Do Business Well

MYTH #2: “SOME ROLES ARE SO EASY, THEY DON’T REQUIRE TALENT”

The famous management theorist Oscar Wilde once said:

“A truth ceases to be a truth as soon as two people perceive it.”

All right, so Mr. Wilde was better known for his wit than for his management advice; nonetheless, every manager should be required to remember this one remark. Although he phrased it in the extreme, Mr. Wilde simply meant that the only truth is your own. The world you see is seen by you alone. What entices you and what repels you, what strengthens you and what weakens you, is part of a pattern that no one else shares. Therefore, as Mr. Wilde said, no two people can perceive the same “truth,” because each person’s perspective is different. Continue Reading »

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Data security and encryption: Data security is one of the central issues of digital marketing. Because the Internet is a public highway, the information which travels through it can be picked up and read by anyone who has the knowledge and capability to do so. If security measures have not been taken to scramble the data, or code it, the information is totally unsecured. In many cases, people don’t care about data security. When you send an e-mail message to a friend, you usually don’t care if someone intercepts it. It’s no different than someone at the post office opening up your letter, or someone listening to your conversation on a cellular telephone scanner. You take that risk. But when you want to send a confidential e-mail to someone in your company, or give someone your credit card number on the Internet, it’s a different matter. You want to send a secret message which only the recipient can unravel and read. That’s where data encryption comes in. Continue Reading »

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All professional sales people keep records of their customers. Details of customers, such as names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal details are stored in a variety of ways, for example, in an indexed notebook, contact register, tickler box or on the home/ office computer. There is a very good reason for keeping this information. Your existing customers are the mainspring in developing your customer base, whether through informal word-of- mouth advertising or through referrals (sometimes known as recommendation business).

Whenever you complete a sale, before the customer leaves the home shop, broach the subject of a referral. Let’s suppose you sell a range of healthcare products including vitamins. If the customer is satisfied with her purchase, why should she not share the good news with friends? So don’t just thank the customer for the order and allow her to leave. If you do, you can’t turn that one sale into two or more. Many sales people say something like this: ‘Ms Prospect, thank you for your order. Much appreciated. There is no doubt that these health products make a difference. Many people don’t realise the benefit of supplementing one’s diet with vitamin pills. Is there anyone you know who could use these products?’ Continue Reading »

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