One important aspect about widening the placement of products or coverage area of services that will be rendered by companies is to finalize an agreement with the prospective hosts. Deals can only be consummated after successful talks with the executives for the said places, and the steps to consider prior to considering thinking about racking up their potential revenue will have to take a backseat for the meantime that nothing concrete has been reached. There is no harm in fantasizing and forecasting the possibilities, but a check with reality should include that unless something has been agreed to by both parties, nothing is definite at the moment.
Above all, there are various ways that a corporate representative should consider before the actual meeting with the other side. Among them:
- Focus on the Purpose of the Meeting
- Be Confident about your product or service
- Prepare alternative proposals and be aware of modifications that will surely be reached at points where haggling is a sure occurrence
- Dress Neatly and Professionally
- Retain a cheerful atmosphere once the meeting has started.
- Be prepared for intimidation approaches
- Analyze the potential of the deal and determine if the talks are getting anywhere
- Start and finish the meeting with a courteous greeting and handshake.
Most experienced people would agree, these are situational instances where most of them have already been experienced and handled with properly. The key to all is personality assessment of the person that they will be talking to. The inability of lack of proper assessment of the behavior, reception and tactics of such potential business partners will at most time lead to a dead end, becoming a useless meeting with no results to expect and a total waste of time.
Professionalism in the business sense stems from the ability of a person to properly deliver towards their clients the entire purpose of the meeting and the product or service background as well. Questions shall be thrown left and right and like a boxing match, the representative should be ready to receive and counter these hurled jabs to the product and service capacity. Communication assessment must also be considered, for the fact that questions may be asked here and there, but the relative importance of these queries as well as the actual intent of the listener in these cases must be readily evaluated so as to immediately determine if the talks are worth the time, or simply dilly dallying to fool around. It is in these cases that straight answers are highly appreciated. Rude as it may seem to other people, the bottom line is that time will no longer be wasted, allowing the people to bring their proposal elsewhere, where most probably something more worth their time can be expected, rather than wasting it on groups that have no intention of resolving and coming up with a win-win situation for both their benefits. Straightforward as it may seem, but in the corporate world, a side of mental interpretation is also something key in closing a deal. Only a number of gifted working professionals are able to do the same, while for some, persistence may be the way to go.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 22, 2006 at 6:46 am | 1 lonesome comment
Practically any company today with often worry about how to hit their sales targets, something that is crucial to the overall revenue evaluation of any company in line with its overall operations. Sales targets are usually set by sales and marketing teams with the purpose of offsetting all daily operating expenses needed for a company to function well.
Providing figures is easy on paper. The important thing however is to prepare the supporting documents that are connected as to how people would be able to justify and support the expected sales. These figures are not made out of pure judgment and assumptions alone. The entire process of coming up with the necessary figures is something that most management teams and top level executives will scrutinize and audit to give their insights as well regarding the feasibility of the said claims and how they can be of benefit towards the company.
Such figures are also essential to the financial statement operations, a report that is periodically checked by corporate management committee to analyze and evaluate the overall operations. Areas for discrimination will always be open towards such reports for the reason that corporate stability and satisfactory performance is the ultimate priority above everything else. Operating on a break-even or better yet a profitable margin is something that most executives would love to see, but losses, especially for companies that are in the early stages of existence is only normal but are expected to pick up. Businesses are expected to pick up after proper saturation of its target market and the overall efficiency of the marketing team that will be carried out by its sales account executives that go out in the field.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 19, 2006 at 10:18 pm | 1 lonesome comment
Being a manager or a head of a certain department or company will surely come with great authority and expectations. The management team and the people who compose the organization have a lot of expectations in terms of job knowledge and directional performance to which a company is seen to be going to. Such does not seem as an easy task, but putting your place in the shoes of these people will help a lot in understanding the areas needed for improvement and how to build their confidence and motivate them to work better.
There is no doubt that people will learn a lot from everyday interaction and proceedings in a workplace setting. The various working environments possess various atmospheres and working ambiance that differentiate each entity. However, the management and leadership style that most assigned heads in various situations will be put to the test, allowing them to adapt to the effective manner of leading that can help not only bring the company towards new heights, but enticing employee contribution as well, as far as overall organizational behavior and outlook is concerned.
Some people mistake a person’s attitude towards work as taking some things personal. Scolding or lambasting employees is the last thing that can lead to efficient work production. It should be noted that a sane manager is simply relaying what has been spoken to by the top brass executives, such scenarios needing much improvement and attention to satisfy the high degree of expectations not only from the person but through the leadership process. Amongst this are the delegation proceedings, identifying proactive people to be blessed with the opportunity to show their wares and be given the opportunity to shine. Such delegated assignments are not always granted and once they are handed down, fortunate employees should do their best in making good the chance to be able to climb up the corporate ladder of the company.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 19, 2006 at 8:56 am | Leave a reply
Degrees and education are in essential part of the entire selection process of most companies of today. Aside from advanced knowledge and techniques, as each year goes by, new innovations and additional information and tidbits are found in these occurrences. This is not really to downplay the acquired education by most people in the past, but reality check reveals that modern ways of teaching and an extended degree of learning have really made progress and will show the difference in the overall performance of most organizations, especially groups seeking a different and effective manner of operations and management to attain the target goals and values that a company should be known for.
