Will Customer say "YES", the first time?



I was speaking to an "old timer"selling" the other day. The conversation drifted from topics on selling skills, product types, customers' buying behaviours etc to how technology development and advancement had transformed "face-to-face" selling to web-based selling ...

The one thing that stuck to my mind was when this guy said "Customer will always say NO when you sell to him the first time".

Hmmm ... is there any truth in what he said? He further added "if a customer said YES the first time, there must be something wrong with the customer ... "

TRUE? Yes and No.

Yes, the customer is crazy, the "old timer" said, if he buys from you the first time when he has no idea about the product other than to please you or to get rid of you. He must be crazy or very loaded in his pocket.

No, he is not crazy, if the product is a known brand irrespective of whether he has or has no experience with the product, and the price meets his expectation.

In today's environment, pushing a sales, based on lowest product pricing, is not the way to go as competitive products and disastrous pricing have complicated the market place. There is a "bottomless pit" in pricing as well!

Customers are now more selective in their demands and choices aplenty. Product needs to have "value add" in order to tilt the edge to the winner, and customers perception must also be so.. Today, "need selling skill" is inadequate. Customers look beyond the physical product.

Decision to purchase is also based on "delivery of quality customer services", brand image, accessibility, price perception etc

Thus, it is possible to have a customer saying "YES", the first time, when the product has reached the level of brand recognition, quality and the Company known for its reliable quality sales service.

Today's challenges are different from yester-years. Customers are more educated and they know what they want. They are more discerning and willing to "pay for good quality products and services". Thus, pricing is not the only criteria in decision making.

Sales personnel must thus understand his targeted customers' demography, behaviour and location. He must also develop his own "customer data profile/customer relationship management program" and use this diligently in order to have competitive edge over his adversaries.

He must also have the personality, perseverance, soft selling and creative skills.


/31-07-2014



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BACHA



Recently, a Change Management Consultant shared with me the acronym BACHA. What does it mean?

B = Blind Spot
A = Assumption
C = Complacency
H = Habit
A = Attitude

B = Blind Spots. He said that everyone, after working for a certain period of time, would have "blind spots" that he would not notice until someone, from outside his work space, who observed, would notice. Because this person has repeated doing all that he does repeatedly that everything was well and the thoughts of doing other ways do not exist or arise at all. So, this is his "Blind Spot"!

A = Assumption. The same person would not assume anything else other then what he assumed is right. The world moves on and he is still trapped in his own assumption that all things are moving as they were before. A BIG mistake!

C = Complacency. The person is too comfortable and contented in what his is getting or doing that there has no desire or hunger for anything else. What he needs, he has. So, why bother doing something differently or more? This is unhealthy and spell disaster for the business sooner or later.

H, which is habit. Habit is good if it is progressive and enhancing in value in what a person does. Poor and unproductive habit is a "no-no". It brings about disaster! A person must be sensitised to poor work culture or behaviour in order to change!

A = Attitude. We all know about positive attitude which conquers all challenges and issues. Thus, create good work attitude as "after a dark, gloomy thunderstorm, the sun will definitely emerge to shine" and "there is always a silver lining in every dark cloud" and "even opportunity during the days with bright sunshine!"

Each one of us would have a mix of BACHA or would have all of this ... it is for you to identify and make the necessary changes. The desire to achieve success must be from within. No one, from the outside, can always be there to "push you to win." You MUST have the inner desire/fire to want to win.

Examine yourself against BACHA and make changes accordingly!

/31-07-2014

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Concept & Experience



2 topics I would like to share: 1) Concept and 2) Experience

Concept Learning:

To learn quickly is to be able to grasp the concept or principle of "how things work" and "what and where are the processes that lead to the desired end result".

I was sharing with a Manager on my experience in completing a very challenging task during my earlier career days. At that moment of time, I was working in an organisation where everyone envy. The Company was a reputable market leader with many brand products under its product portfolio.

He looked at me and said "Sure what. It works for you as you were working in this BIG and REPUTABLE Company. If it is a smaller Company, I don't think the Vendor would submit to your request!"

