Why Panic ? Every day's a Sales Day now on line or on the High Street.

"...Then there are 364 days when you might get un-birthday presents and only one for your birthday presents, you know” - Alice in Wonderland  by Lewis Carroll

Discounting can be a most effective way of attracting sales but too much cost cutting can cut off the face of your profits.

Black Friday was a damp squib sales wise in UK this year.

This month, about 41% of goods are already on sale discount but this  was predicted by Deloitte to increase to 45% Saturday with stores like Sports Direct offering a staggering 80% off of some items.

Deloitte analysed the  prices of more than 1.9 million products and found a wide spread of discounts from 5-90%.  Limited Sunday trading hours on Boxing Day weekend may also lead to slightly deeper than usual discounts this post-Christmas sales window.

A mild autumn and disappointing Black Friday sales have left businesses desperate to shift stock,  some experts have expounded.

19th December 2015
front page of the Daily Express

With less than a week until Christmas, last-minute buyers will also be out on what has been dubbed "Panic Saturday". The twitter #panicsarturday was popular but I wonder who was panicking ? 

Was it the consumer or the retailer ?

With six days remaining before Christmas Day next Friday, shoppers are expected to embark on a £6bn spending spree - up 23% compared with the the same period last year, when Christmas Day fell on the Thursday, researchers predict.

Despite Black Friday additional sales not really materialising, the Office for National Statistics stated the quantity of goods bought in November month on month increased by 1.7% and 5% year on year.

Both on line stores and in the shops we seem to have more and more special discount and sales days.

 These are not that short of a daily occurrence. 

Maybe we have already reached this Alice in Wonderland moment where every day is a 'Sale Day' and the new retail normal for consumers. 

However, like 'Alice' , we "can’t go back to yesterday because" we were "different people then." !

Related Links:

"'tis the season to make lolly"

Culture sensitive selling negotiation

The UK is set to have a referendum vote by the end of  2017 on whether or not to remain as a member of the EU. 

The UK Prime Minister's requests focus on four key objectives:

1. Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-euro countries
2. Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the "burden" of red tape
3. Exempting Britain from "ever-closer union" and bolstering national parliaments
4. Restricting EU migrants' access to in-work benefits such as tax credits for four years 

 David Cameron has gone off today to negotiate a better deal for the UK in the EU. I guess he needs to be aware of the different cultures of the 27 countries he needs to persuade.

"I want to see real progress in all of the four areas that I've mentioned. We're not pushing for a deal tonight (17th December 2015), but we're pushing for real momentum so that we can get this deal done."

He said he would be "battling hard for Britain, right through the night".

Perhaps he could make use of Erin Meyer's 'The Culture Map' but even if he does not we in selling most certainly can !

Often we concentrate on negotiation technique- what Meyer's points out is we should also adapt our negotiating tactics depending on the culture we are dealing with.

Strong negotiating skills in one culture can actually be a disadvantage in another, according to Erin Meyer, author of The Culture Map.

Source: Erin Meyer  HBR December 2015  photo of WEF forum site

Some cultures are emotionally expressive, even in the meeting room. 

Laughing, raising your voice or physical contact beyond a handshake can be considered normal in countries such as Italy and Spain.

 Whereas in the United States there’s a level of friendliness with limits. 

Meanwhile, business cultures in countries like Germany and Japan can find such behaviour inappropriate or unprofessional.

How antagonistic a person is, or how much they express their disagreement in a negotiation, can differ from culture to culture. To some, confrontation is necessary for clear communication, while others only feel comfortable arguing in more subtle ways.

Handling the stereotypes:

Not all emotionally expressive cultures are also confrontational, and vice versa.

 German people have a reputation for being blunt in a calm and rational way, which can be useful in negotiations. In France or Italy, on the other hand, one might expect to see a more passionate exchange. Meanwhile, the cultural stereotype for Saudi Arabian and Filipino cultures is to be emotionally expressive while at the same time avoiding confrontation.

But what about those sales people who do business negotiations internationally? Meyer suggests five matters we need to consider for this sort of discussion.

