Margaret Hodge Starbucks and UK uncut Selling ethics

( scroll down for the ethics in selling matrix)

William Yeames’ famous painting  “and when did you last see your father ?”  is in the wonderful  Walker Art Gallery  in Liverpool.

The painting depicts a royalist child from the English Civil War being interrogated by a Roundhead investigator. The innocent look of the young boy provides the tension of the dilemma whether to tell the truth and endanger his father’s life or to tell a lie.

Nowadays we have Margaret Hodge star Inquisitor of the BBC Parliament Channel as chair of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee in the . Those subject to her questions are currently those who sell coffee, books , Internet services ,   + those who sell and buy tax avoidance schemes.

Mrs Hodges argues that tax avoidance schemes are being used for a purpose not intended by Parliament.

She says that the public  considers such schemes as "completely and utterly and totally immoral"

‘Working Wheels’ is such a scheme, involving the setting up of a business purportedly selling second-hand cars to help wealthy clients reduce their tax liability.

Under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes legislation (DOTAS), new tax avoidance schemes have to be reported to HM Revenue and Customs, which then issues that scheme with a number indicating it is aware of it.

The National Audit Office NAO indicate that "there is no evidence that the use of such schemes is reducing".

Even ethical protest groups SELL !  

 “…call up your local paper and radio station: tell them what you are doing, make a good pitch and sell your action” is the advice issued by the protest organisation UK Uncut.

The Parliamentary Accounts Committee PAC attacked in their damning report on Starbucks, Google and Amazon for ‘immorally’ minimising their UK tax bills.

So ethics and selling are  right back in the news yet again. The problem is broader.

EU countries are now being urged to apply common tax rules to combat tax havens and loopholes allowing businesses to avoid corporation tax, according to new proposals released on Thursday (6 December) by the European Commission.

The Commission estimates that around 1 trillion euros is lost each year to tax evasion and avoidance in the EU.

When governments across Europe are implementing austerity budgets and attempting to increase taxes to plug budget deficits and rebuild public finances this is particularly acute.

The EU Tax commissioner Algirdas Semeta said tax evasion was "a scandalous loss of much-needed revenue" and "a threat to fair taxation".

On a global level Business ethics is again in the news 

 Disclosures  have been made from Roll Royce to the regulatory authorities over some dealings with intermediaries in overseas markets in China and Indonesia. They are said to be appointing a 'heavyweight ' independent figure to lead a review of current compliance procedures and report to the board's ethics committee.

Transparency International the German Based consultancy have produced their yearly Corruption Perceptions Index. Public Sector measured.

 

 Now let’s turn the tables

What though, if it was you and I who were under the interrogation a ‘Margaret Hodge’ about how we sell what we sell?

 Perhaps we can get some help from the sage of Omaha.

 “Tap Dancing to work” is the title of the new book compiled by Carol J Loomis about the sage of Omaha, the fourth richest man in the world Warren Buffett.

Mr. Buffett bought is first shares at the age of eleven and is now worth $46 billion .

When Buffett briefly took the helm of investment bank Salomon Brothers in 1991 , he set out an ethical test for any business move:

“Would you be happy to see details of this decision appearing on the front page of your local newspaper, where your spouse, children and friends can read it ?”

Here is a fun  selling ethics questionnaire for you to consider some of the common ethical dilemmas that you and I salespeople can encounter.

It will help you discern  where you are on the spectrum of business ethics.

For each of the ten sales activities below consider the three question a, b and c.

a.       Do you believe the activity presents an ethical question?

b.      Does your firm have a stated policy either written or verbal that addresses the activity?

c.       Regardless of your answer to 2 , do you feel it is a good idea  for your firm to have a stated policy that addresses the activity?

1.       Providing free trips, free lunches dinner or other free entertainment to a buyer.	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
2.       Attempting to reach and influence other departments e.g. such as operations directly rather than go through the purchasing department when such avoidance increases the likelihood of a sale.	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
3.       Giving ‘freebies’ such as promotional prizes or purchase volume incentive bonuses, to a purchaser.	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
4.       Gaining information about competitors by asking purchasers for information	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
5.       Seeking information from purchasers on competitors quotations  for the purpose of submitting another quotation	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
6.       Using your firm’s economic power to obtain premium prices for the purpose of obtaining other concessions from buyers	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
7.       Allowing personalities – liking for one purchaser disliking for another to affect price delivery and other decisions regarding the terms of sale.	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
8.       Having less competitive pricing and other terms for buyers who use your firm as the sole source of supply than for the firms for which you are one of two or more suppliers.	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
9.       Giving preferential treatment for customers who are also good suppliers	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes
10.   Giving preferential treatment to purchasers whom higher levels of the firm’s own management prefer or recommend.	1 Definitely No	2	3 Maybe Yes maybe No	4	5 Definitely Yes

George Osborne's December 5th Austerity Budget Selling Challenge

( scroll down for poem)
The Pantomime season in the UK roughly runs between December and February.

