Sales Tips - Avoiding Price Issues

These are tough times, but it is still possible to put the emphasis on things other than price. Try these:

Put your Products and Services in the Limelight: Before you present any solutions, get the customer to agree on all the specific negative financial impacts of the problem they are facing. Ask how the problem that your solution solves has an impact on their profits and income. Ensure you do this while you are questioning effectively, and make sure they agree with the analysis you have worked out.

Make Yourself Unique: You must have something unique (or at least different from your biggest competitor) that makes the customer think your solution is the answer to their problems. And you must be specific enough to make the customer ’see’ your solution is the answer. If you don’t, you run the risk of the price still being the most important differentiator to the customer.

Be Specific With The Benefits: The benefits must be worth more to the customer than the price. The best way to do this is to get the customer to quantify the specific financial impact of your differentiators on the finances of the problem. You might quantify how much the customer will save with you rather than your competitor’s product, or the value of the time they will save if they use your services rather than anyone else’s.

Following these ideas makes the customer think of the financial impact of NOT going with you, rather than the price of doing so. If you can get the customer thinking this way, not only will the price not be top of their agenda, but the value of what you have will be that much greater to them.

Thanks Sean McPheat for your inspiration!!!

TABENDA Felixisreal FOMBANG

Marketing Officer

UNICS Plc, Cameroon

Encourage New Ideas

So many new ideas are at first strange and horrible though ultimately valuable that a very heavy responsibility rests upon those who would prevent their dissemination.

J.B.S. Haldane

 

A good friend once shared this news story with me:

“A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle.  Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current she whacked him with a handy plank of wood by the back door, breaking his arm in two places.  Until that moment he had been happily listening to his walkman.”

That man’s arm may heal, but despite her good intentions, I doubt that his relationship with his wife will ever be the same again.

Getting “whacked,” literally or figuratively, forever changes the relationship between the whacker and whackee. That man’s arm may heal, but despite her good intentions, I doubt that his relationship with his wife will ever be the same again. Likewise, in meetings of businesses and organizations over the years, I have seen many people get whacked with words instead of a board, but the result is just the same.

The “whack” in those meetings happens when someone offers a creative or innovative idea. To the other people attending the meeting, the idea may seem strange, silly, or ridiculous. Before the person even finishes sharing the thought, many at the meeting have all written the idea off and have begun shaking their heads in disagreement. Then the words that make up the “whack” come hard, fast and often from the leader of the meeting: “We can’t do that!” “That will never work here!” “That’s not what this organization is about!” Sometimes no other words are spoken at all; the group just delivers the “whack” with sheer laughter.

It can take a lot of courage for a person to offer a truly creative and innovative idea, because many of the best business ideas probably sound really, really strange at first. Consider how silly it must have sounded to want to start a book store without books (Amazon.com), or a restaurant without waiters and waitresses (McDonalds).

In order to share truly cutting-edge and trend-setting ideas that will put your business, organization or agency ahead of the competition, your team members must all feel that your environment treasures and respects all ideas no matter how strange they may sound. But, all it takes is watching one good “whack” delivered to a person with a creative idea and suddenly no one in your organization will want to share anything. This lack of open expression can be a real problem for today’s businesses, organizations, and government agencies that gave to be constantly evolving, improving and innovating not only to compete, but just to survive.

When is the last time that you “whacked” an employee, colleague or team member that had a creative idea? Have you ever sat idly by as a leader of a meeting and watched others ‘whack” a team member for sharing an innovative thought?  What could you do differently as a leader and a team member to make sure that the businesses, organizations, and teams that you work with value creative thought and respect all ideas no matter how strange or silly they might seem at first?

This week, work hard to create a feeling on your team or in your organization that all new ideas are encouraged and will be carefully considered no matter how “strange and horrible” they may seem at first. Stop others from “whacking” new ideas before they have a chance to be considered. Your own intervention to prevent the “whack” of a creative person might be the only step that needs to be taken to lead your team to greatness.

For more, also visit: www.mondaymorningmessages.com 

Bridging the Gap between Passion and Profession

Subject like Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Accounts, Biology are considered as the harbingers of a lucrative future. For making a strong career path everyone wants to study courses related to these subjects like engineering, pharmacy, biological sciences etc. But mere studying these subjects cannot make a future bright.

Most of us get caught up in the mad rush to follow conventional wisdom. Such students never succeed and progress to bright future and realize later on that they don’t have any interest in these subjects. The spark that is required to make up their future bright is not coming up.
Yet there are few amongst us who know how to follow up their dreams. These days students are taking designing, multimedia application, choreography, education for children with special needs as their career paths. This is very healthy sign that students are coming up with new professional paths which align with their interest and capabilities.

With the emergence of globalization the need for such offbeat products and services has emerged. A number of universities abroad are running a number of programs like 3 D animations, interior designing, photography and many more. Now the time has come when everyone who wanted their passion to be their profession are not bound to do something else. They now have their golden wings to fly.

Do share with me your views, comments your opinion beneath this blog.
Wishing you success!!!

Such Gifts are Highly Treasured

A major US newspaper has called Christopher Parkening “the leading guitar virtuoso of our day, combining profound musical insight with complete technical mastery of his instrument.” There was a time, however, when Parkening gave up playing the guitar professionally. At the height of his career as a classical guitarist, he retired at age 30, bought a ranch in Montana, and spent his days fly-fishing. But early retirement did not bring him the satisfaction he had hoped for.

Then during a visit to California, he was invited to a church where he heard a clear presentation of the gospel. Of this he wrote: “That night I lay awake, broken over my sins. . . . I had lived very selfishly and it had not made me happy. . . . It was then that I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life, to be my Lord and Savior. For the first time, I remember telling Him, ‘Whatever You want me to do with my life, Lord, I’ll do it.’”
One of Parkening’s favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, . . . whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” He has taken up the guitar again, but this time with the motivation to glorify God.
Each of us has been given gifts; and when we use them for God’s glory, they bring satisfaction and joy.