1. Get a feel for the way you express disagreement

The difference can range from a stance of “I completely disagree” to “I am not sure I understand your point” . Such flexibility could make or break a negotiation. Which one is appropriate in the culture where you are doing business?

2. Know when to hold your peace or let it all hang out

Assess whether the time to assert your opinion, or should you adopt a soft and gentle tone?

3. Ascertain how the other culture builds trust in negotiation Erin Meyer describes two types of trust in negotiation

a. Cognitive trust is based on how much faith you put in someone’s accomplishments or skills; how reliable they are.

b. Affective trust stems from an emotional closeness, where partnerships are more like friendships. You need to figure out which type is most valued by the culture you’re working in.

4. Avoid  Closed Questions and their yes or no responses 

Did they really mean “no” or are they telling you that the subject needs further discussion? Different cultures view the words yes and no with varying levels of complexity.

5. Be careful about putting it in writing

In some cultures, an email to sum up your conversation could be perfectly normal, while in others it is a clear sign you don’t trust people to remember what you discussed.

Thought to myself !

 I think it might be worthwhile asking Santa this Christmas 2015 for Erin’s book The Culture Map* -breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business. Perhaps Samantha Cameron has got the PM a copy !

Related Links:

Making your negotiation appealing

12 steps to effective negotiation

More speed less haste and walkaway in your negotiations

* Erin Meyer's site http://erinmeyer.com/

Selling lessons from Christmas Panto

Stats. from The Stage newspaper.

The six week Pantomime ( Panto) period over the Christmas season is a critical selling window for theatres across the UK.  Last year Pantomime productions accounted for 16% of all tickets sold in regional theatres in 2014 – more than 2.7 million, making almost £52 million.

Sales Growth

The 200 member organisations of UK theatre increased their ticket sales by £4.5 million from 2013 to 2014. UK Theatre’s data reveals that almost 100,000 more tickets were sold for pantomimes in 2014 than in 2013

Up to 60% of tickets have been sold up to the beginning of December most producers can accurately predict sales turnover for the period so long as the season is not hit by heavy snow. ‘Dreaming of a white Christmas’ is a nightmare for the Pantomime business.

“Don’t let it snow, Don’t let it snow, Don’t let it snow !”

Aladdin at Camberley

Panto is the goose which each year  lays golden eggs. Whether local theatres consider Panto as their Cash Cow or Cash Horse, the revenue it generates is lifeblood to many local theatres.

The market leader in Pantomime productions is Qdos Entertainment which this year is producing 24 shows . Another provider FFE has a 2015 programme which features the customary schedule of recurrent favourites: an Aladdin, a Sleeping Beauty, and two productions each of Dick Whittington, Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan.

Panto can teach us all lessons in selling.

Jack and the Beanstalk
at Guildford's
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

As well as being an entryway to the theatre, the stories of traditional Pantomime can also be an early introduction to the world of selling for better or ill for youngsters going to their first experience of live theatre.

Selling narratives

 Many of the stories have a cautionary moral concerning business conduct.  They tell how riches can be earned in a right or wrong way rudimentary ethics even today’s business could still pay heed to. They also show the contrast of good and bad personal behaviour in conducting our affairs. For example:-

Aladdin at Oxford's Playhouse

The story of Aladdin has the wicked sorcerer , Abanazar,  inveigling into the family posing as Aladdin’s  trusted Uncle who offers to set up the young near-do-well lad as a wealthy merchant.  This tale from 1001 Arabian nights teaches us all to be wary of offers that too good to be true. Aladdin’s wife is enticed by the offer or ‘New lamps or old’.

Jack and the Beanstalk
 at Basingstoke's
 Anvil theatre

Similarly Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk appears another naive negotiator when he exchanges his family’s cow  ( their only source of income ) for a few worthless supposedly ‘magic’ beans.

However as we know those worthless beans grow overnight into a huge beanstalk.   We in selling maybe can learn to have patience to let our prospective beans grow and then emulate some of Jack’s courage in venturing up our equivalent beanstalks and overcoming the objections of a yelling Giant to achieve the objective of the Giant’s bag of golden coins. 

