Top 10 Sales Slip Up!

1) No Empathy
Most salesmen get caught up in own needs – meet the quota make the commission - that they do not feel the customers’ pain. E.g. currently, most customers might find it hard to justify purchasing luxurious items. However if they could manage where it hurts and bring the feel good factor to the customers, everything goes!

2) The Goal – Make Money
Money should not be the goal. Strive to be the best in your field. Make that the goal and the money will come.

3) Just a Job
Selling should be your life, not just a job. Have passion. Never stop selling. Otherwise quit now!

4) Down and Upset
Always be happy even though the doors are slammed in the face. Rejection inspires to greater heights. Getting upset bring you down.

5) Unprepared
Do your homework. Prepare your presentation. Arrive before the agreed time.

6) Over Prepared
Be prepared does not mean following a script, which will make you seem wooden (kayu)! Rehearse and improvise instead of memorize!

7) Treat Customers As Adults
Many customers do not buy based on logic and intelligence. Deep down, many buy based on impulse and rationalize like teenagers! They want excitement and status. E.g. they will still buy the latest Ferrari even though they hardly drive the 3 that are parked in the garage.

8) Don’t Believe in the Products
If you are having trouble to use and believe in the products, quit now!

9) Neglect the Relationship
Build the relationship. Convert the customers to friends. Better the devil you know that the angel you do not know!

10) We Are Basically Reptiles
The most important part of our brain has embedded animal instincts of survival and reproduction. Sing together in karaoke, swing together in golf course etc will assist in satisfying these instincts.

Modified from article written by Dr. G.Clotaire Rapaille, Fortune Sept 29, 2008

Hey Big Spenders!

Even the most careful spenders can find themselves with too much debt on occasion. The biggest culprit is impulse buying. So start developing good habits. Here are some ways to regain control :

a) Make a list
Make a list before you go shopping. Try to stick to it. Ads, store displays and coupons will entice you to buy things that are not on your list. Use your list to help you resist.

b) Shop when you need to
Shop when you need something. Not for fun or to cheer yourself up.

c) You are the boss
Before making any sizeable purchase, leave the store to think it over. Don't go back if the sales person has been using pressure tactics like "It's the last one in stock." "If you buy one right now, I'll give you an additional discount." "This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

d) Is there an alternative?
You can save by buying a less-expensive model. You can also buy just about any quality item second-hand. Check the classifieds in your local newspaper, or use the Internet.

Delicious Buffett

Stock market guru, Warren Buffett, made headlines when he bought substantial stakes in technology and services giant General Electric Co (GE) and financial heavyweight Goldman Sachs Group.

Just when everyone else was pulling out their investments from Wall Street, Buffett stepped in to inject some US$8bil in these two companies via his investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

“Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well,” he once said.

The five main criteria Buffett uses for stock selection are earnings versus growth, high return on equity, minimal debts, strength of management and simple business model.

Buffett is an astute long-term investor and has always investigated the underlying fundamentals of a company, rather than market sentiment. He has always determined the intrinsic value of a business and paid a good price for it. He believes price is what you pay, value is what you get.

Being prudent, Buffett is said to never invest in any business that he could not understand, a principle that paid off when he escaped the dotcom market crash. His investment principle is simple— always analyse a company’s annual reports to check its fundamentals and know what you are investing in.

Should we emulate Buffett? Many investors would say yes if we are buying for long-term. Investors should generally hold on to three principles — be long-term oriented, only buy what we can afford and be focused in what we buy.

Inflation Buster

Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) fixed-priced unit trust funds launched in the past few years have proven to be big winners due to their commendable returns.

These equity-based funds, namely Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW 2020) and Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM), have achieved compounded annual growth rates of 10.78% and 6.3% respectively since the time of its launch. ASW 2020 and ASM have been providing an annual average distribution income of 7.74 sen and 7.12 sen respectively.

Say if an investor had placed RM100,000 in ASW 2020 10 years ago, his investment value would amount to RM251,360 today. Similarly, by placing the same amount in the ASM fund 10 years ago, the investor would have RM173,340 today in his investment account.

ASM was launched on April 20, 2000, with an initial fund size of two billion units which were fully subscribed in 21 days. In June 2000, one billion units were fully subscribed in four months. In April 2006, one billion units were fully subscribed in 45 minutes. In the most recent offer in July 2007, all the 500 million units were taken up in 30 minutes.

All good things are well loved. Investors have confidence in these funds. Besides being managed and backed by a GLC, the returns are commendable. However the demand is more than supply. Additionally most of us will either have too much pride or too little time to join the crowd in queuing during the launch!

Do not be despair; there are options in the market. Investors could find similar funds that are well managed by private fund managers backed by the leading banks. The returns are equally impressive (if not better) in the long run and have now become relatively cheap.

Unit trust investments are good for those who think they do not have a lot and want to start saving money effectively. More so in current situation where the banks could only offer 2.5% returns for investment in fixed deposit!

Recommendation of funds are welcomed!

Sign 'O' The Times

According to the Reshaping Economic Geography Report in East Asia, an East Asian and Pacific region companion volume to the World Development Report 2009, real wages (wages that have been adjusted for inflation) in Malaysia have dropped dramatically over the last 10 years since the Asian financial crisis.

Real wages growth for export-oriented industries had reduced significantly to 1.9% post-crisis from 5.6% per annum. Meanwhile, for domestic-orientated industries such as food, beverages as well as tobacco, growth in real wages had fallen to 1.4% post-crisis from 6.8% per annum.

According to report author Dr Yukon Huang, the fall in real wages was in tandem with the drop in gross domestic product (GDP) over the last 10 years.

No surprises here as we have to deal with high inflation and global credit crunch. In fact, the current buzz word is retrenchment! So better make yourselves valuable – be more productive, learn new skills, reduce surfing time!!!

However, personally I believe there are opportunities in current situation. Many will be playing safe and not take risk. If you could tolerate higher degree of risk, then the sky is the limit! The thing to fear is fear itself!