tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61352121914043993482024-03-13T09:24:02.319-07:00Business Is GoodsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-70713715288821994562012-11-07T20:21:00.000-08:002012-11-11T20:22:17.670-08:00Vending Routes<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
When I was young, I invested $2500 with a fast-talking salesman
who convinced me I could have a great income in just weeks. He told me
he had racks of earrings in hair salons, gift shops, etc. He said he had
110 just in the Grand Rapids area, and they averaged 13 pairs sold per
week. He just ran the route once a week to collect his money.<br />
I
did the math, as he knew I would. 110 racks times 13 pairs at $5 per
pair was $7150 weekly in sales. I knew nothing about earrings, but I
started to get interested. I bought 10 racks and 1100 pairs of earrings
to fill them. I'd pay him $1.75/pair. Since they sell for $5.00, and the
store owner keeps $1.50, I'd have a profit of $1.75 times 13 pair times
10 racks. $227.50 per week, I figured, and then I could expand from
there.<br />
<b>How To Lose Money Selling Earrings</b><br />
I was
disappointed to find that retailers weren't lining up to have earrings
in their stores, despite not having to pay anything up front. After
approaching 130 places in my small town, I got five racks placed. They
averaged 3 to 4 pairs sold per week.<br />
I tried, and it may have
worked for the right person. I had no experience though, and after
running out of places to attempt placement, I gave up. For some reason
the salesman didn't want to buy back the earrings as he promised he
would. With persistence, I did get my money back eventually.<br />
<b>The Truth About Vending Routes</b><br />
I've
since talked to many people with vending routes. If you can make $25
gross profit per site per week with pop machines or anything else, AND
you can have 100 sites within an hour of home, you really can work a few
days a week to make $8,000 per month. It is a lot of work to get
started, however, whatever a salesman may tell you. If it were easy, the
salesman might be running his own route, instead of selling you $6,000
worth of gumball dispensers.<br />
Obviously vending routes work. The
people I talked to were doing well. I'm sure it was possible to make
good money with those earrings even. I was certainly doing many things
wrong, but how do you do it? What should you sell? How do you establish a
route?<br />
You don't do it the way I did. I didn't even check other
suppliers until later, when I found that I could get the same earrings
for 50 cents instead of $1.75. With no experience, I wasn't even willing
to spend a few dollars to pay for the knowledge of others. A good book
on vending routes might have been all I needed.<br />
A mentor would
help even more. If you won't be competing in the area, someone might let
you follow him around as he services his route. Vending routes are
still a great opportunity - if you avoid my mistakes.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-72894518325596106992012-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:21:26.131-08:00Manufacturing Your Products In China <div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
Manufacturing products in China for the European and American
markets have grown exponentially over the last few years. This is due to
the cheap labor and cheap manufacturing costs in the country. It's an
amazing country with multitudes of companies bidding for whatever you
want manufactured. I strongly encourage anyone who has a volume internet
market to explore the avenue of manufacturing their products in China.
You have absolutely nothing to loose.<br />
Start
off by sending drawings or templates of the product that you are
considering manufacturing. When they get back to you, they will insist
on you ordering a minimum quantity to attain the price quoted. The
competition over there is fierce. There should be no problem them
sending you a sample of the product that they have manufactured free of
charge.<br />
Send your drawings to at least 3 companies to attain 3
different quotes. This means you should get 3 samples back, one each
from each company. Whatever the price (there won't be much between them)
pick the sample that is the best quality. It will so much pay off in
the long run.<br />
Planning and organising are essential when dealing
with Chinese companies. Shipping usually takes 6-8 weeks so you must
plan ahead at all times. For the first few transactions they might
insist that you pay up front for the goods until ye build up a business
relationship where then they might give you one or two month's credit.<br />
This
is quite normal so you must get references from other companies about
the company you intend to do business with. You see, there are companies
over there that are one man bands which must be avoided at all costs.
Usually the bigger, the better, companies who are already doing big
levels of manufacturing for other companies.<br />
I believe for items
normally priced around $50 here in the western world, you could get a
replica made in china for $8-$10.You must do thorough investigation into
the market over there before money changes hands. If you are getting to
big sales levels in your business, then manufacturing in China is
becoming more and more a viable option every day.<br />
There is money
to be made in selling products for other companies, in selling your own
products that you are buying wholesale, but when you start manufacturing
YOUR OWN products that's when the big margins come in to play. Have a
look at China if you have the volume. It could the best move you will
ever make.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-80205475932590799842012-10-10T20:20:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:20:21.114-08:00Advantages of Incorporating <div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
Starting a business or relocating your corporation's
headquarters? The state of Florida offers many advantages to those
businesspeople seeking to relocate or establish a business in the
Sunshine State.<br />
In
the first quarter of 2005, Florida's GSP (Gross State Product) was
$613.9 billion. This number is up 1.2% from the previous quarter and is
up 4.6% from the previous year.<br />
In addition to this robust growth
rate, there are also government incentives to encourage businesspeople
to conduct business and/or incorporate in Florida. Some examples
include targeted qualified industry tax refunds to special zones and
sites that eliminate state and local taxes to encourage development.
