Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

 
So yesterday, we looked at why home ownership has been seen as the be-all and end-all of adult ambition However, not every society has burdened their young first-time buyers with unrealistic loan plans and consequently, unparralled levels of debt.

Home ownership sits at 72% in the UK; 68% in the USA, but barely 50% in France – so let’s take a closer look at the mathematics, the figures that realtors never tell you.

Recognising the risks of homeownership in an upturn economy wasn’t a matter of rocket science - it was simple arithmetic. The ratio of house sale prices to annual rent soared past 20 to 1 in the inflated markets, approaching 30 to 1 at one time.

Let’s say a homeowner takes out a 7% mortgage (this is of course very low for a subprime buyer), pays 1% of the value in property tax each year, and another 1% for insurance and maintenance, then ownership costs are equal to 9% of the sale price. If the house sells for 20 times its annual rent, then this family is paying 80% more in housing costs as homeowners each year than they would pay as renters. If the house were selling for 25 times the annual rent, then the family would be paying 125% more as homeowners as they would as renters – that’s the reality.

For low and medium income families who are finding it difficult to make ends meet, and pay for necessities like utility bills, food, healthcare and childcare, how are we helping them by asking them to pay 80-125% more than necessary for their housing costs?

Ah, but you are thinking, but they will accumulate equity in their home.

Erm, obviously not. They were led to believe, as we all have, that the property market will keep inflating indefinitely. Certainly, the evangelists of homeownership thought that housing prices would just keep rising forever, but this was an incredibly naïve and irresponsible thing to propagate.

So what has this all to do with Gordon Brown?

Despite suggestions to the contrary by his followers, appropriately called “Brownites” Brown has never been an economic genius: He completely misread the run-up to Black Wednesday by supporting Norman Lamont in 1992. He refused to pour calming oils on the dotcom bubble in 2000. Then he was all over the place when the ailing Railtrack finally collapsed; did not understand risk transfer under his private finance initiative, and then got into bed with Derek Wanless, known as the king of corporate spendthrifts, to totally sabotage the NHS by throwing absurd sums of money at it.

But I have to admit that nothing was more nonsensical than his handling of the housing “crisis” last spring. You see, there was no crisis, but rather a cyclical movement in house prices, largely in response to low interest rates. Median payments for first-time buyers at the time were 16.8% of income, compared with 14% in 2000, 27% in 1990, 18% in 1980 and 16% in 1975. Nothing was new (not even the hysteria).

So what did this supposedly “economic genius” do? His response was to panic. He declared his priority was to make house purchase even easier. Ownership “must be open to all those wanting to get on to the housing ladder for the first time”

To this incredibly naive extravagance he added the meaningless statement that “one of the great causes of our time…is affordable housing for all”. Amazingly, both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed with him.

Companies such as Northern Rock failed to heed subsequent warnings from the Bank of England and other financial authorities. The politicians were pledged to sustain house-price inflation. The companies duly lent at seven or eight times annual income and borrowed short from other banks. They were spurred by the bonus culture that enabled dealing and sales staff to reap huge rewards from risks that their employers and shareholders - not they - would have to bear.

But of course, it has not ended there, it never does. When their employers could not fund the losses, we came the full circle and the government, Brown’s government, is bailing them out – well actually, the taxpayer is bailing them out, you and me.

According to the latest polls, the Conservatives are now a full fifteen points ahead of Labour – I hope that the electorate really have had enough of “the Brown stuff”

Tomorrow: Business as usual - we have a massive week coming up, so be sure to join me.

Scanning the globe, it is interesting to observe what “making it” means for different nationalities: For example in Russia, where wealth has given the word obscenity a less than substantial meaning, one pre-supposes that success is measured in terms of the number of bodyguards employed. Whereas in Zimbabwe right now, where the entire infrastructure has collapsed, it probably means protecting your family from cholera and starvation.

In the UK, it has, since the 1950s, meant owning your own home: However, in the eighties, under successive Tory governments, somehow this concept took an ugly turn for the worse, and this mantra has been perpetuated by even the staunchest socialist leaders.

