Casual Articles - Business

Nike / Sears / Kmart
The Sears-Kmart merger hopes to fabricate some sort of silver lining for both retailers but instead seems to embody the inevitable philosophy of "going down together." Kmart, an already sinking ship, certainly worsens conditions for Sears, and Sears does not have a strong enough current to keep Kmart afloat when there are enterprises like Wal*Mart and Target constantly blasting holes in the stern with brand messages of "smart and classy."On the opposite end of the branding spectrum, Nike sits at the top of the todem and watches the plethora of other brands struggling beneath. Nike is the only brand of shoe for which people are willing to pay two to three times more just to bear the swoosh emblem in the gym. Nike is the only athletic brand creating new and original advertising (i.e. the Nike Pro Apparel "Warriors" campaign) while Adidas, Reebok, Puma, New Balance, and countless others attempt to "be like Mike" and copycat concepts to boost their market share. In reality, Nike only becomes more powerful and valued despite the efforts of brand emulation.Before Sears merged with Kmart, Sears carried several Nike products, shoes, clothing, a few sporting goods...etc. However, when Sears announced the agreement with Kmart, Nike announced to Sears that they would no longer be needing their shelves. If Sears was opening up to Kmart, Nike was closing off to Sears. There is a simple equation and contingency of Nike's brand conservation.Kmart is known for "lower quality, but dirt cheap," and Nike is a premium, high quality brand that can inflate prices based on brand equity and reputation.What can bra

y about making money. All of us want to get paid fairly for what we do. The question is: how can we make money and make nice.

Most people get paid for doing a day's work. But most sales people get paid for the results of t

Process Review: Making a New Methodology Permanent
Integrating new technologies and adapting to rapidly changing markets inevitably means implementing new methodologies. There are four steps to implementing any new methodology within an organization:1. Select a core framework for the methodology. That is, a set of best practices is chosen as the guiding example for operational success.2. Modify the framework to fit the specifics of the organization, and devise a concrete implementation.3. Train the organization to perform using the methodology.4. Establish a process to review and improve the methodology. The fourth step is process review - a set of activities aimed at implementing a continuous improvement mechanism within an organization with the purpose of maintaining and improving a methodology.Why Do We Need Process Review?Throughout the process of implementing the new methodology, the desired outcome is to draw users of the methodology together by standardizing their approaches and techniques. This is normally done by creating a common master process and toolset that are delivered to the target community. Common principles and practices are instituted to ensure adherence to the methodology.Change and variances from the methodology are inevitable, however. People will experiment with alternatives and deviations, for better or worse. In addition, over time organizations assimilate new people whose training will vary.Variances will begin to chip away at the uniformity imposed by the common procedures.“Some of the variances which emerge may improve the methodology if widely adopted. Improvement is always possible and should be enc

I recently got a "thank-you" call from a man who read my new e-book Buying Facilitation.

"Boy," he said, "this method sure helps me close more deals and make more money. Thanks!"

"Glad I could help. Is that all you're looking for? To make more money?"

"What do you mean…all? What else is there? Sales is about closing deals and making money, right?"

"I'm surprised you didn't notice the value of becoming a trusted advisor, or how you can use the seller's role as one of a servant-leader to lead your clients to discover their solutions quickly."

"Well, I noticed all that. But it's all in service of me closing deals and making money, right? I don't mind doing it nicely if it gives me better results. But what's sales about if my job isn't about me making money?"

I'm wondering how many people out there still believe sales to be a job that is focused on making money? Or only about making money. All of us want to get paid fairly for what we do. The question is: how can we make money and make nice.

Most people get paid for doing a day's work. But most sales people get paid for the results of th

Why Do You Hate Reading?
A 25 year study of U.S. ReadersThey HATE Reading!The smarter, richer and more successful on the economic ladder – the greater the number admit they hate reading.A quarter-century of studying the learning-skills of executives and professionals, CEOs, chairmen of university-departments, attorneys and physicians - PhDs in industry and at the university – we conclude the more reading they do – the greater their dislike for this form of information-processing.They complain it requires too much effort to obtain the required result of information. They prefer oral-reports, visual-presentations, and summaries by subordinates. “A good graph or flow-chart is worth ten-books,” was agreed to by 50-to-1 in the executive-suite.Why?They are ‘too-smart’ to operate at a snail’s pace to absorb the written word. They find their mind wanders while reading – (because they read so slowly). Instead of concentrating on the author’s ideas, these top executives and professionals are problem-solving sticky-situations, rehearsing presentations, and developing original-strategies to reach their goals.The typical college graduate, executive and professional, the multimillionaire including the chairman-of-the-board – blow-off reading as a poor return-on-investment. Measured as a CBA – Cost-Benefit-Analysis – it fails the test.How Do They Avoid Reading?Great leaders, executives and successful professionals excel at grasping the Big-Picture – the salient-points, the gist and essence of an argument or idea. They track it when they ‘hear’ it – they capture it when they ‘see’ it.Students at college and gra

e looking for? To make more money?"

"What do you mean…all? What else is there? Sales is about closing deals and making money, right?"

"I'm surprised you didn't notice the value of becoming a trusted advisor, or how you can use the seller's role as one of a servant-leader to lead your clients to discover their solutions quickly."

