Improving & Achieving In Sales...

So when looking for my next articles to read for this blog, I thought that I would look for articles about sales in general, but more specifically achieving positive sales growth and improving a struggling sales team. "What's stopping you from making the changes your business needs to thrive? The most dangerous move in business is the failure to make a move at all. The history of business is filled with companies that are no more because their leaders refused to enact change when the writing was on the wall. Fear. Apathy. Lack of personal responsibility. These simple human flaws can turn a good company into a dead company." (Anonymous) When it come to improving a struggling sales team, they said you should follow certain steps: a. Get A Great Sales Leader- Not someone that will pat you on your back, but someone who will give pep talks. b. One-on-One Coaching- When it comes to coaching, they're so focused on that number and hitting that quota, they lose sight, the way that you do that is not focus on those outcomes but focus on behaviors. c. Sales Diet- Wendling recommends giving struggling employee a smaller stack of calls to work through. They'll can gain confidence and avoid the burnout of intense extended sales pitch efforts. d. Look To TheFuture, Hire Smart- Stay on top of the rep's performance, intervene before they become the worst sales person or significantly underperforming. I must say that I really learned a lot after reading this article. All in all, it's safe to say that as long as you follow these steps, everything will be okay with your sales team. 1. Anonymous. Achieve Positive Sales Growth & Improve Your Future. April 23 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.sellingpower.com/content/article.php?a=9764 2. Donnelly, Tim. How to Improve Your Struggling Sales Team. April 23 2012. Retrieved from: How to Improve Your Struggling Sales Team

Having A Company In China Can Be A Major Plus...

So China has been in the news lately, but more specifically the beer brewery industry and being major business leaders in general. In the Business Weekly post titled "Foreign Beer Makers Raise Their Glass To China," talks about how beer in china can be about $0.32 but premium beer like Budweiser can be more than three times that aamount. The article said that beer sales increased by 4.8 percent last year, to 47.5 billion liters. By 2016 they could top 61 billion liters with sales growth of premium brands set to outpace that of economy brews, market researcher Euromonitor International predicts. “Premium beer is mainly for gatherings of friends and family, when consumers are willing to pay more for brands that give them status,” says Doreen Wang. Company's like to sale their beer there because the premium brands that are more here are cheap there, so they sale out much faster, therefore they make more money there. As far as other parts of business in china, The writer said these words,"More American entrepreneurs are benefiting from a surge in foreign investment from China, according to The Wall Street Journal. Take Brad Williams, the founder of a recreation-vehicle firm that is about to hire 1,200 workers and boost production this year to 40,000 motor homes. It was all made possible by a $310 million cash infusion from a Chinese investor who sees Asia as an untapped market for American-made RVs." All in all, I must say that China is the top place to be when it comes to business. Not only is China excelling in these two businesses, the Inc post titled, "From China, With Love" says that there is success in businesses like the salon industry, app Internet using, and Video chatting on Facebook. If you ask me, I would say that if you want a business to be a success, partner with China. Works Cited: 1. Anonymous. Foreign Beer Makers Raise Their Glass To China. April 23 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-19/foreign-beermakers-raise-a-glass-to-china 2. Siriwardane,Venuri. From China, With Love. April 18 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.inc.com/staff-blog/from-china- with-love-.html

Instagram: Why Its Such A Big Deal To FaceBook

As I write this blog I am looking for the next photo I will Instagram to my facebook and twitter pages. Though I am fairly new to the whole Instagram game, I think I speak for everyone that uses it, when I say that it is worth every penny Facebook has planned to pay for it. When the price Facebook has planned to pay for the photo app, many things came up like, “Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg just wants to squash a potential competitor or that maybe he wanted to gain access to Instagram’s 30 million mobile users’ personal data.”  (Carter 2012) Others like Robert Fabricant, vice-president of the firm Frog, think its for user experience, which he says is a high vulnerable point for Facebook. No matter the reason they are doing it, it is being described as the deal of the year. “Facebook has acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for nearly $1 Billion in cash and stock…Instagram is now worth an astonishing $77 million per employee.” (Simon 2012) In the end I think it’s a great thing, however, with Fcaebook putting so much into this deal, I wonder what that means for everyone else?

As I think further about this, I continue to wish you Love, Happiness, & Peace,

Tee...

Smart Phones - Crippling Humans & Hurting Businesses

     I was looking for an article for my second blog project, so I looked up things I am interested in, at last I chose the topic smart phones.  The article that caught my attention was an article about how mobile phones are disrupting the retail environment. I chose this one, because I recently had a discussion with my aunt about how smart phones are crippling us a people. We talked about how memory is one thing having these phones hurts. For example, she was about to call her husband, when she realized she didn’t know the number and her phone was dead. Normally, she just goes in her call log on her phone and presses his name, (meaning she doesn’t have to memorize it, because it’s in the phone.) Therefore, this topic really stood out to me. In the article on dmn.com “Mobile computing will disrupt retail sales funnel”, it talks about how smart phones are hurting businesses that are brick-and-mortar. One way they are hurting the these retailers is customers now have the tendency to consult their phones for prices while in the actual store. The article displayed the following numbers for this, as well as insight on how smart phones has changed our world.