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Working experience helps people in growing their skills and attaining enriched knowledge. Education is just the forefront of any job or occupation. A good education is the foundation that will serve as the labor capital to which people can disseminate and identify the areas to which they should be specializing in. Regardless if the line of specialty in line with the familiar duties and responsibilities in a company, such as Finance, Marketing, Administration and Human Resources, each specialization of the major departments of a company will always be a telling story in an organization’s development and evolution towards job satisfaction and corporate success.
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Careers should be treated as businesses in another degree. They are not solely for the benefit of organizations where it is the company that is the only winner. Given the right emphasis, it should be treated as a win-win situation. Compensation and benefits are not the only areas for consideration in growing a career and following a certain path towards successful career growth and accomplishment. Long-term achievements should also be taken into consideration and risks in the personal decision making process is another thing that people may want to consider. A high-paying job is what any employee would dream of. But looking back, these jobs tend to be the end of the tunnel for most people. For higher aiming individuals, this should not be the case and the road towards going farther down the route should be also entertained.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 17, 2006 at 10:32 pm | Leave a reply
At most, management teams and department heads would use the 4th quarter of the year as the time to be able to make necessary preparations for the coming year. Forecasts, budget preparations and outlooks for the coming years are all part of the planning process, all aimed at ensuring another year to look forward to, and get over the hump of achievements and shortcomings that have been experienced for the current year.
For sure, using the current and previous year performances will be the yardstick for everything. Looking forward to a year that can erase the stigma of overlooked strategies and management styles will surely be something that can help be brought to the table for discussion, and dissect certain ideas that can be applicable towards the overall performance of an organization. Looking back and studying the competition in the various industries that most people would find themselves in, brainstorming and advanced planning techniques are a good way to be ready for the coming year.
Planning is not primarily focused on increasing sales and hitting profits. It should cover every aspect, starting from revenue allocation, financial constraints and market feasibility. The various departments will have their own evaluation and recommendations and this is what management wants to see. Each contribution to the entire administration and operations management of the entity will surely be something that will spell the difference between success and impending disaster. Whatever the case may be, the overall satisfactory performance of business entities is what is important, and this is not only for one department but for each department aiming to contribute as a whole.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 17, 2006 at 10:51 am | Leave a reply
In the business planning stages, one thing that will surely be identified is the target market to which people are aiming for. Overall, the different classes, such as A, B and C, will be at the forefront of the entire concept and methodology. The place and location to which a management team is eyeing will surely be critical, since their service or product needs to be thoroughly evaluated to be able to ensure its success and capture the market that it is strongly vouching for.
Today, the risk of being able to cater to the market class that most organizations are eyeing is substantial. There is not question that the success of fully implementing the business plan according to the mapped out marketing strategies that will complement overall operations shall be monitored so that they can be able to evaluate if the plans were carried out properly and if they are hitting their targets. In most cases, organizations would need to check on the Return on Investment (ROI) period above anything else to fully analyze and assess the situation.
Such idea struck me this afternoon when I visited a supposedly underachieving place called The Gateway Mall in Cubao, Philippines. This area was made famous by Muhammal Ali some time in the 70’s with his historic match in boxing with Joe Frazier. This was dubbed “Thrilla in Manila� something that is very much familiar to most people in the world, particularly in the boxing world. This event extended to naming a mall there, Ali Mall, which became a distinguishing mark for the area of Cubao.
Going back to this Gateway Mall, I have been hearing a lot of things about it, and one thing I noticed on my very first visit is that I really didn’t know which class it was catering to. The theme of the mall may be for the lower class A and class B people, but the Class C were also wandering around, putting some questions in my mind with regards to how far this place can be able to sustain its cleanliness and ambiance. Other malls that have followed the same route include Star Mall in Mandaluyong City, Shangri-la Mall along EDSA and the disappointing areas of SM North and SM Centerpoint. For all its worth, I foresee this mall going the same direction, no direction at all considering that it is just there for simply trying to revive the abandoned area of Cubao. What strategies to be done? Well, I think this is not for me to work on, but the developers and administrators of this so-called Gateway Mall.Â
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 16, 2006 at 8:28 am | Leave a reply
Marketing is a sort of guerilla marketing warfare where most people find themselves between the crossfire. However, getting caught in the middle is not similar to actual war that we are all accustomed to. Rather, the types of ammunitions that are thrown across are directed more towards the psychological and mental well-being of most people, rather than physically causing harm.
Such marketing ammunition include advertising, promotional schemes, product or brand awareness building, freebies, giveaways, and the like. Most of these are aimed toward building a brand or product growth that can inform customers and the target market that such brands do exist. Take for example the case of brand giants such as Microsoft, Marlboro, Nokia, Toyota and LaCoste, each of these companies whose brands are readily identified and familiar throughout the world have made their mark through the use of their proper marketing ammunition that has helped them build their empires and global identify that has raised their level of demands as far as their products are concerned. Such has been the focus of most up and coming companies, building on the brand and using the same brand as easy to recall as possible.
