In a world where we have boundless knowledge at our fingertips, it can be difficult to know where to look for answers– or who to listen to.
A Google search for ‘how to grow my business’ results in more than 1.4 million results. That’s an overwhelming amount of information to sift through to find answers.
Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.
At Complete HQ, we love a good business book. Especially when it’s fun, entertaining, and to the point.
We believe a good business book should be actionable, direct, and packed full of great advice from business owners who have paved the road to success. Bonus points if it’s easy to dip in and out of too.
Here are our top 3 business books we keep coming back to time and again.
1. ‘Building a Storybrand’ by Donald Miller
A 7-step framework to clarify your business message so customers will listen.
No one understands good storytelling better than Donald Miller.
The seminal Building A Storybrand makes learning about marketing a breeze, outlining a simple 7-step framework for crafting your brand message. As you’d expect from a book about storytelling, the author seamlessly weaves stories throughout the entirety, whilst still keeping it snappy, interesting, and to the point.
Donald Miller observes that too many businesses position themselves as the hero, with poor results. Instead, he proposes that businesses should position their customers as the hero, and their business as the guide that helps the hero on their journey.
All successful businesses understand the importance of a customer-centric approach, and Building A Storybrand helps you harness this way of thinking to clarify your message in a way that resonates with customers.
We need to articulate things in a way that makes the most sense to customers and puts them at the heart of the story. Built on the theory that there are 7 universal story points we all respond to, you will learn how to harness these story points to connect more meaningfully with customers.
This book has been invaluable for helping us create the most effective messaging for our business and articulating it in a way that makes sense to our customers.
2. ‘24 Assets: Create a digital, scalable, valuable and fun business that will thrive in a fast changing world’ by Daniel Priestley
Benchmark your business against 24 categories of digital assets.
Great businesses are built on assets– things that would still create value even if you and your team disappeared.
Too many business owners work hard, grow, and then realise that their business is only valuable when they are a part of it. 24 Assets teaches you how to build a business built on key assets– so it still has value without you in it.
This book focuses on growing your business into a strategic asset– one that’s scalable, fun and makes a difference. You’ll learn how to build your core assets and leverage them for success, whether that’s to grow, raise funds, or exit the business.
From the success of his book, Daniel Priestly has developed the 24 assets heatmap, a free diagnostic tool that maps your business against the 24 categories of assets so you can spot opportunities for growth.
What we find most interesting about this book is that it encourages you to shift away from you and your team as the key assets and think about your entire business through the lens of assets. These can range from things as simple as resources and equipment to more intangible assets like reputation and brand. How can you maximise all the different types of assets, maximise value, and turn your business into an asset-making machine?
3. ‘They Ask, You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today′s Digital Consumer’ by Marcus Sheridan
A revolutionary marketing strategy proven to drive sales and growth.
Much like Building A Storybrand, we love this book for its approach of putting the customer at the heart of your business.
This book is based on the principle that 70% customers already make the buying decision before they even get in touch with your company. That means everything you do outside of the sales process– your website, customer reviews, the content you share on social media– is already enough to make the sale.
All that’s left to do is dispell customers remaining doubts and fears. That’s where educational content comes in to answer questions, reassure future customers and build trust.
This book really highlights the importance of knowing your audience and using high-quality content to address their needs and problems, walking you through 5 main topics to address in your content and some clever tips for getting the most out of your marketing efforts.
