Will You Add? - Business

Would You Like FRIES with That? Giving Customers What They Love
It used to be hard to buy books from Foyles, the world-famous bookshop in London's Charing Cross Road. The building was a warren; the layout was haphazard; staff were hard to find. To buy a book, you had to queue twice -- once to pay and get a receipt from some hapless cashier in a barred cage, and a second time to collect your books. No fun at all.Nowadays, it's a different store. There are friendly staff, clear signs, lifts, air conditioning, author events, a jazz caf?, a helpful website, the works. It's a pleasure to shop there.Somewhere along the line, Foyles realised it had to offer FRIES to its customers. French fries? No -- ketchup and grease on the books would be a bad idea. I'm talking about FRIES, the hugely popular business acronym that I've just invented.F is for Friendliness. The simple act of smiling and being friendly towards customers makes an incredible difference. The world's friendliest man works in MVC, a record shop near where I live. You can't walk out not smiling. (By contrast, I always used to walk out fuming from the local branch of Dixons electrical store. Before it was shut down.) And it's not just people - marketing materials, shop fronts and websites can be friendly or hostile too.R is for Reassurance. When you invest in a one-off product or service, it really helps to have some

ill tuck it away in the back of his mind, thinking "The next time I deal with this person I'll be a tougher negotiator. I won't leave any money on the table next time.")

2. Something must be wrong.

Turning down the first offer may be tough to do, particularly if you've been calling on the person for months and just as you're about to give up, she comes through with a proposal. It will tempt you to grab what you can. When this happens, be a Power Negotiator-remember not to say Yes too quickly.

Many years ago, I was president of a real estate company in southern California that had 28 offices and 540 sales associates.

One day a magazine salesman called on me. He was trying to sell me advertising space in his magazine. I was familiar with the magazine and knew it to be an excellent opportunity, so I wanted my company to be in it. He made me a very reasonable proposal that required a modest $2,000 investment. Because I love to negotiate, I started using some Gambits on him and got him down to the incredibly low price of $800. You can imagine what I was thinking at that point. Right. I was thinking, "Holy cow. If I got him down from $2,000 to $800 in just a few minutes, I wonder how low I can get him to go if I keep on negotiating?" So, I used a Middle Gambit on him called Higher Authority. I said, "This looks fine. I do just have to run it by my board of directors. Fortunately, they're meeting tonight. Let me run it by them and get back to you with the final okay."

Air Power at Sea or Ground
The power is in the air! Well, I am not talking about aero planes or the military but on something we have taken for granted. It's about the air we breathe. Invisible to the naked eye, you can get a lot of power from it if you know how.Do you know that the air compressor is a very important piece of machinery on board a diesel operated ship? It is the heart of the starting air system for the diesel electrical generators and the main diesel engine. Without these engines, everything comes to a standstill.The compressed air that is stored at 25 to 35 bars in air reservoirs has the capacity to start the main engines for at least 13 times before it becomes too weak. The pressure in the compressed air is sufficient to push huge pistons and turn the crankshafts of engines so that enough momentum is created for the engine to start.Below are some practices that engineers should observe when they are operating and maintaining air compressors:Grit or dirt must be prevented from entering any part of the unit. As with any machines, these will give rise to numerous problems later. When opening any pipes, the ends need to be covered up to prevent dirt from entering the system. Any oil pipes need to be blown through with air. All air passages must be examined and cleaned, and blown through with high pressure air to remove loose material.If crankcase o

Power Negotiators know that you should never say Yes to the first offer (or counter-offer) because it automatically triggers two thoughts in the other person's mind.

Let's say that you're thinking of buying a second car. The people down the street have one for sale, and they're asking $10,000. That is such a terrific price on the perfect car for you that you can't wait to get down there and snap it up before somebody else beats you to it. On the way there you start thinking that it would be a mistake to offer them what they're asking, so you decide to make a super low offer of $8,000 just to see what their reaction is. You show up at their house, look the car over, take it for a short test drive, and then say to the owners, "It's not what I'm looking for, but I'll give you $8,000."

You're waiting for them to explode with rage at such a low offer, but what actually happens is that the husband looks at the wife and says, "What do you think, dear?"

The wife says, "Let's go ahead and get rid of it."

Does this exchange make you jump for joy? Does it leave you thinking, "Wow, I can't believe what a deal I got. I couldn't have gotten it for a penny less"?

