Where to Start with Marcus Sheridan
Marcus Sheridan is an author, speaker, and marketing strategist best known for saving his swimming pool company, River Pools and Spas, from near-bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis. His approach was deceptively simple: answer every question your potential customers are asking, even the uncomfortable ones about pricing, competitors, and product drawbacks. That philosophy turned his small pool company into the most visited swimming pool website in the world. The New York Times called him a “web marketing guru,” and his work has been featured in dozens of business books and publications. Sheridan went on to become a partner at IMPACT, a digital sales and marketing agency, where he helps businesses of all sizes adopt the same approach. His central message is that trust is the new currency of business, and the fastest way to earn it is by being the best teacher in your industry.
Start here
They Ask, You Answer
Marcus Sheridan · 352 pages · 2019 · Easy
Themes: content marketing, inbound sales, blogging, trust-based marketing, SEO content
The book that captured how Marcus Sheridan transformed his struggling pool company into an industry leader by obsessively answering his customers’ real questions online.
Why Start Here
This is Marcus Sheridan’s only major book, and it is the definitive statement of his philosophy. The core argument is that modern buyers do most of their research online before ever talking to a salesperson. If your business is the one providing honest, thorough answers to the questions buyers are asking, you become the trusted authority they turn to when they are ready to buy.
Sheridan organizes the book around what he calls “the Big 5”: the five types of content that drive the most traffic, leads, and sales for virtually any business. These are articles about pricing and costs, problems and drawbacks, comparisons, reviews, and best-of lists. Most companies avoid these topics because they feel risky. Sheridan shows why that avoidance is the real risk.
The revised edition expands beyond blogging into video strategy, assignment selling (using content directly in the sales process), and adapting to changes in how search engines deliver results. Throughout, Sheridan writes from personal experience, making the book feel more like a conversation with a business owner who figured something out the hard way than a marketing textbook.
What to Expect
A 352-page practical guide with a conversational tone. No academic jargon. Heavy use of real examples from Sheridan’s own business and from companies he has coached. Suitable for business owners, marketing teams, and salespeople. The emphasis is as much on company culture and organizational buy-in as it is on content tactics.