Full-price

The author is a superb speaker but his writing lacks substance. Although I admire his attempt at using practical examples, many of them were not applicable to my business. The substantive information was very good but could have been contained in a speech or article.

The author is laso a great speaker, much better at speaking than writing. The anecdotes are superficial as the book is a compilation of presentation slides written in an afternoon.

Let's start with a premise: we'd all like to get full price for our goods and services. No one really wants to be on the losing end of a discount war. . . . and in that struggle, everybody loses. Full price sounds like a good idea. But, is it realistic? I began Winninger's latest book with a bit of skepticism.

Full Price begins with an emphasis on maximizing value perception. When I saw that phrase in the table of contents, I wondered what this book might say that hasn't already been said by countless authors beating the same drum. Aha! The difference is in the countless examples that illustrate every one of the author's points. Winninger walks his talk-the value of his book is certainly maximized by the real-life examples. I can't tell you how many ideas I gleaned from those examples-page after page of examples and best practices.

Winninger, founder of Winninger Institute for Market Strategy in Minneapolis, knows his stuff. He's a professional speaker and consultant who's worked with over a thousand companies in many fields. This is definitely a case of "been there, done that." You'll discover that value as you move through his 15 chapters. I chuckled when I noticed what the author did with the quotes at the start of each chapter. After quoting others for the first two chapters, he quoted himself for the rest! He must have enjoyed writing this book.

The book is organized very well. Chapter titles include Selling the Program, Vertical Integration, Segmenting Your Services to Targeted Customers, Owning the Customer's Buying Cycle, and Promoting Differences. This easy-to-read book gets more exciting as it continues, with chapters on Substantiating Value, Not Price; Living the Brand; Exploiting Technology; and Forging the Indestructible System. And every chapter is stuffed with best practice examples. Can you tell I was impressed with the way these examples brought the author's points to life?

The whole premise of the book is achieving Maximum Value Perception: seeking and fulfilling the highest need of your premium customer. Think about those words. Each is explained in the book, but let me share the questions that flow from the author's discussion: 1. Who is my premium customer? 2. What is my premium customer's highest need? 3. How do I determine my Maximum Value Perception? 4. How do I achieve Maximum Value Perception and receive full price? These questions are answered as the reader is stimulated, then we're off and running!

Fast read, summaries at the end of each chapter, validating footnotes, and a good index. This is a book you'll read eagerly, salivating at the thought of how you'll apply your learnings to overcome your competition. And this is a book you'll return to from time to time to stimulate more great ideas to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Reynolds Price is one of those writers who writes nonfiction and fiction equally well. Being a fan of this author's work, I was delighted to find this book of plays - and equally delighted to discover that he writes vivid, resonant plays. The themes are the usual ones for Price - love, sex, death and the variations of human relationships, written with his usual mix of compassion and poignancy. Containing a strong voice (often unmistakably a Southern voice), a great find for those who love drama as well as those who like southern writers. These plays fall into the "storytelling" tradition of drama, rather than those which are more modern, even surreal in tone.

This is a beautifully produced book in full color. Describes all the retired pieces as of 2000, but not those still in production so avid collectors will still need the book by Warner. This book like that of Warner lacks an index by product number. Missing more than a few pictures (an empty box has been left in the text), which hopefully the author will include in a later edition. There is no space left on the page for the collector to write any notes.

Really a great price guide as long as you don't have any recent pieces. The name says retired, so don't go looking for current pieces prices.