Getting the Most Out of LIARS

First, don’t get hung up on the title of the book.
Seth uses the ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS book title as a device to create intrigue and dare I say it … to be more remarkable.  Seth doesn’t really believe marketers are liars.  He does, however, believe consumers are the real liars in the marketing game. Consumers tell themselves lies every day about products and services based upon the stories they hear from marketers. 

Second, do get hung up on the storytelling concept Seth talks about. 
According to Seth, storytelling is the new leverageable asset for marketers.  No longer can we rely on gaining a competitive advantage solely through better inventions or better production methods.  However, we can gain a competitive advantage by telling stories which make our products or services better.

Telling stories only works when the story is credible in telling facts (needs) and incredible in conveying desires (wants). Marketers should craft stories focusing more on consumer want-states and less on consumer need-states.

Don’t try to tell a similar story as your competitors do.  You will not find success by trying “to tell your competition’s story better than it can.”  Instead, follow Seth’s advice of telling a different story to consumers which “… is more important than the story they currently believe.”

Third, don’t just read the book … use the book.
Scribble notes.  Highlight pithy insights. Dog-ear pages to calculate its Dog-Ear Score. And by all means, once you’ve finished reading the book … take time to type up your notes and highlighted insights into a couple pages of takeaways.  I get the most out of business books when I write-up my own list of takeaways – it helps me to go from reading the book to using the book.

In case you're wondering, my Dog-Ear Score for LIARS is 18.5% (32:173) and a typical scribbled-filled and highlight-laden page for my copy looks like: