Small Business Owners Should Practice "Tough Love"

by: Jim Muehlhausen

Whether it's recession time or boom time, small business owners should look at the way they operate in order to maximize their revenues. Many small businesses are run a little loosely, because many owners believe they lack the overhead and the staff to require a lot of strict policies and procedures.

That's a mistake, according to Jim Muehlhausen, CPA and author of The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How To Avoid Them, from Emerald Publishing (www.51errors.com).

"Every business owner is enrolled in the world's most expensive business school: The School of Hard Knocks," Muehlhausen said. "Instead of acquiring business knowledge the slow and expensive way, business owners need to capitalize on the hard-fought lessons of others. That's why benevolent dictators are the best small business leaders, because ruling by committee against that landscape rarely works."

Small Business face more challenges than the large corporations with huge cash reserves to help them through financial crises. They are more susceptible to market fluctuations, have fewer clients to support them and generally have more transient staff. On the flip side, they also make up 70 percent of the businesses in the U.S., so as goes small business, so goes the economy.

In order to swim with the big fish without getting eaten, Muehlhausen suggests that small business owners get a little tougher and smarter to survive the nasty water.

"There are several practices that are considered standard operating procedure that actually work against small business owners," Muehlhausen said. "First, many insist on learning hard lessons themselves rather than learn from the mistakes of their competitors. To compound the problem, they also tend to hire employees away from their competitors without realizing that chances are that the employee may be leaving because they had been fired, or they are about to be fired. In essence, they wind up with their competitors' rejects, who they wind up firing soon after."

Muehlhausen also stresses that CEOs need to be benevolent dictators to be more effective.

"Managing employees is a lot like parenting," he said. "Employees may not like what you do, but you'll have to do it, anyway. Many CEOs are afraid to be authoritarian, but they should do it, anyway. They should remember two things – first, being authoritarian does not mean you can't be nice, and second, it's the CEO's name on the big door. No one else will be blamed for the failure of staff. An autocrat is not automatically a jerk, and businesses aren't a democracy. Hire good people, listen to input, but after you've listened, call the play and make sure you have a team on board who's going to execute it."

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com

The Eternal Principles for Creating Luxury Brands

by: Dan Herman By definition, a luxury brand is an outstanding brand, justifiably priced highly and destined, at least primarily, to a select group of the social-economic elite. Luxury is not about unattainability though. After all, you cannot profit from consumers that cannot buy your brand. However, luxury is about the consumer outstretching herself a bit to buy something extraordinary but rather expensive for her financial ability. When you are used to driving a BMW 760 (price tag: over 85,000 Euros), it is no longer a luxury for you, although you might be pleasantly aware that it is for many. Alternatively, paying 115,000 Euros for a Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT Automatic – will probably be more of luxury to you. Before entering a deeper discussion of luxury I think it will be good to acknowledge two basic facts: 1. Luxury is relative. One man's luxury is often another's (usually richer) everyday lifestyle. 2. The standard of luxury is mutable. Today's luxury is often tomorrow's commonly expected standard. Luxury brands are under a constant pressure from non-luxury brands trying to offer a similar value for less, thus eroding the status of luxury. Much has been said lately about the changing nature of luxury these days. While some of the proclaimed changes are no more than the result of historical myopia, certain developments are worth noting. 1. There are now more layers of luxury than ever before to match new levels of affluence. More billionaires, more multi-millionaires, more millionaires, more super affluents (annual income over $150K), affluents (annual income over $100K), and near affluents (annual income over $75K). A Toyota Camry (around $25K) is considered a luxury car at some level of affluence, at a higher level it's BMW 7 Series (around $115K), at yet a higher one it's Maybach 62 (around $375K). 2. Some of the luxury buyers are now somewhat less interested in purchasing uniform symbols of status / identity and they opt for developing an individual style and expressing themselves in original ways. The tension between the traditional (more safely genuine luxury) and the innovative has always burgeoned forth luxury. Currently, luxury leans more towards the innovative than the traditional. 3. There are more "out of class" purchases now, both upwards and downwards. The wealthy feel no obligation to always buy expansive (actually, affluents typically look for the best deal on whatever they want to buy, no matter how extravagant). The no so wealthy have also developed an appetite for luxury when and where they can afford it. 4. There's a trend towards spending more on luxury experiences rather than goods, at least amongst wealthy Americans. This trend is stronger among seasoned affluents who already know that the attraction of objects wears out while cherished experiences just get better with time as they are remembered, told and re-told. 5. There are more luxury hits now and fewer classics. Luxury used to be defined in the tradition-driven past by classics. The novelty-driven present, that is evident in the non-luxury sectors as well, turns the success of luxury brands of the day into sweet but short-lived. The unchanging nature of luxury Despite all these significant developments, the nature of luxury has remained unchanged in essence. People buy luxury brands in order to: 1. Feel special and apart from the crowd. 2. Feel superior and privileged. 3. Feel of value and importance. 4. Exercise ability and freedom ("I can afford it", "I can do that"). 5. Reward themselves for efforts and achievements. 6. Console one and recuperate from a setback or misfortune. 7. Signal status and command acknowledgement and respect. 8. Demonstrate refinement, connoisseurship and /or perfectionism. 9. Delight the senses, experience pleasant sensations and feelings or create an infrastructure for future favorable experiences. 10. Participate in a certain group and lifestyle. 11. Signal affiliation and belonging. 12. Remind oneself of one's "real" (aspired?) identity. 13. Enflame hope and mobilize motivation and energy. 14. Indulge and pamper oneself, take care of oneself. 15. Feel loved, taken care of and even spoiled. 16. Show feelings of gratitude, admiration or great affection. Luxury brands are specifically designated to serve as means for consumers to fulfill one ore more of these tasks. Here are the ten eternal principles for developing and managing a luxury brand: 1. A luxury brand is first and foremost a product and/or service of superior quality (a quality gap from competitors is recommended but not mandatory). 2. The products and services are not designed and planned according to consumer tastes and expectations, even though they appeal and cater to sometimes-hidden deep-routed desires. A luxury brand sets its own standards and does not adhere to fashions. There is an air of leadership to it; it is exceptional, unique, original, artistic-creative, surprising, and novel (but never peculiar in a ridiculous or potentially repelling manner). 3. A luxury brand's most important value lies beyond the core product function or practicality. 4. Luxury brands have something extravagant / excessive / redundant and overly generous about them. Something that is clearly not necessary: the use of unjustifiably expensive materials, performance that is far beyond all needs and requirements, an exaggerated level of service, … 5. A luxury brand always expresses zealousness for quality, highly held values or even an ideology, a distinctive culture, together with sense of hedonism, passion for life, and a free spirit. 6. A luxury brand will always be linked with the circle of those who "run the world" at that certain period of time – and with the success symbols of the time. 7. Behind a luxury brand there are often legends of eccentric genius creators, mysterious production processes, secret formulas, exceptional preparations etc'. 8. A luxury brand is never managed in a democratic way, but rather with authority or even with dictatorship, by a genius creator or by an inspired leader who demonstrates, inside and out, a strong passion for the product and pedantry for every small detail. 9. A luxury brand must be rare or difficult to reach in some way. The awareness to the brand and the desire for it sometimes wide-ranged (while the numbers of buyers has to be limited) and other times restricted to a few that are in-the-know. Even the buyers themselves, must not be inclined / capable to purchase the luxury brand too often. 10. Luxury brand consumers expect to be distinguished from all others, and to be protected from them (the No-Mix principle). At the same time, they expect a special intimacy between them and the company and its managers, as well as flexibility regarding rules that are afflicted on others.

