Dodo Loves Marketing

In the early nineties Gallup began work with two of the largest retail brokerage firms in the United States. Both companies wanted help in selecting brokers. And both of them defined the role in exactly the same way—the broker was not paid to be a money manager, doing financial analysis, picking stocks. Instead he was paid to be a money gatherer, identifying high-potential prospects and then persuading them to invest their money with his firm. He was a salesperson. ..more

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Required steps only prevent dissatisfaction. They cannot drive customer satisfaction.

You, and every other employee worth his salt, want to do everything in your power to build a growing number of loyal customers. You want to take prospects, who have never tried your product or service before, and turn them into advocates. Advocates are customers who are aggressively loyal. They will not only withstand temptations to defect, they will actively sing your praises. These advocates are your largest unpaid sales force. These advocates, more than marketing, more than promotions, even more than price, are your fuel for sustained growth. ..more

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Everyone has talents—recurring patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior that can be applied productively. Simply put, everyone can probably do at least one thing better than ten thousand other people. However, each person is not necessarily in a position to use her talents. Even though she might initially have been selected for her talents, after a couple of reshuffles and lateral moves, she may now be miscast.

If you want to turn talent into performance, you have to position each person so that you are paying her to do what she is naturally wired to do. You have to cast her in the right role. ..more

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Before televisions combine with computers, you would think TV sets would combine with videocassette recorders. You can buy combination TV/VCRs, of course, but most people don’t. Recently we visited a consumer electronics store that had a wall full of such products.

“How are sales of your combination television/VCRs?” we asked the clerk. “Infinitesimal,” he replied.

Nor are many combination washer/dryers sold. Or microwave/stoves. Or telephone/telephone answering machines. Or copier/printer/fax machines. ..more

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Even if you thoughtfully examine the match between the employee and the role, you’ve still got a problem. No matter what conclusion you come to, the employee will invariably want to move up. The employee will want to be promoted. Every signal sent by the company tells him that higher is better. A larger salary, a more impressive title, more generous stock options, a roomier office with a couch and a coffee table, all this and more awaits the lucky employee on the next rung on the ladder. No wonder he wants to move up. ..more

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Great managers have to survive in a hostile world. Most companies do not value excellence in every role. They do not provide alternative career paths for their employees. And they do not give their managers the leeway to design graded levels of achievement or broadbanded pay plans. If you find yourself living in this restricted world, what can you do? ..more

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Licensing, registration and inspection

It is amazing how many businesses require some form of licensing, registration or inspection. Bed and breakfast establishments, for instance, may need to be inspected by fire officers, to be registered with the local authority, and may even need planning permission and official approval of their signs from local planning officers. That’s before they start taking on catering, in which case there is another host of rules to contend with. These rules have been set up for the public good, wisely or otherwise. But many people do not know about them. Unfortunately, ignorance is no defence and you could end up being fined heavily if, for instance, your kitchen is not up to environmental health standards for a catering business, or if you are an unregistered childminder. If you make toys which do not comply with safety standards or sell clothes without the correct labelling, you could also end up in hot water. ..more

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Homeworkers also need to work especially hard at ensuring they know what is going on within the office and avoiding isolation.. When BT conducted a teleworking experiment, allowing some of its Inverness operators to work from home, they found that one of the main grumbles was that the operators felt they were not kept up to date with company news the way they had been in an office. For those who work only a couple of days at home, this can still be a problem. It pays to phone in on your days out and to take part in any social events in the office. When you are in the office, make sure everyone knows that you are there — and keep your wits about you. ‘I make sure that when I’m in the office, I listen very carefully to what’s going on,’ says Helene Hook of the computer firm ICL. Kevin Attwood of Nat West Bank has formalized the process by having an updating meeting with his boss every week. ..more

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Most manufacturing and commercial concerns that hold trading stock find themselves having to write off a certain proportion of their stock value at the end of each financial year in respect of slow moving and obsolete stock. The strange thing is that, although the goods and materials were probably purchased by profit-responsible executives of the comapany, it is usually the financial staff who determine what and how much should be written off each year.

Accountants usually make provision in their accounts for stock which everyone agrees is definitely obsolete and unsaleable in the normal course of business. They also determine the write-off in respect of obsolete and slow moving stock on the basis of the age of the stock or perhaps a percentage of the stock value. Such arithmetically conceived write-offs are in accordance with accounting standards and conventions which require that accounts are drawn up on a reasonably prudent basis. Very often the detail of these various provisions is invisible to other members of the company. Perhaps greater visibility would help your company to establish sensible policies with regards to using or liquidating such stocks. ..more

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The only way to gain and keep the goodwill and high esteem of the people we work and live with is to deserve it. Each of us will eventually be recognised for what we are because of our motives, not for what we try to be through our moves. Having the right motives will always win over making the right moves, yet, often prompted by personal ambition, we focus on gaining quick success by learning artful techniques. In the long run, no technique, no matter how clever, can conceal the motives a person has in his or her heart.

Many businesses focus on making all the right moves with the understandable motivation of greater return. Indeed, the majority of employment training is on specific competency techniques to ensure that the right moves are practised. But the motives behind practising the right moves are not always in harmony with what the business purports to be in business for. ..more

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Being primed and ready for the unexpected has always been a valuable talent. In today’s turbulent business environment, where mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations are changing the face of American business, managers need that adaptability more than ever. What are the skills that allow good managers to respond readily to change? There are five principal ones:

1. Problem-solving ability. Because we’re a global economy dominated by multinational companies, problems are appearing much more quickly and they are more severe than they were before. There is a lot of ambiguity and there are many paradoxes. Along with polished business smarts, you must also be problem-smart. Your antennae must detect problems early and be sensitive to potential difficulties before anyone else’s. Your intuitive powers must be razor-sharp so you can detect a problem’s early warning signals. Once found, you can determine the appropriate solution. ..more

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You’ve just been offered a plum post as manager of a large division in an international corporation. Before uncorking the champagne and calling all your friends with the news, consider:

Ideally, managers of decentralized operations are expected to act like autonomous, free-ranging, market-sensitive executives—much like the classic entrepreneur. But in reality, you are often trapped in a hierarchical middle, held accountable for profit-center responsibility while, at the same time, chief executive officers and their surrogates violate your autonomy without recognizing it, sometimes even going behind your back to intervene on divisional turf.