This situation, combined with a trained subsidized workforce, creates
favorable business conditions.<br />
Besides being good for business,
Florida is also one of the top retirement destinations in the United
States. Because it offers a zone 10 gardening season, year-round use of
beaches, and exotic flora and fauna, many businesspeople choose to
relocate a pre-existing business in Florida.<br />
The strong
partnership between government and business leaders in the state
suggests that Florida will enjoy solid and sustained economic
development in the times ahead. Concerned individuals from all sectors
united to rebuild Florida after the devastation of four hurricanes in a
short six-week period in late November of 2004. The way the whole state
pulled itself together with a steady, resilient message that "business
will go on" was very impressive, indeed.<br />
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-1553589667618634702012-10-03T20:19:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:19:43.050-08:00Rapid Technology Prototyping<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Rapid technology prototyping, alternately referred to as
rapid prototyping (RP), is currently the most advanced method for
quickly creating a prototype.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This
technology is accomplished by using a rapid prototyping machine. Rapid
prototype machines can produce prototypes in mere hours. Depending on
the complexity of the prototype, it may take anywhere from just a few
hours to a few days for its completion.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rapid technology
prototyping is also commonly called solid free-form fabrication, layered
manufacturing, or computer automated manufacturing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>The benefits of using rapid technology prototyping are...</strong>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<br />»Any object of any complexity can be formed fairly easily and quickly without the need for machine setup or assembly.»Objects are made from multiple materials or as composites.<br />
»Since usually only a single unit is produced, the costs can be kept down to a bare minimum.
</blockquote>
<br /><strong>Here's a brief explanation of how it works...</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Basically,
rapid technology prototyping takes traditional 2 dimensional printing
and adds a third dimension to it. Therefore, rapid prototyping machines
are fondly called 3 dimensional printers. Rapid technology
prototyping takes a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model and using a laser,
creates a physical model out of a variety of media. The media types
include paper, ceramic material, wax, or even plastic.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In contrast
with most machining processes, rapid technology prototyping is an
"additive" technique. This means layers of media (whether paper,
ceramic, wax or plastic) are combined to create a 3-D solid object.
Most machining processes, such as drilling and grinding, are
"subtractive" techniques, where material is removed from a solid block.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>The process of rapid technology prototyping is listed out below ...</strong>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<br />»First, you need a CAD model of your invention.»Next, the
CAD model must be converted to STL (stereolithography) format. This
file represents your invention as a series of triangles like that of a
cut diamond. STL does not represent curved surfaces, only cut surfaces.
However, you can create what appear to be curved surfaces by
increasing the number of triangles.<br />
»The STL file will need to be sliced into layers from 0.01 mm to 0.07 mm thick, depending on the build technique you choose.<br />
»Construction
of the object takes place layer by layer. The rapid technology
prototyping machine builds the layers from the selected media.<br />
»The final step is to clean and finish the prototype. In many instances, it will be sanded, polished or painted.
</blockquote>
<br /><strong>What is it used for?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rapid technology
prototyping is commonly used by inventors to help communicate their
invention to a patent attorney or a trade representative. It may also
be used for gaining manufacturing quotes, trying to sway investors and
in marketing focus groups. As you can imagine, it is much easier to
communicate an invention using a 3-D prototype than with a 2-D drawing
or blueprint.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>What does it cost?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Of course,
costs range due to the complexity and size of your invention. They can
also increase if you need additional design work such as painting done.
Smaller prototypes can be made using rapid technology prototyping for
about $250. You can gain an estimate by calling several companies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There
are limitations to rapid technology prototyping, but it truly is
revolutionary. In the past, inventors had to wait weeks, sometimes up
to months and pay much higher fees to have a single prototype made.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It
is also possible to use rapid technology prototyping for making tools.
This technique is known as rapid tooling. In addition, it can even be
used for the production of parts and manufactures, known as rapid
manufacturing.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-36661379145459424472012-09-26T20:18:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:18:42.916-08:00Business Culture in China<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chinese business culture and etiquette</b><br />
<br />The Chinese business practice is vastly different from the Western
method that most of us may be used to. Of course, with the Chinese
economy opening up, China's joining of WTO and the Olympics in 2008,
many Chinese business practice are now beginning to align with more
conventional methods.However, China will always have their own unique business culture and etiquette, given their unique history and background.<br />
<i>"I
was recently involved in a business meeting that went sour and
threatened to scuttle a good deal. What happened was that the Chinese
party receiving the American purchaser was late in reaching his hotel.
