John Bradley "JJ" Jackson

Business Writing

A Personal Touch With 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

Business Planning

6 Ways to Improve Your Next Meeting

Here is guest blog post from Greg Jordan:Meetings are a necessity. The size, type and dynamics can vary. But unproductive meetings are annoying and can become an all-too-frequent waste of time. I hope this blog posting will challenge you to consider the types of meetings you conduct and test

Marketing Communications

A Few Words on Business Cards

The ubiquitous business card is a critical tool for communicating your brand. Make sure it reflects your image and that you maximize its usefulness. Here are 11 hints for better business cards: Print the card using color. Study after study shows that color printing significantly impacts the readers’ ability to

Search Engine Optimization

How the Web Was Won

If the internet is the Wild West, then search engines are the gunslingers---they decide what sites will be visited or not. If the search engines don’t like your site, you just won’t get found. If you look at the market share of the search engines, Google is by

Selling

Top Ten Stupid Excuses for Losing the Sale

1. My customer moved out of the country without telling me. 2. My therapist told me to take a vacation. 3. My navigation system sent me the wrong way. 4. My suit was at the cleaners and I had nothing to wear. 5. My cell phone battery died and I

logo

Great Logos Communicate Your Brand

I accidentally insulted a friend of mine who asked for any opinion about a logo design that he had worked on for months. I candidly told him to start over since his logo violated many of the principles of good logo design. It was not what he wanted to hear.

Customer Loyalty and Referrals

Special Events for Loyal Customers

For a small business such as a retail store or a service provider, special events can help propel the company and its brand to the next level. Unique events can provide a great perk for loyal customers while differentiating your business from the competition. Often I am asked, “But what

Customer Loyalty and Referrals

Loyal Customers Give Referrals

Loyal customers keep on coming back. Loyalty is earned after the sale has been made and after the product or solution has been delivered. It is all about their perception of value. This perception is the reward that you get for delivering what you promised in quality, service, and responsiveness.

Public Relations

Press Kits

One important part of a public relations effort is the compilation of a press kit. A press kit provides summary information about the company for the media. That info could include recent press releases, a company backgrounder, bios of key executives, product specifications, and anything else the media might need

Entrepreneurship

The Genius Within

“Every employee has talent of some kind: He or she is skilled at being able to analyze numbers, bring products to market, or close sales deals. But talent is just the starting point. Genius is talent unleashed. It's the ability to exploit each employee's unique values,

Competitive Analysis

Things to Know About the Competition

You and your competitors have a common goal---all of you want to out sell the others in the marketplace. But, do you really know your competition? Here are things that you must know about your competition: Who are your major competitors? This could be by product, so you might have

Business Planning

New Venture Sales Forecasting

Forecasting sales at a start-up requires in-depth research along with educated guess work. There is no substitute for knowing your customers and why they will buy your offering. Buyers will choose your product over the competition because it is different or better. Presuming your offering is competitive and is desired

Free ideas

The Recession: A Call To Action

Whether or not we are technically in a recession is for the economists to decide. But, for most of us business is down. This is a call to action for us to do things differently than last year. While I don’t have a magic wand, here are some commons

Strategy

Strategy Involves a Long Term Plan

A few days ago a good friend of mine asked for my opinion about the recent stock market decline. His 401K had lost over 40% of its value in the last 12 months and the market was in a free fall, or so it seemed. He asked me if he

Ethics

Just Say No to Unethical Negotiators

As many of you know, I am writing a book on negotiation which leverages my work as a trainer and lecturer in negotiation, along with my personal experiences in negotiation. It is a fascinating subject which seems easy on the surface, but is very difficult to practice. The other day

Sales Management

Sales Leadership: Who is Minding the Store?

What makes a great sales leader? Is it a manager with confidence, an ego under control, and empathy for others? Or, is he or she an egocentric, power-mad narcissist? A recent article by Live Science (10/7/08) suggests that it is probably the latter. The article suggests that, “Narcissists

Pricing

A Moment of Optimism in Our Financial Crisis

While the stock market appears to be in a free fall and the business press is tossing around words like depression, doom, and chaos (irresponsibly, I may add), there is cause for optimism. The good news is that the US dollar is rising very quickly in value on the world

Marketing Mix

8 Free or Inexpensive Marketing Ideas

Small companies don’t have to invest in expensive marketing efforts to be successful. There are many things you can do to drive new business that are free or inexpensive. Here are a few 8 ideas to consider: Make sure that your website is bursting with useful content for your

Search Engine Optimization

Does SEO Fool the Search Engines?

Google, Yahoo!, MSN, ASK, and AOL are getting smarter. Trying to fool the major search engines is getting harder to do as the major search engines continue to upgrade and refine the search algorithms to determine rank on web searches. Most website owners rely upon the expertise of Search Engine

Business Planning

Strategy or Tactic?

Strategy is an overused and often abused word in the business community. People use the word strategy when they are in trouble or desperately need to change or need do something new. Losing market share and profits falling? Most people will tell you to get a new strategy. Strategy is

Niche Market Profiles

Dream Big and Think Small

"Nothing happens unless first we dream.” * Carl Sandburg Dream big thoughts but it is better to build businesses upon little ideas. The most common strategic marketing mistake is to think too big.  So, the answer is think small. Think niche. By focusing on a niche, you become expert at

Pricing

Pricing Below the Market

Pricing below the market is a technique used by giant mass market firms to take market share. Also known as “penetration” pricing, this is a strategy where a provider sells products below market price to break into a market or to take market share. When enough competitors are scared out

Business Writing

Writing Better

“The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” * Mark Twain Writing better copy for websites, brochures, and business letters is hard work, but the impact is remarkable. Here are a few

Business Planning

Business Plan Blunders

Business plans are like a compass---they point the way for the company and explain the business to the investor. Yet, business plans can tell the wrong story and may even kill the deal with the investor. Here are some examples of business plan blunders to avoid: • Lousy Writing: Nothing kills

Uncategorized

How to Earn Ink With a PR Strategy

Creating publicity with public relations is a lot of hard work but studies show that PR is 8-10 times more believable than advertising. Getting your name in the newspaper, in the trade press, on the internet, on the radio, or on television helps build credibility and helps build your brand.