“Fee-fi-fo-fum!

I smell the blood of an Englishman,

Be he alive, or be he dead,

I'll grind his bones to make my bread.”

The Pantomime of Dick Whittington follows the classic basis of Fairy Tale, and indeed does many a pantomime. The Poor boy makes good through some heroic or magical deed. By rewarding others he achieves his target or sales objective -a Kingdom, a Princess, Untold wealth, or, in the case of Whittington he becomes fabulously rich, and is made Lord Mayor of London three times.

The pantomime of “Mother Goose” in the form we know it today was written in London in 1902 by J.Hickory Wood  who created a new pantomime especially for the leading comedian of the day- Dan Leno. It has the biggest part for a Dame in any pantomime.

Dan Leno created a poor woman who befriends a magical goose that provides her with Golden Eggs. She is rich, but there is something she wants more than money- she wants to be young and beautiful.

Sleeping Beauty at
Woking's
Victoria Theatre

The pantomime has a strong moral- Beauty & Wealth alone seldom bring you happiness.

In Beauty and the beast the Beast (a ‘cursed’ prince)  can only break the spell by learning to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal from his enchanted rose falls, which would bloom until his twenty-first birthday.

 In the beginning Beauty views him as nothing more than a monster, he views her as difficult and stubborn. But the two soon taste the bitter-sweetness of finding you can change and learning you were wrong.  Perhaps we as sellers, can draw some parallels on the skills of relationship building both with co-workers and clients from the story.

In Snow White the proud, overbearing and beautiful Queen of the Grimm brothers cannot bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone. In her several attempts to kill off the young and  beautiful Snow White at the house of the seven dwarfs she manages to be allowed entry to the house through her sales pitch:-

 “ Fine wares to sell. Fine wares to sell”  “ Good wares, fine wares laces of all colours”.

  

Aldershot's Princes Hall is presenting Cinderella

The tale of Cinderella teaches us remain ethical and moral ( in the Grimm Brothers’ tale “pious and good”)  and endure hard work so when the time is right our Prince will come,  and the story of  Peter Pan  shows us that fortune favours the brave.

Pantomime is family entertainment which enchants children through the magic of the fairy tale, and adults through the humorous risqué double entendres which are supposedly above the children’s heads.

Of 16 theatrical genres analysed by UK Theatre, pantomime achieves the highest capacities, and is matched only by comedy, recording an average capacity of 73% in 2014.

The Theatre’s own ‘Cinderella’

When compared with other theatre art forms, Panto starts looking a bit more serious. Last year across the UK, plays achieved 52% capacity, with contemporary dance attendance falling from 59% in 2013 to 42% in 2014.

Panto productions may not feature in the glamorous award ceremonies such as the BAFTAs , the Evening Standard Drama  or Olivier awards yet but for the sales of Pantomime tickets UK theatres would be all the poorer and quite possibly out of business. They also play a part in the cross sell to live drama.

Airplane Challenge Training Energisers

When your delegates are looking  sleepy or tired, an energiser can be used to get them moving and to give them more enthusiasm.

Short games can be used to help people think through issues and can help to address problems that people may encounter when they are working together. Games can also help people to think creatively and laterally.

I use games for a variety of different reasons, including :-

•        helping delegates to get to know each other better,
•        increasing energy or enthusiasm levels for sessions,
•        encouraging team building
•        or making people think about a specific issue as a group.

Energisers re-ignite the delegates oomph and
 the trainer's vigour for the next session 

The Air plane Challenge
Materials:
Each team needs 1 sheet of flip chart Paper
Some flip chart pens
reel of masking tape

Team Task:
Time : 10 minutes total : 8 minutes to design build and test 2 minute test in competition

To produce a paper plane using the whole sheet of flip chart paper
It is required to fly straight.
Marks will be awarded for aesthetic design
The planes will be thrown from a standing line
The plane is required to fly straight ( Your plane must fly and land within strict parameters of the test run way) 
If your plane lands outside the runway your team will  be disqualified
Marks will be given for  best distance 

A team of delegates work on the
aesthetics of their flip chart paper plane

Delegates are so creative. This team even created
team badges to match that on their plane's logo

Get the teams to present
 and explain their designs

This team spontaneously presented
the merits of their design to rival teams

Presenting the design to a judge

Delegate throwing team's plane trying
to keep it between the runway strips

Flying high at start (see top of photo) but where will it land ?

