Wholesale Products From China

By John Mehrmann

 How full is your sales pipeline? How many prospects should you be targeting? How do you know if you have the right prospects?

If you work in any profession that relies on relationship sales efforts, then you understand the importance of maintaining a healthy and active pipeline. What makes a pipeline healthy and active? You do. It is only through your own efforts that the list of prospects remains active and viable for business. As long as you are active, you have a chance to grow your business. When the competition becomes lazy and fails to nurture communication with the prospects, that is your opportunity to demonstrate your unrelenting commitment, and to win the business.

What kind of businesses rely on relationship sales? If you represent any kind of service, then you are in the business of relationship sales. Don’t kid yourself, if you look for customers in any environment of industry that has competitors, then you are in the business of relationship sales. Regardless of your title or job description, you represent your organization and yourself to clients and customers, and you are in the business of relationship sales. When you fail to maintain a relationship with your client, then you open the opportunity for someone else to take the next sale. It’s as simple as that.

Filling the pipeline of relationship sales implies acknowledgement that some sales happen at a different pace than other sales. The pace may be affected by the availability of product. For example, you might be waiting for the next greatest model or technological upgrade to be released. In the case of real estate, you might be waiting for the right property to become available. However, in most cases, the schedule is dictated by the pace of the client. Recognizing that the client has a budget and a schedule is critical to understanding how you fit into the pace of the client, and that helps you to adjust your communication to accommodate the pace of the client.

If your client is a buyer for an organization, then you should know the fiscal year and budget cycles for that organization. Buying decisions for organizations are often dictated by budgetary periods. Some purchases may be delayed until a quarter, half year, or annual budget is approved. Sometimes, the reserved budget may be temporarily restriction until the end of a fiscal period, and then there is a rush to “spend it or lose it”. In any case, there are cycles for planning, budgeting, reserving, spending, and transition. It is incumbent upon you to understand those cycles for your client, and to adjust your communications accordingly. If the client organization is in a planning phase, then you should be providing case studies, analysis, or proposals. If the client is in a period of transition, then you should be providing interesting industry information, general communications, and meaningful updates or announcements. Use the client fiscal cycle to know when to make offers, when to offer advice, and when to simply offer interesting information as a means of maintaining a dialogue and showing your interest.

Do you think that retail sales is a relationship business? A recent study by Accenture revealed that 24.4% of surveyed consumers felt that they frequently received too little attention, and nearly 10% of the respondents felt that they were frequently treated rudely. According to that same survey, 89% to 95% of the responding consumers indicated that they were irritated by the actions of a retailer within the last four shopping experiences. Although there is little opportunity to prospect and plan a pipeline for retail sales associates, the premise of understanding consumer budget, buying cycle, and individual needs are just as relevant as understanding the purchasing cycles of large enterprise organizations. Big company or single shopper, it is equally important to quickly identify the budgetary cycle of the client and to manage communications accordingly.

To keep things simple, initiate a dialogue with your prospective customer and use a few simple questions to identify the buying cycle. Think of the buying cycle as “A-I-M”. The prospects in the A category are “About to Invest”, or “About to Buy”. These potential clients are financially secured in the readiness, and may be considering several options before making a purchase. These prospects may know approximately what they want, or what they need, and just need a little guidance or information to help finalize the decision. The prospects in the A category are on the short list for immediate and constant attention. Make sure that you answer questions diligently. Show your commitment and ask questions that they may not have thought about, and then present them with valuable answers. You should be outwardly attentive to the prospects that are in the near term decision making process. These prospects will likely make a decision in the near future, and these are the immediate priorities in your pipeline. You should be in contact with these candidates at least once a week.

