Jen Manning | Go-to-Market Blog and Services
New York by way of Wales I Sheep Farming and Corporate Off-sites in the Catskills I B2B Sales and Marketing Services
Despite having participated in, and hosted, many a corporate offsite and strategic workshop, when someone says corporate off-site to me today the first thing I think of is the clip from the UK Office. The one when Ricky Gervais breaks into Free Love Highway during a training seminar. It’s funny because Ricky Gervais is a… Continue reading Corporate Off-sites Without the Cringe: Forget Patterned Carpets and Ditch the Corporate Jargon . . .
When hiring a marketing lead, or even a consultant for that matter, one of the biggest influencing factors in a hiring decision should be “how quickly can this person get up to speed on our market and product/ service category?”. A deep industry knowledge permeates everything a marketer does. From writing tactical email campaigns and… Continue reading Why Great Marketers Become Market Experts
"It does exactly what it says on the tin" is a phrase used so frequently today, almost as vernacular, that many are surprised to learn of its origin from a 1994 UK ad campaign for Ronseal wood-stain. The Ronseal principle is clear, concise and straightforward; it communicates honesty, authenticity and, most importantly, no bullshit. With… Continue reading Better Tech Product Marketing and The Ronseal Principle.
I'm not a big fan of email. The volume of it, the etiquette, the BCC's and the reply all's. But mostly I dislike our collective dependence on it. People can close their Facebook account, they can refuse to join Twitter, even shun WhatsApp. But email? Every adult in the corporate world has to have email.… Continue reading How Email Over-Reliance Killed My Productivity: The Myth of Inbox Zero, and The Promise of ‘Heys!’
Do one thing every day that scares you, they say. Yesterday, I chose to have vegetarian chilli at the bar, and yet... I’m not a vegetarian. Scary right? I used to wonder why it’s just the one thing that scares you, not 10? But now I know it's because 10 things would be ridiculous. Not ridiculous… Continue reading Niche Yourself: On Brands, Barnes and Noble and Finding your Gravy
I've attended a few sales and marketing events of late where the topic of Public Relations has gotten some really valuable airtime. In open discussion it invariably leads to the questions "Why do it?" and, "if I do, how can I really measure it?". Both important questions, and both ones that are not as impossible… Continue reading Why Good PR Matters: Beyond Column Inches, Avoiding the Din and Finding the Elusive RoI
When I was seven and my Dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I replied "a ballerina in the morning, and a mountain climber/explorer in the afternoon". Some would say I had an issue with focus. So when earlier this year I experienced a bout of what I suspected to… Continue reading Why I Procrastinate and How I Learned to Harness it: My Inner Ballerina, Blank Pages and Feeling the Fear and Doing it Anyway
Grandparents aren’t keen on how much time their grandchildren spend on phones. That’s my observation from the two week holiday hiatus. What counts as acceptable screen time between Boomers and Gen Z’ers is vastly different. This Christmas, I got to see that first hand and, more importantly, start to really understand why it matters. You see… Continue reading Three Generations, Two Long Weeks and One Tech Chasm: Why Only Millennials Can Bridge the Widest of Digital Divides
Last week I had a subway incident. It was embarrassing, dangerous and entirely unnecessary. In hindsight I still feel like an idiot, but mostly I feel very very lucky. A few seconds or centimeters either way and, well you'll see. I'll tell you how events unfolded, and then can only hope you agree with me… Continue reading A Story About Slowing Down: My Subway Incident, a Lucky Escape and 10 Minutes Lost
I’ve been following the rise of women-only co-working spaces with interest for a while. However, WeWork’s latest investment, instagram-worthy The Wing, has a touch of glamour to it that makes it stand out. For better and for worse. Its glamorous co-founders are inspiring and articulate, and there’s a carefully positioned link to the late 19th/early… Continue reading NYC Start-up The Wing Touts the Absence of Men as a Positive. Do Women Really Need a Space of their Own to Flourish?
Jen Manning | Go-to-Market Blog and Services 