I don't think so. I think you're probably thinking

1. I could have done better.

2. Something must be wrong.

In the thousands of seminars that I've conducted over the years, I've posed a situation like this to audiences and can't recall getting anything other than these two responses. Sometimes people reverse them, but usually the response is automatic, "I could have done better," and "Something must be wrong."

Let's look at each of these responses separately:

First Reaction: I could have done better. The interesting thing about this is that it doesn't have a thing to do with the price. It has to do only with the way the other person reacts to the proposal. What if you'd offered $7,000 for the car, or $6,000, and they told you right away that they'd take it? Wouldn't you still think you could have done better? What if that bearing salesperson had agreed to $150 or $125? Wouldn't you still think you could have done better?

Several years ago, I bought 100 acres of land in Eatonville, Washington-a beautiful little town just west of Mount Rainier. The seller was asking $185,000 for the land. I analyzed the property and decided that if I could get it for $150,000, it would be a terrific buy. So I bracketed that price and asked the real estate agent to present an offer to the seller at $115,000.

I went back to my home in La Habra Heights, California leaving the agent to present the offer to the seller. Frankly, I thought I'd be lucky if they came back with any kind of counter-offer on a proposal this low. To my amazement, I got the offer back in the mail a few days later, accepted at the price and terms that I had proposed. I'm sure that I got a terrific buy on the land. Within a year, I'd sold 60 of the acres for more than I paid for the whole hundred. Later I sold another 20 acres for more than I paid for the whole hundred. So when they accepted my offer, I should have been thinking, "Wow. That's terrific, I couldn't have gotten a lower price." That's what I should have been thinking, but I wasn't. I was thinking, "I could have done better." So it doesn't have anything to do with the price-it has to do only with the way the other person reacts to the proposal.

Second Reaction: Something must be wrong. My second reaction when I received the accepted offer on the land was, "Something must be wrong. I'm going to take a thorough look at the preliminary title report when it comes in. Something must be going on that I don't understand, if they're willing to accept an offer that I didn't think they would.

The second thought you'd have when the seller of that car said Yes to your first offer is that something must be wrong. The second thought that the buyer of the bearings will have is, "Something must be wrong. Maybe something's changed in the market since I last negotiated a bearing contract. Instead of going ahead, I think I'll tell this salesperson that I've got to check with a committee and then talk to some other suppliers." These two reactions will go through any body's mind if you say Yes to the first offer. Let's say your son came to you and said, "Could I borrow the car tonight?" and you said, "Sure son, take it. Have a wonderful time." Wouldn't he automatically think, "I could have done better. I could have gotten $10 for the movie out of this"? And wouldn't he automatically think, "What's going on here? Why do they want me out of the house? What's going on that I don't understand"?

This is a very easy negotiating principle to understand, but it's very hard to remember when you're in the thick of a negotiation. You may have formed a mental picture of how you expect the other side to respond and that's a dangerous thing to do. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "The unforgivable sin of a commander is to 'form a picture'-to assume that the enemy will act a certain way in a given situation, when in fact his response may be altogether different." So you're expecting them to counter at a ridiculously low figure and to your surprise the other person's proposal is much more reasonable than you expected it to be. For example:

You've finally plucked up the courage to ask your boss for an increase in pay. You've asked for a 15 percent increase in pay, but you think you'll be lucky to get 10 percent. To your astonishment, your boss tells you that he or she thinks you're doing a terrific job, and they'd love to give you the increase in pay. Do you find yourself thinking what a wonderfully generous company this is that you work for? I don't think so. You're probably wishing you'd asked for a 25 percent increase.

Your son asks you for $100 to take a weekend hiking trip. You say, "No way. I'll give you $50 and not a penny more." In reality, expect to settle for $75. To your surprise your son says, "That would be tight, Dad, but okay, $50 would be great." Are you thinking how clever you were to get him down to $50? I don't think so. You're probably wondering how much less he would have settled for.

You're selling a piece of real estate that you own. You're asking $100,000. A buyer makes an offer at $80,000, and you counter at $90,000. You're thinking that you'll end up at $85,000, but to your surprise the buyer immediately accepts the $90,000 offer. Admit it-aren't you thinking that if they jumped at $90,000, you could have gotten them up more?

