Secrets of Power Marketing
Peter Urs Bender and George Torok
Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., 1999

Reviewed by Kirsten Cowan

Another installment from public speaking whiz Peter Urs Bender, this time with the adept co-operation of speaker and educator George Torok. Expanding on the themes of Secrets of Power Presentations and Leadership From Within, this new release focuses on marketing your business. Secrets of Power Marketing seeks to apply the techniques and methods of the first two books in a practical way to the project of marketing ones business. The result is a lively book, with a streak of practicality that reveals itself in an impatience with hoity-toity notions of marketing that have little impact on the bottom line.

Of particular interest to HotLink readers is the comprehensive "Strategy Three" dealing with media relations. Included in this category is self-published media such as newsletters, and timely insights on getting the most out of the "New Media". Torok and Bender have a clear understanding of the effect a media spot, especially a media interview or article, can have on your marketing plan. As with all their strategies, advice is clear, no-nonsense and effective.

A great feature of Secrets of Power Marketing, which it shares with Bender's previous works, is the plethora of ideas it provides, lists of them, which can be tailored to your specific needs. Appendix A; "101 Power Marketing Ideas," is an army of catch-phrases, concepts, tags, lead-ins and inspirations, ready to leap into action at the reader's behest.

The characteristic charm and accessibility readers expect from Peter Urs Bender is here in droves, with pithy quotes, anecdotes illustrating key ideas and charts and tables depicting multi- layered concepts.

Secrets of Power Marketing is not for everyone. It's brashness may not suit the more cultivated type of business, and the forthrightness of its marketing style is definitely tailored to small or individually owned businesses. The graphics, always somewhat enigmatic in Bender's books, are truly mysterious in this attempt. Nonetheless, the boundless enthusiasm and obviously field-tested wisdom of Bender and Torok make Secrets of Power Marketing a worthwhile investment for any organization.