John Bradley Jackson

“In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.”

- Carl Sagan, astronomer

Many “wannabe” entrepreneurs struggle with the idea of coming up with the perfect product or solution. This obsession with being the best keeps them from launching the product. Instead, they stay sequestered in the pre-launch stage trying to perfect the concept by tweaking the product feature set.

Contrast this behavior to successful entrepreneurs who choose to launch their products and fail openly and often in front of God and country. For example, Thomas Edison pushed the envelope when it came to failure. He literally created thousands of filaments for his light bulb before he found one that had a sustainable life. He was undaunted by his repeated failures. He did not fear failure—he relished it since he knew that each time he failed he was one step closer to success.

This fearlessness is a key component of innovation. You can also argue that these reckless innovators are just plain uninformed about the prospect of failure or they don’t really care what people think. It is my contention that this “just do it” mind set works given the alternative of doing nothing.

My advice to entrepreneurs is to welcome failure by launching your products early. Failure is a catalyst for success.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

“Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.”

- Marshall Thurber, entrepreneur

I like this quote because it sums up my thinking about how customers will buy an offering because of its differences not because it is like another offering. This is true even if the offering is a commodity or is nearly the same as the competition. Invariably, the customer buys because of the product’s differences not because of its similarities.

Think about it. When a buyer is deciding between two seemingly identical products, the buyer instinctively looks for differences in price, quality, or delivery. With some perception of a difference, the buyer chooses one offering over another. The operative word in that sentence is perception.

It is my contention that buyers buy for the following underlying reasons:

• “Needs” are things that you must have to survive and to function; this includes shelter, food, clothing, and medicine. These purchases are easily justified and are basic motivations for a buyer.
• “Wants” are things that are desired, but not necessary such as wanting an iPod. Wants are tougher for the buyer to justify, but people will buy them because of an innate ability to rationalize most any purchase. If I buy an iPod I will be happier and more popular.
• “Desires” are wishes or dreams, which can be powerful motivators. You can desire to be famous and this can motivate you take to action or not to take action. Desires can motivate people to change or modify their behavior. If you lose weight, you will be more attractive and this can help make you famous.
• “Fear” can motivate the buyer to take action or not to take action. Fear can create barriers to success by holding people back from taking a promotion. Or, fear can also keep people safe by keeping them from taking unnecessary risks; if you don’t buy this book, you will not be successful, so you buy it out of fear.

With these underlying reasons driving them, customers then seek to justify their decisions with their perception the difference’s in the offerings available.

The essence of niche marketing is presenting your product as different while fulfilling the buyer’s underlying reason for buying the offering in the first place.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”

- George Patton, US General during WW II

Please extend my apologies in advance to James Surowiecki, the author of “The Wisdom of Crowds”. His best selling book suggests that groups make better decisions than any made by a single member of the group. To this notion I say “bull hockey” (note that I am expressing this opinion as an individual and I belong to no partisan group).

“Group-think” is flawed for a number of reasons. The chief flaw is the raw emotion of the crowd or “mob”. Call it herd instinct, but the weak and intellectually inferior will follow the strong and manipulative. Think of the failure of the crowd to second guess the lunacy of Nazi Germany during World War II. Of course, fear was a factor for many who blindly followed the crazed leadership in Germany.

By examining current events in business, we can find the same blind subservience to the wisdom of the crowd. Consider that General Motors has been given market feedback for two decades that the US auto consumer prefers small, fuel efficient vehicles such as those offered by Honda, Toyota and Nissan. Despite this consumer demand, GM decided to build large SUVs and full sized trucks. When the price of oil jumps, GM has no choice but bleed red ink.

(Note to self: consider selling the ¾ ton Chevy Suburban in the front driveway before it is too late.)

Entrepreneurs are often rejects from large corporate culture—they cannot follow the crowd, so they choose to do it on their own. Abandoned or fired by the crowd, entrepreneurs take it upon themselves to create better products or services. They may deserve the reputation of “control freaks” for their compulsion to do it their way, but at least they won’t be lead by the crowd, goose stepping off into oblivion.

Other examples of dumb crowds: Enron, the New York Knicks, AOL merges with Time Warner, IBM rebuffs startup Microsoft, Ford and the Edsel, Napoleon and the Louisiana Purchase, etc, etc.

My message? Think differently. Reject the crowd.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

The language of the web sometimes resembles Swahili and this is especially true with domain names. Coming up with a domain name with a .com suffix that matches your company name or offering is darn near impossible.

The first thing you have to ask yourself is should your business or product name match your URL? Conventional wisdom says yes, yet if you do a Google search for some of your favorite brands you will discover that many do not match. For example, if you enter the word “iPod” you get directed to www.apple.com/itunes. Ok, that makes sense.

Most people will do a Google search for a company or product instead of entering a URL. I have seen estimates that up to 80% of companies are found by web searches instead of directly entering a URL. There is a good argument that a perfect match does not really matter much anymore.