The Strategy Is the Brand

by: Dan Herman About 95% of what executives in competing companies do is pretty much the same all around. This is good management. If you are CEO'ing a wireless communication services provider, you strive to put up an advanced technological infrastructure with a promising future, cool end-user phones, other devices and accessories, a great service system and competitive prices. Well, this is precisely where your competitors put their efforts as well. The 5% (give or take) that you do differently constitutes your strategy. The CEO of Southwest Airlines, the revolutionary domestic American airline, most of the time does exactly what her colleagues do. But her firm offers Ticketless travel, and serves meals in the airport during waits, and not on the plane. Doing well what you are supposed to be doing - is a prerequisite for competing. It is definitely not a strategy. Being better - is a deserving effort, yet it is not a strategy either, especially not in the long run. How, then, are you supposed to compete? Well, you could offer your clients more than what your competition offers, for a higher price, for the same price, for a lower price, or - offer them less value for a lower price. All of these options can give you an edge, but usually not for long. You could also offer something different than what your competition does. You can cater to a need not formerly satisfied by your category. Nokia, for example, did just that when it decided to treat cellphones as fashion accessories and later as entertainment devices. Even this approach could not be considered as an insurance policy. There are no insurance policies in the world of business. But, if it is difficult or impossible to imitate, or it is something not likely to be imitated by your competition - then you might just have created for yourself a mini-monopoly of your own. Well, this is surely an accomplishment that should not be underestimated in a competitive market. So, what really is a strategy? By definition, a strategy is the way by which you are planning to obtain your goals. In a competitive environment, your goal is that the consumer will prefer you to your competition. That is why the strategy is, in fact, the way by which you plan to achieve an advantage over your rivals - in the eyes of your consumers. Almost always, preference can be achieved only by differentiation, by either doing something other than what your competitors are doing or by doing things in a markedly dissimilar manner. There are three types of differentiations and only one of them constitutes a strategy (or strategic differentiation). The transient differentiation is often achieved by promotional activities, such as a big sale. The circumstantial differentiation consists of things like a historical monopoly, or some kind of personal connection between the consumer and someone in the firm, or a convenient store location etc'. However, the differentiation we want to focus on is the strategic differentiation, such that provides a long lasting, circumstance-crossing advantage. Is differentiation absolutely necessary? In any case where the consumer must choose between options - the answer is definitely yes. Why? Because the consumer chooses between alternatives on the basis of the differences as he or she perceives. Zoom-in on that sentence for a second. Do not fall into the most common trap of all: the consumer makes choices according to his perception of differences between alternatives, and not on the basis of what he values most in a product of that kind. Competitive strategy is always a simultaneous answer to two questions. The first one is: in which consumer group do you identify a potential for buying your product? By 'group' I do not mean necessarily shared socio-economic and demographic characteristics or even a similarity in personality or life style. What I mean is that they have in common some factor, enabling you to make them an offer, which will be more attractive to them than the options they already have, or at least a refreshingly new one. The second question is: what could you offer them that would help you realize that potential? The goal is not to reach a consensus, nor is it to be OK by everyone. Experience has taught us that the key is to make a specific group of consumers, even a small one, think that you are irreplaceable. They will act as your success engine, even amongst consumers who are not as definite in their attitudes. BMW fans do not believe that Mercedes is a bad car; it's just that it is not a BMW. For them, Mercedes is simply incomparable to BMW. That's how Apple fans feel about IBM. What has all this to do with branding? A brand is the consumer's anticipation for a unique and defined experience, or for a certain unique benefit obtainable solely through consuming/owning a specific product/service manufactured/offered by a specific company. Thus, the anticipation from a trip to Paris would be to experience a romantic vacation. The anticipation from Ikea would be "state of the art design at a reasonable price". It is fair to say that a brand is really a brand only when there exists, among its consumers, such anticipation. If this anticipation is both exclusive and attractive, you might say that it is a strong brand. A familiar name or logo - do not suffice to make for a strong brand. This consumer anticipation is evoked and upheld by the marketer's consistent execution of a business concept providing the consumer with a unique benefit or with a unique/novel way to deliver a benefit. This concept is the brand strategy, its promise and its commitment to its target consumers. The "third place", the neighborhood place you frequent in between work and home offered by Starbucks - is a brand strategy. But, wait a minute! It is also the differentiation - the competitive strategy itself! These ARE the 5% that executives do differently in order to gain an advantage. This is why the brand IS the strategy. Or more accurately, the brand strategy is the translation of the competitive strategy into a language of promises made to the consumer. The brand's role in the realm of marketing has changed dramatically during the past decade. Today, brand building no longer constitutes a mere manipulation of the consumer's perceptions and desires, but it is a creation of a system that on the one-hand makes promises and arouses anticipations, while on the other-hand it delivers and realizes the promises that it makes.