This year in London we have Tommy Steele in 'Scrooge' at the London Palladium which follows a run  of "The Wizard of Oz" in the great theatre .

Both stories share a word  - Humbug,

When Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Jacob Marley in a Christmas Carol he utters the phrase 'Bah Humbug'  as his view of Christmas. The Wizard of Oz  describes himself as a ’humbug’.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer,i George Osborne  made his ‘Autumn’ statement on December 5^th  scheduled at 12.30, in a month most would consider as in  the Winter season .

The news clips from the Palace of Westminster  have the look of 'pantomime' in the House of Commons as they debate  GAAR , 2013 Finance Bill, IR35  and such like.

Her majesty the Queen going to open Parliament earlier this year ( 2012)

We are at the halfway point of the current parliament.

Economic recovery is still far from secure, so improving conditions for the UK so to encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism, boosting growth is expressed in the statement.

Mr Osborne has told us that the economy of the UK wll shrink 01% and only grow 1.3% in 2013.

Corporation tax will be cut to 21p by 2014, small business rate releif will be extended  for a year and £1.5 billion more lending and guarentee for firms in £12 billion growth package.

Royal Guard at the State Opening of Parliament 2012


Many of the experts had asked for a common sense approach to the General Anti-Abuse Rule  (GAAR)


 

The CBI  outlined concerns that the newly proposed General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR), designed to target artificial and abusive tax avoidance, could be too wide and  lead to a series of unintended consequences.

Come what may ,part of the solution has to  come from the efforts of Salespeople.

The Chancellor has thrown down the challenge of the growth gauntlet that selling must pick up.

Nothing really happens in business, as they say, before a sale.



Guards Band returning to barracks
after state opening of Parliament 2012

A diversion for our times

From Old Possum's book of Cats (not) with apologies to TS Elliot

Austerity’s a Mystery Cat: he's called ‘the Haircut lore’

For he's the old economist whose pain must hurt the Poor.

He's the bafflement of OBR, the Treasury's despair:

For when they miss their forecast rate

 Austerity’s still there !

Austerity, Austerity there's no one like Austerity,

He's broken every human heart, the law of our reality.

His deprivation powers make old Scrooge  just stand and stare,

‘cause when you reach that budget day , Austerity’s still there!

“Expansive fiscal re-duction avoids UK’s despair ?”

But I tell you once and once again, Austerity’s still here!

Austerity, Austerity, there's no one like Austerity,

For he's a fiend ,in fiscal shape, a giant of depravity.

You may meet him in the high-street, you may see him in Edgware

But when the rate’s uncovered, then Austerity’s still there!

He's outwardly respectable. (Economies he **cks.)

And yet his footprints are not found in books of old Starbuck's.

And when the safe is looted, or the piggy -bank is rifled,

Or  Corporation tax not paid, or green shoots all but stifled,

Or  triple A ,the rate is lost, and  budget past repair

Ay, there's the blunder of the thing! Austerity’s still there!

There might have lost a Whitehall note left by one Mr. Blair

But it's useless to investigate-- Austerity’s still there!

And when the loss has been disclosed, then MI5 will say:

"It must have been Austerity!"--but he's a mile away.

You'll be sure to find him jesting, or a-twiddling of his thumbs,

Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.

Austerity, Austerity, there's no one like Austerity,

There never was a Cat of such undoubted perspicacity

He always has a mate in crime, or one or two to spare:

Whatever time the speech took place—AUSTERITY WASN'T THERE!

And they say of all the Cats whose wicked deeds are known

(I might mention Nick the Clegg  , I might mention Leverson(e)

Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the while

Just directs their operations:  with George Osborne’s  furtive smile! 

(Maybe that has the look of Scrooge ! ; )

Selling in a VUCA world

Apparently two-and-a-half billion more people will be added to the planet between now and 2050, of which 2 billion will be added in developing countries. The digital revolution, the shift in consumer spending suggests that businesses  have to reinvent the way they do selling.

Marketers and sellers need to look to the future more.

In a fast changing world, marketers and sellers need to focus both on insight and foresight. Both are important of course.

Lower barriers to entry and an increasingly international business environment mean more competition than ever. Just-in-time supply chains and rapid development methodologies have lead to more products and services being released more quickly.

 The individual and corporate buyers of these products and services are able to gain access to, and comment on, products  and services faster than ever before.

All of these variables interact – Lattice of complexity

 Company X's product development will change mid-stream as a result of new releases from company Y, and they will both change with the reaction of consumers to Z's latest products. In this interrelated lattice of complexity, change in one place precipitates a waterfall of changes elsewhere.

Selling today in the corporate sector takes place in an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA).

The profession has to both react and adapt to the nature and speed of change in business as never before.

Valuable Insight
 Download for free Buyers' views of Salespeople 2012

The lack of predictability in markets makes for more surprises and constantly tests the business acuity and understanding of Sales concerning the issues of the markets in which they operate.