Tailor's Measuring Tapes make 

a colourful addition to the runway

Test runway made of 2" strips of masking tape.
Best to use a corridor or wide open space rather ha n a training room.
Measuring tapes use for marking the impact point of each teams plane

Should you need a rational explanation for energisers- Here's the Science bit !

 

or Why do we feel the need  of a siesta after lunch ?

Source:  05 June 2006   NewScientist.

The mystery of why we often feel sleepy after eating a big meal may finally have been resolved. Researchers have discovered that high blood glucose levels, similar to those after eating a big meal, can switch off the brain cells that normally keep us awake and alert.

The findings make evolutionary sense since sleepiness could be the body’s way of telling us to relax and conserve energy once we have found and eaten our food, says Denis Burdakov of the University of Manchester, UK, who led the research.

“It has been known for a while that people and animals can become sleepy and less active after a meal, but the brain signals responsible for this were poorly understood,” he says.

Burdakov’s team studied a group of brain cells called orexin neurons, which are found in the hypothalamus and produce proteins called orexins that are essential for maintaining normal wakefulness in humans. These neurons are less active at night and when they malfunction this can lead to narcolepsy, where sufferers cannot stay awake.

Firing rate

Previously, researchers have shown that orexin neurons can be inhibited by glucose, but it was not known how sensitive they were. Burdakov’s team exposed orexin neurons to subtle changes in glucose levels similar to those that occur in the blood during daily cycles of eating and hunger, then measured their firing rate.

“What we discovered is the activity of the neurons can be turned off by minute elevations in glucose associated with normal meals,” says Burdakov. The glucose is thought to act on potassium ion channels in the neurons’ membrane.

He believes this could explain why we naturally feel sleepy after a meal and also why it can be difficult to sleep when we are hungry, since the activity of the neurons would be higher when there is less glucose in the blood.

“We think orexin neurons make sure that we are awake and alert when hungry, in order to ensure optimal food-seeking,” Burdakov says. He adds that it makes evolutionary sense for animals to turn off their wakefulness and conserve energy once they have eaten their food, since it could be risky or wasteful to expend too much energy looking for more food.

Journal reference: Neuron (vol 50, p 711)

500,000 pageviews - Thank you

To followers of my 'Fruits Of Success' Sales and Marketing  blog - THANK YOU


Thank you so much for visiting and reading my Blog

500,000 page views is a super endorsement that the content is of interest to people in Sales and Marketing. 

It does take  time to work on it but your response and support makes it worthwhile.

A selfie with delegates at the course this week when
we broke through the 500,000 page views target .
 A later post will explain the 007 Bond theme !

Thank you to all the clients and delegates who regularly come and use the information I share.




Thank you to all my fellow professional trainers for your kind and encouraging messages and helpful feedback. 

Aleksandr has been with me up in Oxford this week and
 sends his thanks and best wishes to you all also

Good Selling Folks 

Everyday #Thanksgiving, Minding your Manners and Selling Etiquette

Thanksgiving should be a daily practise.

 As the turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie begin to settle in the stomachs of many Americans today, some stores in the USA will open their doors on Thanksgiving Day, marking the start of the holiday shopping season.

The 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation was where the early Pilgrim Fathers invited the local Native Americans to a harvest feast after a particularly successful growing season.

The previous year's harvests had failed and in the winter of 1620 half of the pilgrims had starved to death.

The local Wampanoag tribe taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn, beans and squash; catch fish, and collect seafood.

There are only two contemporary accounts of the 1621 Thanksgiving, but it's clear that Turkey was not on the menu so to say. 