The I category stands for “Investigating”, “Interested”, and “Information”. These prospective customers are not ready to make an investment now, but may be seriously considering options for the near future. These potential customers may need to save, or plan, or budget for the investment, and they are interested in gathering more information so they can be prepared for an informed decision when the time is appropriate. You should be attentive, answer questions, and offer advice. These prospects will not want a “pushy” salesperson to try expediting a purchasing decision that they are not prepared to make at this immediate time. Attempting to force a faster decision indicates a selfish attention to your own desired revenue cycle, and openly demonstrates a lack of interest in appreciating the budgetary constraints or purchasing cycle of the client. Rather then alienate the client, be direct in asking the intended budget and investment cycle, and be open about sharing your interest in matching the pace of the client. Then, show your commitment with continued and consistent follow-up. Give advice, information, and updates on changes in technology or the industry. Reach out to the client every three to four weeks with relevant communication, and ask about the current status of the financial cycle. This demonstrates your dedication, and enables you to stay alert as the client moves closer to you in the sales pipeline.

The M category means that the client is interested in “Meaningful Maintenance”, so “Maintain” your dialogue, but do not invest too much time. The prospect may be interested in the new technology, service offering, or in maintaining a relationship, but is unable to make any commitments in the foreseeable future. Maintain these relationship, but understand that the budget or financial situation may preclude any activity. You should reach out to these prospects at least every other month, or keep them engaged with a periodic newsletter and an occasional email or phone call. You cannot pressure a prospect to spend money that they do not have, but stay within reach and show your interest, so you will be aware when the financial tides have turned for your future customer.

How do you determine if the prospect belongs in your pipeline? Actually, that is very simple. Do you want the business from this prospect? If the answer is “yes”, then that prospect should be invited to become part of your pipeline, and that invitation consists simply of an invitation to maintain communication. As indicated previously, the level of communication may vary based on the buying cycle of the prospect. Short term prospects will be contacted frequently, and longer term prospects may be very infrequently, and with varying types of communications. In either case, if the prospect accepts the invitation to maintain a dialogue and relationship, then they belong in your pipeline. If either you, or the client, determine that the business is not appropriate, then the decision to cease communications and gracefully exit the prospect from the pipeline should be politely understood.

The right prospects are those clients or accounts that are willing to invest in what you have to offer, now or later. You may desire the prospect for a single sale, ongoing revenue, or as a strategic relationship, based upon your business. Ultimately, the business decision is based on the goal of a mutually beneficial exchange. As for the number of prospects that this applies to, and how many you should have in your pipeline, the answer is based on your personal ability to maintain relevant relationships and meaningful communications. How many prospects can you manage in a day, and in a week? How much research and preparation do you need to do to prepare yourself for meaningful conversations, whether in person, by phone, or by email? How much time do you need to dedicate to each prospect? How many prospects are near a purchasing decision in their budget, and in your pipeline, that you need to talk to once a week? How many prospects only need communication once a month, or every other month? Measure your time for preparation and response, so you can give each prospect the appropriate level or your dedication. Your time, and your commitment, have real value, so spend yourself wisely.

______________________________________________________

Words of Wisdom

“Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.”

- Robert W. Sarnoff

“Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.”

- Publilius Syrus

“You can only cure retail but you can prevent wholesale.”

- Brock Chisholm

______________________________________________________

About the Author:

John Mehrmann is author of The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity, the fundamental guide to achieve extraordinary sales and sustain loyal customers. John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, and educational articles. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.

Your Online Source For Wholesale Products From China

What on Earth is a Clone Town?
By john mce

 In 2004, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) published a report about ‘Clone Town Britain’ denouncing the “destruction of our high streets, local shops and independent retailers”. So who is destroying our town centres and how can we stop them?

THE NEF is an independent think-tank which hopes to inspire and demonstrate the potential economic well being and quality of life of Britain. They believe that Britain is rapidly losing its local shops and services, something they believe is the “economic backbone” and “social glue” of rural and urban communities.

For the NEF, chain stores are to blame. They argue that the individual character of many towns is disappearing as independent retailers, newsagents, tobacconists, pubs, bookshops and green grocers are replaced with supermarkets, fast food chains and other chain stores. Also that “regeneration” of town centres has led to a destruction of traditional town centre architecture in favour of pre-fabricated chain stores.

They believe that the homogenisation of Britain’s high streets has created a loss of diversity and choice, a loss of local character and individualism of town centres, damaged the local economy as profits drain out of the town and into corporate headquarters.

