Jon Jones on building authority before scaling
Jon Jones is CEO of Delighted, where the focus is not just getting attention but building enough credibility that prospects trust a business enough to buy. The story is worth reading because it shows how AI is being used for research and outreach work, while the harder parts of trust still stay human.
The practical use of AI here is to handle repetitive preparation, not to replace relationships. What matters most, especially as people arrive with more research already done, is a consistent digital footprint backed by real authority.
What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?
We started with a pretty simple observation: businesses don’t just need more marketing—they need more authority. Getting someone to notice you is one thing; getting them to trust you enough to become a customer is another.
That led us to build LeaderStamp around authority building. We combine lead generation, PR, content, branding and SEO instead of treating them as completely separate services. Our interview-based approach is a big part of that. We can create genuine business conversations with prospects while also turning those conversations into content and media exposure that strengthens the client’s credibility.
The difference is really in how the pieces work together. We’re not just selling leads, press releases or SEO rankings individually. We’re building an ecosystem around the person and the company so that when a prospect researches them, there’s something substantial there.
Since launch, what have been the 1-2 real turning points for your brand: decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability, and what did you learn from them?
Most of our new business currently comes from outbound and direct outreach. That’s intentional because it gives us control over the pipeline and allows us to target the exact types of companies we believe can benefit from what we do.
Long term, I’d like a larger percentage to come from inbound—particularly organic search, referrals and people discovering us through our content and media presence. There’s a big difference between convincing someone that they need your service and having someone come to you already understanding the value.
That’s the direction we’re building toward.
Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now, and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?
We’ve handed a lot of the repetitive work over to AI—research, content preparation, data organization, personalization, and parts of our outreach process. AI is extremely good at taking a large amount of information and turning it into something usable very quickly.
Where I still prefer the human approach is anything involving genuine relationships and judgment. We experimented with pushing too much of the communication side into automation, and it became obvious pretty quickly that there’s a point where personalization stops feeling personal.
AI can help you prepare the conversation. It shouldn’t necessarily be the entire conversation.
How are you thinking about search in 2026, across Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What have you changed to stay visible?
Absolutely. People are doing much more research before they ever speak to a company. By the time someone reaches out, they often already have an opinion about you based on your website, articles, interviews, reviews, social profiles and what comes up when they search your name.
We’re also seeing the beginning of a shift toward AI-assisted discovery. People aren’t just asking Google anymore—they’re asking tools like ChatGPT questions and getting recommendations or information before deciding who to contact.
That changes the importance of authority. If an AI system is trying to determine whether a company is credible or relevant, having a strong digital footprint matters. You need to be represented consistently across multiple credible sources, not just have a nice website.
What do you do to turn first-time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well?
I’d tell them to build authority before they worry about scaling everything else. Create real expertise-driven content, get your people featured and interviewed, build relationships with credible publications, improve your search presence, and make sure there’s a consistent digital footprint around your company and its leadership.
I’d also tell them to use AI aggressively for the parts of the business that are repetitive and time-consuming. There’s no reason to spend hours doing work that AI can help you accomplish in minutes.
What I’d ignore is the constant hype around the "next big thing." Every few months there’s a new platform, new tactic or new AI tool that supposedly changes everything. Most of it is noise.
The companies that win over the next 12 months won’t necessarily be the ones using the most tools. They’ll be the ones that combine technology with real expertise, credibility and relationships—and execute consistently.
Thank you to Jon Jones and the team at Delighted for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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