When Tulane University Professor Jeffrey Barach ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress, he asked a noted political consultant what it took to run a successful campaign.
The consultant replied, “One word: ask!”
Candidates must have the ability to ask for money, votes and help. “So, also, with leadership,” adds Barach. “Commanding is a form of asking. When a leader personalises a vision, he or she is asking others to share it.”
Yet, asking is hard for many people. For example, some sales people fear asking for an order.
How is the fear of asking overcome? A successful college fund-raiser once advised Barach that people cannot ask for donations if they think the would-be donors are doing them a favour.
Of course, in a sense they are and fund-raisers should be grateful and solicitous. But they also should recognise they’re offering donors an opportunity to do something for themselves.
“The solicitor has to believe that the donors’ gift solves a problem for them,” Barach maintains, “or the tone of voice will not be right.”
The same principle applies to selling anything. A student in one of Barach’s summer courses sold knives, mostly to college girls as part of their hope chest.
His classmates criticised him for hawking expensive knives to young women with low incomes.
He countered that they were great knives,and the smaller sets were a good value, although he agreed that he shouldn’t sell them his big ticket ($200) sets.
Later in the summer, however, that student told the class that he had come to believe that the larger sets of knives also were a good value,that his customers would appreciate them in the long run.
What amazed him, he added, was that as soon as he came to that conviction, his sales of the larger sets increased radically.
Monday, 26 January 2009
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Re: Use or Lose your local businesses -Farnham Herald - Friday 9th January
I have a huge amount of empathy for those retail businesses of Farnham who are struggling to make ends meet. Walking through the Woolmead today I noted that over 1/3rd of the retail units were empty. As a Farnham man that hurts – I want to see Farnham businesses doing better and trading strongly.
The logical question to ask is why has this happened? You could blame the commercial landlord for not being more flexible as regards rent payments – probably set at a time when trade was booming – but contracts are a two way thing and the retailer knew the value and timing of the payments when they signed the lease.
Unfortunately it is more than likely that it is the business planning that has gone astray. One of three things can have happened here. Either the business failed to plan, or it made a plan but set assumptions that were too bullish for the current economic climate, or perhaps it failed to monitor adequately their trading situation against a well constructed initial plan.
It then begs the question what kind of advice are these businesses getting? From my experience business owners need good advice from someone they can trust and perhaps the current professional advisors were just not up to scratch or were not listened to. Perhaps the business owner did not even ask for advice on the assumption that “they knew best” or they were too frightened to ask.
Now is the time to make a business as efficient as possible with a robust plan to beat the downturn. If a business gets the basics right now it will emerge a much stronger beast on the way back up. And guess what the best way of getting the business basics right is… getting some good advice!
Alex Warren – Yellow Brick Road Consulting Limited
The logical question to ask is why has this happened? You could blame the commercial landlord for not being more flexible as regards rent payments – probably set at a time when trade was booming – but contracts are a two way thing and the retailer knew the value and timing of the payments when they signed the lease.
Unfortunately it is more than likely that it is the business planning that has gone astray. One of three things can have happened here. Either the business failed to plan, or it made a plan but set assumptions that were too bullish for the current economic climate, or perhaps it failed to monitor adequately their trading situation against a well constructed initial plan.
It then begs the question what kind of advice are these businesses getting? From my experience business owners need good advice from someone they can trust and perhaps the current professional advisors were just not up to scratch or were not listened to. Perhaps the business owner did not even ask for advice on the assumption that “they knew best” or they were too frightened to ask.
Now is the time to make a business as efficient as possible with a robust plan to beat the downturn. If a business gets the basics right now it will emerge a much stronger beast on the way back up. And guess what the best way of getting the business basics right is… getting some good advice!
Alex Warren – Yellow Brick Road Consulting Limited
Monday, 5 January 2009
Credit Insurance for the New Year?
What is Credit Insurance?
The consequences of one of your customers becoming insolvent and you suffering a bad debt can have serious financial impact on your business. Credit insurance companies not only advise you on who it is safe to deal with on credit terms and up to what level, but also in the event of your customer becoming insolvent, or you suffering protracted non-payment , they typically indemnify you for 90% to 95% of the amount of loss, depending on the cause of that loss, but this percentage is negotiable in many cases as you can chose to take on more of the risk.
Other Benefits of Credit Insurance
There are numerous other benefits of taking Credit Insurance from one of the many Credit Insurance Companies amongst Yellow Brick Roads' connections. One of our providers has 160 offices in 40 countries and 4,000 experts in all aspect s of credit management. This global network has constantly updated information on over 52 million companies worldwide. Their expert risk underwriters, who will be based in or near your customer’s home country use that information to establish an advisable line of credit and to alert you to any changes that may affect that cover.
