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

Disclaimer: Views or opinions expressed are solely those of the Author and should be used with discretion. The Author shall not be held liable for any acts or omissions arising from the use of the information. The user will be personally liable for any damages or other liability arising hereof.

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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

Disclaimer: Views or opinions expressed are solely those of the Author and should be used with discretion. The Author shall not be held liable for any acts or omissions arising from the use of the information. The user will be personally liable for any damages or other liability arising hereof.

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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

Disclaimer: Views or opinions expressed are solely those of the Author and should be used with discretion. The Author shall not be held liable for any acts or omissions arising from the use of the information. The user will be personally liable for any damages or other liability arising hereof.

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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

 

 

Disclaimer: Views or opinions expressed are solely those of the Author and should be used with discretion. The Author shall not be held liable for any acts or omissions arising from the use of the information. The user will be personally liable for any damages or other liability arising hereof.

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