But the celebration was most certainly was about giving thanks.

For professional salespeople thanking on just one day is perhaps missing the point.

Thanking, being grateful, thankfulness to our customer is based on  the attitude of gratitude, thanks, appreciation, and recognition, giving credit and meriting them. This should  be a daily practise not just once a year.

As more sales professionals are being hired based on company culture fit and the quality of your communication skills, you can’t really afford to display ill manners or ingratitude. 

   Whether you’re trying to complete a great deal or finally nail that promotion, your manners matter much more than you might think.  Thanks -giving should be hard wired into your commercial DNA

Part of the Professional Salesperson’s make up is that of the face to face ambassador of the company they represent.

The attitude of gratitude

Unlike conventional office workers your manners are not judged solely in the dedicated work environment. How you conduct yourself in the public space , on client’s premises including the manner you speak to the gate house, in reception,  the shop floor up to the board room.

 Our behaviour is also not merely observed but judged at corporate hospitality events and even at what might be ‘off duty’ events. Even at a Thanksgiving Dinner it could be argued  our diplomatic hat is always on.

Here are 10 business etiquette rules you might care to practise the craft of your diplomatic skills-set on the 364 days other than Thanksgiving.

1       Introduce yourself with your full name. When first meeting a prospect or client, whether in a boardroom or a networking event, always introduce yourself with your full name.

No matter the environment, your objective is to be as memorable as possible. If you only use your first name, your new contact could well later struggle to remember which Hugh or Hayley you were. This is another additional reason why having business cards to hand are always a good idea, no matter the circumstance.

2.  Even how we sit conveys our manners. Much as man-spreading  when sitting on the underground train in London has received a certain notoriety so crossing your legs can be distracting, and even just a little bit too sexy.

3. Don’t overdo your “thanks yous.”  It’s great to be grateful, but you don’t want to be overly thankful.  The image of an obsequious ‘Uriah Heep’ does not portray confident sales professional. Saying too many thank yous in a single conversation can actually work in reverse to your meaning, diluting the impact of your initial thanks. It can also work to make you come off as needy and unsure of yourself. 

4. If you are working at a desk at the office, particularly in an open plan office, eat your lunch in the kitchen or outside. It’s easy to get overwhelmed at work and decide you don’t even have 20 minutes to eat lunch.  Instead, you end up eating lunch hunched over your desk glued to the screen looking at quotes, proposals and spreadsheets.

 Think of your co-workers. Most of your co-workers don’t want to hear you crunching lettuce or smell your reheated leftovers. Take the time out of your day to eat lunch in the kitchen or common areas, even if it means taking only a short lunch. Your co-workers, and your stomach, will thank you.

5. Always pick up the tab if you did the inviting. If you invited clients or co-workers out to dinner, don’t look for contributions when the bill comes. If you were the host of the evening, proper etiquette dictates it’s your turn to pay the bill.

6.  The vice of your devices Keep personal items off the table. Today, we’re all very attached to our smart phones…maybe a little too attached. Many of us will place our smart phone right beside us when dining, like an uninvited dinner guest.  Should you have to take a call , apologise and take the call away from the table. Having your smart phone can be like having  an uninvited guest. In fact, smart phones are great for sharing more than pictures and status updates, they’re also great for sharing bacteria.

7. Don’t ask an overwhelming amount of questions in meetings. When you go to a meeting, it’s always good to come with a few questions prepared. The keyword here is “a few.” You don’t want to overwhelm the meeting host or overtake the meeting agenda by asking a barrage of 20 questions.  You are not a news anchor . Choose your most important questions and wait until the end of the meeting to ask. If you leave with more questions, you can always ask later over email .

8. Don’t just drop in to a client’s premises. Avoid the captain 'cup-a-call' demeanour. “Hey Tony, I was in the area, thought I’d just pop in to have a chat about...” Tony maybe too uncomfortable to immediately to shoo you away. By dropping in unannounced, you assume you have the right to interrupt a client’s time. Instead of just shambling in whenever you please, take a few minutes to call or email and set up a time to talk.

