Proactive Sales Management: How to Lead, Motivate, and Stay Ahead of the Game
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Practical and easy to read
  • soup to nuts, but very rudimentary
  • Practical Tools With A Mission
  • A needed concept and training course in sales management
  • Highly Recommended !
Proactive Sales Management: How to Lead, Motivate, and Stay Ahead of the Game
William Skip Miller
Manufacturer: AMACOM/American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0814405452

Book Description

All sales managers work like crazy, but few are true managers. That's because they tend to fall back on the skills that made them great at sales...instead of adopting the new skills that will make them great managers.

This essential book, which speaks their language, will turn them into management pros. It teaches a proven method for managing the sales process as well as the salespeople. Packed with specific, field-tested techniques, PROACTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT shows sales managers how to:

* Regain control of their time * Create a proactive sales culture * Motivate a sales team * Manage to simple yet powerful metrics * Weed out failures quickly * Effectively coach and counsel up and down the sales organization * Measure not to revenue, but to the things that create revenue * Reduce reports to one sheet of paper and 10 minutes a week * Forecast more confidently * Manage the sales organization the way it should be managed.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Practical and easy to read.......2007-03-11

Many sales managers I know are some of the hardest working people on earth. They don't have time to read theory and work over months or years to apply it.

This book gives a good, practical approach which can be used immediately - invaluable to newly promoted sales managers or veterans. It's the type of book which lets you read a chapter at lunch then use the idea that afternoon!

Miller's approach offers insight and forthright advice on the keys to success in managing sales people.

3 out of 5 stars soup to nuts, but very rudimentary.......2007-02-26

Has chapters for the entire Sales Manager life cycle, from vision/culture to interviewing/hiring, to corrective action. Very basic and rudimentary rather than theoretical such as you'd find in sales management course texts. Maybe this is all that's necessary to gain the big picture rather than dealing with various minutia.

5 out of 5 stars Practical Tools With A Mission.......2006-10-08

'ProActive Sales Management' is packed with practical tools for business executives to drive sales organization in a proactive manner. Miller has coherently illustrated how these tools fit together & help sales organizations to achieve the mission of proactively capture business opportunities; more importantly, he also shows managers how to gain better control of their life while achieving business goals.

5 out of 5 stars A needed concept and training course in sales management.......2006-10-01

Proactive Sales Management shows sales managers how to effectively manage their sales force, motivate the sales team, effectively coach and counsel the sales organization, reduce reports to one sheet of paper and 10 minutes a week and forecast more confidently. A must read for any serious manager who is planning to boost sales and performance.



5 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended !.......2005-02-24

This book by William "Skip" Miller, a sales veteran and experienced trainer of sales managers, provides a wealth of information and guidance. Experienced sales managers will find it useful and new sales managers will find it indispensable. Miller covers cultural change, goal setting, recruitment, hiring, firing and more. He pays plenty of attention to day-to-day management, albeit in the context of his "ProActive" sales management program. Use this short, expansive manual as a handbook. For example, when you need to recruit, hire or terminate someone, consult the appropriate chapter. The book is easy to read and full of common sense. We recommend it highly to its target audience: sales managers.
Baseline Selling: How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know About the Game of Baseball
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Best Selling Process
  • Straight-forward, universal strategy for tracking the sale!
  • Must have for anyone looking to succeed in sales!
  • A must read for sales people
  • First Time Sales Manager
Baseline Selling: How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know About the Game of Baseball
Dave Kurlan
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1420895672

Book Description

Baseline Selling - How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know About the Game of Baseball, will dramatically change the way we approach the sales process, replacing the gratuitous complexity advocated by today's sales "experts" with an elegant and very effective simplicity. Studies have shown that the selling techniques of the last two decades have had very little impact on most of the sales population-less than 75 percent of all salespeople, to be exact. Why? Because of the complexity, learning curve and difficulty in applying the concepts in these systems. In response to the urgent need for a flexible, innovative process that will enable people to grasp the essential skills necessary to close a sale in any situation, Baseline Selling reemphasizes the fundamentals of selling in a fresh, memorable way that modern sales professionals can relate to and utilize, and above all, one that complements and enriches advanced sales methodologies. Salespeople who read this book and put its wisdom to work will succeed at acquiring more opportunities as they learn to get appointments more easily. They will excel at creating opportunities with prospects who are "not interested". They'll sell at higher margins by using the "Rule of Ratios". Their closing percentages will improve dramatically as they implement the simple Inoffensive Close". Salespeople selling commodities, struggling to differentiate themselves, will love "Commodity Busters" and every salesperson will be able to shorten their sell cycle by "Taking a Lead". Quite simply, Baseline Selling introduces a way for salespeople to visualize and touch all the "sales bases" without over-complicating the process.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Best Selling Process.......2007-09-27