How To Write A Successful Business Plan

Whether you are planning to start a brand-new business, expand an existing company, or get financing for a business venture, you will need to write a business plan. A business plan not only lends your business a sense of credibility, but also helps you to cover all your bases, increasing your chances of success. Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan. What to Include in Your Business Plan Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business’s mission statement to a detailed financial analysis. Executive Summary The first – and most important – section of your business plan is the executive summary. This section is so important that it should literally be the first thing the reader sees – even before the table of contents! However, it should also be written last, as you’ll have a better understanding of the overall message of your business plan after you’ve researched and written the other sections. One of the most important parts of the executive summary is the mission statement. The mission statement is only three or four sentences long, but it should pack the most punch out of everything else in your business plan: Those four sentences are responsible for not only defining your business, but also capturing the interest of your reader. The rest of your executive summary should fill in the important details that the mission statement glosses over. For instance, your executive summary should include a short history of the business, including founder profiles and start date; a current snapshot, listing locations, numbers of employees, and products or services offered; and a summary of future plans and goals. This section is a candidate for a bulleted format, which allows you to list main points in a manner that is easy to scan. Avoid using too much detail – remember, this section is a summary. A page or two is usually sufficient for an executive summary. Market Analysis The next section of your business plan focuses on market analysis. In order to show that your business has a reasonable chance for success, you will need to thoroughly research the industry and the market you intend to sell to. No bank or investor is going to back a doomed venture, so this section is sure to fall under especially close scrutiny if you are looking for financing. Your market analysis should describe your industry, including the size, growth rate, and trends that could affect the industry. This section should also describe your target market – that is, the type or group of customers that your company intends to serve. The description of your target market should include detail such as: • Distinguishing characteristics • The needs your company or product line will meet • What media and/or marketing methods you’ll use to reach them • What percentage of your target market you expect to be able to wrest away from your competitors In addition, your market analysis should include the results of any market tests you have done, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Company Description After your market analysis, your business plan will need to include a description of your company. This section should describe: • The nature of your business • The needs of the market • How your business will meet these needs • Your target market, including specific individuals and/or organizations • The factors that set you apart from your competition and make you likely to succeed Although some of these things overlap with the previous section, they are still necessary parts of your company description. Each section of your business plan should have the ability to stand on its own if need be. In other words, the company description should thoroughly describe your company, even if certain aspects are covered in other sections. Organization and Management Once you have described the nature and purpose of your company, you will need to explain your staff setup. This section should include: • The division of labor – how company processes are divided among the staff • The management hierarchy • Profiles of the company’s owner(s), management personnel, and the Board of Directors • Employee incentives, such as salary, benefits packages, and bonuses This goal of this section is to demonstrate not only good organization within the company, but also the ability to create loyalty in your employees. Long-term employees minimize human resource costs and increase a business’s chances for success, so banks and investors will want to see that you have an effective system in place for maintaining your staff. Marketing and Sales Management The purpose of the marketing and sales section of your business plan is to outline your strategies for marketing your products or services. This section also plans for company growth by describing how the growth could take place. The section should describe your company’s: • Marketing methods • Distributions methods • Type of sales force • Sales activities • Growth strategies Product or Services Following the marketing section of your business plan, you will need a section focusing on the product or services your business offers. This is more than a simple description of your product or services, though. You will also need to include: • The specific benefits your product or service offers customers • The specific needs of the market, and how your product will meet them • The advantages your product has over your competitors • Any copyright, trade secret, or patent information pertaining to your product • Where any new products or services are in the research and development process • Current industry research that you could use in the development of products and services Funding Request Only once you have described your business from head to toe are you ready to detail your funding needs. This section should include everything a bank or investor needs in order to understand what type of funding you want: • How much money you need now • How much money you think you will need over the next five years • How the money you borrow will be used • How long you will need funding • What type of funding you want (i.e. loans, investors, etc.) • Any other terms you want the funding arrangement to include Financials The financials section in your business plan supports your request for outside funding. This section provides an analysis of your company’s prospective financial success. The section also details your company’s financial track record for the past three to five years, unless you are seeking financing for a startup business. The financials section should include: • Company income statements for prior years • Balance sheets for prior years • Cash flow statements for prior years • Forecasted company income statements • Forecasted balance sheets • Forecasted cash flow statements • Projections for the next five years – every month or quarter for the first year, with longer intervals for the remaining years • Collateral you can use to secure a loan The financials section is a great place to include visuals such as graphs, particularly if you predict a positive trend in your projected financials. A graph allows the reader to quickly take in this information, and may do a better job of encouraging a bank or investor to finance your business. However, be sure that the amount of financing you are requesting is in keeping with your projected financials – no matter how impressive your projections are, if you are asking for more money than is warranted, no bank or investor will give it to you. Appendices The appendix is the final section in your business plan. Essentially, this is where you put all of the information that doesn’t fit in the other eight sections, but that someone – particularly a bank or investor – might need to see. For instance, the market analysis section of your business plan may list the results of market studies you have done as part of your market research. Rather than listing the details of the studies in that section, where they will appear cumbersome and detract from the flow of your business plan, you can provide this information in an appendix. Other information that should be relegated to an appendix includes: • Credit histories for both you and your business • Letters of reference • References that have bearing on your company and your product or service, such as magazines or books on the topic • Company licenses and patents • Copies of contracts, leases, and other legal documents • Resumes of your top managers • Names of business consultants, such as your accountant and attorney Writing a Successful Business Plan Despite the quantity of information contained in your business plan, it should be laid out in a format that is easy to read. Just like with any piece of business writing, it is important to craft your business plan with your intended audience in mind – and the bankers, investors, and other busy professionals who will read your business plan almost certainly won’t have time to read a tedious document with long-winded paragraphs and large blocks of text. Business plans for startup companies and company expansions are typically between twenty to forty pages long, but formatting actually accounts for a lot of this length. A strong business plan uses bullet points throughout to break up long sections and highlight its main points. Visuals such as tables and charts are also used to quickly relay specific information, such as trends in sales and other financial information. These techniques ensure that the reader can skim the business plan quickly and efficiently. Think of your audience as only having fifteen minutes to spend on each business plan that comes across their desks. In that fifteen minutes, you not only have to relay your most important points, but also convince the reader that your business venture merits a financial investment. Your best bet is a well-researched business plan, with an organized, easy-to-read format and clear, confident prose.

Freelancers: Your Job Away From Job

Freelancers are just like mercenaries. They find a job to do; they do it without question; they get their pay and leave through the front door. Freelancers do not have to like the people they work for, nor do they have to abide by the organization?s politics. All they have to do is take the job, finish it according to specifications, and repeat the process over and over again.Freelancing isn?t a very appealing premise to some people. For one, there is no job security. If the freelancer is unable to find jobs to do, he goes hungry. Another point would be that freelancers get no benefits such as dental plans, insurance, and others. Also, without a prior employer to vouch for you, applying for real jobs gets harder as time passes by.So why freelance? Because, for all its negative sides, some people still get a good piece of the pie. Freelancing allows you to work on your own schedule on a commission basis. How much money you earn depends on how industrious and driven you are. In some instances, freelancers, make more money than salaried workers. Plus being in charge of your own schedule makes relieves some of the stress some salaried workers endure. Employers hire freelancers to do some of their jobs because in some instances, the need to have a particular job done comes only once in a while. Hiring a salaried worker to do these jobs would be impractical. Also, the employer gets to pick among a crop of talent which one has the right material for a certain job he needs. Having more options can be advantageous. There are a multitude of jobs that can be freelanced: writers, photographers, programmers, technicians, designers, and others. Some of those who offer their services as freelancers are hobbyists ? people who have too much time on their hands and talent in a field that could earn money.Should You Freelance?Freelancing is not for the faint of heart. If you are not assertive and do not have the persistence to finish outsourced jobs, you should just turn back and find a stable paying job. Freelancing is also for the adventurous who are willing to take risks on uncertain seas. When hard times fall upon them because of such, they will have expected it and be able to survive in spite of it. Freelancing intrigues some people because as they are, they won?t easily be able to land salaried jobs. Take for instance the mother who has to care for a child. She may not be able to land a job because of her responsibilities at home. But she might have some spare time during the evening when the children sleep. She is a candidate for freelancership. Students who wish to augment their income may also do the same, as with salaried workers who have lots of spare time. Tips and Techniques for the MercenaryMake use of all information gathering means possible. The internet has made browsing for and applying for freelance jobs ten times easier. Even the payment option can be done online through online payment systems such as PayPal and Western Union. Be prepared to advertise yourself. You won?t get many employers if you shirk from telling them what you can do.Try, Try and Try AgainDon?t let every little obstacle discourage you. But then again, you should also assess your situation realistically.Put It on the SideIf you can have a salaried job while freelancing, that would be good. Your aim here will simply be to augment your salary and not depend on your freelance cache totally. By James Source: FreeBlogArticles.com