If you are offered a division manager’s job, talk to the CEO (it will be the chief operating officer in a very large corporation) and ask, “What kinds of decisions do you see yourself getting involved in?” ..more

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“Cognitive divergence” describes the situation of a person whose thinking has become so different from the rest of the group that he or she doesn’t really fit in. This person is now considered ^-out of it,” an eccentric, a maverick. Some changes that can make you seem like this in your own organization:

• Your company may have changed since you joined it as a bright young newcomer. New people with a different management philosophy may have taken over, or the company may have expanded or changed direction as time passed.
• Times may have changed. New ideas, new technology may cause a company to change its outlook. Where once it valued those managers who ran production centers or developed new products, now it may save its smiles for its financial or marketing managers. Or, vice versa. ..more
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Many network marketing companies steer clear of the word ‘selling‘. The reason? Some 95 per cent of the population actually dislike selling. For this reason you will often read in the classified section of the newspaper an advertisement which reads:

Representatives of these companies invite prospects to ’share opportunities’. They couch their presentation in a way which suggests the business opportunity they are offering is simply that of sharing wealth. Let’s get one thing straight: network marketing involves selling.

The fact is, whichever way you look at it, a network marketing company only succeeds if its products or services are sold regularly month after month; in other words, through repeat purchases. ..more

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‘Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.’

Promoting the sale

You have provided dynamic, written material, you have had a successful appointment and the potential client seems pleased by what you have to offer. However, he or she is wavering about giving you the business project and, as always, you realise that you have hungry competitors wanting the business, too. In this case, a special offer on your part can make the difference. It says, ‘I really want your business.’

The essence of sales promotion is that it must be easily understood and relevant to your product. It will seem ludicrous to consumers to receive a free embroidery kit if they are buying a puppy! With this principle in mind, let’s look at some examples.

Promotional techniques

In hairdressing you can promote your business using hairdressing products. In fashion, you can use accessories or perfumes. With books you can offer membership to a book club. Your offer must always sound right and be related in some way to your product or service. Here are a few types of special offers you can consider; they represent some of the best promotional vehicles I’ve seen in the past few years, with the exception of competitions, which I have included for discussion only. ..more

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How many people really succeed?

There are no precise answers to this question and certainly not everyone becomes successful. Some drop-out must be expected from any downline. It would be a miracle if everyone who joined stayed. This would defy human nature!

Anyone starting in network marketing should realise that a large percentage of their downline will do little or nothing. Many will become inactive distributors (product users only). Many active distributors do not make much of an attempt at making a profit or making their business grow, and some drop out altogether.

However, by understanding what causes new distributors to drop out, you can minimise it in your network and ensure that your network becomes a success. Remember that not everyone in your network needs to become a superstar to make you successful. Even if most members of your network merely buy products for themselves and a few friends, you can have a hugely successful business. ..more

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How do you keep track of who is in your downline? All networkers, when they join a network, are given a personalised number. This number identifies them as belonging to a particular network. You may ask: ‘But how can I keep track of all the people in my downline?’ The answer is that you don’t need to. In network marketing each individual works three levels deep. You are directly responsible for the distributors you recruit (level one), the people they recruit (level two) and the people they, in turn, recruit (level three). That’s not too much to manage. ..more

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You must be clear on the differences between illegal pyramid scams and network marketing. Here are the factors that make for a genuine network marketing company:

• The company must be a bona fide retail organisation which markets legitimate products or services to the consumer.
• The company should offer quality products or services for which there is a genuine demand.
• The price of the goods sold must be fair and competitive.
• There must be no up-front investment requirements other than a low-cost starter sales kit.
• There should be no minimum purchase requirements to join the network other than those essential to do some trade. ..more
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Step 1: The introductory meeting

Make the appointment and arrive on time; not early and not late. Try to meet both husband and wife if you meet with a married couple. Throughout the meeting talk in a relaxed and conversational way. If the meeting is in the prospect’s home, make some opening pleasantries. You might comment about an attractive painting on the wall or the lovely roses in the garden, anything to break the ice.

But this is a business meeting, so don’t labour the social side. Start your presentation properly by saying that:

• you have joined a company and you are excited about it, and that the business offers a significant moneymaking opportunity
• your organisation is a growing one and there is room for everyone to make money
• you are going to present an idea for her consideration but that there will be no pressure on her to make a decision. If she decides not to participate, you will not bug her. ..more
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If a company’s strategy represents its overall approach tomaximizing business success—stated in terms of achieving certain sales, profits, product delivery, and employee turnover goals—then the mission statement represents a more generalized and idealistic vision of the company’s purpose in life. If done right, a mission statement can go a long way toward energizing everyone in an organization to achieve the ideal.

Unfortunately, in the rush to develop mission statements, many companies have established statements that are somehow too general and lofty. I have seen a number of missionstatements that commit companies to being “the producer of the highest-quality (name the product) in the world” or “the top company in the (name the industry).” In my experience, the best mission statements are oriented in either of two directions: ..more

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