I have been selling for 20 years, and have been exposed to a very large number of selling systems. The vast majority of selling systems are extremely complex, and difficult to remember. Baseline Selling includes all of the vital direction of the more complicated systems, without being complicated. I have read the book 5 times, and use it for training new salespeople. You lose nothing and gain everything by switching from S.P.I.N., Customer Centric, or Solution Selling to Baseline Selling. Great work Dave!

5 out of 5 stars Straight-forward, universal strategy for tracking the sale!.......2007-09-13

Kurlan has created a universally adaptable flow allowing a fill-in-the-blanks mentality for tracking the sale of ANY product or service REGARDLESS OF the length of THE SALES CYCLE, COMPLEXITY of the decision hierarchy or DEPTH of the decision team! It works whether you use his easy-to-execute tactics or your own!

5 out of 5 stars Must have for anyone looking to succeed in sales!.......2007-08-31

This book does a very good job of simplifying the sales process to one in which if you follow the steps...you will close the sale. A must have, it is always in my briefcase. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to succeed in sales. This book really "covers the bases"!!

5 out of 5 stars A must read for sales people.......2007-06-12

A must for anyone that is in sales! The method Dave teaches is excellent and allows you to learn a different style that will produce great results.

4 out of 5 stars First Time Sales Manager.......2007-06-12

At one time in my company I was the only sales person. As the company has grown so have my sales management responsibilities. I now have a team of sales people that I have never managed before this time. My sales coach - John Moore told me to read Baseline Selling and it has really helped me and my team. My thanks to John Moore and Dave Kurlan.
Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Came in well
  • Describes more than Explains
  • Advances the field of game design knowledge
  • Review: Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams On Game Design
  • Essential reading for anyone interested in game design
Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design
Andrew Rollings , and Ernest Adams
Manufacturer: New Riders Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592730019

Book Description

How often have you heard "anyone can design a game?" While it seems likean easy job, game ideas are cheap and plentiful. Advancing those ideasinto games that people want to play is one of the hardest, and mostunder-appreciated, tasks in the game development cycle. Andrew Rollingsand Ernest Adams on Game Design introduces both students and experienced developers to the craft of designing computer and video games for the retail market. The first half of the book is a detailed analysis of thekey game design elements: examining game concepts and worlds,storytelling, character and user interface design, core mechanics andbalance. The second half discusses each of the major game genres(action, adventure, role-playing, strategy, puzzle, and so on) andidentifies the design patterns and unique creative challenges thatcharacterize them. Filled with examples and worksheets, this book takesan accessible, practical approach to creating fun, innovative, andhighly playable games.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Came in well.......2005-09-22

The book was great in condition and looked new and it came in fast like promissed.

2 out of 5 stars Describes more than Explains.......2004-01-21



This book is enjoyable for anyone interested in computer game design. However, enjoyable and illuminating are two different things. Beginning with the obviously misguided analysis that computer games are not an art form because the process of designing them is not all a matter of creativity, but that of skill and calculation as well (which is the way it is for any art form), the authors begin a journey of, well, describing what computer games are like.

Overall, the book seems more to describe than explain, more to report than interpret. There arises no general, well defined thesis from its 500+ page volume. At best, this book can be said to raise a lot of issues which a designer ought to have in mind when designing a game.

However, the vast majority of the issues raised are either of secondary importance or generally irrelevant. It breaks down the process of game design into topics in a way which is neither natural nor logical, and proceeds to pursue a rather sizyphusian discussion of each of these topics in turn. These are: What is Game Design?, Game Concepts, Game Settings and Worlds, Storytelling and Narrative, Character Development, Creating the User Experience, Gameplay, and The Internal Economy of games and Game Balancing.

This division makes very little sense. These topics are all so closely related, some to the point of overlapping, that attempting to develop a theorem which deals with each of them separately would result in exactly the kind of negligible book we have before us.