The American was furious as he had a tight schedule and that they were
late and threatened to withdraw his purchase.</i><br />
<i>The Chinese
party was late because they were given a vague address of a lake-side
hotel. You see, what happened was that the American gave his hotel as
Lakeside hotel. Unfortunately, there were numerous hotels along the lake
but the Chinese were too shy to enquire which lakeside hotel earlier
because they were afraid the American would 'lose face' for having given
a vague address. Instead, they spent the morning hopping from one
lakeside hotel to another looking for this American gentleman."</i><br />
A
simple cultural difference threatened to scuttle a perfectly good
working relationship. To avoid similar cultural disasters, here are some
tips on how you can conduct a more successful business in China.<br />
<b>The initial approach</b><br />
Chinese
business are mostly referrals; essentially a business relationship is
struck based on another business associate recommendation. The best
prices and deals often comes from a strong recommendation.<br />
However,
it is common today for cold calls and direct contacts, given the
availability of the internet and the competitive nature of Chinese
businesses. You may source from the internet, trade fairs, catalogues
and brochures, advertisements and approach the Chinese companies
directly through a call or email.<br />
Alternatively, if you are
seeking to invest in a factory in China, you can approach a investment
committee or a business advisory directly. They will be able to advise
you on your best location based on your industry, raw material and
manpower needs. Please contact us directly if you have such a need and
we'll be glad to advise accordingly.<br />
<b>Relationship</b><br />
Chinese
business relationship inevitably becomes a social relationship after a
while. Unlike Western business relationship which remains professional
and perhaps, aloof, even after a long time, Chinese business
relationship becomes a social one.<br />
The more you share your
personal life, including family, hobbies, political views, aspirations,
the closer you are in your business relationship. Sometimes, a lot of
time is spent discussing matters outside of business, but then a lot of
time, the other party is also making up his mind about your deal based
on how much he sees your personal relationship with him.<br />
<b>Seniority</b><br />
Seniority
is very important to the Chinese especially if you are dealing with a
State owned or government body. Instead of addressing the other party as
Mr or Mrs so and so, it is always appropriate to address the other
party by his designation ie Chairman So and So, Director So and So or
Manager So and So.<br />
When giving out namecards or brochures, make
sure you start with the most senior person before moving down the line.
When giving out a namecard or receiving one, ensure that you are
stretching out with both hands with the card. Remember to face the card
you are giving out in a manner such that the receiving party gets it
facing him correctly.<br />
<b>Giving Face</b><br />
Giving face (aka
giving due respect) is a very important concept in China. You must give
the appropriate respect according to rank and seniority. For example, if
you are buying gifts for an initial contact, make sure you buy better
gifts for the senior managers instead of buying similar gifts across the
board.<br />
Similarly, sitting positions in a meeting room or a dining
table is accorded accordingly to rank, importance and seniority. It is
good to seek advice before embarking on your first meeting with Chinese
business contacts to avoid making the wrong move.<br />
<b>Gifts and Presents</b><br />
Unlike
earlier days when China was very poor, gifts, especially of Western
origin was especially appreciated. Today, China produces and imports
almost anything imaginable and gifts are no longer a novelty.<br />
However,
gifts are always appreciated and especially in the smaller cities or
towns, will continue to play an important part in your business
relationship. Do note that if you are indeed giving gifts, make sure the
senior people get a better gift or at least gifts perceived to have a
higher value than their junior staff.<br />
Similarly, expect to receive
gifts from the Chinese, especially Chinese art products. It is polite
not to refuse, especially if it is not of too high a monetary value.<br />
<b>Lunch/Dinner</b><br />
There
is no business talk in China without at least one trip to a restaurant.