I said to him "You are right. If you understand the business concept that I used in order to achieve the desired result, you could also achieve the same. The only difference is that, perhaps, you need to put in more effort and time in getting things through. BUT it will work!". I am sure it would.

Experience:

The Manager retorted "You mean my experience does not count?"

I replied "You are still young... you still have many more years before you retire from work. You are now half-way through your career whereas I have retired. I can now confidently said I have been successful in my career with many awards and recognitions on record.

I am not saying that I do not value your experience or you have no experience. What I am saying is that I am adding more experience to you, over and above, what you have now, if you are willing to listen and learn".

Thus, experience is going through your own life's journey to gain experience or learning from those who have gone through the journey successfully before you.

A smart guy will combine both ie his own, in addition of others', to shorten his learning curve. SMART GUY!

/23-07-2014


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Malaysia: Economy sees strong momentum in Q2



The Malaysian economy will show strong momentum in the second quarter of the year, but growth will likely taper in the second half of the year and next year said Maybank.

The momentum from the annualised 6.2% growth in Q1 remained positive between April and June as industrial output representing manufacturing, mining and power sectors that make up 35% of GDP rose 5.5%. Export and import growth expanded further to 17.5% y-o-y and 8.4% y-o-y in April-May, sustaining the external demand recovery as exports rebounded.

Maybank Investment Bank research described external demand as changing its position from being a drag to a driver in the economy.

“The index of leading economic indicators is signalling that growth is tapering going forward,” they warned. This is partly due to the base effect from 2013, which was a year of two halves growth-wise, from a slowdown to 4.4% in the first half of 2013 followed by the pick-up to 5.1% in the second half of 2013. The current trend in export growth is also reflective of the base effect where it contracted in the first half of last year before the rebound. Tapering growth also reflects the impact of fiscal consolidation measures such as the ongoing subsidy rationalisation and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax as well as hikes in the benchmark interest rate on domestic demand.

Bank Negara Malaysia raised the Overnight Policy Rate by 25 basis points to 3.25% last week. Maybank expects another 25 basis points increase is on the cards by end of the year, based on the hawkish tone of the central bank which hints at further adjustments in the monetary policy. “Amid the high and rising household debt to GDP, this will add to consumers’ living costs and reduce purchasing power via higher outlays on debt servicing that cut into their disposable income.”

On budget consolidation measures, it noted that the government remains committed to containing its deficit spending further with the target of achieving a balanced budget by 2020. “Budget deficit in the first quarter was -5.1% of GDP (down from -5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2013 and -6.4% in the first quarter of 2013)."

“This is on robust revenue growth of 12.4% year-on-year (6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2013) well above the government’s total net expenditure growth of 5.9% year-on-year.” Domestic demand accounts for slightly over 90% of GDP, leaving less than 10% being driven by external demand.

“Keeping domestic demand and GDP growth momentum intact will be investments, particularly with the Economic Transformation Programme-related cornerstone projects.”

On subsidy rationalisation, Maybank said after the increase in electricity tariff early this year followed by a hike in gas prices, next in line is a review of the fuel subsidy mechanism by end-2014, if not early-2015.

"The inflation rate is expected to average 3.5 percent this year and rise to four percent next year."  

/PEMANDU 17-07-2014


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Transformation, Increasing Doctors and Pharmacists Population ...



"Private Clinics are shutting down because of rising cost and stiff competition" said a featured article in the STARMETRO dated 9th July 2014
 
According to the writer "For decades, the medical profession has been a popular choice but the surge of new doctors and mushrooming clinics especially in the cities, has led to 500 clinics ceasing operation since 2004. There are currently 8,500 general private clinics in Malaysia but the number is slowly dropping".
 
This is alarming especially the Country is still having more doctors registering annually.

From the last count, there are 33 medical schools in the country and there are also a lot of Malaysians who go overseas to study. The estimated number of doctors entering the market is about 3,000 each year.

According to Health statistic, Malaysia had already achieved the World Health Organisation standard of 1:600 doctor-to-population ratio.

There is a strain on the training facilities. After the mandatory compulsory training and service, the newly graduated doctors will then flood the market for job opportunities.