Actually, it would be impossible for the authors to develop any meaningful discussion of their subject, because they fail to define a) what we are trying to create and b) how do we measure our success. Nor can such a definition be induced from this overflous and superficial book. Without this definition, there is nothing that binds the book's pieces together (and, actually, had the authors bothered to provide a rigorous definition, they would have realized that no reasonable definition could be found for the garbled mess they've created), and it remains a pile of expressions in the spirit of "some people did this in some games, and some people did that in some other games". In short, the book does an admirable job in showing how NOT to perform a critical analysis of a subject, not to mention attempt to construct a wholesome theory.

While the book can be interesting at times, mainly because it makes one think on how such a book SHOULD be written, it is chuck full of assertions obviously made on the basis of misunderstandings, like the authors' curious misuse of the term Suspension of Disbelief, or their suggestion of the Hero's Journey narrative template as an object of imitation rather than a tool for analysis.

The authors' goal with this book also seems questionable. At one point, they assert that, even were it possible, we wouldn't like our player to be tormented by remorse after taking an immoral action in the game. Why? isn't moral education one of the most important and unique roles of art? If it were indeed possible, and I'm sure it is, it would've been a glorious achievement for this medium, one which would put all its previous achievements far behind.

Or are the authors only interested in computer games as a source of pure fun? If so, I suggest they invest their impressive talent and enthusiasm in cooking or adult toy design - a medium's greatness lies not in the fun it offers, and these repeatable fields are all about fun.

An interesting book for raising a large scale discussion, but one which falls short of grasping the deeper principles of its subject, and is, therefore, unimportant.

4 out of 5 stars Advances the field of game design knowledge.......2003-07-13

The first half of this book is great, and the chapter on *What Gameplay Is* alone makes this book more than worth it. Rollings and Adams propose a new definition of game - to replace Sid Meier's off-the-cuff definition "A series of meaningful choices" - that is more general, more liberating, and more true. So anyone who is annoyed by the fact that their favorite linear platformer supposedly isn't a game by the Meier definition can turn to this. It sounds like a small thing, but so many designers quote the Meier definition so often I expect that this small pebble will create ripples that will effect the kinds of games we see in the future. By focusing on challenges rather than choices, Rollings and Adams have changed the way I think about game design.

Also, while Rollings' other book is most suited for people making strategy games, this book really is general enough to be a worthy read for anybody working on any kind of game.

I only gave it four stars because, for me, the last half of the book--summary chapters of different game genres--was mostly throwaway, rarely going into very much depth or telling me information I didn't know already.

3 out of 5 stars Review: Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams On Game Design.......2003-06-29

In writing a book review, it's important to realize the importance of "cover previews." In essance, the cover previews provide a contract for either what a book is about or what information the book will provide.

For instance, the back cover of the book On Game Design posits: "How do you turn a great idea into a game design? What makes one design better than another? Why does a good design document matter, and how do you write one? This book answers these questions and stimulates your creativity?"

It is important to note that the book does not limit itself to console video games or computer games. The essence of the rules discussed in this book are those of creating any type of game. Right away that should tell you whether or not you're going to find the book useful. Are you looking for a book that tells you, in general and abstract terms, what concepts are involved with creating a game, or are you looking for a book that actually works examples of concepts?

While this book does a good job of providing many checklists for consideration, advice for certain conditions, and a dictionary of possible ways to view game design, the writers do not follow through. There are few solid examples of checklist scenarios or of worked-through versions of a game scenario which a game designer would find helpful. Without a practical means to an end, there is little purpose in reading these examples except for reassurance that you're facing the same problem that other people have faced. There are many psychology texts available for that situation already.

If you're used to reading programming books, like I am, you're probably aware that they follow a standard format: Propose a problem, choose a method of solution, work through several to many versions of the solution, solve the problem. With only a proposal, it is rather unhelpful to not see why one solution is better than another when it comes to game design. For that matter, as you might have guessed, the level of abstraction to design presented in this book leaves no space for any code examples.

While the advice given in certain situations might be helpful to someone who knows nothing about game design, it is highly likely that whoever reads this book will have little need of it since the advice is so much common sense that a gamer of several years would already be aware of much of this. It's like a senior in college having to take freshman seminar.

But, aside from this little discussion of fault, there is much to be savored in this book. Don't let this review scare you off! Get a copy of the book. Read it. Keep it as a reference for when you might need a more formalized way of presenting a problem you face in game design.

