John Bradley "JJ" Jackson - John Bradley "JJ" Jackson (Page 8)

Personal Note Cards

The internet age is one that has lost its personal touch, if not its humanity. Little personalization is done. Everything is digitized, automated, and delivered but is done without compassion or style. Letters are addressed to “Dear Occupant”; “Please insert your name here.” Seemingly, every letter received has a label

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Personal Note Cards

The internet age is one that has lost its personal touch, if not its humanity. Little personalization is done. Everything is digitized, automated, and delivered but is done without compassion or style. Letters are addressed to “Dear Occupant”; “Please insert your name here.” Seemingly, every letter received has a label

Advertising

Déjà Vu

Have you ever had the feeling that you have experienced a sales and marketing challenge before, but were uncertain about what to do next? Have the conventional tools become less effective for you? You tried direct mail, networking, print advertising, and cold calling. Nothing seems to work anymore. Welcome to

Email Marketing

Trust Enables Email Marketing

Trust is hard to define, but we know it when we see it or feel it. And this is particularly true with e-mail marketing. The truest measure of trust in commercial e-mail marketing may be the “reputation score” which is calculated by all the individual ISPs. A reputation score is

Blogs

Why Blog?

Why do I Blog? I get asked this question a lot. Yes, it takes a lot of time and brain cells, both of which I have a very limited supply. To blog regularly requires research, fact checking, writing, and editing. It is hard work. And, yes, I don’t blog

Selling

Sell Aspirin, Not Vitamins

Given the many options for new products and new ventures, why not create an offering that solves a problem or relieves a pain for your customer---a problem that the customer wants to fix right away. When people have headaches they reach for aspirin or other pain relievers. The need is

Social Media

Social Media: The New Water Cooler

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the other social networking websites have supplanted the water cooler as the place to go when you need a break from your work day. I suppose for many of us in this increasingly virtual world having a chat with a cyber friend brings some meaning,

Social Media

Social Media and Ruthless Self Promotion

For some, the sole purpose of social media is ruthless self promotion, if not outright narcissism. At the very least, they consider social media an outbound marketing tool. It is my opinion that that they are missing the point of social media: social media is all about two-way communication. For

Selling

Selling With Integrity

Marketing campaigns, sales quotas, and sales awards are soon forgotten. Yet, your reputation seems everlasting; it is the essence of what others remember about you. How will you be remembered? Mark Twain said, "If you tell the truth you won't have to remember anything". This adage

Sales Management

Sales People Say Goodbye

According to the May 26, 2010 edition of Wall Street Journal, “the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or discharged for the first time since October 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before February, the BLS had recorded more layoffs than resignations for 15

Mission and Vision

The New Busy

“Americans work longer hours than nearly anyone in the developed world, even the Japanese. For many professionals and corporate managers, the 40-hour work week is history; 60- to 80-hour work weeks are now the norm. Why do we work so much? The simplest answer is because we can.” This quote

Blogs and Blogging

Why Blog?

“The faintest writing is stronger than the strongest memory.” – Chinese proverb Why do I Blog? I get asked this question a lot. Yes, it takes a lot of time and brain cells, both of which I have a very limited supply. To blog regularly requires tons of research, fact checking,

Entrepreneurship

John Bradley Jackson Interview

Audio interview with John Bradley Jackson.

Social Media

What is a Viral Video? I Mean Really....

I get asked this question a lot. The definition of a viral video is a bit sketchy, but to me it means any video that offers a compelling or repeatable story that encourages people to pass it on electronically to a friend or to a buddy list. It moves from

Social Media

How to Classify Social Media End Users

While social media remains an evolving story, the players are taking shape when you observe what they do on the web. As my psychotherapist friend (yes, we are just friends) says, "behavior predicts behavior." In fact, there are six categories of social media users and these types are

Selling

“It Is Better to Know Some of the Questions Than All of the Answers.”

James Thurber, author and cartoonist, said that many years ago and it is true today. Selling is not about what you say to the customer, but rather it is about the questions you ask. Many salespeople are in love with their own words and ideas. They are often described as

Negotiation

Selling With Questions

“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” James Thurber (1894 – 1961) Author and Cartoonist A friend of mine reminded me that selling is not about what you say to the customer, but rather it is about the questions you ask. Many salespeople are

Education

Declining Value of the College Degree

The students who graduate from college today emerge from a self indulgent cocoon --- college was all about them, their interests, and their dreams. Post college is a period of discovery about the stark reality of real life, commerce, and responsibility. I suppose, in many respects, this is the way

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CSUF MBA Consulting Available Now

CSUF Entrepreneurship is looking for consulting clients for the MBA capstone strategy course. The team would conduct a three year strategic plan evaluating all aspects of the business. A typical team of 5-6 MBA students puts in over 300 hours on the custom project. Space is limited and the semester

Negotiation

Don’t Talk About the Weather.

A recent study by a psychologist at the University of Arizona found that people who spend more of their day having deep, heart felt discussions and who spend less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier. Or, simply put, the folks who choose idle banter over in-depth conversations

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Social Media Expectations

How valuable is social media to Entrepreneurs? There is considerable debate about the answer to this question. A recent Wall Street Journal article provides a critical view about social media as a sales tool ---- and this is exactly the problem. Describing social media as a sales tool is like

Entrepreneurship

The Ides of March

The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed in 709 AUC or 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was stabbed

Blogging

Blog Add-ons Enhance and Dilute Content

If you are a blogger you might want to check out this new software Zemanta. It automatically links, tags, and adds photos to your blog article. This is too easy! It works on most standard browsers (IE, Firefox), as well as with Wordpress and other blogging tools. You can read

Entrepreneurship

How Entrepreneurial is Orange County?

Entrepreneurship in certainly well represented in Orange County. Irvine is especially famous for being a hotspot of entrepreneurial activities, especially in the biotech and software industries. However, where does Orange County stand on the entrepreneurship dimension compared to other regions of the country known for their entrepreneurial activities? This question

Entrepreneurship

How Entrepreneurial is Orange County?

Entrepreneurship in certainly well represented in Orange County. Irvine is especially famous for being a hot-spot of entrepreneurial activities, especially in the biotech and software industries. However, where does Orange County stand on the entrepreneurship dimension compared to other regions of the country known for their entrepreneurial activities? This question