Product and Service Positioning

Posted on November 15, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

This stuff might be old hat in the US, but not so much internationally.

Basically, what we advocate is positioning IN CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS. What they think is reality, not what your marketing department tells you.

A quick way to get a handle on where you stand is to ask your customers “Who do you think we’re like?” Why did you chose us ?”

If you’re retail, attach a post-paid card to your product, or send your service customers a survey, asking the same questions.

If you’re b2b, you can get all your customer-facing people to ask customers the same questions over, say, a week’s period. Then take a look at the results.

And then, take a look at all your promotion materials….do they convey distinction. If not, change ’em.

If you want any feedback, let us know. We see your websites through the headers, so we can render some limited opinons.

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Relationship Selling

Posted on November 11, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

This is a style of selling products or services to your customers where you establish a modest relationship with them before you try to sell them.

The reason you want to do this is to establish trust in your customers towards you and your company.

The process takes longer, but usually results in more solid closes of the sale, larger order sizes and possibly higher prices.

Customers want to buy from companies they like and trust….you should be that company.

We’ve trained about 40 clients to use it, and even had Worldcom using it before the company imploded.

We know it works!

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Radio Free China

Posted on November 5, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

I was watching Fox News recently about the plight of the Chinese people, and the fact that they apparently have little knowlege about what’s going on outside China. Taiwan would be a logical broadcasting spot, since it’s just off the mainland of China.

So, why not set up Radio Free China, designed to be like Radio Free Europe was after the second World War.

Maybe a little less propaganda that RFE, but designed to bring more news to the Chinese people. What kind of news? I would hope fair and balanced. No CNN, although some CNN stories could be used. Maybe some Fox, maybe some Sky News.It would be hard to evaluate ‘fair and balanced’, since most of the censors and minders of news are either liberal or conservative, but that’s what I’d strive for.

Sell advertising, sure. Can probably turn a profit. Think of all the multinational companies who’d want to broaden their promotional base in China.

If we get some support for this, I can take it up with the State Department.

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Impeachment Bushwa

Posted on October 29, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

Normally, this wouldn’t be a topic for Entrepreneurial News, but if President Trump were impeached, it would be bad for the business community in the US and, by extension, around the world, IMHO, so it’s an appropriate topic.

But, we don’t see yet any grounds for impeachment (see high crimes or misdemeanors) that rise to nearly the level of what got Nixon and Clinton in trouble.

The Dems controlling the US House of Representatives have belatedly realized that they need articles of impeachment, and that the whole House must vote on them. Which means they need 218 votes to pass the House. If 218 votes aren’t secured, then the process dies.

Should the House Dems pass impeachment articles, they have to go to the Senate, and the redoubtable Lindsey Graham has already corralled 50 senators to vote against it, lacking only Collins, Murkowski and Romney, the usual never Trumper suspects. Sen Graham might peel off Joe Mancin of West Virginia, too. We don’t knowif he’s been asked. And the Vice President is available to break ties. So, impeachment is dead in the Senate, so it looks like the House is engaging in an exercise in futility, nothing new for them. It looks to us like Pelosi is pushing a dead letter, and wasting time and money. Payback’s hell in 2020.

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Strategies to End Cash Flow Insommnia

Posted on October 11, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

Inc. Magazine put this article out this month, but it’s some some rather unusual statements beyond the 3 reasons, so we’ll editorialize on their headings.

  1. Making payroll: Inc. would like you to use just-in-time workers, but in a full employment economy, I’m not sure this is practical. I don’t see any pools of people outside Home Depot anymore. If anything, keep your workers on even though cash flow is tight….you don’t want to lose them. Inc. also advocates missing your own paycheck, which I’ve done, or moving it around as cash flow permits. Wives are not fond of this strategy.
  2. Paying outstanding bills. Yes, of course you should pay them, but try to get early payment discounts, or let them run to term on net payment. Stay on top of receivables
  3. Sustaining inventory levels. This is interesting, because it might be harder to get supplies in a full employment economy, so keep inventory higher than you might. You might also be able to negotiate discounts for continuous shipments, if you know you’re going to use the parts or supplies.
  4. Really stay on top of receivables….you don’t want to be a bank for anyone, unless you’re charging them for it. Offer fast payment discounts….which should really work.
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Mad Dog’s Maxims For Leadership

Posted on September 30, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

Gen. James Mattis has written an excellent book on leadership, called Call Sign Chaos, (the name Mad Dog was given him by some admiring troops in the Gulf War). If you can get through the military jargon and campaigns, there are some excellent ideas on leadership:

  1. Lead from the front….be right there with your people on the front lines, let them know that you support them. He didn’t always get along with his superiors, but they knew his sterling record, and gave him a lot of leeway to accomplish his tasks.
  2. Get rid of poor performers….at one point, Mattis writes a 3 page letter to an enlisted person he cashiered from the Marine Corps. Even when he had 25,000 people under his command.
  3. Make sure your leadership style evolves, as your organization grows. Mattis went from commanding a platoon of 24 to commanding entire Marine regiments of 50,000 plus. He had to learn how to lead through others, and trust the others.
  4. Your people will trust you if you trust them. Mattis acknowleges making mistakes in command, and some of his subordinates made mistakes, but he stood buy them as long as they 1) acknowleged their mistakes and 2)didn’t make the same mistake twice.
  5. Mattis used to write ‘Commanders Intent’ emails that outlined what he wanted to do in a battle, and all the troops had a copy, so there was no mistaking what he wanted from them and what the final outcome would be. A business owner could do the same when embarking on a new marketing campaign. Mattis used to get useful suggestions from everyone (CHAOS stands for Colonel Has Another Outstanding Suggestion), which he funnelled through the chain of command, except when the chain wasn’t working, and he relieved someone of their duty.