Sometimes, a trip is made to the restaurant even before any business
discussion take place! Inevitably, the restaurant will always be a grand
one and you are likely to be hosted in a private room.<br />
There is
an elaborate seating arrangement for a Chinese business meal. There are
fixed seating positions for the host and the guest and then they are
seated again according to seniority. This is a very important aspect of a
formal dinner and it is important that you follow the rules
accordingly. However, it seems that the Northern Chinese are very
particular to this formal seating arrangement while the Southern Chinese
has loosen the formalities somewhat.<br />
You may like to find out more this interesting China Book.<br />
<b>Drinking with the Chinese</b><br />
The
Chinese are big drinkers especially in Northern and Western China. It
does not matter if it is lunch or dinner; as long as a meal is being
hosted, there will be alcohol.<br />
Chinese wine is the favourite,
followed by red wine and beer. Chinese wine is more like fuel than
liquor, having a alcohol concentration as high as 60%! No matter how
good a drinker you may think of yourself, never, ever challenge a
Chinese into a drinking contest. They will win, hands down!<br />
It is
often seen as rude not to drink with the Chinese in a formal dinner. To
maintain your sanity, either claim to be a non alcoholic or plead
medical grounds as an excuse. This will let you off the hook with little
or minimal drinks. Better yet, bring a partner who can drink on your
behalf!<br />
<b>After Dinner Entertainment</b><br />
Formal business
dinner normally drags for quite sometime as there will be much social
talk, some karoake, and drinking contests. Most of the time, everyone is
too drunk to indulge in further entertainment after a dinner. In
addition, if you are just new to this partnership, you are unlikely to
be invited to further after dinner entertainment.<br />
However, once
you are familiar with them, you may be invited to a Karaoke, or a Night
Club, or a Suana. Do note that if they are the host for the night, all
bills will be picked up by them for the night, including all
entertainment. It is impolite to fight for the bill or worst, split the
bills.<br />
Similarly, if you are the host for the night, you are expected to pick up all bills for the night.<br />
<b>Controversial Issues</b><br />
There
are some taboo areas in social conversations with the Chinese. Try to
avoid these conversational topics as much as possible. I have seen many
nasty arguments as a result of these topics:<br />
1. You must not mention that Taiwan is an independent state or a country.<br />
2. You must NEVER praise the Japanese or be seen to be good buddies with them<br />
3. You can condemn Mao Tse Tung but avoid critising Deng Hsiao Ping<br />
4. You must not praise Shanghai in front of natives of Beijing and similarly vice versa<br />
Other than that, you are pretty safe to converse with the Chinese anything under the sun!<br />
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-5106876399145201672012-09-19T20:17:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:17:50.989-08:00Another Key for Your Effectiveness<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have you ever tried to get "buy-in" from others or have others tried
to get it from you? The other day I was coaching a client I'll call
Larry. Larry was telling me how he had gotten his co-worker Patrick to
"buy-in" to his plan for handling a sales event. Patrick said he'd go
along with Larry's plan, but after the meeting, Larry said that his
"win" felt hollow; he had this nagging feeling that it wasn't genuine.
Sure enough, as the weeks passed, Patrick didn't do what he had agreed
to and Larry ended up spending several more meetings with Patrick.
Eventually Larry learned that Patrick had concerns about the plan. Larry
also learned something important about getting "buy-in".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Getting
Buy-In and Losing Commitment. What Larry learned is that by getting
buy-in he often lost what he really wanted: commitment. When you're
trying to get others to "buy-in", you've already developed a solution to
sell them. Your goal becomes getting others to agree with what you've
already decided is the best solution for you and them, rather than
engaging in a conversation in which you jointly develop a solution with
them. If you're seeking buy-in you can't afford to be curious; you might
learn that others have information or needs that don't match the
solution you're selling - then you're stuck. If you're like Larry, you
may have experienced the failure of success; you may be able to persuade
others to buy-in to your solution even when they still have unaddressed
concerns.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Crafting Solutions to Create Commitment. Internal
Commitment is a core value of the Skilled Facilitator approach. It is a
state of mind in which you feel personally responsible for the choice
you make. You are committed to the choice because it is intrinsically
compelling or satisfying, not because you are rewarded for making the
choice or penalized for not making it. Internal commitment is so
valuable because it reflects a sense of ownership and a strong
motivation to make something happen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I first learned this at camp
as a teenager. As I "supervised" a group of campers, the camp director,
who was a social worker, told me, "Roger, people support what they help
to create." Years later I learned why this is true. It's not because
people are participating that leads them to support a group decision;
it's that when they participate productively, the solution the group
agrees to meets peoples' needs. To generate commitment in a group, I
believe you need to ensure that everyone has the same relevant pool of
information, that everyone has expressed their interests, and that the
solution incorporates the relevant information and meets people's
interests.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This means shifting your mindset from selling to
crafting a solution with others. Rather than going into a conversation
with a pre-packaged solution you will try to sell to others, it means
going into a conversation being clear about your interests and being as
curious about others' interests as you are passionate about your own.
Then together you can identify your interests and craft a solution that
addresses them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It Doesn't Have to Be Their Idea; It Simply has to
Meet their Needs. Have you ever thought that the way to get people
committed to your solution is to have them think it was their idea? If
so, you've probably asked them some questions that, if they answered
"correctly", would lead them to suggest the very solution you had
already thought of. Many people use this manipulative strategy (which
they can't be transparent about with the client) because they mistakenly
believe that others have to come up with the solution to be committed
to it. They don't; the solution simply has to meet their needs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My
clients who are facilitators often make this mistake; you may too. For
example, a facilitator wants to use a set of ground rules to help a
group work together. She has a set of ground rules that she would like
the group to use and mistakenly believes that the group will find the
ground rules more desirable if they come up with them on their own. As a
result, the facilitator asks the group, "What ground rules would you
like to have for working effectively together?" privately hoping that
the group will identify ground rules that the facilitator uses. If the
group doesn't identify the facilitator's ground rules, the facilitator
subtly tries to get her own ground rules in place, either by asking more
leading questions (like "would it be good to have a ground rule about
sharing your reasoning?), rephrasing the group member's suggestions, or
finally, if all else fails, suggesting some of her own.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I believe
that group members don't have to develop their own ground rules to be
committed to using them; they simply need to make an informed free
choice to use them and believe that the ground rules meet their needs.