Thatcherism brought with it a new type of social vanity – a need to not only keep up with the “Joness’” but at whatever cost, to outdo them.

Now, more than at anytime in UK history, a person is judged by the house they live in and the car they drive – even though in most cases, they actually own neither. The house is mortgaged and the car is purchased on finance – but it really doesn’t matter, because appearances are everything.

I myself only suffered from this self-delusion of “mine is bigger than yours” twice in my life: The first time was in the school yard when I was eight years old, and the second time lasted about twenty years, during a period of my life I now term “the corporate years”

But I digress; let’s get back to this fixation with homeownership.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that homeownership is often desirable. It can be a means for providing good, secure housing and also for allowing moderate-income families to accumulate wealth. It is therefore reasonable to have policies like a limited mortgage interest deduction or credit that make it easier for low- and middle-income people to become homeowners. But, given the current situation, it is long past time for the blind faith in homeownership to be subjected to serious scrutiny.

We now know that the economy has sunk into a recession and faces the worst financial crisis since the depression – possibly even worse than that. The unemployment rate is rising, the foreclosure rate is soaring and home prices are plummeting.

Isn’t it time we settled some scores with the people who led us into this unholy mess?

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know exactly who is at the top of my list – yep, it is one Alan Greenspan for his negligence and total incompetence in allowing the housing bubble to expand to ever more dangerous levels and ignoring the explosion of predatory mortgages.

Then we have the mortgage brokers who made the predatory loans and the so-called “Wall Street wunderkinds” who repackaged them in complex financial parcels and sold them all around the world.

We cannot possibly exclude the builders and the real-estate companies who profited from and promoted the irrational exuberance that fed the housing bubble – they are equally culpable in my view and must take their place in the dock.

Finally, we must also include the evangelists of homeownership on the list. These are the people who pushed the ideology of homeownership as an end itself. They insist on lavish government subsidies, even in situations where homeownership is not a good solution for the people affected.

Tomorrow: I will share with you some simple mathematics, that may just surprise you, and I also intend to further expose the continuing incompetence of Gordon Brown – financial wizard? Hardly.

Success should be something you don’t just ‘Kinda Sorta’ want to achieve but something you must achieve.

Generally top achievers expect to be successful and as a consequence they usually are. They are driven by a ‘have to’ attitude not a ‘want to’ attitude.

If you have no concrete goals and you have been succeeding in spite of yourself, just think how much more success you could enjoy if you set your sights on a definite path and had a specific time-frame in which you expect to reach your destination.

Setting Goals Keeps You Focussed:

What you should know is that goals give you three distinct advantages, which help you succeed:

• Goals keep you on track

• Goals let you know when and what to celebrate

• Goals give you a focussed plan to work with

If nothing else, goals let others know what they have to aim for to keep up with your standards.

Effective Goal Setting:

Take the time to think about what would make you happy, contented and satisfied and about what would motivate you to become a Top 5% Player.

It’s important to remember that goals are maps; they will guide you towards your success - the more detailed your goal setting the easier it will be for you to reach your destination.

When you are in the first stage of goal setting you also need to remember two important factors - i.e.

• The goal must be better than your best yet - but it must be achievable.

• Goals should be based on productivity not production.

Keeping these two rules of goal setting firmly in your mind will help you to form and stay committed to what is really important to you.

Time Yourself - By Months, Years & Decades:

• Always begin with long-term goals and work backwards. Your long-term goals are probably the most difficult to set anyway, so if you set those first, you accomplish the tough stuff right up-front.

• Long-term goals should be five-year projections and three areas you may want to consider when you set them are personal accomplishments, status symbols and net worth.

• Medium-term goals are usually three year projections and the same criteria can be used - but again think productivity not production and consider the activity that will be necessary to achieve success.

• Short-term goals will demand most of your attention and these are usually a twelve-month projection although you can set ‘immediate goals’ which have a 90-day projection.

You must believe you can achieve all of your goals - otherwise you will not
achieve them.

Setting a Well Balanced Diet of Goals:

It is essential to set personal as well as career goals to keep your life well balanced. If all your goals are connected to your commercial life, you will have trouble taking time out for family and friends because you will always be pushing towards the next career goal.