And as I'm sure you know, once you've found a way to state a problem, you're almost ready to find a way to solve it.

5 out of 5 stars Essential reading for anyone interested in game design.......2003-06-17

As the global computer games industry becomes bigger business, and games are increasingly recognised as an art form, it seems surprising that the process of game design is so misunderstood. Books like Rollings and Adams on Game Design help clarify the process of game design, and as such are a vital step in clarifying game design, and providing guidance as to what that process entails.

Rollings and Adams on Game Design (hereafter, `the book') covers in broad strokes the elements of game design, both in general terms, and in connection with specific genres. The book begins by identifying the common elements of games of all kinds, and then moves on to discussing the many different classes of game, and what they have in common.

The first section, The Elements of Game Design, is an excellent treatment of the broad-strokes components of game design - a novice designer will find much to educate in this section, and even an experienced pro will find wisdom and opinion well worth the time and money. Topics such as narrative design and game balancing - often ignored - are dealt with in a generalised but comprehensive fashion, and as such this section also serves as an excellent introduction to the role of a game designer.

The main body of the book is in the second section, which consists of individual chapters covering various game genres. Because no single standard for game genre exists, the choice of genres may raise some eyebrows with some people, but within the context of the book the genre choices are very sensible and provide a good framework.

The quality of the genre chapters is variable, but generally of an excellent standard. Some are truly exceptional however, in particular that on Sports Games and the sub-section on Games for Girls contain information very hard to gain from another source. Chapters on Action, Strategy, Vehicle simulations and Construction/Management sims provide a solid discussion of the key features of these genres, although Action has been defined in such a way as to seem biased towards shooters and against platform games. It may have been worth considering these two largely divergent genres as separate forms - but to do so would have been to risk fragmenting the focused nature of the material.

Chapters on Adventure Games, A-life and other minority pursuits are quite possibly the best summary of the forms available anywhere, and the chapter on online games (written with the assistance of Raph Koster) is a superb précis of a notoriously difficult to summarise area.

There are some drawbacks, but mostly due to the generalised nature of the work. Because the book must cover everything, it necessarily covers everything briefly. Many of the chapters end when you are just beginning to get a taste for the details. As the authors note, an attempt to cover everything in detail would be the work of several volumes.

Similarly, although much is said of the process of game mechanic design and game world abstraction, little is said of the process of design where it relates to the involvement of the team as a whole. Game design is often a process of `game design co-ordination' - managing the design of the game through the changing world of the development cycle. The book provides no help for this challenging task - which again would need a book of its own to cover thoroughly.

That aside, this book is an essential reference for any game designer with less than ten years of experience, and especially for anyone new to the practice of game design. People with an interest in games will learn a tremendous amount about the underlying mechanisms of game design, and need not worry about complex mathematics or other technical detail, as most of the book is written in very easy-to-follow prose.

For anyone who has started on the path of a game designer, or who is interested in game design, Rollings and Adams on Game Design offers a superb breadth of information and should be considered an essential purchase.
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Great Read.
  • Great reading, but touches only the mainstream games
  • Gaming History in the eye of the beholder...
  • narrow scope, but an interesting read.
  • Too short and too shallow, but basically worthwhile
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
Chris Kohler
Manufacturer: BRADY GAMES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0744004241

Book Description

BradyGames' Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, by Chris Kohler, is a unique book that gives readers an entertaining and authoritative look at the indelible influence the video gaming, particularly, Japanese gaming, has had on the world. Power-Up is the first English-language work of its kind to examine the reasons behind the success of Japanese video games, rather than focusing on the history of video games. Just some of the features readers will find in this book include:


Profiles of some of the most fascinating Japanese video game designers in the industry, along with a critical look at Japanese video games from their earliest beginnings to new, exciting trends that ride the bleeding edge of popular culture.

Explanations on why Japanese video games are unique and why they resonate so well with young American players.

Fresh insight into classic Japanese video games and the elements that made them so different from American games, the origin of Nintendo, Japan's oldest and largest video game producer, Japanese Role-Playing Games, and much more!

In addition, the future of the Japanese gaming industry is also explored.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Read........2007-05-13

This book was an excellent read. Kohler does a terrific job of showing the culture links video games have created between Japan and the Western world. It also shows the stark cultural contrasts. It made me reflect on how much Japanese culture I've been exposed to without knowing it.