As a group process expert, I have a clear idea of what kinds of ground
rules lead to more effective group behavior (it's our "Ground Rules for
Effective Groups"). Part of being accountable to the group means sharing
my ground rules with them and explaining my reasoning for using them.
Then I ask whether people have any concerns about using these ground
rules and whether there are other ground rules that they would like to
suggest using. In this way, I am transparent about and accountable for
my thinking, I'm curious about their thinking, and together we can
commit to a set of ground rules that meets all of our needs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What
are your thoughts about creating internal commitment? Please share them
with us and others at the Mutual Learning Action Group.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-27266078305537554862012-09-12T20:16:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:17:06.805-08:00So Many Small Things<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
We rarely see stories or articles about productivity in the
newspaper or on TV. When we do, it's usually just another story on the
economy that defies understanding.<br />
Which
is too bad. Our prosperous standard of living arrived, in large part,
because of the ability of companies and organizations everywhere, and
for the past several hundred years, to increase productivity.<br />
Productivity
simply refers to how much labor or money it takes to create a product
or service. If a carpenter can build one house in one month, then the
carpenter's productivity is one house per month. If the carpenter gets
new tools or new ideas and does the job more quickly, his productivity
goes up.<br />
Every time productivity goes up, the carpenter's standard
of living goes up, too (generally speaking). Here's another example of
how productivity works:<br />
Suppose a British company discovers how to
make steel products just a tiny, tiny bit harder. Then a company in the
U.S.A. uses this process to make ball bearings that last an average of
423 days rather than 420 days, when they're used in truck axles.<br />
A
trucking company that hauls washing machines from Mexico City to
Montreal, Canada buys trucks with these better bearings. That means it
can haul a load for a few dollars less. In turn, this means the cost of
each washer goes down by a few cents.<br />
But, what's a few cents less
when you're paying hundreds of dollars for a new washer? What's more,
you'd probably observe that you only need a new washing machine once
every fifteen or twenty years.<br />
That's true, but this productivity
improvement is just one of the many millions of small improvements we've
seen since the Industrial Revolution (and some improvements even
predate that period).<br />
We also need to remember a couple of other
points. First, productivity improvements have a cumulative effect, which
is to say they build on each other to multiply the gains. Second,
productivity has increased at an unprecedented rate for the past half
century.<br />
The most obvious example sits on your desk: a personal
computer. Not too many years ago, we prepared letters on a typewriter,
one letter at a time. Now, using a computer and word processor, we can
select a stock letter from a collection that covers most common issues,
add a name and address using mail merge, send the document to the
printer, and in seconds a completed letter lands on our desk.<br />
The
personal computer, though, is simply the tip of an iceberg. Almost
everything mechanical or electrical works better or works faster than
its counterpart of 50 years ago. We haven't heard about most of those
improvements on the news, for obvious reasons. Individually, they meant
little except to people who were directly affected; but collectively
they've revolutionized the way we work and live.<br />
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-20801162929688382612012-09-05T20:16:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:16:27.680-08:00Overlooked Principle To Raising Your Prices<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
Finding customers isn't usually the hard part of selling.
<br />It's "closing" that can drive you crazy. You know the
<br />excuses. They want to shop around a bit longer, they're not
<br />sure they can afford the price, they need to get approval
<br />from a superior. The list goes on and on. Your challenge is
<br />to find ways to close prospects at a higher rate, and
<br />thereby speed growth and increase revenues.<br />
One sure fired way to increase revenues without damaging
<br />your reputation, is to educate your customers into your
<br />price increase first before doing it. You don't want to be
<br />worried about raising your prices. Most people are afraid
<br />to raise their prices.<br />
For example, one of my original companies operated at a
<br />marginal price just under the standard for the industry. We
<br />got a lot of business and kept the customers coming
<br />however, we didn't get much more business than the next guy
<br />whose prices were higher. We were always afraid to raise
<br />our prices and lose customers.<br />
Finally, we did. We got just as many customers and
<br />increased our bottom line by 35%. We then decided to raise
<br />our prices again. Still - same amount of customers.<br />
We ended up raising them even higher to almost double what
<br />we had originally started at. We did lose customers at that
<br />point. However, we had increased our fees so high that our
<br />margin was still much higher than it was before and we
<br />doubled our business. All by simply raising our prices.<br />
We had already delivered quality work and were confident in
<br />our products and services. All we did was raise our prices.
<br />To overcome people just looking for price, educate them.