Many Credit Insurance companies also seek to recover the amount of your loss, and contribute to the cost of that recovery in proportion to their liability for the loss. To help recover the loss the major Credit Insurers have a worldwide network of collectors, lawyers and insolvency practitioners each well versed in local law.
What does Credit Insurance cost?
This will vary widely on a case by case basis. For ballpark figures you can expect to pay between 0.1% to 0.6% but these figures will change with the economic situation.
Why use Yellow Brick Road?
Yellow Brick Road works effortlessly for its clients. It has connections within leading Credit Insurance Companies as well as specialist brokers.
Yellow Brick Road Consulting Limited
13 Jubilee Lane
Farnham
Surrey
Surrey
GU10 4SZ
08447 706320
http://www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk/
http://www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk/
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Yellow Brick Road sponsors 10th Annual Christmas Cup!!
10th Annual Christmas Cup – Farnham Park Golf Club
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Christmas Cup – a fun golf event held for all Farnham people returning home from work and University to the area for the Christmas period.
The event, to be held at 12pm on Saturday 27th December at the Farnham Park par 3 course, has been a great success and largely informal gathering normally collecting between 10 and 20 players.
“We set the handicaps on the first tee – and generally make it much easier for the new players to win. In fact no player has ever won the competition more than twice – it’s a great opportunity to catch up with old faces whilst having a bit of fun at the same time! It can of course be a little cold, but that doesn’t stop us!” - Cup stalwart – Robert Stoker
To mark the 10th anniversary the Cup organisers are to do things a little differently – they have attracted sponsorship from new local business Yellow Brick Road Consulting, a celebrity to hand out the prizes, Jon Tickle of Big Brother and Brainiac fame, and will be attempting to raise as much money as possible for the designated charity the British Heart Foundation.
“It was time to give the event a purpose and we thought raising some money for charity at the same time as meeting up with old friends over a game of golf seemed a great thing to do. Unlike the Augusta Masters where the winner receives the famous green jacket the winner of the Christmas Cup will receive a Yellow Jacket courtesy of our kind sponsors Yellow Brick Road” – Last years winner – Duncan Drummond
“Players will be fined on the course for any poor shots played and also shots deemed to be too flashy will come under fire. Of course any breaches of course etiquette will be subject to the severest punishment! We hope to make a lot of money for the British Heart Foundation – Cup Sponsor – Alex Warren of Yellow Brick Road Consulting.
Notes to Editor
Yellow Brick Road Consulting Limited (YBR) helps the owner managers of small and medium sized businesses increase their profits and improve their cash-flow. For more information please follow the link below.
www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk
Office: 08447 706320
Mobile: 07771 682673
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Christmas Cup – a fun golf event held for all Farnham people returning home from work and University to the area for the Christmas period.
The event, to be held at 12pm on Saturday 27th December at the Farnham Park par 3 course, has been a great success and largely informal gathering normally collecting between 10 and 20 players.
“We set the handicaps on the first tee – and generally make it much easier for the new players to win. In fact no player has ever won the competition more than twice – it’s a great opportunity to catch up with old faces whilst having a bit of fun at the same time! It can of course be a little cold, but that doesn’t stop us!” - Cup stalwart – Robert Stoker
To mark the 10th anniversary the Cup organisers are to do things a little differently – they have attracted sponsorship from new local business Yellow Brick Road Consulting, a celebrity to hand out the prizes, Jon Tickle of Big Brother and Brainiac fame, and will be attempting to raise as much money as possible for the designated charity the British Heart Foundation.
“It was time to give the event a purpose and we thought raising some money for charity at the same time as meeting up with old friends over a game of golf seemed a great thing to do. Unlike the Augusta Masters where the winner receives the famous green jacket the winner of the Christmas Cup will receive a Yellow Jacket courtesy of our kind sponsors Yellow Brick Road” – Last years winner – Duncan Drummond
“Players will be fined on the course for any poor shots played and also shots deemed to be too flashy will come under fire. Of course any breaches of course etiquette will be subject to the severest punishment! We hope to make a lot of money for the British Heart Foundation – Cup Sponsor – Alex Warren of Yellow Brick Road Consulting.
Notes to Editor
Yellow Brick Road Consulting Limited (YBR) helps the owner managers of small and medium sized businesses increase their profits and improve their cash-flow. For more information please follow the link below.
www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk
Office: 08447 706320
Mobile: 07771 682673
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Don't let the Decrease in VAT Increase your costs
Yellow Brick Road Consulting – Press Release 25th November 2008
Don’t let the Decrease in VAT Increase your costs
So how will the recent cut in VAT affect local small and medium sized businesses? Will the impact have a positive effect or not? A recent release from Wise & Co states the following:
“In a move that will affect all businesses registered for VAT, the standard rate of VAT has been cut from 17.5% to 15%, effective from Monday 1 December 2008. The rate will remain at 15% until 1 January 2010 when it will revert to 17.5%.
