Books that can change your life

When trying to sell used cars it is often a good idea to use classified ads. These can be quite effective, but a lot of people feel unsure about how to actually write them. However there will be many other similar ads in the classified section of these newspapers and they will be your competition You should try to do your best to make your ad noticeable. Continue reading →

Executives often struggle with the gray areas. Leading the troops is difficult when marching orders are qualified by phrases such as “relative to”, “within limits”, or “balanced approach”. However, in the world of marketing, particularly channel marketing, balance is everything. Like an aerialist walking a tightrope, channel marketers must constantly strike a balance between too little and too much.

Let us look at some examples:

Market Coverage distribution strategy

At Frank Lynn & Associates, we’ve seen many companies looking to expand into indirect channels for the first time. With no channel partners to start, the sales or marketing executive frequently tells the field team to start recruiting partners, the more the better.

Simplistically, the goal of the manufacturer is to balance the number of partners (supply) with the number of customers (demand). To find the optimal point I often use the rule-of-two. If the average customer meets two partners selling the same brand that is often the balancing point. Fewer than two partners implies that maybe 20-30% of customers are seeing no partners of the manufacturers. More than two partners, implies that many customers are overwhelmed with sales pitches for the same brand.

Purposely under-distributing a product can often be part of a strategy to create an exclusive, premium position. The resulting premium brand position will draw the customer to the channel. Think of companies like Apple, Bose, Mercedes or Rockwell Automation.

Purposely over-distributing a product might make sense when trying to establish a technology standard early in a market life cycle. Novell accomplished this in the networking market (until eventually Microsoft was able to break the Novell standard by linking its networking product to its dominant operating system).

Channel Programs

Manufacturers also must consider the concept of “balance” in the structure of their channel programs. Programs may include lead generation, co-op advertising, discounts and rebates, training or certification, business plans, joint selling efforts, demo units, SPIFs, contests, deal registration, channel advisory councils, newsletters, portals, etc. Even for a company with a single operating division, the structure of its channel program can quickly become overwhelming.

Therefore, walking the tightrope of channel programs involves balancing the need for a comprehensive set of support activities with a simplified process that harried channel partners can understand. Too many programs and the channel ignores the brand altogether. Too few programs and the channel doesn’t see enough support to justify pushing the brand.

Channel Compensation

Indirect channels are highly motivated to sell products and brands that carry higher margins. Manufacturers can provide higher margins for their channel partners in two ways channel compensation. First, they can create a premium brand that delivers real added-value to the customer – the Apple iPhone is a good example. A premium brand allows the channel to charge a higher price. Second, the manufacturer can offer channel partners deeper discounts, rebates and other forms of compensation.

The margin, the difference between what the channels can charge the customer and pay the supplier, is a critical source of motivation. Providing the channel with too little margin will cause the channel to push another brand or product category. Providing the channel with too much margin means the manufacturer gives away its own profit.

Share of Partners Business

Many manufacturers want to maximize their share of the channel’s business. In some cases, suppliers will insist that the channel not carry competing brands. In these exclusive arrangements the vendor will have 100% of the channel’s business – in this one product area. But, of course, most channels will sell other product categories. What if the supplier goes out of business? What if the supplier reduces its discounts? Channel partners often don’t want any one supplier to represent more than 20-30% of their overall business.

Too low a share of the channel’s business and the vendor will have no clout. Too high a share of the channel’s business and the partner may purposely pick up new suppliers. channel workshops

The gung-ho executive expecting to lead a sales channel team to success needs to realize that more (nor less) isn’t always better. Marketing and sales executives should think about strategy as a tightrope. As a balancing act. Set expectations on the high side, and the low side. Provide incentives for staying within the range, not pushing to the extremes. Ultimately, employees and channel partners will recognize a superior leader who grasps the subtleties and nuances of a market rather than someone who thinks in black and white.