 “The report notes how in December 2011, 28.5 million consumers used their mobile devices to find online retail content; this is an 87% increase from the previous year. Overall, comScore noted a spike in mobile access to commerce-related content. Electronic payments increased 80%; classifieds increased 72%; auction sites increased 70%; and shopping guides increased 67% compared with the previous year. Moreover, comScore found 1 in 5 US consumers used their smart devices to photograph a product; 1 in 5 US customers scanned a barcode; and 12% compared in-store product prices with online lists.” (Joe 2012)

     Another big hurtle brick-to-mortar businesses have to deal with when it comes to the outlet is the online outlets. Stores like Aquino have come up with things like deals and incentives to make customers want to shop in the the actual store. All in all, I must say that smart phones have a way of benefiting and crippling us, but I for one am not ready to give mine up. I mean…Are You?

• Joe, R. (2012 Feb. 24) Mobile Computing Will Disrupt Retail Sales Funnel. Retrieved from: http://www.dmnews.com/mobile-computing-will-disrupt-retail-sales-funnel/article/229384/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DMNewsHome+%28DMNews+Home%29

Sales Growth & The Future

In Selling Power.com recent article, they discussed how to achieve sales growth, and just how to improve your future in general. They came up with three reasons why they think that is certain companies aren’t doing well. The three reasons are Fear, Apathy, and Lake of responsibility. Here is how I feel they come into play.

Fear – They’re afraid to take a chance. They always play it safe.

Apathy – They don’t have the drive and will to go after what they really want. They want to get things done, but not really wanting to do them. They are ‘lazy’.                                                                
Lack of Responsibility – They aren’t good leaders; they don’t know how to lead themselves, let alone a team or a corporation, lacking things like maturity, and knowledge.

They conducted an interview with, Jeffrey Hayzlett, a former Fortune 100 C-suite executive to ask him how he became sucessfu. In the interview, he was asked what kind of person he thinks you need to become to achieve sales growth:

“ ...Some people are overconfident. They just want to do deal after deal. But how can you improve if you don’t know what you need to know? You need to be more aware of what you’re doing. Take the time. It will be painful sometimes. You need to get focused on how to step back and do the research. Ask questions. Spend some time at a competitor’s place. Go to a store and see how your partners are selling your product. The best businesses are focused on how to grow top-line revenue, and that should produce bottom-line net profit. A lot of businesses would produce more profit by just increasing sales. I don’t know of a lot of problems that could not be solved by stronger sales.” (Hayzlett 2012)

If a company leader does what Hayzlett says, their result will be like Volkswagens. In this article by Businessweek.com, they talked about how Volkswagen has gained a 26% increase in revenue to 159 billion euros, with the help of their High-Margin SUV sales. (Thomas 2011) They did this by implementing Hayzlett ideas, and looked at their competitors in the car industry and saw how they could better improve their product. It was also said that a way they are achieving future growth is by pending mergers. They are looking to merge with Porsche SE, to not only continue their success, but to achieve more.

• Canady, H. (2012 Feb.) Achieve Positive Sales Growth & Improve Your Future.         Retrieved from: http://www.sellingpower.com/content/article.php?a=9764?rnd=304781
• Thomas, C. (2012, Feb. 26) Volkswagen Posts Record 2011 Profit on High-Margin SUV Sales. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-26/volkswagen-posts-record-2011-profit-on-high-margin-suv-sales.html

Changing My Blog Name...

So...I went on my professors sight where they have all our blog titles displayed, and I noticed that none of them were like mine. Which, i am perfectly fine with. I mean my title was 'The Individual Thoughts Of Tee' but I realized that everyone else's was like Accounting, or Marketing Matters...so I said to myself that maybe the title was suppose to be about the class and your interest. So I changed the title to 'Business The Marketing Side Of It.' I shall still blog about things other than Business or Marketing, I just feel like I need to keep in educationally titled. I figured that after this class is over, I will change it back. So this all for now as I have class in about 24 minutes and have work to do...

Wishing You Love, Happiness, & Peace,

Tee...

Welcome To My Thoughts...

I went back and forth about the title of this blog. I mean its suppose to be for school, so I could have named it something having to do with my Business Communication class, but I chose not to. Eventhough its for school, Ill be sharing some of my thoughts as well, so I named it 'The Individual Thoughts Of Tee.' I was always been the type to voice my opinions about this I may or may not have believed in, but I choose to do them privately. I have been asked how I felt in a large group of people, and because of my shyness, I hold my tongue until I get around people I am comfortable with. A part of me thinks I do this because I am afraid of what people might think of my thoughts. A part of me thinks its because I just prefer not to say anything. Alicia Keys said it best - "I am a prisoner of words unsaid...all these thoughts trapped away in my head." Well, that is why I chose to create this blog. I mean, yeah it was a requirement for one of my classes, but its something I have always wanted to do. Its not that I dont have opinions aboout things, I just choose to voice them when noone is around. So, I plan to use this blog site long after I am done with this class a few months from now. For I have found a way to voice my opinions, without having to sit ands listen to others criticize them. Therefore, I welcome you to "The Individual Thoughts Of Tee."

Wishing You Love, Happiness & Peace,

Tee