JFD Performance Solutions

Book Summary: "Customers for Keeps", by Lois K. Geller

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:20:00 -0500

Customers for Keeps. 8 Powerful Strategies to Turn Customers into Friends and Keep Them Forever is a very comprehensive book that compares customers to your friends, and how relating to customers as you would a good friend can result in more new and repeat business for your company. Companies must be more customer oriented than ever, and Geller urges us to use "friendship branding" to think about our company in a human way; and to create a warm emotional bond with our customers.

Stage One: Putting a Human Face on Your Company
As buyers and consumers, it's hard to make a human connection with most brands and companies. The more your can company can "speak" to your customers on a level that works for them, the more will want to do business with you.

Highly Effective Time Management

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:30:00 -0500

By changing how you think about your tasks, you can create a better return on investment for your time. Do you have more 'to-dos' than time in your day? Is lack of time preventing you from reaching more of your goals? If you had more time, what would it mean to your business, your finances, your family - your life? No one is given more than 24 hours a day. How then do some people accomplish so much while others drown in incomplete 'to-do' lists, missed deadlines and unmet objectives?

The Choice is Yours

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:10:00 -0500

The year was 2006. In April, my father died of prostate cancer after a very tough struggle, and I was having difficulty dealing with him being gone. He was only 70 years old. A month earlier, in March, Mildred, my favorite great-aunt, had also passed away. She was almost 94. As executor of Aunt Mildred's will and estate, I appreciated her trust in bestowing that responsibility upon me, but it was a tremendous amount of extra work for me to take on, especially while grieving for her and for Dad.

Reflect Back and Plan Forward...

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:00 -0500

A month into the New Year already. Are you rolling? Are you on your way to making 2010 truly better than 2009?

The start of a new year is always a great time to reflect back and plan forward. Here are some great questions to springboard that thinking. Remember, you're more likely to achieve something if you plan for it and write it down, so ... get your pens ready! Here goes:

Leading in a Piggly-Wiggly World

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:10:00 -0500

It seems as though every business-related book, blog or speech these days is titled to emphasize the unique economic times that we are experiencing. Titles like: "Selling When the Economy Stinks", "Finding a Job in Turbulent Times", "Marketing in an Upside-Down World", and even "Leading in a Piggly-Wiggly World" (aha, you caught me). Yet these are, of course, special and trying times...I certainly understand and appreciate that. And there are different business methods and actions that are more appropriate now than, say, three or four years ago when the economy was riding high. On the other hand, an awful lot of what is effective and relevant these days also works in any economic environment.

Top 10: Sam Walton's Rules for Success

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:10:00 -0500

Harvey Mackay certainly knows what it takes to be successful. And like most successful people, he learned from other great leaders in the world, like Sam Walton of Walmart. Enjoy these words of wisdom from the largest employer in the world, taken from the writings of Harvey.

Sam Walton, the legendary founder of Walmart, had 10 rules for running a successful business. They are simple and straightforward, but guess what? I would bet the farm that a great many businesses don't follow them -- and they'd be better off if they did.

Read these and see how they might fit into your business plan for 2010 and beyond. Take note that even in this tough economy, Walmart is prospering.

1. Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anyone else. Passion is at the top of the list of the skills you need to excel. When you have passion, you speak with conviction, act with authority and present with zeal. If you don't have an intense, burning desire for what you are doing, there's no way you'll be able to work the long, hard hours it takes to become successful.

Book Summary: "Mr. Shmooze. The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships", by Richard Abraham

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:50:00 -0500

This book has been on my reading list for awhile. Then, its recent endorsement by commercial real estate broker-extraordinaire Peter Pessetto prompted me to act. "Mr. Shmooze" is the story of a man who lives his life and performs as a salesperson with the conviction that selling is not about "taking" or "persuading," but about "giving." Sometimes shmoozing (or schmoozing) has a negative connotation, as when a person acts kindly toward someone else in order to take advantage of them in some way.

Holiday Cheer

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:00:00 -0500

In the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season, remember to take time to give ... give your time ... give a smile ... give away a parking space at the mall. It's the little things that count! In that spirit of giving, here are a few of our favorite quotes:

"YES", Say Top Performers

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:10:00 -0500

In their book "First, Break All the Rules. What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently", authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman cover a lot of territory. One of the most interesting sections for me is their research regarding top performers. They found that measuring the strength of a workplace can be simplified to twelve questions.

Getting Things Done. On Time!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:40:00 -0500

There is a well-known axiom in business that "failure to plan is planning to fail." Well-known, and, all too often, honored in the reach. It is planning, in its many guises, that ultimately has the greatest impact on whether you finish a task or project on time.