The business strategy is not easy. For one, prior techniques are not guaranteed to be suitable for all products or services that are being offered today. People have a certain bar to which they can compare current products from past ones, and this is regardless if they are still existent or not. The cry today is for innovative approaches towards marketing and product enrichment, something that has kept the business and research development departments of most companies doing the necessary pencil pushing to come up with the right business framework to survive in the war of business as we know it today. Some have bitten the bullet and survived. Others have faltered and conceded already. However, it all depends, since above all, it is the feasibility and the attractiveness of the market that must be considered above everything else, and not simply for the purpose of putting up a business for the sake of getting large sums of returning investment capital which less business minded entrepreneurs expect.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 15, 2006 at 10:21 am | Leave a reply
Peak and lean seasons for any company operation is only natural. There will come a point wherein prior planning with regards to annual budgets and activities will be discussed initially to forecast and analyze as to how a company should approach the outlook for the coming years. All departments ranging from accounting and finance, marketing, business development and research, administration, human resources, and logistics, are expected to brainstorm and create the necessary requirements and milestones that each section shall contribute to the entire cause, a generalization of which shall be deliberated upon by the management committee with regards to the feasibility of such forecasts.
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Ideally, not all suggestions made by all sections shall be immediately approved. Supporting studies and commendations with regards to the activities that will be beneficial to the entire strategic management and direction that the company is expected to head towards to. Overall, the end result and product of the company will be fully realized if the effectiveness of such can be deemed as realistic or simply for making figures and corporate performance look appealing and good.
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Some sections may feel being overlooked if some of their suggestions are not given the opportunity to be taken up. Such scenarios are only natural since most organizations can only accommodate so much due to budgetary constraints and the time period allocated by the company itself. With the limited time and available resources that an organization may have, trying to take on all the recommended approaches and strategies for the good of the company as a whole.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 13, 2006 at 10:42 pm | Leave a reply
Today, most employees are content with having to do routine work and get paid for their troubles. Career enhancement and growth take a backseat since financial security is the most important aspect in the lives of people today to sustain the demands and wants they require and so with their dependents and family members. For these people, being able to survive the storm and satisfy their needs is the single most important factor that they can look forward to and nothing else.
For the career dreamers however, taking on their jobs and trying to study the techniques and methodologies of other departments around them in the working environment they are in, helps build their interest and knowledge, expanding their level of knowledge and interest in the other fields. This is an advantage for them, since the time may come wherein they may need to adapt to such multitasking work environments or maybe even if they decide to put up their own businesses one day and take on entrepreneurship as their main bread and butter.
Sure, there are books and people to provide the necessary advise, but approaching it with the right perspective, a pro-active perspective that can be also referred to through Covey’s Seven Habits, is something that will do more good and experience to people who crave for more knowledge in the field of business. Business is a war, and the only way to get ready for way is to be properly armed and map out tactical blue prints in case of emergencies.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 13, 2006 at 8:59 am | 1 lonesome comment
Some years back when my dad was still here in the Philippines, I remember him saying that one thing that he had to do before returning to Fresno, California is that of having a haircut. This line of service is said to be expensive there, and even if the dollar to the peso conversion were to be considered, it would still be feasible to have it done here in the Philippines. This was seconded by a friend of mine who also goes back and forth to Melbourne, Canada. My thinking was why is this so? Perhaps the level of service was a whole lot different, but taking everything into consideration, a haircut is still a haircut so what could perhaps be the difference aside from using a pair of scissors or an electronic shaver to have the job done?
Anyway, I went for my own monthly haircut at Barber’s Republic today. My friend owns the place and they are the sponsor for our basketball team which is currently participating in the De La Salle Alumni Basketball League. Checking out the place to help my friend on how to jack up their profits, I noticed some services on their menu which were underutilized. So I immediately gathered my wits and thought of various ways to help in the marketing of the place and put these services into good use. Check out these services:
- Haircut : Php 110.00/ $2.20
- Hair Dye: Php 380.00/ $ 7.60
- Foot Spa with Pedicure: Php 300.00/ $6.00
- Full Body Massage: Php 300.00/ $6.00
- Shave: Php 90.00/ $ 1.80
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Another thing I noticed is that while the shop is catering to both men and women, the environment really gives an impression catered to the males. One suggestion I gave was to make the female related services featured in a way so that women can realize that this shop is not solely for the men. The ambiance is quite relaxing and holds a classy atmosphere that most people can consider as tidy and neat.
But on its 2nd year, this place will still reach places. Considering that the location is perhaps hard to find due to nearby private zoning, give it some more time and it will evidently become one of the landmarks in the vicinity of Greenhills, San Juan Philippines.
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Posted in Business by Frank on September 12, 2006 at 9:31 am | Leave a reply