Business in Indonesia

Business in Indonesia

Why Indonesia?
Indonesia is a rich, ethnically diverse island state with a very large population. Internal markets for consumer goods are large and offer opportunities for many consumer goods firms. Indonesia has a large and well developed petroleum industry that adds to government wealth. Indonesia is just starting to emerge from the crony capitalism that has existed for most of the time since independence. Wage rates are relatively low and if social stability can be maintained the opportunities for profitable investment will be significant.

Trans-Asia Rail Link - A long link between China, various countries in Asia and Russia, including Indonesia From The U.S. State Department web site September 13, 2004 This Travel Warning updates security threat information for Indonesia, alerts American citizens to security concerns regarding identifiably western hotels, informs Americans of a September 9 terrorist bombing in Jakarta, and reminds travelers of the ongoing terrorist threat for Indonesia. The Department of State continues to recommend that Americans defer all non-essential travel to Indonesia. For more information, click here.





Source: Business-in-Asia.com

Strategies for Positioning Business

These Simple Strategies for Positioning Your Small Business Are A Must Answer the question, "Why would I buy from you?"And you are well on your way! Why would I buy from you is what your clients and potential clients constantly ask themselves when considering a purchase. Of course what they are really asking is "What's in it for me?" A simple strategy for positioning your firm or product deeply in your target market's mind is a tool called a USP. The term USP has been around for a long time. The letters stand for Unique Selling Proposition.The idea here is to identify and then communicate a concise statement of your firm's most compelling offer and benefit in a way that the potential client can automatically answer the what's in if for me question. That's all a USP is.Most everyone is familiar with the original Fedex USP. On time, every time or it's free. At the time this offer was very unique in the shipping industry and literally built the company based on communicating this unique selling proposition. So what's your compelling offer? What can you do and offer that no one else in your industry can offer?Most consumers view small businesses like commodities. The feeling is that one accountant is like another or that one attorney can get the same result as another.The problem is that most marketers do nothing to expel that perception. "Buy from us because we've been in business for 20 years," or "we're dependable," go the slogans of many small businesses.Of course the fact that you are dependable, carry a full line of products, offer fair pricing, or are honest are expectations...they are not points of differentiation.An effective USP communicates your firm's unique ability to fill an obvious void in the marketplace. The USP shows your target market how your firm is uniquely qualified to solve their pain or increase their gain. A USP can be your firm's single most powerful marketing weapon.To craft a USP for your firm first make a list of all the benefits of doing business with your firm. Don't leave anything out.Then cut the list down with these guidelines.1. What things on your list are unique versus your direct competitors.2. Which of these benefits is most important to your clients?3. Which of these would be difficult for other's in your industry to copy?4. Which of these can be easily communicated?From this set of guidelines you should be able to narrow your search to the top one or two benefits of doing business with your firm.From there it is simply a matter of injecting this chief benefit or USP into everything that you do.Craft headlines that promote your USP, put a USP statement on your stationary and business cards, build your USP into all of your sales presentations.The ultimate goal is to become known to the market as whatever your USP promotes.One final word of warning. You must deliver on the big promise communicated in your USP. Failure to do so may actually do more harm then drifting along without any marketing focus. Source: Duct Tape Marketing