<br />What we did was let them know about some of our follow-up
<br />services, our customer service plan, things that we
<br />naturally included in our service that other marketing
<br />companies didn't. By educating them and showing them what
<br />they were getting, they were more than happy to pay our
<br />pnces.<br />
Why would anyone pay more for the exact same thing? Once
<br />they found out what we were offering, they didn't perceive
<br />us as offering the same thing as the other marketing
<br />companies. When you don't educate them, they perceive you
<br />the same as the next business.<br />
If all things are equal, they will choose the cheapest
<br />price. Once you convince them and educate them, you no
<br />longer have to worry about it. Price is simply what you pay
<br />for something. Value is what you get. The customer wants to
<br />know what he's going to get. Every customer wants to think
<br />they're going to get good value.<br />
Your customers don't really care about the low price,
<br />especially if they're going to get bad workmanship and poor
<br />products or services. They want value. If you give them
<br />value, you might as well charge them for it.<br />
Don't wait for them to tell you you're expensive or they
<br />can't afford it. If they're telling you this, it's too
<br />late. You haven't educated them on the value they will
<br />receive from your products and services. You need to
<br />educate them right from the beginning from the time they
<br />request your no cost book or report. Your customers are not
<br />automatically inclined to buy the cheapest thing they can
<br />get.<br />
Raise your prices. Get paid. You're worth it. If you've
<br />built in a great guarantee, which should be one of your
<br />strategies, then you are on your way to deliver quality
<br />products and services to your customers at all times. You
<br />do great work, give them great quality, educate them,
<br />you're better than your competitors you should get paid for
<br />it. If you believe you're worth it, then your prospects and
<br />clients will believe it also.<br />
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-27776750239155403892012-08-29T20:15:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:15:39.841-08:00North Versus South<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now that I live in the South, I see how different the social
environment is here. It's friendly and relationships definitely come
first when doing business. When I lived in NYC, it was enough to say who
you were and who you worked with or for and you'd be accepted on your
own merit.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So,
culturally, the North and South have its differences. Since the south
has been a bit behind in a lot of ways, I find myself teaching some of
the women here techniques to be noticed more, and how to assert them
more. Additionally, I find that the younger men here view their age as a
detriment as opposed to an asset. They want to appear older, or have
the confidence of an older person. Again, that wasn't' anything I dealt
with in NY. People there are judged on their results, not their age or
sex. It seemed to me anyway.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For myself, I find that I'm not as
well received here in the South. When I come to a company, I bring a lot
of experience to the table. I have been coaching and training for over
10 years! But when I am seen upon first impression here, the feeling
(I've been told) is "who does she think she is?" My son's preschool
teacher told me this. She said that she didn't think we'd ever have
anything in common with me. I dropped him off at school dressed for
work, and walk and talk fast. This was overwhelming to her at first.
When she took time to get to know me she said: "I had NO ideeeaaaa you
were SOOOO. niiiiiice" .. in her southern, charming way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My
clothes say that I like trends. I do have a lot of classics in my
wardrobe, but I add accessories that are fun. This area is very
conservative. The best outfit to wear is a dark suit. The best
personality to show off at first is a reserved, under toned and one that
brings no attention to you. Conservative is the best word to describe
the south. The Bible Belt is alive and well!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Women here are very
sweet. I've also noticed that many of them want to come off as more
powerful to get the respect they deserve. There are a few of those "good
ol' boys" around. Their attitude is "don't worry your pretty little
head about anything; I'll take care of it". Meanwhile, they are calling
the woman's clients and trying to scam on them, they are making golf
plans when the woman goes to the ladies room with the client and they
are doodling when the woman is conducting a meeting.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've coached
several of the women here to fight like the men! One of my clients was
actually told recently not to get her (get ready!) "panties in a ...
bind". I coached her to not only get her PANTIES in a bind, but to get
all of those men in a room, stand before them as they sat down, stare
them down and stand up for what she knew to be right! She did and she
woke them up to the fact that they had a JUDAS in their midst. It's an
ongoing saga, but she took the reins and confronted an ugly situation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Women
have to take themselves seriously before others are going to take them
seriously too. Half the time, it's the other women who are posing
problems for the go getters in the office. Women here have some sort of
clique thing going. At one company I coached for, they called themselves
"the beautiful people". Well, in my mind, beauty is more in the actions
than their looks. And if that's at all the case, this group was the
ugliest group of women anywhere. They were awful to the other women in
the company. As a result they are hurting the environment of the whole
company. They are protective of their turf, and they severely punish the
other women who are outside of their clique by gossiping or spreading
rumors. I'm sad to say, that the ringleader of this group could be found
daily reading her bible in the women's lobby. I just wonder if she
really paid attention to what she was reading?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Okay, I know that
northerners have politics. I've maneuvered enough people through their
company politics to know that you have to be smart about it. But in the
north, you know right up front where you stand. You know when you mess
up and you know what you have to do to achieve more status or more
money. (Unless you are in a corporate environment... where anything can
happen!) Here in the south, they'll do all of the nice things to your
face, and they'll ruin you behind your back.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since I'm not
employed full time in any organization, I've seen the same thing happen
over and over with different clients. I've coached the women to refrain
from making friends if they are shut out of a clique. If they are being
treated with dirty politics, sometimes you just have to be smarter.
