STOP and Love the Question

When being asked difficult questions we are immediately thinking of an answer before the questioner is finished.  When we do this we also tend to be defensive or miss the point of the question.  When asked a question, just stop and listen and think after they are done.  Go ahead ... Take your time.

JOHN MEADA'S 10 LAWS OF SIMPLICITY

These laws are very well conceived.  They are straightforward, easy to practice and yet deep.

Go to his Blog Page or join his email list:

http://lawsofsimplicity.com/tag/laws

Pareto's 80/20 Rule in Action at a New Client

Jacquard Associates is working with a new startup company; while working closely with them, I am observing several different ways 80/20 applies to our client.  They are a manufacturer of durable consumer products with a target of $20 million revenue by the end of their second year.  One method to avoid the waste of over extending their sales effort is to target only their top 35 distributors, instead of their target list of 350.

Check out the rest of the article here.

- Jeremy Schwartz

Introducing Bravo Trailers

Jacquard proudly introduces our client Bravo Trailers. A startup with experienced management, they will be the market leader in enclosed trailers as they solve the industry's chronic issues. Through their Lean Business Plan, Bravo will outperform the industry. Their Lean focus incorporates dealers, suppliers, employees, product and manufacturing process. We are proud of their achievements. I invite you to visit their website, why not buy a trailer, they are taking orders for January delivery! 

Often Smaller is better than Bigger

The manufacturer wanted to test a significant number of marketing techniques and tactics in order to understand the range of opportunities for influencing a variety of consumer segments. But one of its key retail partners was reluctant to undertake the months of effort that traditional multi-site, in-store pilot programs require. The high number of proposed initiatives (originally 50, subsequently winnowed to the 20 most promising) heightened the perennial risks of confusing customers with different messages in different stores and of tipping off competitors about the retailer’s plans. Furthermore, the retailer had recently hired a new category buyer, whose focus was rapidly increasing category sales—not turning its stores into a massive shopper-marketing laboratory.

Pasted from <http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Using_technology_to_improve_in-store_marketing_1976>