Outsmarting Goliath: How to Achieve Equal Footing with Companies That Are Bigger, Richer, Older, and Better Known

by Debra Koontz Traverso

Business owners, consultants, free-lancers, and other entrepreneurs are all looking for easy-to-implement, cost-efficient ways to go up against the big guys. They can now get tips from an expert --... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576600319
• ISBN13: 9781576600313
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A complete guide to small business image development

"Some entrepreneurs view their smallness as such a negative thing that they hardly make an effort to gain lucrative corporate clients. But even if yours is a one-employee home-based business, you can make it appear larger and give big firms confidence in your ability to do the job, according to (the author and this book). It's all a matter of image. . . (the book) is replete with instructions for self-assessment to determine your current business image and how to enlarge that image. . . . . In an easily read style, 'Outsmarting Goliath' is a complete guide to small business image development." --Carol Celeste, The Network Journal

Amazing Insight!

"The author's amazing insight into the needs of independent merchants in this time of accelerating change in the market place is remarkable. Suggestions for achieving performance and a more competitive rivalry with mammoth companies are many and valuable. This is not just a good read, but a handbook for coping." --Harold E. Hicks, The Book Shop, Inc.

Wish I had sooner

This book has many great ideas for the small business person that I wish I had before I started my business. For example, just how to pick a name for the company or how to look like a big company without spending a fortune. The book provides examples from people who have done it and adds credibility to the content. I recommend for all businesses but especially fo the smaller business and one person operations.

Back to Basics and More...Way more

I have played a lot of sports going through school and each of my coaches at all levels have always stressed fundamentals and then gone on to teach advanced theories and plays . In reading Outsmarting Goliath I am struck with the degree to which the author has gone to stress the fundamentals of a healthy small business, and then moved on to add tremendously helpful, simple and yet sophistocated ideas. Bartering! What a great idea I would have never thought of. I bartered to get a new phone system with voice mail and it cost me less than 1/3 of the purchase price, and there was no tax! Her down to earth and sometimes funny anecdotal accounts of small business owners who have tripped or succeeded have provided me with a treasure trove of wonderful tips and ideas, some of which I have already implemented. I will add more over time.By taking advantage of ideas in this book I feel I can now focus on the things I do very well and not have to worry about my image. Thank you Coach Traverso. Can a small business Superbowl be far behind?

Answering up to clients

This book is loaded with good ideas to help entrepreneurs and small start-up companies manage their image with a little panache. I hadn't given a lot of thought to the fact that how I answered questions from clients was either enhancing or detracting from how they viewed my company. So, one of my favorite parts of the book was the recommended answers to the top 25 awkward questions small business owners face. Without embellishing, distorting the truth, or outright lying, you can use those questions as an opportunity to build a strong image. That, alone, is worth the price of the book. I used to cringe when someone would ask me how big my three-person business is. No more. Now, they're opening the door for me to explain how my company is big enought to meet their needs, and then some.