Technological and economic forces, whether at local, national and global levels, make for a combination of forces that effect modern sales operations.

The digital age has enabled every corporate buyer from whatever size of organisation to source globally. Buyers are in the controlling seat within a world, which is not just ‘their oyster’, but is accessible at their fingertips in an instant.

Discernment of the reality of the situation relying on conventional cause and effect reasoning becomes more confusing for sales. The potential for misreads increases from the mixed and often contradictory interpretations of business conditions and forecasts.

89% Buyers have looked for new suppliers in the last 12 months

 In general, VUCA tends to shape a sales organisation's capacity to:

 1. Anticipate the Issues that Shape Market Conditions

 2. Understand the Consequences of Issues and Actions Sales

 3. Appreciate the Interdependence of Variables within markets

 4. Prepare for Alternative ‘Realities’ and Challenges from economic forces as well as technological

 5. Interpret and Address Relevant Opportunities to exploit

How does Sales pick up on this information and make best use of it, fast?

By sharing information with our extended network

 In addition to the market research such as the TACK  surveys, ask your sales force to talk to customers and feed back anecdotes rapidly. The result may be less accurate, but it will be valuable because it is available sooner.

The flow of information goes in both directions.

Good practise example by Black and Decker

When the Black & Decker sales force in the US needed to keep themselves up to speed with the features of their latest products, they produced short videos to share with each other, describing the features and what made them special. This rapid sharing works far better than centrally produced courses.

Soon, those sales people were sharing this information - on their phones, iPads etc. - with store managers and others outside of Black & Decker. More than the information, the customers also appreciated the openness of the sharing.

The result: happy, better-informed customers who also bought more.

Selling's greatest challenge

Whether you're dealing with the public sphere, or with proprietary information from your extended network , you will get the most value out of information by sharing it internally for comment and insight.

That requires something many leaders find challenging - establishing a culture of debate and sharing.

An open culture is something many sales leaders find difficult, but it is the best way we can survive and thrive today.

Physician Heal Thyself - (note to self !)

This is also the greatest challenge for training professionals, because this is the support learning of the future - away from the world of the classroom course - fast, focused and on-the-job. 

 Training professionals will no longer be restricted to writing and delivering courses, they will be facilitating the entire discussion across the organisation and beyond.

That is why this blog site is here it's raison d'être .

Please feel free to explore the 300+ articles on this sight. Use the search box ( SEARCH THIS BLOG) at the top right of the site page.

The TACK Buyer's views of Salespeople will  also help you to sell in this VUCA world.

Selling like Hot cakes in TESCO New look Store with Euphorium Bakery on London's Cromwell Road

 

Selling like hot cakes - Euphorium Bakery now at the new look Tesco store

 

Eye catching inflatable poster for Euphorium bakery
 at the TESCO Kensington West Cromwell Road , London

 

mezzanine coffee lounge with Chesterfield
 Club Chairs and Bowler Hat lights

A Euphorium pop-up bakery/ café   shop is now in the new-look  Kensington Tesco on Cromwell Road.

 Since the launch of their first bakery in Islington in 1999 all their products are still hand-made every day by artisan bakers.

They are now in-store at Tesco Kensington from this Monday, and serving  award-winning pastries, cakes, sandwiches and fabulous breads along with tea and coffee. Plus Wifi

I can attest that the cakes and pastries are excellent. So if you are near the Cromwell Road pop in.

There are plans for more Euphorium Stores in Tesco stores over the next few months



Closer inspection of the 'book shel' wall paper

 



The O of Tecso logo now sports a festive green crown

The refurbished  Kensington store a has new Food -to-go area, fresh food counters, a Pharmacy , Pizza and Mediterranean Counter , Scan as you shop and World Foods.

Hugh Alford masters the Tesco 'Scan and Shop' with the
 patient help from the TESCO staff.

I had a go at the 'scan as you shop' system.

I asked for some one-to-one training .

A very helpful TESCO lady took me through the system and got me confident with it all.

Definitely sold on the system . If I can work it anyone can!

There is even had huge touch screen to help you come up with recipe ideas etc. I reckon that could be usefull when you are tired and need some inspiration.



Stuck for ideas therre is an in store recipe finder great idea
 when you need inspiration 

American Food section of World foods at TESCO
 Cromwell Road New Look store

The World Food area I would imagine is a great comfort for home sick ex pats from USA who can now get their GRITS for breakfast, similarly for those missing the home products of the Caribbean, Asia , South America, Poland and there is even an Irish section with Barry’s Teas.


I reckon the TESCO Kensington store is a United Nations of Supermakets.


(hopefully the Google translate is accurate)

Każdy trochę pomaga

Gach beag a chabhraíonn

Cada pequena ajuda

Chak ti kras ede

Setiap sedikit membantu

દરેક થોડી મદદ કરે છે

or we say in UK

Every little helps !