Zero-rated supplies, such as basic foodstuffs, children’s clothing and books; exempt supplies, such as education and health; and supplies subject to VAT at 5%, such as domestic fuel and power are not affected by this change.”
There are other small changes to the legislation detail but the key point is whether any potential benefit from increased sales from non VAT registered customers will outweigh the incremental administration benefit for business. Probably not is our view. Customer activity is unlikely to be radically changed by this small reduction in the cost of products and the increased administration is a pain.
In this market businesses are much better off looking at the bigger picture. Are they doing the business basics right? In business we are no longer order takers as we have been for the last ten years. We have to work much harder for our sales and ensure that the sales that we do make contribute fully to the bottom line. Only the most efficient businesses will come out of the current economic situation on the front foot.
For more information on how Yellow Brick Road can help your business get the business basics right call the contact numbers noted below.
Alex Warren
Yellow Brick Road
www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk
Office: 08447 706320
Mobile: 07771 682673
Don’t let the Decrease in VAT Increase your costs
So how will the recent cut in VAT affect local small and medium sized businesses? Will the impact have a positive effect or not? A recent release from Wise & Co states the following:
“In a move that will affect all businesses registered for VAT, the standard rate of VAT has been cut from 17.5% to 15%, effective from Monday 1 December 2008. The rate will remain at 15% until 1 January 2010 when it will revert to 17.5%.
Zero-rated supplies, such as basic foodstuffs, children’s clothing and books; exempt supplies, such as education and health; and supplies subject to VAT at 5%, such as domestic fuel and power are not affected by this change.”
There are other small changes to the legislation detail but the key point is whether any potential benefit from increased sales from non VAT registered customers will outweigh the incremental administration benefit for business. Probably not is our view. Customer activity is unlikely to be radically changed by this small reduction in the cost of products and the increased administration is a pain.
In this market businesses are much better off looking at the bigger picture. Are they doing the business basics right? In business we are no longer order takers as we have been for the last ten years. We have to work much harder for our sales and ensure that the sales that we do make contribute fully to the bottom line. Only the most efficient businesses will come out of the current economic situation on the front foot.
For more information on how Yellow Brick Road can help your business get the business basics right call the contact numbers noted below.
Alex Warren
Yellow Brick Road
www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk
Office: 08447 706320
Mobile: 07771 682673
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Alex Warren gets his IIB accreditation!
On 7th November 2008 Alex gained his accreditation from the Institute for Independent Business (IIB).
To gain the accreditation Alex had to prove that he had held senior executive positions in business over a number of years. Having proven that Alex was put through a number of assessments to ensure he was fully entitled to talk business to owner managers of small/medium sized businesses.
"It was tougher than I thought to get the accreditation, however it confirmed to me that the quality control processes within the IIB were tough - they don't just let anyone in!"
Now Alex has the benefit of over 5,000 senior executives worldwide to use for the benefit of his clients.
"It's great, now I can deliver benefits to my clients via experts in Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, IT and Operations. The owner manager now has all this resource available to him which he couldn't otherwise obtain. My role is to co-ordinate that resource to create maximum value!"
To learn more about the IIB please follow the link below:
http://www.iib.org.ws
To gain the accreditation Alex had to prove that he had held senior executive positions in business over a number of years. Having proven that Alex was put through a number of assessments to ensure he was fully entitled to talk business to owner managers of small/medium sized businesses.
"It was tougher than I thought to get the accreditation, however it confirmed to me that the quality control processes within the IIB were tough - they don't just let anyone in!"
Now Alex has the benefit of over 5,000 senior executives worldwide to use for the benefit of his clients.
"It's great, now I can deliver benefits to my clients via experts in Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, IT and Operations. The owner manager now has all this resource available to him which he couldn't otherwise obtain. My role is to co-ordinate that resource to create maximum value!"
To learn more about the IIB please follow the link below:
http://www.iib.org.ws
Saturday, 1 November 2008
YBR logo - CSR at the heart of what we do
Do you know how the YBR logo was devised?
Well we ran a competition with the University of the Creative Arts (UCA) whereby the winning student got a small fee earning contract to design the company letterheads, business cards, imagery for the website and the first brochure.
The winning student was Dave Lawrie who performed superbly and the least I can do is attach a link to his website and his blog below.
Dave and I are still working together on various projects and it was great to know that there is this fantastic pool of skills available at UCA.
It is also a great example of how YBR seeks to work in partnership to create value. Yes YBR got great value for design but Dave also gets a leg up by kicking off his portfolio with a live piece of work. A perfect example of Corporate Social Repsonsibility in action.
You can check out Dave's imagery on the following link
http://www.yellowbrickroadconsulting.co.uk/
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