Money Advice Guide

The media is doing their best to talk us into another recession. If they have their way we will find ourselves in a full-blown economic decline. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to let the people who report the news determine my destiny. In a nutshell - I can’t afford another recession. I have been through 3 since I started speaking and training full time in 1973.

So, what can we do to limit the impact of the economy on our success, lifestyle and income? We can wait and see! We can worry! We can whine and moan! We can settle for less! Or, we can use this time to get better, smarter, wiser, more effective and, yes, successful. There have been economic shifts in the US and the world for years. This is nothing new. However, I have observed the reactions of hundreds of salespeople and organizations during the past 25+ years, and generally, one of two things happen to salespeople and/or the organizations they work for.

They can do less, feel out of control, circle the wagons, cut back, and generally focus on how ‘bad’ everything is. These salespeople and organizations tend to get less of their share of the available business during these times and after.

The other groups work harder, smarter, more effectively and focus on what they can do. You guessed it - this group may not set sales records, but they emerge better equipped to take advantage of the increase in business when it comes. And it always comes. After every recession for the past 70 years, there have been economic booms.

So, what can you do regardless of what happens ‘out there’?

1. Focus on what is working.
2. Avoid naysayers.
3. Read instead of watching TV.
4. Get up earlier every day.
5. Make one or two extra calls every day.
6. Plan better and more frequently.
7. Look under every rock for new business.
8. Re-activate past clients.
9. Improve your after-sales service on existing customers.
10. Attend a sales seminar that can refine your skills. (Mine is 3/26 - 3/27 in Charlotte. A few seats remain.)

11. Go to bed an hour later (I am assuming by getting up earlier and/or going to bed later you will be using the time to beat the competition.)
12. Get focused.
13. Waste less time with poor prospects.

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management, leadership and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; Soft Sell, That’s Life, Peace Of Mind, 91 Challenges Managers Face Today and Your First Year In Sales. He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at www.timconnor.com.

Tags: leadership, management, Sales, sales management, sales training, Selling, success, supervisionleadership, management, Sales, sales management, sales training, Selling, success, supervision

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Continuing from the second article:

6. About the aground mathematical model, let us to see the product k:

• First quantity received in 10/6/98, quantity 1,000, unit cost US$ 34.00.

• Second in 12/11/98, quantity 1,300, unit cost US$ 23.00

• Third in 1/10/99, quantity 760, unit cost US$ 36.00

Therefore, if not been sold we would have 3,060 units in stock today. But you sold - in several opportunities - a total of 1,300 units, and our current total stock is of 1,760 units. We also have the data of those sales, besides its responsible salesman.

The question is: Because today is 1/11/99, about the product k what quantity should be consider as aground and therefore with a differentiated treatment in prices and sales conditions and also in marketing, in order to sell your balance in stock?

7. To establish the definitive aground formula that will be created - in Notes - and the new Views automatically computed, for example

• View 1 - column - reduced sales price, if sold in the next 15 days

• View 2 - column - same, for next month.

Remember that those information are practically online, and they can be visualized in every terminal of the company at local or regional or national or international levels.

8. We established a periodicity for the automatic communication of those information - without the human interference - to salesman and similar, through the Notes integrated e-mail system. Let us say that every 15 days Notes will send automatically the new - computed - sales prices.

9. We established the automatic data acquisition of the salesman’ results, with Notes automatically analyzing each salesman’s daily sales and how much as he sold of the aground products, and then Notes send automatic e-mails specific for each salesman with reports and new rules, etc.

The databases synchronization

Naturally we need the databases synchronization among Notes and your dBcompany, because the data in your dBcompany are dynamic, that is to say, the data residing in both databases should be synchronized, or in a field-by-field or document-by-document bases.

For example:

• dBcompany a,b,c —> Notes a,b,c (begin)

• dBcompany a,c —> Notes a,b,c (the field b was deleted in the dBcompany)

• Result: dBcompany a,c = Notes a,c (end).

Final

For each project, we must analyze the current and future needs of your dBcompany in what refers any ERP functions, but always you must have in mind that Notes as a Front-End it’s programmable almost to the “infinite”. Saying in another way, we won’t be wandering when doing an ERP application with the Notes as your Front-End, because this approach is almost an open application system.

We suggested a Front-End with the Notes, for your managerial/accounting system. But the same suggestion applies to several other situations, as the following few examples:

• You have your online managerial/accounting system and also other online system for your Human Resources Department, and you need to integrate the employee’s different data from both systems. Probably your have some HR features in your managerial/accounting system, but your HR system it’s more powerful with more information and features, concerning your HR Dept.

• You have your online managerial/accounting system and also other process control real-time system(s), and you need to integrate this manufacturing data with your accounting or marketing or sales systems.

• You have five different online systems in your company - some online and some offline - for different purposes, and need to integrate information and/or data from the five systems in only one system - your ERP programmed Front-End.

Naturally this is only few examples, because any of your desired ERP functions depends only on your imagination, if using this programmed Front-End approach.

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About The Author

J.C.Melo is a 73-years old IT professional with 54 years of experience in computer & technology entrepreneurship. He was the owner of the first minicomputer factory in South America and Consultant for the U.S. Government in several contracts. Now is the CEO of http://mba-open-university.net and http://erp-enterprise-resources-planning-courses.us.

johnncmelo@yahoo.com

Tags: accounting, business, business software, consultants, CRM, erp, great plains, management, microsoft, systemaccounting, business, business software, consultants, CRM, erp, great plains, management, microsoft, system

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