Remember:

Work smarter not harder. Setting personal goals gives you a life after business.

Put Your Goals in Writing:

Once you have formulated your goals it is time to make your final commitment to them by putting them down in writing. This is undoubtedly the single most important step in goal setting because until they are inscribed somewhere they are merely wishes and dreams.

After you have written them down, your mind will start seeking out whatever it will take to make them a reality.

Remember:

The moment you start moving forward towards a goal is the moment you start to succeed.

In Summary:

Even though you do not need to set goals in order to reach some level of success, most professionals who fail to set goals reach a plateau and lack either the motivation or the direction to go beyond it. They are unable to move upwards to a higher achievement status.

Today’s News:

Special message from the “Queen Of Cold Calling” that I need to pass on to you:

Hello Jonathan,
 
Earlier this week, I sent you an email that we will be hosting our first ever Black Friday Sa.le!  This is just a reminder for you of the following coupon codes needed to take advantage of these special offers:
 
40% off of all products (excluding events and teleclasses) all day Friday, November 28, 2008. (use coupon code BF2008) to view the product store, click here.
 
50% off of one of three available Cold Calling College Live tuitions (starting February 2009) - a savings of nearly $500.00!  (use coupon code BFCCCL) For more information on Cold Calling College Live, Click Here.

Sounds like some pretty good deals to me

Tomorrow: It’s JF Uncut, and I am going to be thinking about what it takes for people to think they have “made it,” just how far the British go to “Keep up with the Jones’” - and how such insane vanity is now leading to such agony.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Tim Wackell

Greetings from 33,000 feet somewhere over western Virginia! I’m writing today from seat 21D as I travel to Williamsburg for a program tomorrow. I’ve decided to preempt the originally planned article this month because I’ve just watched one of life’s great lessons play out before me.

A lot of people don’t enjoy air travel. The lines, congestion and delays are just the tip of the iceberg. I’m on a plane almost every week, so I’m no stranger to these biases. 

But today was different. Today I had a great flight.

It wasn’t great because I got upgraded to first class, because I didn’t. It wasn’t great because the plane left on time, because it didn’t. It wasn’t great because of the friendly service, because the flight attendants still had an attitude.

Today was different because I got to watch the person sitting across the aisle put on a clinic in making others feel important—a valuable skill that I wished more people possessed. Suddenly I’m surrounded by passengers who are enjoying being trapped in a small aluminum tube as it hurls through space. How in the world is that possible?

Think about the last time you made a focused effort making someone else feel important. Go ahead… I’ll wait.

Although the concept sounds simple, many of us can’t get past the temptation of making ourselves feel important. You see it all the time.

Last week I overheard three businessmen in a New York restaurant try to out-perform each other with stories of their latest victories. It was painful to watch… I can only imagine how small everyone in that conversation must have felt. No one was listening, no one really cared about their dining companions and no one expressed any interest in anything but themselves. Can you imagine sitting next to one of those guys on a long flight?

All of us enjoy those rare moments when others make us feel important. It is one of our deepest and most universal human desires. I once read that everyone has an imaginary tattoo across their forehead that reads M.M.F.I.  It is there to remind others that we want to feel important (Make Me Feel Important). We all want that feeling and will gravitate toward those who make us feel that way.

So what does it take to help others shine? Here are three practical and powerful ideas to help change your focus, and maybe even change your life.

Ask great questions
Focus your energy on being interested, not interesting. Talking about the weather, sports or last night’s news is polite, but it won’t make others feel important. Develop three great open-ended questions that encourage others to share some of their story with you.

Listen to learn
Do you actively listen to others, or do you just listen for the opportunity to interrupt and hijack the conversation? One of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People tells us that we should seek first to understand. Try it and watch what happens to the depth of your conversations.

Remember what Mom taught you
Being polite and courteous never goes out of style. Helping someone stow their overhead bag makes them feel good, makes you feel good and makes everyone watching feel good. You may not be on a plane today, but I’ll bet you can still find an opportunity to serve someone else in a similar way.

Speaking of Sales is about finding, winning and keeping customers for life.