So, Power Negotiators are careful that they don't fall into the trap of saying Yes too quickly, which automatically triggers in the other person's mind:

1. I could have done better. (And next time I will. A sophisticated person won't tell you that he felt that he lost in the negotiation; but he will tuck it away in the back of his mind, thinking "The next time I deal with this person I'll be a tougher negotiator. I won't leave any money on the table next time.")

2. Something must be wrong.

Many years ago, I was president of a real estate company in southern California that had 28 offices and 540 sales associates.

Home Business Tax Breaks
Home businesses can be great tax shelters. Millions of Americans have some sort of office in their homes. If you are one of these lucky people and meet the IRS requirements found in IRS publication 587, you can take deductions for expenses related to the business use of part of your home.If you want to know if you qualify the IRS requirements to claim expenses, you need to meet the following three tests: • Exclusively and regularly as your principal place of business. • Exclusively and regularly as a place where you meet or deal with customers • In connection with a trade or business. If you qualify to claim expenses you may deduct a portion of the following: • Real estate taxes • Deductible mortgage interest • Depreciation • Insurance • Rent • Repairs • Security system • Utilities and services Now why a portion? Well, you don’t exactly use the whole house for a business so you need to determine how much of your house is actually used for your business. For example, say you have a regular 9 to 5 day job and decide to start an internet business. You do all your work for this internet business in your home office. As a basic example, let’s say you have a house that is 1000 sq feet and your home office is 100 sq feet. That’s 10% of the total area of the house (100

r. The interesting thing about this is that it doesn't have a thing to do with the price. It has to do only with the way the other person reacts to the proposal. What if you'd offered $7,000 for the car, or $6,000, and they told you right away that they'd take it? Wouldn't you still think you could have done better? What if that bearing salesperson had agreed to $150 or $125? Wouldn't you still think you could have done better?

So, Power Negotiators are careful that they don't fall into the trap of saying Yes too quickly, which automatically triggers in the other person's mind:

2. Something must be wrong.

Many years ago, I was president of a real estate company in southern California that had 28 offices and 540 sales associates.

10 Tips for Becoming a Great Boss
Here are ten tips that tell you what to do if you want to become a great boss. I've added a couple of bonus tips, as well.Manage behavior and performance. Behavior is what people say and do. Performance is the measurable result of work. Forget about managing attitude. Forget about motivating others. Instead, use what you say and do to influence the behavior and performance of the people who work for you.Set clear expectations. Your people can't do what you want if they're not clear about what you want. Learn to give good directions. Check for understanding.Set reasonable expectations. Ideally, you want to set goals that force people to stretch just a little bit, but that are still within their grasp. Try to help your people grow through a series of small wins.Check on performance regularly. That's the only way you'll know how people are doing. Check more frequently on people who are learning a task or who are doing it again after a long layoff. Check less frequently on people who have demonstrated their competence in a task.Give helpful feedback. Do this in four steps. Describe the behavior in non-judgmental terms. Describe the outcome of the behavior. Pause and allow for subordinate reaction and comment. Then determine how things will be different the next time.Keep things interesting. Workers won't stay engaged unles

hing must be wrong. My second reaction when I received the accepted offer on the land was, "Something must be wrong. I'm going to take a thorough look at the preliminary title report when it comes in. Something must be going on that I don't understand, if they're willing to accept an offer that I didn't think they would.

So, Power Negotiators are careful that they don't fall into the trap of saying Yes too quickly, which automatically triggers in the other person's mind:

2. Something must be wrong.

Many years ago, I was president of a real estate company in southern California that had 28 offices and 540 sales associates.

A Complaint? It's a Compliment! - 7 Tips for Dealing with Complaints at Trade Shows
A Complaint? It’s a Compliment!What made you mad last week?In the past week, how many times were you upset by something? What action did you take? Complain to the neighbors, make a snide remark to a co-worker, post it on a list or email a group? Did you just gossip or did you try to make it into a positive experience? They say we complain to ten people for every one compliment about a product or service.Did you call the manager of the company, write the company president, email a suggestion for improvement? Probably not. You were upset but not enough to take action. Or you thought you’d be perceived as a whiner. Or that nobody would do anything because you’re nobody special.Complaints are ComplimentsPeople don’t complain because they don’t like you. They point out faults and know you can do better. They have expectations of your product, your service, your reputation and you’ve let them down. They complain because they’re disappointed - they like you and want you to succeed.Look back on your history of lost clients. Was it because they complained or did they just slip quietly away. It was the final straw - once too often that the invoice was wrong, the shipment was late, the product was incomplete, the salesman couldn’t solve a problem, the repair person never showed. Etc.It’s one thi

to counter at a ridiculously low figure and to your surprise the other person's proposal is much more reasonable than you expected it to be. For example:

So, Power Negotiators are careful that they don't fall into the trap of saying Yes too quickly, which automatically triggers in the other person's mind:

2. Something must be wrong.

Many years ago, I was president of a real estate company in southern California that had 28 offices and 540 sales associates.

