80/20 Sales & Marketing by Perry Marshall

Note: I don’t review substandard books. I read a lot. I don’t have a lot of time to review books, so what I do share, I’m sharing because the book has been very influential and helpful to me in my life, and I believe it will also help others. If you are a marketer or entrepreneur, these are must reads.

Quick links/info:

• Buy the book >>
• My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Worth reading, even if you’ve already read The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
• Author Website
• Tags: Sales, marketing productivity, process, getting stuff done, scaling, growth, effectiveness, efficiency, priorities, delegation.

How to know if this book can help you:

• You’re in sales.
• You’re in marketing.
• You’re overwhelmed or burnt out.
• You want to get more stuff done in less time.
• You run a business.
• You love the Pareto Principle.

Review:

I often remember where I was when I read a certain part of a certain book, and that’s the case with 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall. In fact, I remember two places, both in Shenzhen, China, while I was running and listening to the book. The first time, Marshall was talking about how if you have 1,000 customers who buy something for $20, then 20% or 200 of them will buy something else you have for $100. 20% of those, or 40 customers, will buy something else you sell for $1,000. And 20% of those, or 8 customers, will buy something you sell for $10,000.

Not that the percentages and amounts will be exactly these, but the point is that some percentage of your customers will pay more if you have something more to offer. If you’re into thought leadership, then this means you might offer:

1. A free lead magnet.
2. A book for $20.
3. An entry-level course for $100.
4. An advanced course for $1,000.
5. Coaching for $2,000/month.
6. Advanced coaching for $5,000/month.
7. Speaking for $10,000 per appearance.

That might not be your exact mix, but what are you missing out on if all you have is a book, or a single course?

The second time I remember where I was while listening to Marshall’s book, he was talking about putting dollar amounts on tasks.

Marshall says there are $10 tasks, $20 tasks, $100 tasks, $1,000 tasks, and $10,000 tasks, and you, as the expert you are, should be focused on $10,000 tasks.

“Easier said than done, Josh,” you might say, “Someone has to do the $10 tasks, and who else is going to do them?”

That’s exactly the question you should be asking. Yes, someone has to do those $10 tasks, but it should never be you, unless you’re figuring out the process in preparation to pass it off to someone else.

These are just a few of the valuable lessons I learned from this book. If you’ve read it, which parts stood out to you?