Being friends with the boss' wife is a good one, or landing the biggest
client is another way to secure your position with the company. One of
the women I am coaching was so hated for her beauty, that she threw
caution to the wind and got HAIR extensions! It made the women rage, but
they ended up copying her look.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The people who do the best in
organizations tend to stay OUT of company politics. They don't gossip
and they have one or two friends in the company but they don't rely on
their co-workers for their emotional support. Work is work and it's best
to put your best foot forward every day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The people who gain
respect are those who are consistent. They come prepared for meetings
and bring value to the team every day. They go out of their way to help
each of the team members and work late often if they have to.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There
are many things to take away that are great about the south. It's
slower and it's more manageable. You don't have to wear tennis shoes to
the office because you are commuting from an hour away and walking 2
miles from your car to work. The traffic is bad but mostly people are
polite. People don't usually cut in front of you and they wave you in.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When
you walk in an office, people say hi. They're always friendly and
willing to talk and share. It's easy to make friends here. People don't
look at you suspiciously if you ask them to get together for lunch or
dinner. They actually thank you for taking the initiative.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
people you meet in everyday life are nice and talk. Sure it takes time,
but it's probably more enjoyable. And, it's not as competitive. The
northerners who come here have to SLOW down in the work place. Often
times, people can't physically keep up with the work load that the
Northerners generate.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Charlotte has become a melting pot. There
are people from everywhere, but it still has the social mores from the
south. It's best to WATCH first and LEARN before diving in and taking it
for granted that you'll be successful here.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've learned that the
ol' line from Frank Sinatra's song "if you can make it in NY, you can
make it anywhere" is NOT TRUE. It's far from the truth. I say, if you
make it in NY, you'll have to change your ways to be successful
elsewhere.</div>
<div style="overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-33615576164034770452012-08-22T20:13:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:14:27.876-08:00Measuring Training Programs: Cost Vs Benefit<div style="text-align: justify;">
For decades companies have been struggling with the real costs,
<br />benefits and return-on-investment of training costs. With
<br />increasing online learning opportunities, organizations are finding
their focus shifting from providing costly onsite training programs to
the use of new tools and technology now available. Companies need to
understand and apply the business analytics in order to fully appreciate
the effectiveness and impact that e-learning and training offers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Companies invest large amounts of money, resources and time in
<br />training. According to a 2002 ASTD State of the Industry Report
<br />where over 375 major corporations were surveyed, companies spent
<br />between one (1) and three (3) percent of their total payroll on
<br />training. This translated to a per-person basis of more than
<br />US $700 per employee per year. In cutting-edge companies that
<br />significantly increases to US $1400 or more per person per year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If training expenses are viewed as a percentage of the company's
<br />profits, then the training budget could represent as much as
<br />5 - 20% of the total profit margin. With increasing costs
<br />associated with travel and lodging, as well as increasing costs
<br />and expenses to register and attend meetings or to develop in-house
training programs, training budget costs are undboutedly going to
increase, which only underscores the need to justify its cost.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In order to effectively measure training programs, companies
<br />are faced with three critical issues: efficiency, effectiveness,
and compliance. Every major decision made regarding training falls into
one of these three areas. Fortunately, each of these three areas can
be benchmarked and measured.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The ASTD 2002 study reported that only one-third of companies
<br />measured the effectiveness of learning and that 12% or less
attempted to measure job and business impact of their training programs.
Why? Interestingly enough the top reason why companies fail to
measure training is that they lack the experience, tools and
infrastructure to do so.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is impossible to improve or effectively optimize the training
<br />program if it is not benchmarked or measured. Training should be
measured and evaluated just as companies measure productivity, profit or
quality. There have been many scorecards, dashboards, algorithms or
metrics developed for this purpose.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If one considers the total training investment per person in the
<br />company (see above), the question is how much should they spend
<br />on measurement and evaluation? One, five or ten percent? Looking
back at the ASTD 2002 study of best practices, we find that most
companies spend 40-50% of their total training dollars on content
development, 8-10% on infrastructure and the remaining resources on
salaries and facilities costs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For many development of measurement
and evaluation tools sounds like additional costs and expense to the
organization. Companies who allocate a small, but fixed percentage of
the training budget to this purpose will find themselves able to
effectively measure the effectiveness for their overall investment in
training. One study found that organizations who adopt this model, and
who spend US $2-10 per employee on learning analytics reported
noticeable improvements in the measurability and return on investment.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Companies
will need to justify the costs associated with measuring learning by
identifying the business impact and risk of not training its employees.