Meanwhile, the number of Pharmacy Schools stand at 19 with the rate of graduates produced at 900 to 1200 per year. The WHO guidelines of 1:2000  ratio will be achieved in 2018, if not earlier, considering there are many more who will be returning from overseas.  

Thus there is a need to manage the influx of new doctors and pharmacists entering the work force each year.

Peering into the immediate future, Healthcare transformation is inevitable, not only to maximise the capacity of resources, but also to manage public spending on healthcare cost and optimisation of delivery quality health outcome to the patient and state.

Innovative plans, must be practical and realistic, thoroughly thought through, without any kinks, must be implemented with transparent funding program.

Challenges like "having more medical specialists rather than general practitioners", "creating seamless access to both public and private medical facilities by patients", "Healthcare Financing Scheme", "Dispensing Separation", options for "alternate therapy" etc must be encouraged and resolved.

The implementation of this Transformation Program, with stakeholders' support, must be measurable, with good governance and transparency in place, be made accountable to the public .

/16-07-2014


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Bank Negara: Hikes in OPR rate



AFTER keeping interest rates low for the past three years to support economic growth, Bank Negara has finally decided that it is the time to “normalise” interest rates.

In response to firm growth prospects and expecting inflationary pressure to continue, the benchmark overnight policy rate (OPR) was raised by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.25% on Thursday.

This is the first hike since May 2011 and the reasons, although not spelled out, were broadly hinted towards containing inflation and curbing rising household debt. Most economists are unperturbed with the move, as the central bank has hinted of an imminent hike in OPR after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in May.


According to a Bloomberg survey, 15 out of 21 economists estimated a hike.
 
The economy grew by 6.2% year-on-year in the first quarter with private consumption up 7.1% and private investment expanding by 14.1%.

The prolonged period of low interest rates in Malaysia has been supportive on the domestic economy, hence the recent rate hike has sparked the question whether the time is right for a hike amid a recovery in the global economy.

“Despite higher costs of living, stable income growth and favourable labour-market conditions are expected to buoy private consumption growth,” said CIMB Research in a report.

It expects the country’s economic growth to increase to 5.5% this year and 5.2% in 2015.

Bank Negara remained positive on Malaysia’s growth outlook, riding on the back of recovery in exports, robust investment activity and anchored by private consumption.
 
“Going forward, the overall growth momentum is expected to be sustained. “Exports will continue to benefit from the recovery in the advanced economies and from regional demand. Investment activity is projected to remain robust, led by the private sector,” says Bank Negara.

However, there are a lot of factors that could derail the recovery in the world’s economy, including a risk in China’s growth slowing and a slower recovery in Europe and the United States. 
 
“The rise in OPR will likely to improve Malaysia’s attractiveness amongst foreign investors, leading a stronger capital inflows, lower bond yields and appreciating ringgit,” says AllianceDBS Research chief economist Manokaran Mottain in a report.
  
Year-to-date, the ringgit had rallied to RM3.172 per US dollar on July 9, registering a 2.06% gain. However, at the close yesterday, the ringgit closed lower at RM3.21 against the greenback.

The central bank also highlights that the increase in the OPR is to ease the risk of financial imbalances, which may effect the economy’s growth prospect.

/theSTAR 12-07-2014

 
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Dengue Vaccine: Shows Promise



An effective dengue vaccine will not only have a positive effect on public health, but also help save the Government money.

Universiti Malaya research consultant Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit said that if Sanofi Pasteur’s dengue vaccine works as promised, using it “could be very cost-effective for the country”.

It was reported that the French pharmaceutical company had announced that Phase III of its clinical trial for the vaccine, conducted in South-East Asia in 2011-2013, including Malaysia, showed an 88.5% protective result against dengue haemorrhagic fever and decreased hospitalisation from dengue by two-thirds.

According to Prof Lam, a study by Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and Brandeis University of the United States had estimated the cost of dengue in Malaysia to be US$102mil (RM325mil) annually.

He also noted that according to the trial results published online in The Lancet yesterday, the protection given by the vaccine after the first dose was almost the same as the protection after full three doses. “If this is so, it will make the administration of the vaccine in dengue-endemic countries much easier, and certainly less expensive,” he said, though adding that further study needs to be done to validate this result.

