CarTalk with Kartik

CarTalk with Kartik #297: Humanize Your Big Idea Should a book explain your products or tell stories? That's the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the year by Product Marketing Alliance, here's my answer. If your book reads like a product manual, your reader may suddenly remember...

CarTalk with Kartik #296: Stop Writing Release Notes Should a book focus on features or feelings? That’s the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Your book should not read like software release notes wearing a blazer. Yes, your ideas matter. Your framework...

CarTalk with Kartik #295: Turn Books Into Snacks Should a book become snackable content? That's the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Your book should be the Thanksgiving turkey. But your content should be the leftovers. Most CEOs think, “I wrote the...

CarTalk with Kartik #294: Make Readers The Hero How do you actually make your book interesting? That's the question a #CEO asked me recently. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X #bestselling author featured on #BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Your book becomes interesting when your reader becomes th...

CarTalk with Kartik #293: Books Warm Buyers Should my book sell my company’s products right away? That's the question a CEO asked me recently. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. No. Your book should not behave like an over-caffeinated s...

CarTalk with Kartik #292: Don’t Bore Buyers Can a better story beat a better product? That's the question a CEO asked me recently. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Yes. Not always, but more often than technical founders like to admit....

CarTalk with Kartik #291: Books Need Brevity Is my book idea too complex for busy readers? That's the question a CEO asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Probably yes. But that is not a problem. It is the job. Most CEOs have powerful ideas, but they often explain them like they are p...

CarTalk with Kartik #290: Your Book Builds Your Reputation What should show up when buyers Google you? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Before a CEO writes a book, I always ask them to look at their digital footprint. Becaus...

CarTalk with Kartik #289: The Ice Cream Truck Effect How can your book make buyers feel something? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Your book should not just inform people. It should influence how they feel about you. Think...

CarTalk with Kartik #288: What Belongs in Your Book How do you decide what belongs in your book? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Use an impact-effort matrix. A great CEO book is not a dumping ground for every story, lesson, fram...

CarTalk with Kartik #287: Make Value Visible Should your book reveal your product early? That’s the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Absolutely! If you are writing a book as a CEO, don’t treat your product, framework, or methodology like the su...

CarTalk with Kartik #286: The One Sentence Strategy Why does a great book still need sales enablement? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Your book should not just explain your ideas. It should help your team sell them. When I help...

CarTalk with Kartik #285: Turn Objections Into Chapters What does your book need to do besides sound impressive? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Your book should not just tell your story. It should sharpen your sales spear. The...

CarTalk with Kartik #284: Stop Overcomplicating Your Book How do you write a book that actually drives revenue? That’s the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here’s my answer. Most CEOs overcomplicate their book. They try to say everything. That’s a mistake. The best...

CarTalk with Kartik #283 - Serve Before You Sell How can your book actually help your customers, not just promote yourself? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named one of the Top Consultants of the Year by Product Marketing Alliance, here's my answer. The best books do not sell. Th...

Are pain points enough to make your book a bestseller? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named one of the Top Consultants of the Year by Product Marketing Alliance, here's my answer. Most CEOs focus their book on problems. But that is not what makes a book stand out. Bestselling bo...

CarTalk with Kartik #281: Content that Closes Deals Should your book sell itself, or should it help you sell? That’s the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named one of the Top Consultants of the Year by Product Marketing Alliance, here’s my answer. Your book is not just content. It is a conversation...

CarTalk with Kartik #280: Write Less, Impact More Should your book reach more people, or resonate more deeply? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named one of the Top Consultants of the Year by Product Marketing Alliance, here's my answer. Most CEOs think a bestselling book is about...

CarTalk with Kartik #279: Don’t Write Without Why Just because you CAN write a book, does that mean you SHOULD? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. Always start with why. Why this book, why now, and why should your audience care? To...

CarTalk with Kartik #278: Build Trust With Books Why do some business books drive real growth, while others get ignored? That's the question one of the CEOs I collaborated with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer. The difference comes down to collaboration. The best books are not wri...

CarTalk with Kartik #277: Product vs. Business Reality Why does a great product still fail to scale? That’s the question one of the CEOs I work with asked me recently. As a bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 60 CEOs, here’s my answer. In many $1M to $5M companies, Product becomes king. That sounds right, but it creates a hidden risk. When Product...

CarTalk with Kartik #276: Fast Wins Build Credibility Why isn’t our product marketing sticking internally? That’s the question one of the CEOs I work with asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here’s my answer. When growth stalls, it’s rarely a product problem. It’s an alignment problem. The fastest way to fix it i...

CarTalk with Kartik #275: Messaging Before Marketing Why does our go-to-market feel chaotic? That’s the question one of the CEOs I work with asked me recently. As a bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 60 CEOs, here’s my answer. Most growth problems don’t start with sales or marketing. They start with unclear messaging. If your teams interpret your...

CarTalk with Kartik #274: Adapt Without Diluting Who should really own our company’s messaging? That’s the question one of the CEOs I work with asked me recently. As a bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 60 CEOs, here’s my answer. Messaging breaks when too many voices dilute it and when no one can explain the why behind it. Strong companies pick an...

CarTalk with Kartik #273: One Story Wins Why does our product sound different depending on who you ask? That’s the question one of the CEOs I work with asked me recently. As a bestselling author featured on BBC TV, Times Square and having collaborated with over 60 CEOs, here’s my answer. When teams are busy shipping features, clarity often gets lost. Product builds. Sales pitches. Marketing reacts...