5 out of 5 stars Great reading, but touches only the mainstream games.......2007-02-09

This is a good book about japanese videogames and their impact in the western world. The problem, and I agree with the other reviewers, is that the focus deals only with the mainstream and most popular games like Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy. Sure it talks about Dragon Quest(relatively unknown in America until recently) and ICO, but still left many open holes.

But if you forget this flaw, it's really a great and satisfying reading, and the author constructs the text very well. Worth your time. It's a four star book, but I'll give four and half stars (five in Amazon) because it's a good and very little explored theme.

3 out of 5 stars Gaming History in the eye of the beholder..........2006-08-20

History in the eye of the beholder

The boot has very useful information for video game collectors and researchers who are looking for information related to mostly Nintendo oriented lore. I stress its for game collectors and researchers vice enthusiasts. Enthusiasts are looking to be entertained as well as informed and this book does very little entertaining. I found my self reading parts of the book over the course of several months. It just wasn't the page-turner that some other visual treats like "High Score" were. All in all it was worth 13 bucks, however I liken it too a History book on the 20th Century, with key events missing like World War II! Sega is not even mentioned as a footnote! Phantasy Star, Shining Force and several other important events in Gaming History never even captured the interest of the author, and it painfully shows here. Three Stars.

4 out of 5 stars narrow scope, but an interesting read. .......2006-04-12

other people have commented thoroughly about the generalities of this book, and i by-and-large agree. i'd like to add, however, that some of the most interesting parts of this book are the omissions.

for example, they author segues straight from talking about Ninja Gaiden to NOJ/NOA's localization process and standards for content. he mentions that religious iconography, drug use, etc, are all prohibited from being portrayed in Nintendo software, and the list of prohibited content includes cigarette smoking.

the author fails to note the irony, however, that in the aforementioned game there's a bad guy leaning against a light post smoking a cigarette he throws aside before dashing at you. i can only assume it slipped past the censors without them catching it, but my friends and i had noticed it years ago and marvelled that it had been made it through the review process intact.

it's these kinds of things that make me feel like this book is a good general source, but anything deeper than a surface look at the topics covered would require some additional reading/sources.

there are quite a few nuggets of interesting trivia in here - more than enough to make a gamer smile (dragon quest being legally prohibited in Japan from selling on any day except Sunday or a holiday, for example). my copy was a gift; i can attest that it makes a fine one.

3 out of 5 stars Too short and too shallow, but basically worthwhile.......2005-09-14

I enjoyed this book, mostly. Within its scattershot set of chapters about Japanese games in general, there's a fascinating, albeit sketchy, history of Nintendo that contained many small revelations for me, despite that I've been playing video games incessantly since 1987 or so. But the rest of the material was less compelling for me. The chapter about music games and music in games actively frustrated me--it gave only a brief survey of either topic, and seemed to spend most of its words on a tedious, obsessive examination of Final Fantasy albums. A chapter about Akihabara, Japan's premier consumer electronics marketplace, pushed the trivia-to-insight ratio similarly high. In his effort to treat video games as if they deserve the attention of artists, Kohler concentrates too much on material that is only interesting to fans.

Still, on the whole I'm glad I read this book, and I hope Kohler's stated desire to encourage further such works is satisfied; there is clearly much more to say.
Marketing to the Affluent
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great info from a top marketer!
  • Only relevant to a select few
  • Succesfully marketing to the rich.
  • A must have
  • Outstanding Book, First of its kind
Marketing to the Affluent
Thomas J. Stanley
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0070610479

Amazon.com

Three uniquely targeted guides by Thomas J. Stanley--bestselling author of The Millionaire Next Door--have been released in paperback for those specializing in sales to the wealthy. In Marketing to the Affluent, Stanley defines the moneyed population and outlines the traits it takes to reach them. In Selling to the Affluent, Stanley discusses the true needs of the well-to-do and ways to effectively meet those needs. And in Networking with the Affluent, he explains how to reach this elite audience by securing word-of-mouth endorsements from their peers.

Book Description

"Dr, Stanley's prospecting techniques saved me thousands of hours of tedious work normally given to cold calls and mailer leads."-Ken Catanella, Senior Vice President, Shearson Lehman Hutton. "This is a must-read book for anyone involved with strategic planning for businesses serving the affluent."-Seth Poppel, Vice President, Director of Corporate Planning, Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Great info from a top marketer!.......2005-09-30

If you want to know the real truth about marketing to the affluent, and especially want to hear about creative networkers, this is THE book for you!!!

2 out of 5 stars Only relevant to a select few.......2005-08-06

This book would be great to those marketing financial services. Example after example is spent determining how to market securities and finding out about how to find them. Unfortunately, if you are in any other line of business, there will be precious little for you to take away with this book. It was a waste of my money, but again, if you are selling financial products go for it.

Mark

5 out of 5 stars Succesfully marketing to the rich........2005-04-06

This book is a "how to" guide to establishing a solid marketing strategy in an affluent market. A great read that provides a clear indication of who has the money, what they spend it on and what you can do to get it.

5 out of 5 stars A must have.......2004-03-10

As a strong believer in the concept that there are defined qualities that produce given results I was further impressed with this book. When you consider other books covering the millionaire subject such as the Instant Millionaire or the Millionaire Brain, you can start drawing up your own set of criteria that define this important segment along with the parameters that will allow you to reach out and conduct business with this important market.

5 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book, First of its kind.......2003-02-11

Dr. Thomas Stanley has become a big name since his book "The Millionaire Next Door" but some of his have been tracking his work since his days as Georgia State Professor.

This was his breakthrough work. Lots of original research and tremendous insights.

I work as a financial consultant to people who receive personal injury awards and found Dr. Stanley's writing extremely valuable.

Anyone who works with high producers or who wants to be a high income producer should own this book.

Don McNay...
The Big Book of Sales Games (Big Book of Business Games)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • I expected something workable
  • Great way to get your sales team going
  • Creative, specific ideas you can use
The Big Book of Sales Games (Big Book of Business Games)
Peggy Carlaw , and Vasudha K. Deming
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:
  1. Sales: Games and Activities for Trainers Sales: Games and Activities for Trainers
  2. Sales Coaching: Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach Sales Coaching: Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach
  3. Motivating with Sales Contests: The Complete Guide to Motivating Your Telephone Professionals with Contests That Produce Record-Breaking Results Motivating with Sales Contests: The Complete Guide to Motivating Your Telephone Professionals with Contests That Produce Record-Breaking Results
  4. The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games (Big Book) The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games (Big Book)
  5. The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series) The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

ASIN: 0071343369

Book Description

Another book in the bestselling "Big Book of Business Games Series,"The Big Book of Sales Games delivers dozens of 5-20 minute games and activities designed to motivate salespeople, teach key selling principles, or just liven up a sales meeting.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars I expected something workable.......2005-09-07

My expectation from the big book of sales games was to find an informative book that can provide creative ideas for making training more enjoyable. However, the content was very ordinary and nothing creative. Especially, ideas on objections was not applicable.

5 out of 5 stars Great way to get your sales team going.......2005-08-21

I have a combination of seasoned and new sales people this book provided great games to help build relationships between the team as well as in the field. I highly recommend this book!

5 out of 5 stars Creative, specific ideas you can use.......2000-04-17

I found this book user-friendly, with sections that cover a variety of topics. There are activities for new sales associates as well as energizers for veterans. I started putting "flags" on pages with ideas that I liked and quickly filled up the side edge of my book.
The Marketing Game! (with student CD ROM)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent
  • Review of TMG! (Third Edition) by David Tonks
The Marketing Game! (with student CD ROM)
Charlotte H Mason , and Jr., William D. Perreault
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. Marketing Management (12th Edition) (Marketing Management) Marketing Management (12th Edition) (Marketing Management)
  2. Strategic Marketing (Mcgraw Hill/Irwin Series in Marketing) Strategic Marketing (Mcgraw Hill/Irwin Series in Marketing)
  3. Strategic Market Management (Strategic Market Managment) Strategic Market Management (Strategic Market Managment)
  4. Framework for Marketing Management (3rd Edition) Framework for Marketing Management (3rd Edition)
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ASIN: 0072513802

Book Description

The Marketing Game is a competitive marketing strategy simulation that allows students the opportunity to apply their marketing knowledge in a fun and interesting way. The Marketing Game is applicable for all areas of Marketing and all levels because the game is not based on just one simulation. Rather it is based on several simulations with one integrated framework. The instructor can decide the level of complexity by selecting the number of decision areas a student is forced to consider, thus making the game equally applicable for a first year Principles student and a Graduate student. The instructor can also “set up” or adjust the marketing environments in the simulation to meet specific learning or teaching objections, and can decide if students will compete in groups against each other, or simply against themselves. The Marketing Game is based on realistic marketing and realistic marketing relationships, and allows for maximum flexibility.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent.......2007-02-09

The reason I bought this item is to adhance my understanding of Marketing. This gives you the opportunity to act out the marketing principles that are taught in the textbook.