Business Etiquette in Asia

By Edward Chalmers In this fast-paced business world, your day could include a conference call with Taipei and Tokyo, e-mail exchanges with Bangkok and Beijing, and business correspondence with the Philippines and Japan. When conducting business with clients in the Far East, you'll need to avoid the social blunders and image-damaging errors that often come with cross-cultural exchanges.In addition to the commonsense etiquette that comes with using your manners, using these tips on business etiquette in Asia could impact your level of success when dealing with Eastern cultures. create a good impression Address people correctlyNever assume that you can use the informality of addressing people on a first-name basis until you are invited to do so. Instead, stick with the more formal title of "Mr." or "Mrs." In Japan, it's customary to drop "Mister" and add "-san" to the last name of your client as an honorific title, but do not use it when referring to one of your own colleagues or a member of your family, as that is perceived as elevating them to an inappropriately high level.In Thailand, use "Khun" in place of "Mister." Chinese surnames are the first in what is typically a three-name series. If in doubt, ask. The Burmese generally use their entire name and it is respectful for you to do the same. Resist any temptation to shorten someone's name or, worse, create a nickname for them. Present your credentialsUse two hands when offering your business card to a customer from Asia, and do the same when receiving theirs. Take a moment or two to examine the card, acknowledge it, then place it on the table in front of you or in a business card holder. Don't put it in your back pocket and never write on a business card -- doing so might offend your client. If you're conducting a lot of business in a particular country, consider having your card printed in both English and their language. Be punctualAlways be on time for your appointments and meetings to show your respect. As the pace of business is different in Asia, always plan lots of time for meetings and plenty of leeway between them. In India, and especially the Philippines, try not to overschedule yourself. Expect delays but do not be the cause of them. Shake and bowShaking hands is a Western custom that is quite common when doing business in Asia. If someone extends his or her hand, shake it immediately -- not too firm, not too long and not with excessive pumping. Remember that Muslim women will not shake hands with men. In Japan, nod your head respectfully when shaking, but do not attempt to bow unless you have been properly coached -- you will look ridiculous. Filipinos are especially sociable and open to handshakes. Curb your gesturesNever talk with your hands in your pockets. The "okay" sign in America means "money" in Japan. Never point in Cambodia, or anywhere for that matter! If in doubt, avoid gestures entirely. And never pass things using your left hand, as it is considered unclean in many cultures. Source: Askmen.com

establish your corporate philosophy and the aims of your business or operation First establish or confirm the aims of the business, and if you are concerned with a part of a business, establish and validate the aims of your part of the business. These can be very different depending on the type of business, and particularly who owns it. Refer to and consider issues of ethics and philosophy, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, etc - these are the foundations on which values and missions are built. Look at the reasons why ethics and corporate responsibility are so important. And see also the fundamental organisational planning stages. When you have established or confirmed your philosophical and ethical position, state the objectives of the business unit you are planning to develop - your short, medium and long term aims - (typically 'short, medium and long' equate to 1 year, 2-3 years and 3 years plus). In other words, what is the business aiming to do over the next one, three and five years? Bear in mind that you must reliably ensure the success and viability of the business in the short term or the long term is merely an academic issue. Grand visions need solid foundations. All objectives and aims must be prioritised and as far as possible quantified. If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. define your 'mission statement' All businesses need a ‘mission statement'. It announces clearly and succinctly to your staff, shareholders and customers what you are in business to do. Your mission statement may build upon a general ‘service charter' relevant to your industry. You can involve staff in defining and refining the business's mission statement, which helps develop a sense of ownership and responsibility. Producing and announcing the mission statement is also an excellent process for focusing attention on the business's priorities, and particularly the emphasis on customer service. Whole businesses need a mission statement - departments and smaller business units within a bigger business need them too. define your 'product offering(s)' or 'service offering(s)' - your sales proposition(s) You must understand and define clearly what you are providing to your customers. This description should normally go beyond your products or services, and critically must include the way you do business, and what business benefits your customers derive from your products and services, and from doing business with you. Develop offerings or propositions for each main area of your business activity - sometimes referred to as 'revenue streams', or 'business streams' - and/or for the sector(s) that you serve. Under normal circumstances competitive advantage is increased the more you can offer things that your competitors cannot. Good research will tell you where the opportunities are to increase your competitive advantage in areas that are of prime interest to your target markets. Develop your service offering to emphasise your strengths, which should normally relate to your business objectives, in turn being influenced by corporate aims and market research. The important process in developing a proposition is translating your view of these services into an offer that means something to your customer. The definition of your service offer must make sense to your customer in terms that are advantageous and beneficial to the customer, not what is technically good, or scientifically sound to you. Think about what your service, and the manner by which you deliver it, means to your customer. Traditionally, in sales and marketing, this perspective is referred to as translating features into benefits. The easiest way to translate a feature into a benefit is to add the prompt ‘which means that...'. For example, if a strong feature of a business is that it has 24-hour opening, this feature would translate into something like: "We're open 24 hours (the feature) which means that you can get what you need when you need it - day or night." (the benefit). Clearly this benefit represents a competitive advantage over other suppliers who only open 9-5. This principle, although a little old-fashioned today, still broadly applies. The important thing is to understand your services and proposition in terms that your customer will recognise as being relevant and beneficial to them. Most businesses have a very poor understanding of what their customers value most in the relationship, so ensure you discover this in the research stage, and reflect it in your stated product or service proposition(s). Customers invariably value these benefits higher than all others: Making money Saving money Saving time If your proposition(s) cannot be seen as leading to any of the above then customers will not be very interested in you. A service-offer or proposition should be an encapsulation of what you do best, that you do better than your competitors (or that they don't do at all); something that fits with your business objectives, stated in terms that will make your customers think ‘Yes, that means something to me and I think it could be good for my business (and therefore good for me also as a buyer or sponsor).' This is the first 'brick in the wall' in the process of business planning, sales planning, marketing planning, and thereafter, direct marketing, and particularly sales lead generation. Source: Businessballs.com