Tim Wackel is founder and president of a training and consulting firm based in University Park, Texas and is an active member of the American Society for Training and Development. He holds a professional membership in the National Speakers Association. More about Tim Wackel

Today’s News:

To all my friends, colleagues and acquaintances in the USA - have a great day!

Meanwhile over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with Shannon Smith - is it me, or does she really look and sound like someone from Southfork? - the topic is, surprisingly, “Surviving The Office Party”

Just click on the banner:

Tomorrow: What are “Top 5% Achievers” doing at this time of the year?

As I mentioned yesterday, we are coming up to that time of year when we should be benchmarking our 2008 performance, conducting post-mortems and setting out our objectives for 2009. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be offering advice and providing guidelines.

I have always worked with the following formula:

Attitude + Skills + Process + Knowledge = Success

Therefore, when measuring my teams, I always ensure that I benchmark against that criteria:

A simplified example might look something like this (although I have to admit that my own companies’ measurement system is much more rigorous):

Personal

• Self-organisation & planning

• Motivation and attitude

• Ability to work under pressure

• Team playing and interpersonal skills

• Personal presentation

• Communication (oral/written/listening)

• Flexibility

• Initiative

• Performance vs. objectives

Sales

• Account management

• Business development

• Opportunity assessment -qualification

• Negotiation skills

• Presentation skills

• Strategic work

• Pro-activity

• Forecasting

• Achievement of targets

And for those with supervisory responsibilities you could add:

• Delegating authority

• Decision making

• Motivating - i.e. Creating enthusiasm and confidence

• Appraising and assessing

• Selecting and recruiting

• Coaching and developing

• Creativity

• Planning and allocating resource

• Representing

Next you need to implement a grading or scoring system – I use the following:

E - Poor: Definitely below acceptable standards; performance of job requirements is consistently deficient.

D - Fair: Improvement is needed to meet acceptable standards; performance of job requirements is inconsistent.

C - Average: Meets acceptable standards; performance of job requirements is consistent.

B - Good: Above acceptable standards; performance usually exceeds job requirements.

A - Excellent: Outstanding; unquestionably above acceptable standards; performance consistently exceeds job requirements.

In addition I translate these marks into scores, because that provides me with an overall numerical total which is so much easier to use when making comparisons:

I.e. using the above measurement scale: A=5, B=4 etc

In fact, I allow myself further “latitude” by using + or -, which in effect provides me with not five levels of rating but fifteen!

So now I have: E- = 0, E = 1, E+ = 2, all the way up to A+ which is now the equivalent of 14

This makes it so much easier to avoid the two common mistakes in rating i.e.:

Firstly, a tendency to rate nearly everyone as “average” on every characteristic instead of being more critical in judgement. The evaluator should use the ends of the scale as well as the middle.

Secondly, the “halo effect,” i.e. a tendency to rate the same individual “excellent” on every characteristic or “poor” on every characteristic based on the overall picture one has of the person being evaluated. However, each person has strong and weak points and these should be indicated on the rating scales.

What Else Should An Effective Appraisal Include? Mine Include All Of These:

Performance versus Commercial Targets

Specific Objectives vs. Results Summary

Quarterly Performance Rating

Commercial Targets For The Next Twelve Months

Specific Objectives For The Next Twelve Months

Performance versus Commercial Targets:

In this section, I review performance against all commercial targets for example:

• Revenue achieved.

• Overall gross margin.

• CCT (Customer contact time) as a % of TWT (Total working time).

• New accounts opened.

• Revenue increases from existing accounts.

Specific Objectives vs. Results Summary:

Specific objectives are all those targets that are “non – commercial” for example:

• Increase product knowledge in x areas.

• Profile any key accounts.

• Improve presentation skills.

• Attend a “Key Account Management” course.

• Become more involved with the induction of new recruits

Quarterly Performance Rating:

I have always believed in frequent reviews and as a consequence, I hold QBR (Quarterly Business Review) meetings at the end of each quarter. The scoring system is identical to the annual appraisal and in fact the QBRs provide most of the information and data for the annual session.