The book is well worth the $22.00 at Barnes and Noble!

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Student Loan Debt

Posted on September 23, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

Just saw a long article in the Phoenix Business Journal out the overhang that student loan debt is doing to the kids with the student loan problem.

It’s apparent that none of them did much, if any planning about what would happen after they incurred the debt. There’s a failing on the part of the high schools and community colleges, and especially guidance counsellors who are supposed to prevent this sort of thing.

I didn’t see any reporting about the choice that the kids made to even go to college, much less was it worth it.

Personally, having had two kids that went through college and were bettered by it (both pursued majors they could use in business), I wonder who is advising these kids in high school or community college that going to a four year college is a good idea.

It so happens that I run a Meetup called Growth Group which is dedicated to personal problems like these. The next meeting is October 7th, at 6 pm at the Denny’s, US 60 and Rural. Stop in, have a green slushie and we’ll discuss your situation. Odds are we can figure something out.

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How to Clear 1 MM Immigration Case Backlog

Posted on September 20, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

We put our thinking hats on, and came up with the idea for a business, or a government division that could clear the backlog, based on the fact that we spend about $75,000 per illegal chasing, and prosecuting them for illegal entry into the country.

  1. We know where they are, based on the paperwork they submitted at the time they came in, so Immigration and Naturalization (or whatever the agency is, issues registered letters to the last known address that they put on their immigration papers. Give them a little budget for this task, or hire a government contractor skilled in skip tracing.
  2. Each immigrant is issued a court date in the local justice court of the locality where he/she is supposed to be residing. If they don’t report, they become more of a felon.
  3. If the papers come back, then you know they’re in the wind somewhere and let the local police take over. A process server costs about $20 per service, less in volume.
  4. If they show up for their court date, fine them, have the judge ask them what they think they could contribute to the country, and if he or she doesn’t like the answer, deport them to their native country.
  5. The government might employ a skip tracing call center to find them by phone, if there is one on the paperwork.

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C’Mon GM, SWOT Yourself

Posted on September 17, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

It appears that GM has rather lost its way. 55,000 workers are striking its us plants over higher wages and benefits, which now average $63 per hour.

It’s been awhile since I was at Ford, but back in the day, benefits were about 25% of the total pay package. If that’s true, then the AVERAGE worker is making about $40 per hour, which equates to something like $80,000 per year to build cars.

That’s about 25% more than the workers get in non union plants dotting the South that are building Hondas, Mercedes and BMWs.

What this means is that GM has got to move upmarket in the cars and trucks that it builds in the US. Trucks aren’t the problem, other than the GM truck products routinely get poorer reviews than their counterparts at Ford and FiatChrysler.

Ford figured out the wage/product conundrum a few years ago, and builds nothhing but Mustangs. SUVs and trucks in North America. And hasn’t roused The Donald’s ire lately. But they need to make more money, averaging, apparently only 2% of sales in gross profits. The problem is probably poor capacity utilization…I think their recent marketing has been pretty good.

Fiat Chrysler builds Dodge rockets and trucks in their assembly plans, which they can do at only $50 per hour pay and benefits.

So, Ms. Barra, it’s time to shake up your management.: fire all your product managers who aren’t in the right SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) buckets. Do some serious product evals against Ford and Dodge/Chrysler.

Get YOUR crew going.

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Fox Fatheads

Posted on September 14, 2019 by asechmentor@gmail.com

Speficially, Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannity. And you can add Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business.

The business case for these two at Fox News is probably excellent….both probably lead their time segment on Fox, which leads among networks, so they make, and are paid, lots of money.

But, by Friday, I think they’re worn out and just talking for the sake of talking….too long intros, interruptions of certain guests (mostly women and lesser known talking heads). Hence the term fathead….in jocular parlance, someone whose head has increased in size.

Personally, Friday is the best time for me to sit down and listen to what they have to say. But, they’re clueless. Tucker Carlson and Martha McCallum are just as interesting on Friday as the rest of the week.

Dobbs and Hannity get the best guests, because of ratings. They don’t deserve them, because they both interrupt their guests after asking a question.

So, what’s to be done? I’ve left comments in this post’s vein with Fox Corporate in New York (888-369-4762), as have others I’m sure, and on Monday D and H are better.

And, as of this week (1 November) Dobbs seems to be better. Maybe Fox Business took him to the woodshed. I’m I’m saying it, in this blog and in emails, so are others.

So, have at it. Our foreign readers probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but humor me on this post.

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