5 out of 5 stars Review of TMG! (Third Edition) by David Tonks.......2003-01-23

The Marketing Game! now appears in its third incarnation, some 14 years since the original launch.

Exsiting or former users of TMG!, either faculty or students, will recognise the latest version. The basic market model remains the same as do many of the operating procedures but this marketing simulation software now works through a Windows environment and contains many enhancements to improve ease of use. It is a very worthwhile and perhaps overdue update.

One noteworthy feature of TMG! is the modest cost. Unlike some alternative marketing simulations, there is no licence fee. The operating software is supplied with the Instructor version of the manual for TMG!
Animation Writing and Development, : From Script Development to Pitch (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Animation writing and Development From script to development to pitch
  • Too much information
  • Typical "Mainstream" book.
  • Animation Writing and Development : From Script Development
  • Wow!
Animation Writing and Development, : From Script Development to Pitch (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation)
Jean Ann Wright
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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  5. Storytelling through Animation (Graphics) Storytelling through Animation (Graphics)

ASIN: 0240805496

Book Description

The art. The craft. The business. Animation Writing and Development takes students and animation professionals alike through the process of creating original characters, developing a television series, feature, or multimedia project, and writing professional premises, outlines and scripts. It covers the process of developing presentation bibles and pitching original projects as well as ideas for episodes of shows already on the air. Animation Writing and Development includes chapters on animation history, on child development (writing for kids), and on storyboarding. It gives advice on marketing and finding work in the industry. It provides exercises for students as well as checklists for professionals polishing their craft. This is a guide to becoming a good writer as well as a successful one.

* Filled with writing exercises that will challenge your writing limits
* Understand inspiration, idea gathering, and story development
* Tips on how to write for kids and why certain stories appeal to different ages
* The how and why of dialogue-what works, and what doesn't

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Animation writing and Development From script to development to pitch.......2007-08-23

An excellent book that covers all aspects of writing for animation, and I do mean ALL aspects. Nothing is left out. Jean Ann Wright really knows her stuff. And buying the book from Amazon was easy and painless. That's why I use them and why I will continue to use them.

2 out of 5 stars Too much information.......2006-09-22

The book covers tons and tons of topics, which is good for a person with no background in animation writing. But the topics written about, from dialogue to outlining, come with no context, no examples to back up what the author is talking about. Wright writes "Keep your characters consistent. They must be true to their core traits and to what has made them who they are." An example from a current or classic cartoon is direly needed. This happens throughout the book. Under the subheading Conflict Can Reveal Information in the dialogue chapter, she writes "conflict in dialogue...is a good way to get information out and keep it interesting." How? Once again this book screams for examples.
The book trys to explain every thing and any thing about animation. A daunting task. But in the process, every thing seems trite. The chapter on writing features, aka movies, is skimmed, and after reading it, will not make your more apt at writing animation films. Scriptwriting for film is different, in many aspects, from tv animation, and in this book it's made to sound that it's the same.
Overall the book is informative, but for someone who grew up with Scooby Doo, He-Man, Thundercats and saw every Disney film and could write endless thesis on Scooby Doo's tremendous appetite, this book lacks substance.

2 out of 5 stars Typical "Mainstream" book........2006-08-08

This book is abit of a bore and turnoff with all it tips and trixs to create scripts that will please the "buyer". It is colored with a tone of a moral panic that is typical for experts that clame to know what people want and don't want. I think it is safe to say that if the creators of "South Park" or "The Simpson" would have read this book and followed it, thoose series would have never been made - maybe not even Bambi with its horrid shooting of bambis mother?