The 2005 survey identified Exeter was the worst example of a clone town in the UK, with just one independent shop on the city’s high street, and less retail diversity than any other town surveyed. Other examples include Stafford, Middlesbrough, Winchester and Maidenhead. In spite of having the highest property prices in the country, London is far from becoming a clone town, thanks to a huge diversity of businesses, as a result of the city’s large size and cosmopolitan population.

The opposing argument is that large chain stores have grown because their products, prices and convenience have outstripped the competition, making chain stores welcome arrivals in small town centres. The benefits of large businesses to employment and local services are also said to improve the local economy.

Developers will argue that big chain retailers bring money into local areas, but NEF’s analysis shows that the opposite is true, and money begins to leave the locality. When money is spent in these chain retailers, very little of the proceeds stay local.

The NEF argue that local authorities, planning agencies, regeneration bodies and regional development agencies need to monitor local money flows to help guide retail development, and encourage those businesses which benefit the community most.

Barnet Council refused permission for a Tesco Express in Finchley. The London borough of Hackney says that “The Council will use its powers and its role as landlord where possible to protect essential facilities. The following uses will be be considered ‘essential local shops’: food shops such as bakers, butchers, greengrocers and special ethnic food shops”.

John McE writes on behalf of the Maidenhead Advertiser, Get the latest local Maidenhead news including jobs, property & hotels from the Maidenhead Advertiser.

The Vital Importance Of Shop Insurance In Business
By Thomas Pretty

 For those who are opening a retail space such as a shop, restaurant or bar then there are certain insurance needs that you will need to fulfil. This is due to the fact that retail premises see large numbers of the public entering them on a regular basis. This is somewhat of a problem for those who own the premises as whenever the public are present there is the chance of lawsuits and legal action should a fall, illness or injury occur. Understandably having some form of shop insurance is a vital concern for those opening shops.

Shop, restaurant and bar owners clearly want members of the public to come through the doors, even if these risks are present. To make money there is no choice but to welcome people into the premises, so constantly worrying about lawsuits is clearly not an option. In shops the chances of falls and trips and hence injury are high. With stock filling going on there are normally boxes and other items in aisles while spillages can cause a fall extremely easily. Sadly for shop owners the falls and trips are not even always accidental, a whole ‘profession’ has built up with people who choose to enter shops and fall purposely, subsequently making money from the ensuing lawsuit. These scammers make insurance a very real necessity for shop owners.

It is not only members of the public that the business owner needs cater for. Employees are just as likely to trip or fall while those working in restaurants will often have to handle hot items and bar staff dangerous chemicals such as line cleaner. Once again this makes insurance a vital concern, protecting the business from grievance payouts and liability issues. Additionally because retail premises often hold large amounts of cash on the premises, the chances for the theft of this cash are higher. This could be a robbery or even staff fraud; either way a policy inclusion covering the business from this circumstance is essential.

The law also demands that retail premises have certain insurance policies. Employer’s liability insurance is needed in all industry sectors as it ensures that injured employers will be able to gain a suitable payout should an accident occur. Understandably the law is normally on the side of the employee with responsibility and hence liability squarely on the shoulders of employers. Naturally this policy inclusion is legally defined, but it makes sense to have it anyway, in the lawsuit culture that has developed over the last twenty years, compensation costs can be vast. Protecting yourself from these costs is purely sensible business practice.

As well as protecting a retail premises from employee grievances it is often advisable to have some form of public liability insurance. This is not legally required but makes good business sense as for small shops or restaurants one large compensation claim is enough to send a business to rack and ruin. This policy inclusion will normally cover all compensation costs and legal fees should a claim be put in by a member of the public. Additionally, buildings and contents insurance should be sought. With shops holding large amounts of stock, sometimes into the thousands of pounds range it makes sense to protect this stock from theft or infestation.

It is hoped that this information has given the shop, restaurant and bar owner a greater understanding of the types of insurance cover they will need. In our culture of suit and countersuit that has arisen it is imperative to protect yourself from genuine as well as bogus claims. This article only gives a small indication of this fundamental need but hopes to be a good starting point for business owners.

Article Source : Article King Pro - Free Reprints and Distribution

Business expert Thomas Pretty looks into the necessity for shop insurance in the retail industry for protection against employee and public claims.

wholesale distributor

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.