In
Ed Brodow’s
Negotiation Boot Camp,
he advises
avoiding the word ‘why.’
Instead use ‘how come.’
Why?
“If I ask you,
‘Why do you feel this way?’
you may interpret my question
as an attack.
or a value judgment.
What you may hear is,
‘You must be out of your mind
to feel this way.’
Using the more neutral
‘how come’
softens the impact of the question.
It is no longer a question,
it’s just a simple question.”
We’ve heard of the lipstick index
(lipstick sales, an affordable luxury,
increase during a recession).
Cadbury is also claiming chocolate
is recession proof.
“Chocolate is an affordable treat and
one of the last to be scratched off
people’s shopping lists.”
I’m creating
my own affordable treat product.
Short romance stories priced lower
but at a higher per word margin.
Could your company produce
something similar?
If you sell or market or deal
with the opposite sex,
Leadership And The Sexes
by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis
is a must read.
One of the insights?
Men protect the system.
Women protect the individual.
That’s why men have less issues
severing weak links.
They sacrifice the individual
to save the team.
Women do also.
That is necessary in business.
But usually with more misgivings.
Oh, and a key point in the book?
Women don’t need to become men
to be successful.
They should understand them though.
I walked into Sam’s Club
and one of the big Halloween treat displays
was for…
Brightly colored
sample sized containers of the classic toy
sold at introductory prices.
Brilliant, brilliant marketing.
There will be thousands of samples purchased
by health conscious, candy banning parents
and then given out
less than two months before Christmas.
Would a sample size of your product
be suitable for Trick-Or-Treaters?
Publishers and publicists
often email me sales sheets
for their upcoming releases.
If I’m interested in the romance novel,
they’ll send it to me
and I review it.
Sometimes the sales sheet is designed to trick.
I say I don’t review paranormals
so it will neglect to mention the hero is a vampire
(although it is obvious first page
that he is).
That’s fine.
Usually I’ll review the novel.
Then I never, ever accept a book
from that contact again.
Customers aren’t dumb
and no one likes being lied to.
Save the tricks for Halloween.
Want the expert status
publishing a book gets you
but don’t have time to write
300 pages?
Susan Friedmann
in Riches In Niches
suggests publishing an anthology.
An anthology is a collection of works
by (usually) different authors.
The best authors to team with
are not direct competitors.
A divorce lawyer
could team with a financial advisor
and a tax accountant,
both specializing in divorce.
The work is shared.
Any publishing or promotion expense
can be shared.
Client bases can be shared.
Ray Silverstein in
The Best Secrets Of Great Small Businesses
outlines some creative ways
to collect money from delinquent customers.
They include
Bartering – taking goods or services instead of cash
Transferring to a credit card
Recovering the product
Not honoring warranties or guarantees
until the payment is made
Waiting too long to get paid
may mean not getting paid at all.
Some companies are pulling back
on marketing
during the recession.
That creates an opportunity for the rest of us.
I’ve contacted prime advertising outlets,
telling them
if an advertiser bails,
I have creative ready.
Pending price, I’ll step in.
It is allowing me to advertise
on sites I couldn’t afford prior to this.
Note:
To take advantage of this,
you have to be ready to go,
your creative in the proper format
and your cash ready.
Short answer:
If you see an opportunity,
yes.
However, keep in mind
it will be even more challenging to get financing
(so bootstrapping often necessary)
and customers are less likely to
take a chance on a brand new product or service
UNLESS they are pretty darn sure
it’ll improve their lives
or there’s some sort of satisfaction guarantee.
As with any business started,
regardless of economic conditions,
expect it to take more time
and more money
than you budget.
Have a buffer for both.
I’ve managed a lot of projects
and I’ve heard a lot of excuses.
I’d rather not.
Hear the excuses, that is.
We all have problems, I understand that.
I don’t need to know your particular one
(especially if it is embarrassing or a private matter).
As a project manager,
all I need to know is
when you’ll get your task done.
So say a simple
“I’m sorry I missed the deadline.
I’ll have it to you by ___”
and let us busy project managers get back
to project managing.