My personal take is that it makes sense to have a domain name that reflects your site or business. It is easier for your customers to remember. Now here is the hard part. Just about every two and three word combination for a .com URL is already taken. Don’t believe me? Go to Godaddy.com and enter any three word combo and you will discover that these URLs are already owned by someone else. Amazingly, this applies to the .net, .org, etc. They are almost all gone.

Unbelievable but true. This explains the trend of inventing company or product names. For example, www.Kijiji.com is an online classified ad website that competes with venerable Craigslist. “Kijiji” is Swahili for the word “village”. If you don’t believe me, go visit www.kijiji.com.

An alternative to Swahili or fabricating words is the use of long domain names. Kijiji could have used www.onlineclassifiedadwebsitethatcompeteswithCraigsList.com. I didn’t check but I am pretty sure this URL is available—cheap. But, can your customers remember it?

There is some evidence that longer URLs are easier to remember than single word inventions. Yet, it took me a few years to quit confusing Yahoo! with Wahoo; I just love their fish tacos or is it their pay-per-click advertising? No matter.

Hyphens or underscores can help you create shorter domain names but they confuse me and where is the underscore key on the key board anyway? Maybe you feel the same way.

Another workaround you can try is to add “the” to the beginning of a URL. I think this trick works if your business is known as “The BirdDog Group” which is the name of my publishing company. In this case, “the” has meaning and is logical.

The final challenge is to choose between .com, .net, .org, and the many others now available. Candidly, .com still has cache and is the suffix of choice for businesses. For those that do enter a URL in a search, 99 times out 100 they will enter it with a .com prefix. The choice for you is made easier since most .com URLs are already taken.

I wish you best in your domain name search. Or, as we say in Swahili, “Hakuna matata” which means no worries.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

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 sales people are in love with their own words and ideas. They are often described as having the “gift of gab” which means that they really just talk too much. Instead of asking open ended questions and listening, talkative sales people talk too much.

They ramble on and on about product features to fill the dead air space (which is extremely uncomfortable for a talkative person). Worse yet, they invariably talk about themselves, which is the last thing that the buyer wants to hear.

Meanwhile, the buyer ultimately buys from the seller who best understands their problems or needs. Of course, you don’t get to understand the buyer’s needs by talking. Great sales people ask questions to learn about the buyer’s motivations, concerns, and desires. It is really that simple.

Ask questions to discover what matters most to the customer. If you must speak, then talk about what matters most to the customer.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Good negotiators are prepared. It first begins with knowing what you want. Additionally, good negotiators anticipate the wants and needs of the other party.

You need to ask yourself a few basic questions:

1. What do you wish for?
2. What do you deserve?
3. What must you have?
4. When might you walk away from the negotiation?

Next, you need to anticipate the wants and needs of the other party:

1. What do they wish for?
2. What do they deserve?
3. What must they have?
4. When might they walk away from the negotiation?

These questions help you define your objectives in the negotiation. Answering these questions will help you understand the other party’s objections.

You might want to consider the help of a third party to help you assess your knowledge of the other party’s wants and desires. We all have blind spots which can cause us to not see and hear properly. You will want to choose someone whom you respect for their insight and objectivity. I have found that most third parties will identify issues that you have overlooked.

Only after you know these answers can you negotiate well.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Facebook, the social networking firm, now has a user base on the verge of topping 100 million people; amazingly, this lofty number is driven by a largely North American demographic. If you are waiting for social networking to catch on, you need to know that the train has already left the station!

And there are many other social networks to choose from including LinkedIn, Plaxo, Myspace, DirectMatches, Ryze, Bebo, Friendster, Habbo, Orkut, and Xanga. The reason that you may have not heard of some of these social networks is because they may have originated in Asia or Europe. Nonetheless, they all have millions of users and potential “friends” for you to meet.

In my opinion, Linked In is the most “business friendly” social network with Facebook coming in a close second. If you are not a member of these two sites, I highly recommend you do so now. Using social marketing tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn provide a great way to reach new groups of people. Employers are actively data mining both of these sites for talent. Additionally, entrepreneurs are looking for partners.

For example, I used the term “Angel Investor” in my own Facebook profile and was recently contacted by a start up that was looking for money. The company founder was doing a search with the term angel investor and found me with just the one use of the term. While I did not invest in the firm, I was able to refer them to someone to help them out.

Note to self: Need to update Facebook Profile with new term “Send Money to John Bradley Jackson Now!”

Here a few tips on using social networks.

1. Use your “profile” to introduce yourself to others. Take the opportunity to make friends with people who have similar interests as you.
2. Add valuable content that will be of interest to your visitors. Many of these networks have a blog function which gives you yet another way to build your personal brand.
3. Keeping your profile updated with frequent content will help increase the traffic to your profile.
4. Beware of adding too much personal information which you might regret later. One of my former employees recently included bachelor party photos; while he seemed to be having a great time in the photos, they could be images that he might not want to show a prospective employer.
5. Take some time to visit other profile pages to get a feel how other people brand themselves. This might inspire you to update your profile.
6. Leave comments wherever you can. The more comments you offer (and receive), the more likely it is that your profile will show up in the search engines.
7. Join and participate in as many groups as you can. I anticipate that they will all get acquired and merged anyway.
8. Do not spam users.
9. Update blogs and content on your profile frequently. This will keep it interesting to your visitors and keep them coming back.