Getting buried under a pile of paper at the office is an all too common occurrence for a lot of us. Well if you are one of those who wants to start the New Year off on a better footing, de-cluttering your office space can be the perfect solution. So many people will create a bad impression of you based on the state of your desk so it might be worthwhile considering a bid tidy up even if you can work perfectly fine in the mess. Continue reading →

If you are selling a used car the main aim is to get the most money you possibly can for it. However if you want to achieve this there are certain things you will need to do. Here are some tips to help you get the best deal. Continue reading →

The weather is pretty bad here in the UK at the moment and looking closely at favourite USA destinations such as Florida I have noticed that it is near freezing there too. So what happens when it snows so much that you have things like trains and buses with delayed services and the roads worse than an indoor icerink?

Take It On?? Continue reading →

Keeping your office space organised can be a real challenge. But if you do not keep your office organised properly it can be detrimental to health and it could mean that your daily tasks are harder than necessary. The guidelines below will help you to make sure your office is organised properly. Continue reading →

Manycar insurance policies are still sold for 1 year. However, to accommodate the growing trend for flexibility required by drivers today, insurance cover can now be secured for as little as one day.

A commonly accepted definition of short termmotorcover is insurance ranging from one month to as little as 1 day. Continue reading →

There are many things that contribute to our happiness and well being and one of those things is humor. Okay, I know that there are conditions in which it is no laughing matter, but on the other hand, many are. We have a tendency to take our life too serious sometimes and thereby our health gets worse because we grieve over things which elevate our stress over which we can do nothing about. It is always necessary to be able to laugh at ourselves sometimes. Feeling gloomy all the time over frivolous issues is nonsense and only causes us not to be productive individuals.

It is said that Science has finally endorsed the fact that laughter can and does benefit us health wise. There was a report that said in a study of 20 healthy individual volunteers smiled and laughed while watching the comedy, Kingpin, their blood flow increased by 22 percent, about the same increase caused by aerobic exercise….can you believe that? While the same volunteers watched the tension-filled parts of Saving Private Ryan, their blood flow decreased 35 percent. Astounding, so what does that tell us about healing benefits of laughter not only lowers blood pressure and reduces stress hormones but it also increases muscle flexibly, and boosts immune function by elevating levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins call Gamma-interferon and B-cells that produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, per this study which is the body’s natural painkiller and produces a general sense of well-being.

Okay, now that we know the statics; where do we start? As we acknowledged above, life is not always a laughing matter, but a lot of what we deal with on a daily basis could be laughed off if we chose to. Why, because a lot of what we deal with is not a life and death matter. So much of it is silly, petty, good for nothing foolishness that we should just guffaw at.

Let’s use an example of this….So, someone else got the promotion and you did not and you worked like a slave to be the best and out do the other candidates. Why did you not win? You are as frustrated as you can be and would like to tell somebody off…you deserved this promotion; and so on.

My replay would be like this….What will you gain by becoming angry at the boss or the candidate who got the promotion? Why do you think they were considered over you? Was it because they did a better job or because of office politics? Don’t cheat yourself by thinking it was necessarily because they did a better job or because they had more experience. But, if it was, it isessential to be honest with yourself. If it was because of their experience or the many closed deals they had; just remember there are opportunities ahead and that this is not going to kill you. In fact if you laugh about it…it will make you more inventive in finding new ways to be successful and if it were politics…then you sure need to laugh your head off…I am joking of course, because it is their loss. This might be one of those “life is not fair” things but the point is that if you continue to work hard and not give up and keep the right approach. Your patience will pay off and learning to see the humor of these kinds of situations will give you a clearer view of you choices and the road to keep traveling.

My point is that if we can laugh our way through some of the diminutive things in life…we reduce our chances of becoming unresourceful, resentful and in the long run; less productive humans. What matters anyway? What is the most important part of our life? If we dwell on these things and learn to laugh at the quirky stuff…we will be healthier in mind, body and soul….Shall we laugh?

Many businesses have more office space than they actually require and quite often this extra space goes unused. There may be extra space which is unoccupied but it is possible to make money from that unused space. It can be quite expensive for a small business to rent a complete office when all they actually need is a desk and a chair. Continue reading →

p>More and more people are rebelling against institution and ditching the 9-5 office life for a job based at home. A vast proportion of home-based business owners are doing everything on their own and there has been a tendency to rely heavy on the internet for marketing and winning customers. As with any type of business there are issues to overcome before they can be successful and people who work from home often quote the same issues time and again. Continue reading →