It also deals with animation at its simplest blocks, it tries to show the steps to a finished product - poorly. It does contain a good hint here and there but as a hole it is a complete waist of time, and a poor candidate for a book to understand the teqnical aspects of animation. If you have some basic knowleadge of character, animation and storyboarding and want to learn how to write for animation, buy books about writing instead.
>RS

5 out of 5 stars Animation Writing and Development : From Script Development .......2005-03-10

Jean Ann Wright's "Animation Writing and Development : From Script Development to Pitch", is a comprehensive and well written book, on the subject.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing for animation.

5 out of 5 stars Wow!.......2005-03-07

Every industry has its own special requirements. This book "Animation Writing and Development" by Jean Ann Wright should be titled "A Manual for the Working World of Animation". There are not many books that give all the working aspects of a creative vocation. Wow! What to do, how to do it, and still nurture creative desires! Being a college art instructor, all my classes will know about the existence of this fine work. B. McInerney
Marketing Game!: With Student CD-ROM
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Marketing Game!: With Student CD-ROM
    Charlotte H. Mason
    Manufacturer: Irwin/McGraw-Hill
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
    Management & LeadershipManagement & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Business Ethics | Consolidation & Merger | Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Distribution & Warehouse Management | Industrial | Information Management | Leadership | Management | Management Science | Motivational | Negotiating | Operations Research | Planning & Forecasting | Pricing | Production & Operations | Project Management | Quality Control | Risk Assessment | Statistics | Strategy & Competition | Systems & Planning | Systems Analysis | Teams | Total Quality Management | Training
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    ASIN: 0256139881
    MARKSTRAT3: The Strategic Marketing Simulation
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Returned
    • Good simulation done in a classroom setting
    • Nerve Test for Strategists
    MARKSTRAT3: The Strategic Marketing Simulation
    Jean-Claude Larreche , and Hubert Gatignon
    Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
    Management & LeadershipManagement & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Business Ethics | Consolidation & Merger | Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Distribution & Warehouse Management | Industrial | Information Management | Leadership | Management | Management Science | Motivational | Negotiating | Operations Research | Planning & Forecasting | Pricing | Production & Operations | Project Management | Quality Control | Risk Assessment | Statistics | Strategy & Competition | Systems & Planning | Systems Analysis | Teams | Total Quality Management | Training
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    3. Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications (3rd Edition) Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications (3rd Edition)
    4. Marketing Engineering, Revised Second Edition Marketing Engineering, Revised Second Edition
    5. Global Marketing Global Marketing

    ASIN: 0538880899

    Book Description

    This #1 marketing simulation is designed for teaching strategic marketing concepts. It incorporates theories of market and competitive behavior. Users are grouped into teams that are in direct competition in the simulated world. The teams will confront marketing problems, and develop and implement strategies over as many as 12 simulated years. MARKSTRAT3: The Marketing Strategy Simulation is the user's guide that accompanies the MARKSTRAT3 simulation software. Note: The MARKSTRAT3 software is not sold by ITP or South-Western College Publishing. Professors should contact STRAT*X (Boston: 617-494-8282, Paris: 330.1.64.45.87.53) for details concerning licensing of the software.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Returned.......2006-03-04

    It was the wrong book so I had to return it. However, it came in new condition and fairly quickly so no complaints.

    4 out of 5 stars Good simulation done in a classroom setting.......2001-07-26

    I had the prior version as a textbook in the MBA course in Strategic Marketing. Very instructive and a good learning tool that shows the interaction between the strategic variables in your marketing plan.

    5 out of 5 stars Nerve Test for Strategists.......2000-08-22

    Wow!What an excellent simulation!! Nerve recking! Can't sleep withourt seeing the results every day. Better than the class room teachings and bag full of articles and books. Tests your marketing knowledge to the ultimate limits. Best part of this simulation is that no one losses and no one wins but every one LEARNS AND A LOT . This simulation is an eye-opener to the so called market strategists. The team spirit is revitalised and real leaders emerge. I recommend to all serious marketing strategists.

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    1. Public Relations: The Complete Guide
    2. Quantitative Methods for Business (with Crystal Ball Pro 2000 v7.1, CD-ROM, and InfoTrac )
    3. Real Estate License Exams For Dummies
    4. Relax Your Way to Thin! Hypnosis Weight Loss Motivation
    5. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
    6. Small Business Start-up Kit for California
    7. Small Business Start-up Kit for California
    8. SPIN Selling
    9. SPIN Selling
    10. Strategic Brand Management, Second Edition

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