Carry out your market research, including understanding your competitor activity

Your market research should focus on the information you need, to help you to formulate strategy and make business decisions. Market research should be pragmatic and purposeful - a means to an end, and not a means in itself. Market information potentially covers a vast range of data, from global macro-trends and statistics, to very specific and detailed local or technical information, so it's important to decide what is actually relevant and necessary to know. Market information about market and industry trends, values, main corporations, market structure, etc, is important to know for large corporations operating on a national or international basis. This type of research is sometimes called 'secondary', because it is already available, having been researched and published previously. This sort of information is available from the internet, libraries, research companies, trade and national press and publications, professional associations and institutes. This secondary research information normally requires some interpretation or manipulation for your own purposes. However there's no point spending days researching global statistical economic and demographic data if you are developing a strategy for a relatively small or local business. Far more useful would be to carry out your own 'primary' research (ie original research) about the local target market, buying patterns and preferences, local competitors, their prices and service offerings. A lot of useful primary market research can be performed using customer feed-back, surveys, questionnaires and focus groups (obtaining indicators and views through discussion among a few representative people in a controlled discussion situation). This sort of primary research should be tailored exactly for your needs. Primary research requires less manipulation than secondary research, but all types of research need a certain amount of analysis. Be careful when extrapolating or projecting figures to avoid magnifying initial mistakes or wrong assumptions. If the starting point is inaccurate the resulting analysis will not be reliable. For businesses of any size; small, local, global and everything in between, the main elements you need to understand and quantify are: customer (and potential customer) numbers, profile and mix customer perceptions, needs, preferences, buying patterns, and trends, by sub-sector if necessary products and services, mix, values and trends demographic issues and trends (especially if dependent on consumer markets) future regulatory and legal effects prices and values, and customer perceptions in these areas distribution and routes to market competitor activities, strengths, weaknesses, products, services, prices, sales methods, etc Primary research is recommended for local and niche services. Keep the subjects simple and the range narrow. If using questionnaires formulate questions that give clear yes or no indicators (ie avoid three and five options in multi-choices which produce lots of uncertain answers) always understand how you will analyse and measure the data produced. Try to convert data to numerical format and manipulate on a spreadsheet. Use focus groups for more detailed work. For large research projects consider using a market research organization because they'll probably do it better than you, even though this is likely to be more costly. If you use any sort of marketing agency ensure you issue a clear brief, and that your aims are clearly understood. Useful frameworks for research are PEST analysis and SWOT analysis To be continue........... Source: Businessballs.com

Business or operating plan

When writing a business or operating plan, remember... The most important driver for almost any business plan (whether it's called a business plan, a sales plan, an operational plan, an organisational plan, marketing plan, marketing strategy, strategic business plan, or other department business plan) is return on investment, or for public services and non-profit organisations, is effective use of investment and resources. It's crucial also to consider and incorporate corporate social responsibility, ethics, the 'greater good', etc, but for the vast majority of organisations, whether companies, public services, not-for-profit trusts and charities, all organisations need to be financially effective in what they do, otherwise they will cease to function. Organisations need of course to be ethical and humane, and to have a sound philosophical foundation, but ultimately, to sustain any organised activity, the figures and finances have to add up. I say this because this website is a very strong advocate of ethics and humanity in business (not least because so many organisations still fail to acknowledge and genuinely prioritise these aspects at all), so it's important to emphasise this point: It's essential to manage ethical and socially responsible aspects as part of the total mix of organisational aims, which necessarily must include the effective use of investment and resources, in whatever way the principle is applied for the particular organisation. Commonly, when someone starts to write a business plan or operational plan for the first time (and for many people the umpteenth time), they wonder: what is the objective? Often when they ask their manager, the manager has the same doubt. Sometimes even company directors fail to appreciate that return on investment is the main driver for any plan, unless there's a very good reason for there being some other purpose. The essential planning elements are identifying causes and effects, according to your relevant business drivers. In many good businesses a substantial business planning responsibility extends now to front line customer-facing staff, and the trend is increasing. In this context, the business plan could be called also be called a marketing plan, or a sales plan - it's all the same: "What you are going to sell to whom, when and how you are going to sell it, how much contribution (gross profit) the sales will produce, what the marketing and/or selling cost will be, and what will be the return on investment." The same principles and methods actually apply to very large complex multinational organizations - the only differences are that there are other costs - typically fixed overheads - more spreadsheets, more lines and columns on each, more folks crunching the numbers, and a couple of extra angles for the accountants, to tell them what they need to know about cashflow and the balance sheet. The essentials of business planning, strategic business plans, sales plans and marketing planning - whatever you call it and whatever it means to you - are quite straight-forward. Before deciding whether to embark on any new venture, or to change an existing one it's vital to understand the market. 'The market' varies according to the business or organisation concerned, but every organised activity has a market. Knowing the market enables you to assess and value and plan how to engage with it. A common failing of business planning or operational planning outside of the 'business' world, is to plan in isolation, looking inward, when everything seems great because there's no context and nothing to compare it with. Hence why research is critical. And this applies to any type of organisation - not just to businesses Source: Businessballs.com