Putting The Spotlight On Your Business - Ideas For Corporate Theater
“These days, corporate theater adds more to a presentation than most anything else can do. No one gives attendees a stale speaker, a basic presentation or a humdrum environment. It’s all about the lights, camera and action. Interactive theater is the way to go.” - Event Solutions magazine, Feb 2002Many businesses are looking to using corporate theater to invigorate and stimulate their audiences at trade shows, launches, conferences and networking events.Corporate theater can creatively communicate a message using devices that are not traditionally associated with the corporate arena. It can come in many different forms. Examples of corporate theater include combining performing arts and entertainment with a relevant business message. Movement, humour, song, dance, visual effects, music and lighting are employed to highlight a message, introduce a product or create anticipation and motivation for corporate events. Concept:Magic stages our own brand of corporate theatre in the form of Branded Entertainment for Corporate Events. Ideas for Corporate Theater For those new to this cutting edge marketing medium, here are some suggestions that you might like to consider for your next marketing event.Circus-type Acts Circus-type acts like Cirque De Soleil performers astound an

ill tuck it away in the back of his mind, thinking "The next time I deal with this person I'll be a tougher negotiator. I won't leave any money on the table next time.")

2. Something must be wrong.

Many years ago, I was president of a real estate company in southern California that had 28 offices and 540 sales associates.

A couple of days later I called him back and said, "You'll never know how embarrassed I am about this. You know, I really felt that I wouldn't have any problem at all selling the board of directors on that $800 price you quoted me, but they're so difficult to deal with right now. The budget has been giving everyone headaches lately. They did come back with a counter-offer, but it's so low that it embarrasses me to tell you what it is."

There was a long pause, and he finally said, "How much did they agree to?" "$500."

"That's okay. I'll take it," he said. And I felt cheated. Although I'd negotiated him down from $2,000 to $500, I still felt that I could have done better.

There's a postscript to this story. I'm always reluctant to tell stories such as this at my seminars for fear that it may get back to the person with whom I was negotiating. However, several years later I was speaking at the huge California Association of Realtors convention being held that year in San Diego. I told this story in my talk, never imagining that the magazine salesman was standing in the back of the room. As I finished my presentation, I saw him pushing his way through the crowd. I braced myself for what I expected to be a verbal assault. However, he shook my hand and said with a smile, "I can't thank you enough for explaining that to me. I had no idea the impact that my tendency to jump at a quick deal was having on people. I'll never do that again."

I used to think that it was a 100 percent rule that you should never say Yes to the first offer. Until I heard from a man in Los Angeles who told me, "I was driving down Hollywood Boulevard last night, listening to your cassette tapes in my car. I stopped at a gas station to use the rest room. When I came back to my car, somebody stuck a gun in my ribs and said, 'Okay buddy. Give me your wallet.' Well, I'd just been listening to your tapes, so I said, 'I'll give you the cash, but let me keep the wallet and the credit cards, fair enough?' And he said, 'Buddy, you didn't listen to me, did you? Give me the wallet!'" So sometimes you should say Yes to the first offer, but it's almost a 100 percent rule that you should Never Jump at the First Offer.

Key points to remember:

Never say Yes to the first offer or counter-offer from the other side. It automatically triggers two thoughts: I could have done better (and next time I will) and Something must be wrong.

The big danger is when you have formed a mental picture of how the other person will respond to your proposal and he comes back much higher than you expected. Prepare for this possibility so it you won't catch you off guard.

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Taken from the book; Protecting Your Corporate Assets by Martin Maylor info@insurium.com Losses through theft and fraud vary considerably by the type of operation and the efficiency of their management. To fully understand the cost lets look at the following example:

Permanent jobs might seem very attractive at first. But there are personal costs to having a permanent job, despite the rewards, and the biggest one is in the gradually loss of self-belief and self-esteem.

Stuck in a career rut? This article is a comprehensive how-to guide to ramping up your career in 5 easy steps!

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