June 2008 – Page 3

Obsolete Inventory

A local department store was going out of business,
inventory being sold off.
Some treasures?
Choose Life tees from the Wham era.
Original bell bottoms.
LP’s.

As a consumer,
I found it interesting.
As a businesswoman,
I found it sad.

This inventory,
a shirt here, a belt there,
all came with ongoing costs.
Warehouse space, insurance expenses,
someone having to move it.
It contributed to the department store’s failure.

Obsolete inventory is not free to keep.
If it doesn’t add value to your company,
get rid of it.

Since 2007

I recently purchased a pint
from a gelato shop.
What was written on
the top of the package?
XYZ Gelato,
Authentic Italian Ice Cream Since 2007.

Huh?
Why is the store being open
for only a year a positive?
Wouldn’t it be more compelling to say
Award Winning Authentic Italian Ice Cream
(it has won awards)?

Your packaging real estate is precious.
Ensure your most powerful message is on it.

Problogger Darren Rowse On Yahoo!

I enjoyed Guy Kawasaki’s interview
with Problogger Darren Rowse,
especially Darren’s insights on Yahoo!
and business development

“I don’t pretend to be an expert
in the dealings of big business
but my philosophy in business
has always been to find ways
to enhance the lives of my customers.
I preach this to bloggers by
saying to make their blogs
useful and unique.”

Are your products useful and unique?
Do you enhance
the lives of your customers?

Alternative Compensation

I once walked into an interview
and the HR rep starting talking about
alternative compensation
immediately.

My first question was
“This is my desired pay range.”
I slide over a piece of paper.
“Does this position fall within it?”

“Ummm… no”
was the answer.

Of course not.
You see,
when employers begin the negotiations
with alternative compensation
(flexible hours, pension, etc)
then you can bet
the financial compensation is not there.

And since I could have both,
I wasn’t there either.

Sexism In The Office

Sexism still exists in business,
especially the higher up
in the corporate rankings you move.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing
for the savvy businessgal.
Sexism, as with any ism,
is weakness
and weaknesses can be exploited.

It is very easy to manipulate someone
when you know what
their hot button is.
An obvious example of this
is the 2 on 1 pitch.
A male buddy and I
will walk into a pitch to a sexist V-P.
The male buddy will pitch
my preference,
I’ll pitch the alternate
(I always give execs a “choice”).
An easy sale.

Bonnie Fuller On Waiting For Success

Magazine Editor
Bonnie Fuller,
responsible for the relaunch of
the former tabloid Star
as a glossy magazine,
told Careerstv

“No one is going to give you success
on a silver platter.
You have to reach out
and grab it.”

We all know people sitting back
and waiting for success.
Not going to happen.
We have to work for it.

How To Make A Favorable First Impression

Harry Mills in The Rainmaker’s Toolkit
shares how to make a favorable first impression.
Smile to ooze warmth
Open stance, standing with your legs apart and arms loose
Forward leaning towards the prospect,
moving your weight forward onto the balls of your feet
Tone, varying your voice pitch, rate and rhythm
Eye contact, focus your gaze
on the prospect’s forehead and eyes
Nod, punctuating your speech with nods and gestures

As you can see,
making a favorable first impression means
using your entire body to do so.
Selling is VERY physical.

Linking Issues

A friend was buying a resale home.
The negotiations came down
to price and appliances.
It was understood that
the two were linked.
No appliances, lower price.
Appliances included, higher price.
That understanding made the deal making easier.

When negotiating,
link the different issues as closely as possible,
then ensure that concession on one issue
means concession on the others.
Bundling them will increase
speed of resolution.

Top Client Profiles

In Breakthrough Business Development,
Duncan MacPherson and David Miller
reco building profiles on all your top clients.

These profiles should include information about;
F(amily)
O(ccupation)
R(ecreation)
M(essage)

Message or the product you deliver
comes last
because without the trust and relationship built up
with the first three,
your message becomes a commodity
competitors can copy and lower price on.

Does this work?
Yes

When my novel released,
a headhunter buddy was
one of the first to mention it.
My novel had nothing to do directly
with our professional relationship
yet him remembering it
secured my loyalty.

The Job Applicant Integrity Test

In May’s Men’s Heath,
FBI Profiler John Douglas shares a brilliant way
to test a job applicant’s integrity.

“Employees are 15 times more likely
to steal than customers are.
So set up an integrity test.
Leave a file marked “confidential”
on the waiting-room table
or a $50 bill under a magazine.
Then ask the receptionist
to watch if he bites.”

Well worth the $50 lost.