This could be quantified by fines, or profit loss as a result of being
out of compliance with laws or standards. Often times this can result
in fines levied against the company or even lawsuits or other forms of
profit loss.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In healthcare, for example, lack of compliance with correctly
<br />collecting, coding and reporting cancer incidence could have
far-reaching impact on budget dollars spent not only in the training and
operational costs associated with the Cancer Registry department, but
could also negate the costs associated with cancer program development
and community outreach programs. Although program development and
outreach programs have the ability to compete with the consumer's
dollars, all this could be for naught if the required reporting is not
done accurately and in compliance with the State or accreditation
program standards. Training programs for the Cancer Registry can ensure
that the data management processes are appropriately managed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, in summary, companies should be focusing on the development
<br />and measurement of their learning programs. The investment in
<br />learning analytics will outweigh the risks of inadequate training.
Success for any organization will directly depend on their employee's
understanding of their products, services, operations and policies.
Employees must be thoroughly trained in compliance, standards,
confidentiality, non-disclosure and other legally sensitive areas of the
company. And, companies must be able to track and measure this using
effective learning analytics.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>PUBLISHING RIGHTS:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>You
have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in
your ebook or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author's
information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and
the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link
should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an
email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post
<br />this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted. </i></div>
<div style="overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-61689621849227675922012-08-08T20:12:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:12:50.024-08:00Knowledge is Business<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
Knowledge is the business fully as much as customer is the
business. Physical goods or services are only the vehicle for the
exchange of customer purchasing power against business knowledge".<br />
Above statement was made by Peter F. Drucker, a prominent Management and marketing guru.<br />
Any
economic result is the result of differentiation. What is that niche
you posses that make you hot property in any market. It comes from
knowledge. Knowledge is held by organization people. One day all labour
can be automated by machines. But knowledge specifically is a human
asset. If you have knowledgeable people you can target the sky. Books
are more collection of information. Internet is one of the best medium
for generating information on particular subject. But information is not
a business.<br />
Knowledge itself is not a business when used inside.
When it do not produce value to the holder of knowledge, it is useless.
It becomes business when applied outside of a business, to the customer,
market and end-uses.<br />
Mittal steel is king of steel market today.
It posses a peculiar knowledge of converting non- performing public
business and factory into highly profitable steel producing entity. It
has done this numerous times Laxmi Mittal, Chairman and managing
director, and his people do not change much in the plants. According to
Aditya Mittal, CFO, and son of Laxmi Mittal, they apply their knowledge
and past experience to turn thing around, Mittal steel turned their
early acquisition around in 18 months. But now they have refined their
knowledge and make any plant they capture profit producer within 6
months. That's where I say business is knowledge and knowledge is
business.<br />
Looking at GE, they have an uncanny ability to mark a
new opportunity and jump into it in a big way. GE is one of the leader
and rare gem in America to dominate the whole 20th century. None have
done that. They posses best of best talent in the market. But still
there is no example of a business which they have acquired and which is
the leader in its market. They messed up with RCA, and their finance
acquisition. Yet they are king with GE capital, a blue eye child of GE.<br />
So
what make an organization successful in a specific area, while a
distant runner in other area? Assets and money could be acquired but it
is the knowledge which turns that asset into real business.<br />
That why an old edge say. Give me 10 knowledgeable people and I will conquer the world.<br />
</div>
<div id="article-resource" style="text-align: justify;">
This article may be re-printed as long as following resource box is included as it is with out any alteration.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6135212191404399348.post-36944518755280327812012-08-01T20:11:00.000-07:002012-11-11T20:11:37.482-08:00The Greatest TV Story Ever Told<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
The gains we get from increased productivity come to us in two
main ways: higher wages, or less expensive products. Let's take a look
at one product that costs less and delivers more value because of higher
productivity:<br />
When
I grew up in the 1950s, everyone in the neighborhood took notice when a
new television set arrived. The cost of a set represented a big portion
of a family's income.<br />
And then there was upkeep. In those days,
we could count on our TV sets to make a funny noise and go black just
before the car chase came to a climax, just before the big wedding on a
soap opera, or just before the championship game. So we called a TV
repairman, who came to the house, replaced a tube or two, and gave us a
bill for which we hadn't budgeted.<br />
On the other hand, when you go
to a discount store and buy a new TV set, the cost likely represents
less than a day's pay, and you'll probably never call a repairman
(assuming you could even find one). Your set will last for many years,
and when it shows its last commercial, you will simply throw it out and
buy a new one. In effect, TV sets have become so inexpensive they're a
disposable product.<br />
Our television sets are just one of the many
products that cost less, at least in real dollars, because of
productivity improvements. If we look through our houses we will see
many products that effectively cost less and do more than they did a
generation ago.<br />
We might even say that the greatest television
story ever told is one you won't see on the screen; it's the story of a
half century of improvements that pulled the real prices of television
sets way down, and pushed product quality way up. And that's true of
many household products, especially electronic products.<br />
</div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14087441173870769813noreply@blogger.com