9. Avoid Mark Anthony  “Friends Romans and Countrymen” speeches: Use the reply all function on email with great care. Reply to all on emails only when it’s necessary. The “reply all” function can be dangerous. But if you forget to use it when needed, you’re creating a lot of extra, unnecessary work for others

10.  Reduce the chain gang: Before starting an email chain, make sure everyone involved needs to be kept in the loop on all work. If someone on the chain might not appreciate a barrage of emails, leave them off and only send updates when necessary. Update email thread respondents on email chains. Remove people from email threads who don’t need to be there. On the other hand, there’s nothing more annoying than getting stuck on an email thread when you’re not needed. You come back from lunch and suddenly your in-box is overflowing, except none of the emails are relevant to your work at all.

Proper business etiquette can help you move up the ladder by endearing you to your bosses and colleagues. Keeping an eye on proper manners can do more for your career than you might think.

Related Links:

5 Key actions of authentic selling

Tis the season to make lolly - Selling and the Festive Season

Kellogg's  Norman Rockwell issue

Deck the malls with boughs of holly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

'tis the season to make lolly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la. 

The countdown has begun – now is the time to put the measures in place that will make for a prosperous new year.  IT'S ONLY ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS  FOLKS

Many independent retailers rely on the festive season. It can represent as much of half of their annual sales. However all of us in selling are affected by the Christmas season. There is much planning to be done whether it is planning around the factory holiday shut down, the 'quiet period' between Christmas and New Year, or organising sales meetings and trainings in the less busy time or organising and booking the Christmas Team lunch! 

 There is much we can learn from the selling skills of the retailers.

Christmas  tills ringing have an entirely different tone. The fear of things going wrong in this buying season  means it can be anything but festive for retailers.

The business of Christmas is significant because Christmas is typically a peak selling season for retailers .

Sales increase dramatically as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies to celebrate.

In the UK  the Christmas shopping season usually starts from mid November although some stores start selling Christmas cards by  September.

For most it starts around the time when high street Christmas lights are turned on.

The increased level of demand, through both on line and offline sales channels, puts pressure on retailers’ operational systems and processes. The infrastructure of a retail operation needs to be robust enough to cope with the influx of orders.

For example according to eBay, 79% of shoppers are likely to purchase from another retailer or brand when a product is back ordered or out of stock.

Mistakes and delays result in disappointed customers and missed opportunities.

A newer trend is that the shape of the holiday season has changed. 

On-line shopping and the import of  USA's Black Friday on Friday 27^th of November  this year , such sales have fixed a host of new dates in the UK’s retail calendar.

 However Aldi is to follow Asda’s lead and not acknowledge Black Friday  this year– insisting its customers get the best deals every day.

For Vodafone self control of Black Friday
 was lost to Red Thursday to get ahead !

Prepare for the Christmas selling window

Retail is detail - Preparation

·        Don’t be caught on-the-hop : From customer service to handling extra stock coming in for promotions – make sure you don’t get caught out by being under prepared

·        Fine tune your inventory/ stock: Early season discounts  can significantly erode demand during the traditional January sales. Take this into account when stocking up.

·       

Don’t let your discounting dim your sparkle out of Christmas : many consumers have become conditioned to wait for promotions before making a purchase due to the challenge of increasingly rapid retail cycle of product launches and sales. Analyse your data carefully to identify products you can afford to promote – then offer targeted reductions across your product mix to draw your discount hunters without sacrificing margins across your whole product range.

·       

Keep your delivery promise in check : Couriers are also under huge pressure over the holiday season. This can have an impact on the supply chain and on your ability to get  your goods into the hands of your customers. If you know your operations and those of your couriers will be under particular strain, you can always extend the delivery times you offer. It’s much better to set expectations a little lower and exceed them than the other way round.

·        Exploit  unparalleled on line traffic especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Being able to cope with the expected spike in visitors to your site is crucial for your success.

Postscript on 19th December The Daily Express front page

Photo of Daily Express front page on #panicsaturday
Who was panicking ? the retailer or the consumer