Write strategic marketing plans, business plans and sales plan

How to write strategic marketing plans, business plans and sales plans People use various terms referring to the business planning process - business plans, business strategy, marketing strategy, strategic business planning, sales planning - they all cover the same basic principles. When faced with business planning or strategy development task it's important to clarify exactly what is required: clarify what needs to be done rather than assume the aim from the description given to it - terms are confused and mean different things to different people. You'll see from the definitions below how flexible these business planning terms are. business planning definitions a plan - a statement of intent - a calculated intention to organize effort and resource to achieve an outcome - in this context a plan is in written form, comprising explanation, justification and relevant numerical and financial statistical data. In a business context a plan's numerical data - costs and revenues - are normally scheduled over at least one trading year, broken down weekly, monthly quarterly and cumulatively. a business - an activity or entity, irrespective of size and autonomy, which is engaged in an activity, normally the provision of products and/or services, to produce commercial gain, extending to non-commercial organizations whose aim may or may not be profit (hence why public service sector schools and hospitals are in this context referred to as 'businesses'). business plan - this is now rightly a very general and flexible term, applicable to the planned activities and aims of any entity, individual group or organization where effort is being converted into results, for example: a small company; a large company; a corner shop; a local window-cleaning business; a regional business; a multi-million pound multi-national corporation; a charity; a school; a hospital; a local council; a government agency or department; a joint-venture; a project within a business or department; a business unit, division, or department within another organization or company, a profit centre or cost centre within an an organization or business; the responsibility of a team or group or an individual. The business entity could also be a proposed start-up, a new business development within an existing organization, a new joint-venture, or any new organizational or business project which aims to convert action into results. The extent to which a business plan includes costs and overheads activities and resources (eg., production, research and development, warehouse, storage, transport, distribution, wastage, shrinkage, head office, training, bad debts, etc) depends on the needs of the business and the purpose of the plan. Large 'executive-level' business plans therefore look rather like a 'predictive profit and loss account', fully itemised down to the 'bottom line'. Business plans written at business unit or departmental level do not generally include financial data outside the department concerned. Most business plans are in effect sales plans or marketing plans or departmental plans, which form the main bias of this guide. strategy - originally a military term, in a business planning context strategy/strategic means/pertains to why and how the plan will work, in relation to all factors of influence upon the business entity and activity, particularly including competitors (thus the use of a military combative term), customers and demographics, technology and communications. marketing - believed by many to mean the same as advertising or sales promotion, marketing actually means and covers everything from company culture and positioning, through market research, new business/product development, advertising and promotion, PR (public/press relations), and arguably all of the sales functions as well. Marketing is the process by which a business decides what it will sell, to whom, when and how, and then does it. marketing plan - logically a plan which details what a business will sell, to whom, when and how, implicitly including the business/marketing strategy. The extent to which financial and commercial numerical data is included depends on the needs of the business. The extent to which this details the sales plan also depends on the needs of the business. sales - the transactions between the business and its customers whereby services and/or products are provided in return for payment. Sales (sales department/sales team) also describes the activities and resources that enable this process, and sales also describes the revenues that the business derives from the sales activities. sales plan - a plan describing, quantifying and phased over time, how the the sales will be made and to whom. Some organizations interpret this to be the same as a business plan or a marketing plan. business strategy - see 'strategy' - it's the same. marketing strategy - see 'strategy' - it's the same. service contract - a formal document usually drawn up by the supplier by which the trading arrangement is agreed with the customer. See the section on service contracts and trading agreements. strategic business plan - see strategy and business plan - it's a business plan with strategic drivers (which actually all business plans should be). strategic business planning - developing and writing a strategic business plan. philosophy, values, ethics, vision - these are the fundamentals of business planning, and determine the spirit and integrity of the business or organisation - see the guide to how philosophical and ethical factors fit into the planning process, and also the principles and materials relating to corporate responsibility and ethical leadership. You can see that many of these terms are interchangeable, so it's important to clarify what needs to be planned for rather than assuming or inferring a meaning from the name given to the task. Other useful and relevant business planning definitions are in the glossary on the sales techniques section; some are also in the financial terms section, and various are among the business and training acronyms section, which could provide some welcome light relief if this business planning gets a little dry (be warned, the acronym section contains some adult content). Source: Businessballs.com

Negotiation Skills

Introduction

Negotiation is something that we do all the time and is not only used for business purposes. For example, we use it in our social lives perhaps for deciding a time to meet, or where to go on a rainy day.

Negotiation is usually considered as a compromise to settle an argument or issue to benefit ourselves as much as possible.

Communication is always the link that will be used to negotiate the issue/argument whether it is face-to-face, on the telephone or in writing. Remember, negotiation is not always between two people: it can involve several members from two parties.

There are many reasons why you may want to negotiate and there are several ways to approach it. The following is a few things that you may want to consider.

Why Negotiate?

If your reason for negotiation is seen as 'beating' the opposition, it is known as 'Distributive negotiation'. This way, you must be prepared to use persuasive tactics and you may not end up with maximum benefit. This is because your agreement is not being directed to a certain compromise and both parties are looking for a different outcome.Should you feel your negotiation is much more 'friendly' with both parties aiming to reach agreement, it is known as 'Integrative negotiation'. This way usually brings an outcome where you will both benefit highly.

Negotiation, in a business context, can be used for selling, purchasing, staff (e.g. contracts), borrowing (e.g. loans) and transactions, along with anything else that you feel are applicable for your business

Source: BizHelp 24