However, Prof Lam pointed out that while the vaccine showed 75% protection against the DEN-3 and DEN-4 serotypes of the dengue virus, and 50% for DEN-1, the 35% protection given against DEN-2 was not statistically significant.

Developing an effective vaccine against the dengue virus is tough as it needs to be effective against all four serotypes simultaneously; otherwise, a vaccinated person would be prone to severe complications should he be infected with a serotype he is not protected against.

It had been reported in April that the vaccine reduced the risk of dengue in 56% of cases involving children aged two to 14 who received the vaccine in three injections spaced six months apart.

The vaccine was reportedly found to be safe with no serious side effects. Its dengue vaccine head Guillaume Leroy said the company would start applying for licensing by early next year.
 .
Leroy added that the company’s production site in Lyons had been producing the vaccine since last year, and would be able to supply 100 million doses of vaccine a year.

Accordingly the price of the vaccine would only be determined after discussions with the World Health Organisation and the countries interested in purchasing it. Leroy added that Sanofi Pasteur intended to make it available first in countries suffering the most from dengue.

The study’s principal investigator, Dr Maria Rosario Capeding from the Philippines’ Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, noted that Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – the five countries involved in the clinical trial – account for about 70% of dengue cases worldwide.

/theSTAR 11-07-2014
 
 
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GPTP: Government Intervention?



What is GPTP?

To those who are in the know, GPTP stands for "Good Pharmaceutical Trade Practice".

The Pharmaceutical Services Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia intends to introduce a Guideline on "Good Pharmaceutical Trade Practice" to the Pharmaceutical Industry "somewhere" in 2014.

This Guideline, as its name imply, is a guideline where the Government encourages Pharmaceutical Companies to have non-discriminatory trade practices across various trade channels in the private sector.

There are 3 broad category of trade channels viz 1) Pharmacy   2) Private Medical Clinics   3) Private Hospitals

For examples 1) all trade channels must enjoy similar pricing and bonuses for products purchased and 2) all products must be made available to all channels unless mandatory restriction by the Ministry of Health.

As each channel has its peculiar behaviour and function in delivering healthcare services and products, it is thus, to the Industry, attracts different price structures and bonuses basing on types and values of products purchased.

The Industry is obviously against any form of trade control. The trade believes in having an efficient market which can only be brought about by having a "free market" where the dynamics of market forces reign.

The Industry is for ethical trade practices through "self-regulation" where each stakeholders will be governed by its respective "Code of Conduct or Trade Practices".

A market governed, through Government intervention, example with the introduction of Trade Guideline, will never be efficient and healthy. It will breed inefficiency and incompetency. There will be lack of market dynamism for development and growth.

So it is with caution that any intent of market regulation by the Authority, must be well thought through, and with much depth and wisdom.

/10-07-2014


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Malaysia Economy Heading Into Safe Zone: PEMANDU



Malaysia's economy is doing quite well as the current debt service ratio continues to be moderate and sustainable at 10.7 percent and it is also heading into a safe zone, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala said.

He was responding to William Pesek's June 5 article titled 'Is Malaysia Asia's Weakest Link' in Bloomberg View, an editorial division of Bloomberg, in which the columnist wondered whether Malaysia's economy will crumble after Oxford Economics ranked Malaysia as the riskiest country in Asia in a survey.

"Over the last four years, with our public debt as a percentage of the GDP maintained below the legislated debt ceiling of 55 percent and having met with fiscal deficit reduction targets, in 2013 Malaysia took its first step into the Safe Zone," he said.

The Minister pointed out that the Boston Consulting Group has developed a matrix to determine a fiscal 'Safe Zone' for countries, with one axis featuring public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and another featuring fiscal surplus or deficit as a percentage of GDP. The safe zone is achieved if as a percentage of GDP, public debt is below 75 percent and deficit is at four percent or below, with the danger zone characterised by public debt equalling or exceeding the GDP and deficit of eight percent and above.