Most people get paid for doing a day's work. But most sales people get paid for the results of t

Mail Room to CEO in 20 Years, is It Still Possible?
Is it possible to go from bottom line worker to CEO in a Corporation in America? In fact history shows it is. We have had CEOs of McDonalds rise from lobby trash patrol. The CEO and CFO of Enterprise Rent-a-Car went from car washers to their positions. Often even with such examples critics will say that it is not possible today? I disagree, but they make their point of contention very strong and say;“How many people are going to start in the mail room today and be a CEO in 20 years?”My answer to them is it will be Hundreds if not thousands. When debating this point you should start with the examples of the CEO of McDonalds who came from Australia a Franchise, before that an employee or the Enterprise Rent a Car example and I can name 20 or more. The list is long and those companies, which promote from within and are built to last or go from; “Good to Great” as per Stanford Business Researcher; Collins, as he shows in his books. The CEO of Starbucks was a line worker, team partner, district manager, etc, and today he runs the whole show. Thus this is a trend, which will continue, you can be pretty certain of that.And those companies like Southwest Airlines which do promote from within, will be winners in the market place, due to the unity of the whole team. The market drives this and should, no one should have any other input, especially government in their attempt to make everyone equal. Still with all these examples the critics will say it is not as possible today as before. Yet all these examples are current ones or within the past 3 years. Indeed time will tell and maybe, the critics are correct, but again those companie

ou can use the seller's role as one of a servant-leader to lead your clients to discover their solutions quickly."

Most people get paid for doing a day's work. But most sales people get paid for the results of t

Just a Series of Choices
Steve’s a pretty regular guy – wife, 4 kids in their blended family, 12+ years of engineering experience, a degree, mortgage, car payments, some debt… and feeling depressed because he waited to look till the end. Last time he transitioned was 5 years ago for more money and he liked some of the people and it was simple…this time he’s heard some in his professional association have been looking for almost a year...and they weren’t lightweights. No wonder he’s sweating.Steve’s wife can’t figure out why he’s so moody and angry…she doesn’t understand that Steve has feelings of rejection from a company he had been loyal to for 5 years. He had poured heart and soul into his projects. Even though he didn’t always agree with his manager’s direction, on a project he shepherded, he had been recognized for achievement. Gosh, only 2 years in and already a rising “star”.In hindsight, Steve saw he had subtly butted heads on how the team was treated by management and that he made suggestions that “his bosses’ way” was backward. Things began to slip. It was more real when he didn’t get a merit raise. He didn’t fathom the basic tenet that consistent values with the management are fundamental to longevity. You see, Steve made an “easy” choice to compromise his work ethics and principles because he thought he was on the upside of lots of growth (money).Choice #1 – Choose based on values – not only on personalities in the organization.Now that his desk was cleared out, a few weeks to wind down was in order before he could mount the energy to start looking. After all, he deserved a break, didn’t he? It gave him t

doing it nicely if it gives me better results. But what's sales about if my job isn't about me making money?"

Most people get paid for doing a day's work. But most sales people get paid for the results of t

Reign On Your Minds Of Your Clients With Promotional Mugs
Achieving your marketing targets is the most important objective for any organization. More important is the path that you choose to achieve these objectives. Getting the right message to the customers is not that difficult…on the contrary, it is unbelievable how simply the right message can be sent.An effective way to send across your marketing message is promotional items. Consider sending a nicely designed pen with a personal marketing message, or a t-shirt, or even a decorative promotional mug. I myself have visited a number of my clients where on their tables I have seen beautifully designed mugs, kept on the desks. I remember a particular mug that I have seen in one of my clients desks. I even remember asking my client about the organization that presented it to him. After all, your marketing endeavor is how you put yourself across to your clients and for how long.There is no point sending very professional emails and letters which you manage to make your client read. In fact, it will be foolish to think that your client will keep it with him. A promotional gift or item will serve this purpose. Decide upon your budget and choose the best option that you can afford. I vote for promotional mugs. Below are the reasons why promotional mugs printed with your marketing message should serve your purpose down to a tee:1. Mugs aren’t too expensive. Varieties of promotional mugs are available in the market. Some are multicolored, some of back and white, some are metal mugs, some are plastic, while some are ceramic, and price starts from a few dollars. Your choice is rather wide. However, though you are free to decide upon your

y about making money. All of us want to get paid fairly for what we do. The question is: how can we make money and make nice.

Most people get paid for doing a day's work. But most sales people get paid for the results of their work, not necessarily for a day's work. This leads to the tendency of sellers to have a different focus in their jobs than their non-sales colleagues: they often focus on 'closing' a sale rather than on the results of the interaction, or on 'doing a deal' rather than making sure the client has all their ducks in a row prior to making a purchase. As a result, sales practices and sellers can be seen as aggressive, pushy, eager to get immediate results, and less aware of the other person in the interaction.

What causes money, greed, manipulation, and self-interest to prevail at the expense of serving? What's stopping sellers from using their jobs to promote respect, integrity, servant-leadership, collaboration, and trust – for their customers, for their companies, and for themselves? Why is there a belief that it's not possible to serve and make money? To support and be aggressive? To be a tru

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A business plan is your most important tool when going after financing - private and government.

Often when looking for a job, there are opportunities to work for both small and large companies, both have their good points and bad points. Although there are no hard and fast rules that can be applied when the choice needs to be made, these guidelines may help.

For those of you who are working in a customer service industry, the quality of that customer service itself is the most important aspect of the job. People...

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