble set up an entire business unit (and then spun it off) based on the principles of this book. In this masterfully written book, Gladwell examines what elements are needed to create an epidemic and how marketers can learn from this social phenomenon. The tipping point is the exact point in which “little things make a big difference.

The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage, by Joseph Pine & James Gilmore. First published in 1999, there isn’t a single book that comes close to explaining, “Why Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage.” This is a must read for anyone in the Event Marketing world, and a recommended read to anyone who wishes to move beyond the Service Economy and into today’s Experience Economy. If nothing else, this book will explain why Starbucks can charge $5 for coffee that is worth a few cents as a commodity.

The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen. Ever wonder why great companies seem to fail? This book explains the difference between sustaining technologies and disruptive technologies and why “small markets don’t solve the growth needs of large companies” among many other key insights. This book is intensely analytical, but if you stay with it, you’ll come away with a clear understanding of market trends and why the need for growth can often bring great companies to their knees. NOTE: If you like this book, you’ll love his second book, “The Innovator’s Solution.”

What’s Next?, by Eamonn Kelly, Peter Leyden and Members of the Global Business Network. Not for the faint of heart, this book looks five, ten, and event twenty years into the future and examines the cultural, environmental, political, economical, scientific and technological advances that will impact our people, businesses, country and world. Not the book to get for light reading, but the perfect book to help steer your thinking around long-term planning and growth strategies.

Love Is the Killer App, by Tim Sanders. If you get any value out of this book recommendation list, you can thank Tim Sanders. I know Tim Sanders personally, and not only is he an amazing speaker, but the ideas in this book are extremely powerful. We often get so tied up in our work lives that we forget that our co-workers are people too and as such, need love. Helping others certainly will help you in the long run, and Tim Sanders does a masterful job of illustrating this point.

Working the Room: How to Move People to Action through Audience-Centered Speaking, by Nick Morgan. If you’ve ever had to give a presentation or have been asked to speak publicly, this book will change your whole outlook on your presentation. Morgan examines “How to move people to action though audience-centered speaking.” I have read plenty of books on public speaking. This one is head and shoulders above them all.

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers, by Seth Godin. Well ahead of his time, Seth Godin told marketers very early on that getting consumer’s permission would be critical to their long-term success. As we move away from “interruption marketing” in this information age, getting permission from your customers to market to them allows you to start a dialog and build a deeper relationship with them. If you’ve ever struggled with customer service issues or database marketing challenges, this book provides key insights.

The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited: Real-life lessons in Word-of-Mouth Marketing, by Emanuel Rosen. If you liked The Tipping Point, but would like a more tactical “how to” guide for generating buzz, Rosen delivers the goods. While Rosen uses different terminology to explain the same phenomena, his understanding of what makes buzz succeed (and fail) is second to none. If you’re in the business of generating and stimulating buzz, or you simply would like to create better word of mouth marketing, this is the book for you.

How to Advertise, Third Edition, by Kenneth Roman and Jane Maas. This is the modern day version of the advertising classics such as Ogilvy on Advertising and Confessions of an Advertising Man. In the ever changing world of advertising, this book explains the history of what’s worked and why as well as key insights on “What to say and where to say it” and the best ways to get your message to your audience.

Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay, by Lester Wunderman of WCJ. In this book, Wunderman takes you though his though process of how he got into Direct Marketing and why he believes that all marketing should be direct. He explains how he has measured success and failure of campaigns throughout the years. Many have acknowledged Lester Wunderman as the father of Direct Marketing. It’s a great book if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Direct Marketing.

The Tom Peters Seminar: Crazy Times Call For Crazy Organizations, by Tom Peters. I’m a big Tom Peter’s fan, and while most will point to In Search of Excellence or The Circle of Innovation as his finest work, I’m a big aficionado of this book because I think these principles still apply. In his own words, “Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations”, and while this book was written in 1994 at the very beginning of the dot com era, 10 years later his recommendations stand. If you’ve ever wanted to go to a Seminar by Tom Peters, this book allows you to live vicariously until such a time as you can join him in person.

Rules For Revolutionaries, by Guy Kawasaki. A short read, this book will make you think long and hard about your career and approach in business. My favorite quote, “Always search for the cause of something unexpected” and “Leave the important stuff to amateurs.” Kawasaki has a great perspective – one that I wish I could maintain.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!, by Al Ries & Jack Trout. This is the first book that formulates 22 “laws” that all marketers must follow or suffer the consequences. Ries and Trout approach these laws in the same way a scientist might explain the laws of gravity. These laws stand regardless of approach or tactics, and help explain why many marketing efforts fail while others succeed. NOTE: Their second book, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” is even more powerful with respect to Brand Building.

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, by Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searles & David Weinberger. This book nails the key difference between “corporate communication” and being a real person. While much of the focus is around online marketing, their principles work across all media. This book demonstrates why being “real” and knocking down the corporate barriers will be rewarded in the information / Internet age.

The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd Edition, Compiled and Arranged by John Cook. Ever find yourself looking for the perfect quote? This book as been invaluable for communicating big ideas in their most pure and simplistic form. When you can quote the masters of the subject matter, you show not only what you know but also whom you know.

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, by Spencer Johnson, M.D. This book is a guidebook for dealing with change in your work and life. It addresses why we resist change, and the ramifications of resisting change. This is a great book to give your employees.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma , by Michael Pollan. This NY Times bestseller is in support of sustainable eating and effectively outlines what’s wrong with the way we eat, and the way we think about eating in this country. The book delves deep into our food source, does some interesting sleuthing, and provides a breadth of information you never knew before about food….especially corn and the U.S. Government’s relationship with that dietary staple.

The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. The premise of “The Secret” is the science of attracting the things in life that you desire and need, and in removing from your life those things that you don’t want. Sounds simple, and it is, but then why do so many people struggle with what’s in their lives? We all have the power to create our lives the way we want them to be, and this book shows you the way, in the most simple and straightforward way.