Networking is more than handing out business cards at cocktails parties. Social networking on the web is the new thing.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Sales people are taught to manage and control the sales process by moving the customer from qualification to presentation to close. While this process accurately describes the activities of the sales person, there is a separate and equally important process at play. That other process is the one in the buyer’s head.

In my view, there are eight steps in the buying process.

1. Attention - It all starts when the buyer has an initial contact with the offering. This contact could be an advertisement, a phone call from the seller, or a referral. Somehow the buyer identifies the offering amongst the thundering herd of products and services.
2. Interest – The buyer sees the possibilities of the offering and begins to understand the benefits. “Hmmm”, says the buyer.
3. Desire – At this juncture in the buying process, the buyer starts to visualize the product helping to solve a problem, provide some utility, or bringing happiness. Things are clicking.
4. Conviction – Clearly the offering makes sense. The research is done and the decision to go forward to buy is imminent. This could really work.
5. Action – Bingo! The buyer steps up and secures the offering. All systems go. We have lift off.
6. Confirmation – The product is used, tested, and appreciated first hand. The seller’s value proposition is fully vetted.
7. Satisfaction – The votes are in and the product is a winner. Repurchasing it is an option.
8. Loyalty – The highest level of happiness with a buyer. At this stage the buyer is actually referring the product and the seller to others. The buyer is an advocate.

Not all buyers reach loyalty. Many never buy while some who do buy have remorse. Yet, this path is real and tangible for the buyer. Unfortunately, many sales people are oblivious to the buying process which is a result of antiquated sales training, selfishness and plain old ignorance.

When you are selling you need to ask yourself what is going on the buyer’s head?

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

When a customer objects, he or she is asking for you to help them better understand your offer. The prospect who presents objections is often more easily sold on your product. How cool is that?

No objections? You may be losing the sale since customer silence is not golden in the selling process. Most people need to express their concerns before they can buy.

Sales objections are defined as a customer’s opposition or resistance to the information presented by the salesperson. They can be come up at any time during your sales call —from introduction to close.

It is in your best interest to have them object since most people have to say “no” for you to get to “yes”. Seek objections at all steps of the sales process. Make it easy for them to object. Inexperienced salespeople finish their presentation and wait for the prospect’s response. Experienced salespeople ask questions throughout the presentation.

When the customer objects, ask them “How so” or “Tell me about it”. Be sure to hear them out since you don’t want to jump to the wrong conclusion. Make sure you understand the objections before trying to respond. Hesitate to answer or respond until you have heard the whole objection.

Salespeople often encounter the same objections from customer to customer; this provides good practice for the sales person. This helps make you expert at handling the objections.

Consider discussing an objection before it is brought up by the prospect. Rehearse your responses and make the answers seem effortless. Be prepared by bringing data or information.

Not addressing objections can be a mistake. It can result in the prospect not listening or shutting down or feeling that you are hiding something. It can give the appearance that you also feel it’s a problem or that you’re not able to answer because you do not know the answer. Worse yet, it can give the appearance that you are not interested in the prospect’s opinion.

Remember not to take objections personally. Talking about these concerns is a healthy thing. All objections are fair.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

There may no more powerful communication tool than a story well told. A story is not a PowerPoint presentation or a canned pitch or a memorized speech. It is as it sounds: a plain English parable with a beginning, middle, and end.

Stories help people understand and make sense of what you are selling. A compelling story can make the abstract understandable. Ditch the product specifications and data sheets. Instead, share your favorite experience with the new product.

Top salespeople can build trust and credibility while overcoming skepticism by talking about how another customer solved a problem by using a product or service. A good story can address an objection or concern before it is ever brought up by the customer. Done right, the story well told makes the story teller appear sincere and trustworthy.

Sales presentations are the quickest way to lose a sale since there may be nothing more obvious or obnoxious than a canned pitch, better known as death by PowerPoint. Shut down the laptop and build the relationship with your customer by sharing your stories.

Connect with a customer’s emotions by talking about past experiences with other customers. Stories can be a great way to break the ice with a new customer and ease the natural tension in a sales call. For the existing client, the well-told tale can enrich the relationship and reaffirm the business.

Generally, customers can identify with story and can picture themselves as a part of the story. This emotional connection helps them remember the story while they may never remember the fact or figures, let alone the features and benefits of your product. Stories should have a simple theme or value; if the tale is too complicated the message could get lost.

The mechanics are simple. A good story’s opening is clear and engaging. The sequence of events must be easy to follow. Don’t be too clever or you might lose your audience. The story must have a clear ending and must have had purpose.

If done right, the story lives on in the memory of your customer. Story telling can achieve things that marketing brochures can’t.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.