Let’s be real — I’ve read a bunch of books on marketing and business growth.
Chances are, if it’s out there, I’ve either already read it or chose not to because it looks so similar to something else.
I’m a big fan of the work of Donald Miller and Russell Brunson when it comes to marketing. Those two guys really cover the gamut for me, and you’d be hard-pressed to learn very much that is new from someone else.
However, I’ve just finished the best marketing book I’ve ever read. It’s by neither of those guys.
And I would wholeheartedly recommend it whether you’re a seasoned vet or a beginner.
It’s rare to find a book that has tremendous value for both parties and everyone in between. This book does it.
It’s a brand-new book from Allan Dib, and it’s called Lean Marketing. Let me tell you why I love this book so much:
Actionability
I love when someone backs up their claims. Near the beginning, Dib asserts that the purpose of this book is not to teach you anything new; rather it is to turn common sense into common practice.
Man, he delivers.
Most books get you excited about the content but leave you high and dry when it comes to implementation.
It’s not those authors don’t want you to implement—they do. They just make it very hard.
Dib gives you the specifics. And I’m not just talking about a checklist, either, although he gives you those, too!
You’ll see what I mean when you read it. The book is simply written with a bias toward actionability, and you’ll feel it as soon as you move through the pages.
Stage-Setting
Where most books are either heavily biased towards the thinking beyond an idea or the actioning of the idea, Lean Marketing is the “chef’s kiss” version of both.
In fewer words than you’d think possible, Allan is able to help you simply understand why what he’s about to tell you matters, and what the impact of you’re learning it will be.
Then, when he tells you how to do it, it all makes sense.
In fact, the first three chapters of the book are packed with more useful information about market selection, product offering, and lean thinking than most standalone books on those subjects.
I’ve read them, I’m serious.
Systems-Thinking
It’s no surprise that Geno Wickman’s endorsement is on the front cover.
Geno created EOS — the Entrepreneurial Operating System — and authored the book Traction on the installation of this system.
“Lean” is a methodology common to many worlds, first developed in the automotive industry. It only makes sense to now have Lean Marketing.
Lean is all about accomplishing things in a streamlined manner. Less waste with outsized results. Again, the book delivers.
He clearly sets expectations that marketing is a long-tail game with compound interest and systems at the forefront.
I’m convinced you could be brand new in business, read this book, and have a well-oiled marketing machine running in no time.
Concept Breadth
Did I mention I’ve read a lot of marketing books?
One challenge with reading a lot of books is contradictory information and confusion about which path to take.
Marketing, with its never-ceasing dichotomy between brand advertising and direct response, is one of the hardest subjects to grasp.
Experts are diehards in either camp. And guess what? Dibs sets up that tension straight away in the book and invites us to consider living within it.
Lean uses the best of both worlds. Ironically, he sets us up for being willing to accept contradictory ideas, and then shows us how we can reconcile them anyway. It is brilliant.
Let me be clear: Every major, important concept I’ve ever learned from any marketing book is mentioned and explained in Allan’s book.
It’s the only book I’ve ever read that actually gives you the entire landscape of marketing and makes it make sense whether you own a web design company, e-commerce store, or plumbing company.
I’ll give one, tiny caveat: The only thing that I’ve read about in many marketing books that I did not find in this one was specifically the details on giving sales presentations like a webinar.
However, I find that more than excusable, for a few reasons:
Technically a webinar is a sales tool. Sales is not marketing, even when they relate.
Presumably he’s not the expert in sales webinars. Russell Brunson owns that lane, and Russell’s Expert Secrets book goes in excruciating detail if that’s what you want to learn.
He does, however, give one of the very best treatments of what matters in copywriting I’ve ever heard. And guess what? All a webinar is, is words (copywriting) applied to a structured presentation delivered via video.
So I’ll enthusiastically grant this exception, especially considering that sales webinars are not even a viable tool for many business owners.
Format and Structure
Finally, this book is simply put together well. Allan uses a common teaching framework — tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them — in a way I’ve never seen applied to a book before.
Not only that, but his action items at the end of each chapter — there are only three — they hit the biggest points of the chapter and feel extremely implementable “right now.”
My recommendation would be to read the book, then go back and DO the action items from every chapter.
If you do that, you’re going to win.
Pick up Lean Marketing ASAP. You will not regret your time reading it.