Do Business Well

Personal needs at work

• Do you prefer to work in a small business, a large organisation, or on your own?
• Do you enjoy initiating new developments and seeing them fulfilled in your work?
• How important are workplace friendships? Do you rely upon these daily contacts to provide interest and stimulation to your work day?
• Are you competitive? Do you like pushing yourself and comparing your achievements with others?
• Are you a creative person who needs to express yourself frequently in your work?
• Do you see yourself as a leader? Do you enjoy exercising control over your situation at work and delegating responsibilities to others?
• What sorts of rewards are important to you? High salary; status in the job title; fringe benefits (car, expenses); long-term security etc.
• How willing are you to take risks, to try even though you know there is a considerable chance of failure?
• Do you prefer to work: inside or outside; with people, ideas, or equipment?

Continue Reading »

4 Comments »

Companies can increase profit either by cost reduction or by margin improvements. Margin improvement or improvement in the gross profit can be achieved either by increasing unit selling prices or by increasing sales volume (this includes the possibility of reducing unit selling prices in order to be more competitive and increase sales volume).

Selling prices are affected by supply, demand and cost conditions. All companies need to ensure that their pricing policy gives the best opportunity for maximising sales and profits.

1. Keep pace with inflation

The inflation rate is the percentage rate per period that prices are increasing and should provide a guideline to the level of price increases generally. Continue Reading »

3 Comments »

A separate, vital family question: Am I being a hero to my kids?

In 1998, MTN gave Mike a sponsorship to motivate matric students throughout South Africa. Mike went into schools and spent time with the students. He asked them what their biggest source of stress was. Guess what their response was? Their parents. Not exams, not the future, not the job market, their parents. Many of the kids told Mike that their fathers and mothers were suffering from extreme stress.

They said that their houses were places of tension and uncertainty. And this home strife was affecting their academic performance. Continue Reading »

3 Comments »

• How will you package your product/service?

Your packaging is an extension of the product itself. It is often the first impression that a prospect gets of your product. That’s why it is so important that the way you package your product/service is attractive yet functional. If it does not turn the customer on, the chances are the customer won’t buy it. The packaging of some products is so distinctive that the packaging almost becomes a reason to buy the product (think Pringles). Unique packaging can be patented.

• How will you deliver your service? Develop a separate “service plan”

If you are providing a service, you need to focus on the tangible delivery of your service to the prospect. Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

The horizontal axis of our matrix represents the degree to which customers are willing to seek advice or help.

The self-reliant people, in the left quadrants, like to mow their own grass, but those on the right prefer to hire a maintenance service and free up their time for other tasks. In a restaurant, some prefer to help themselves at the buffet or use the take-out service, while others don’t mind waiting to be served at the table.

There’s more at work here than time pressure alone: Customers clearly occupy a range of attitudes, from do-it-myself independence to a heavy reliance on others. A supplier who confuses one type (”I’m just browsing; I’ll call you when I need help”) with the other (”Could you show me what’s available and help me make up my mind?”) does so at her peril.

In the process of purchasing, a customer’s decision to rely solely on himself or to leverage others depends mainly on how complex he perceives the decision will be. Continue Reading »

3 Comments »