Many other countries have much higher debt profiles as a percentage of GDP such as Singapore (115.1 percent), Japan (195.8 percent), the UK (102.6 percent) and the United States (93.8 percent), Idris said, pointing out that what is more important is whether countries are able to service their loans.

Idris said: "Malaysia is well on track to meet the 3.5 percent target this year after surpassing the 4.0 percent target to achieve a 3.9 percent deficit in 2013."

"In the last four years we have systematically reduced our deficit in 2010 by 5.6 percent, followed by 4.8 percent in 2001 and 4.5 percent in 2012," he said. Malaysia's fiscal deficit was at 6.6 percent in 2009 and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is determined for the country to be budget neutral by 2020.

Idris said: "The government will broaden its tax base and diversify revenue streams by announcing the planned implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) at six percent from April 2015."

"Just imagine the positive impact the GST will have on the fiscal position eventually, when we increase the rates to the international benchmark."

"Moving on, at RM40 billion a year, Malaysia's subsidy bill is simply untenable," Idris said.

 The government has rationalised subsidies on fuel and sugar as well as put in place the reforms necessary for a targeted subsidy system to benefit the deserving via social safety nets, he noted.

"More must be done certainly. We are not shying away from the difficult policy decisions, we are pushing ahead full steam."

"We have also gradually reduced dependence on oil and gas revenue from 35.8 percent in 2011 to 33.7 percent in 2012. In 2013, we expect a further reduction to 30.6 percent," he said.

Idris said "Approved pipeline investment has been increasing year-on-year since 2010, surpassing the government's annual investment target of RM148 billion under the 10th Malaysia Plan." In 2011, approved investment stood at RM154.6 billion; in 2012, RM167.8 billion; and in 2013, RM216.5 billion.

He said "Offshore borrowing stands at RM324 billion making up 32.9 percent of GDP with only 46.7 percent of external debt stock in Malaysia coming from offshore borrowings."

"Of this amount, almost all were borrowed by profit-driven and revenue maximising institutions including private sector and public enterprises and only five percent is attributed to the Federal Government," he said.

On the Federal Government's borrowings, Idris said: "The external debt is at RM158.4 billion of which only RM16.8 billion are in foreign currencies. This simply means that we are less susceptible to fluctuations in the global economy," he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has climbed steadily from 23rd in 2010 and 18th in 2012 to 6th in 2014, and has been in the top 10 in the world for the last two years under the World Bank's Doing Business survey.

The country climbed three notches from last year to capture 12th spot in the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014, and placed 15th compared to 25th in 2013 under AT Kearney's FDI Confidence Index 2014.

"So, if we are being told that our economy is in trouble, the writer and Oxford Economics should, at the very least, present a more factually compelling story," Idris said.

/Bernama 23-06-2014


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Healthcare: NKEA Update as of 26th June 2014



Four new projects will be implemented under the national key economic area (NKEA) for health care to provide more comprehensive health services to the people as well as to generate the national economy.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the new projects were entry point projects (EPP) on medical devices and wellbeing of senior citizens.

It encompasses 1) manufacturing of burn care wound device by SteriPack Asia Sdn Bhd 2)Establishment of Toshiba Medical Systems Manufacturing Subsidiary in Malaysia by Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Japan 3) Econ Medicare Hub (Phase 1) by Econ Healthcare Group of Singapore and 4) Eden on The Park: Integrated Senior Active Lifestyle & Care Residence Resort by Eden-on-The-Park Sdn Bhd.

"The four projects will give a positive impact to the gross national product amounting to RM45.9 million by 2020," he said when speaking at the Healthcare NKEA Progress Update.

Subramaniam said: "Since the launch of the national economic transformation programme (ETP) in 2010 up to December 2013, 36 projects were announced under the health care NKEA."

"The projects are expected to impact the gross national product by RM6.55 billion in 2020, and it could create 26,476 new job opportunities and open new investment opportunities amounting to RM4.76 billion by 2020," he said.

From 36 projects, 12 projects have been completed with the remaining in various stages of development, he said.

Subramaniam said: "The ministry was working toward attracting more private companies to invest, in line with the desire of the government to make the sector more dynamic, strong and competitive." -

/PEMANDU 26-06-2014


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