The gifts we offer to the Lord
Are by His standards measured;
Our sacrifice and lives of praise—
Such gifts are highly treasured. —Sper

We were created to give God the glory.

YOUTH ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE TO INDEPENDENCE

INTRODUCTION

Young Cameroonians have always wondered and cried for jobs or starting up a small business within/out the nation, but the question still remains in their minds: “what has the government done for us”. This is just one part of the debate, but the most important side of it should be a chorus by the end of this paper.

The most pressing problem in our economy lies in the youth breaking their self-established barriers. This paper shall practically relate the situation and the way forward.

Firstly, do you know your key skills and talents?

Secondly, who / what are you and where do you see yourself in the nearest future?

There could be many more mind searching questions, but these will be elaborated below.

IDENTIFYING YOUR KEY SKILLS/TALENT

Cameroonians and most African youths are faced with the problem of job seeking or establishing a successful business because they fail to identify their divine and innate abilities.

Each and every individual’s success lies in the ability to identify the reason for and purpose of their existence. It also entails divine intervention. However, some people have been able to reach in and exploit them and are extremely successful. What more of you? While identifying your innate ability, take note of the following:

-          Improve on your management and Communication ability;

-          Establish a daily, weekly planning schedule;

-          Market yourself, your ideas and your ability more efficiently and effectively;

-          Trust in God.

Upon establishing these basic guidelines, then comes the light of where you want to be in the next three (3) to six (6) months.

ESTABLISH YOUR VISION, MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

- How many times have you read about great men in the world?

- What in your opinion was the solution to apartheid in South Africa?

- Why not, the February 2008 civil strike on food prices in Cameroon?

The problem of whether finding a good job or establishing a small business in Cameroon and Africa at large is the failure to understand where we are coming from and where we want to be the next day. Projects fail because of no leaders. This sometimes leads one to pose this question: “are leaders born or made?” The idea is that you are a leader whether born or made, and leaders establish vision for their lives and companies.

A vision is a long term perspective of your ideas. Let’s take a practical example: imagine being the Marketing Director of MTC Cameroon or establishing a national merchandise company by 2020. It must be specific, attainable and time bound.

Your mission, then comes in to establish the “how” and “possible end result”. Following the example above; “…to provide myself with development opportunities (education, professional trainings, networking, know the company) that will empower (communication ability, establish the network) me to create a living change (marketing manager or establishing a business by 2020).

What then are your objectives? These are the daily, weekly, and monthly measureable steps you establish towards attaining your mission above. E.g.

-          Obtaining a good degree in JMC, Marketing/Communication in 3 / 4years

-          Participate in 3 Professional trainings in the related field or for business purpose within the year 2011.

-          Attend the MTC Cameroon Annual General Assembly in March 2011.

-          Know the competitors of MTC and their strong points which you can propose to MTC.

Also, note that company is interested in what other ability you have and what innovations you are bringing in. It goes same in establishing your business. It is the value added services that makes your business different.

LIVING OUT OF THE BOX (Out of Your Comfort Zone)

Living out of your comfort zone can be done in very simple steps:

-          Identify your age mates / classmates at a national level and see where you stand;

-          Do you know where you want to be in the next 3 – 6months?

-          Must you have a “god-father” to establish your mark?

-          How do you choose your friends and establish a role model for your life.

These are some mind searching questions that will follow you for the rest of your life.

Nevertheless, the job or business sector in Cameroon is liberal for the smart and tough for the lazy. What do you know about establishing a business in Cameroon?

Explore your interests and abilities, strategically plan your career goals, whether as an employee or employer, create your future work success by designing your learning and action plans to help you achieve your vision and always remember:

“You are the Master of Your Faith and the Captain of Your Life” and only then, will God see You through”.

Can we ease the (hard) journey for Cameroon’s youth?

Youth unemployment is a truly serious problem in Cameroon today and the world at-large. Unemployment rate in Cameroon (2009) stood at 40% with the Youth being 13% of the bulk. Arguments for and against minimum wages are a distraction. Cameroon needs to invest in professional trainings within the educational sector if we truly want to smooth and accelerate young people’s transition into the world of work. If not, the Cameroonian youth will continue to find it hard to overcome their chief disadvantage: the lack of undeveloped talents and lack of work experience,  failure to understand their dream and way forward after graduation, not understanding what employers and recruiters want... The education and training system design is a strong driver of successful integration. National systems that generate low levels of professional educational attainment fail to provide sufficient flows of skilled personnel for knowledge-based societies. Countries that rely exclusively on higher levels of general education risk not providing sufficient high-skill jobs for their university graduates.

With the end of “job for life” expectations from employers, young people must boost their own employability and acquire transferable skills as their part of the “job seeking competition” bargain in Cameroon. At the individual level, better skills and knowledge are the best guarantee for successful transitions into work and during (an increasingly) long working life. By contrast, unemployment in one’s youth can permanently damage employability.

There may be a shortage of highly-trained workers, but the vast majority of graduating students do not fulfil the skill requirements and thus will find it increasingly difficult to obtain jobs. Making selective changes to the training offered at schools, universities and within the business world are not sufficient. Youth need to make the difference in all they do. Now is the time to invest in young people and in the future of this country.

However, with the trend in youth long-term unemployment rising, Altpere Consulting will be organising a seminar that will offer a timely opportunity to job seekers to understand the key issues that must be addressed to provide them with the comprehensive, integrated support they need to create a distinction during job search and prevent them from falling into unemployment.