Commercial Targets and Specific Objectives for the Next Twelve Months:

A good appraisal should always conclude with agreement from both parties on the targets and objectives for the next twelve months. These do not have to be set in stone and can be reviewed at the next QBR; however it is essential that every individual buys in to what is expected of them.

Target setting is a vitally important part of a manager’s function because if targets are set too high that will only act as a demotivator: Equally, if they are set too low, typically that is all that will be achieved.

In the same way the high jumper just clears the bar and does not leap a metre over the top, salespeople sell to expectation and have no inclination to burst through targets – unless of course, there is a significant incentive on offer! Although that begs the question of why they were not challenged with a higher target in the first place?

Finally, it is important that the manager uses the occasion to send the apraisee away feeling good about themselves, fully motivated and believing that all of the targets that have been agreed are indeed achievable – a motivational summary works wonders, even if there were areas of concern during the meeting, always focus on the highlights.

Today’s News: What do you make of this?

“Improved Sales Opportunities

Marketing automation aswell helps ensure that sales and business departments are in accord about how to accomplish the adapted admission in sales. The software can accommodate tools, analysis -to-be leads and conduct alone business campaigns. According to architect and business adviser Jill Konrath, “The alone way to abduction the absorption of accumulated accommodation makers is to actualize a actual alone bulletin based on all-embracing analysis of their firm.”

You can aswell accumulate in blow with algid leads, which may accompany approaching sales if they balmy up. Lead-generation accoutrement advice ascertain advance backbone and forward those leads anon to your sales force, accretion the achievability of bound axis a advance into a sale.”

Yep, I agree and I passed it on to Jill yesterday, who was equally mortified. It seeems that we are all becoming victims of machine translation these days - this extract is taken from: http://www.usd8.com/how-business-automation-increases-leads/ - I am investigating!

To all of you who have e-mailed me to ask when and where you can register for the TSE “Roundtable” event on December 9th - “Selling Successfully In A Downturn Economy” I can confirm that full details will be posted here next Tuesday - December 2nd.

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot - the ubiquitous Tim Wackell

The JF Guest Author Spot

Steve Martinez

This is a story about three business owners. They each have a common need of increasing sales in a challenging economy. Kim, Taylor and Leslie will approach the situation differently. Each of these owners knows they must increase marketing and outside sales activity to drive sales. The question is, what will they do and how will they solve their common problem.

Not one of these business owners has a written sales and marketing plan of action. Additionally, they don’t have practical experience in sales or marketing to draw upon. They are the typical business owner that has spent more time in production and developing an efficient operation than on sales and marketing. Now that times are tough times, these owners need to decide what to do now - what would you tell them if they came to you for advice?

Kim - hire a new sales person and expand marketing

Kim is the oldest of the three owners and decides to go the traditional route and begins the search process of hiring a salesperson and increasing the marketing and sales budget. This will become a sizable budget expense over the next few months. However, Kim believes that this is the best course of action based on what started worked in the past. Unfortunately, Kim has not been successful at managing sales people and they usually leave after 9 months just as they are reaching breakeven. None the less, he is determined and decides to focus on hiring someone with more experience that can increase sales right away. Kim decides to hire someone more mature and someone that shares the same viewpoint on sales and marketing the traditional way. Kim’s strategy is to follow an older, but proven method of cold calling, setting appointments and reaching more prospects individually. The rational is that if it worked before, it should work now.

Taylor - embrace technology and use the Internet to expand

Taylor is the youngest of the three owners with a passion for technology. The production facility is state of the art and previous investments take advantage of technology. The business has more than enough capacity with enhanced production capabilities. Taylor decides to focus on enhancing the company website and invest in Search Engine Optimization and with Google ads and ad words to drive customers to the enhanced website. The budget to increase the sales and marketing technology is expensive but this doesn’t require hiring a salesperson. This trade off is one that Taylor can appreciate.

Taylor also decides to enhance his sales and marketing program with email marketing, personalized and dimensional mailings that cost more to send but may enhance the overall response of each mailing. The strategy behind Taylors plan is to use the Internet and the power of one-to-one marketing to increase sales.

Leslie - develop a balanced plan and execute the plan

Leslie is the in the middle when it comes to the three owners and decides to spend more time searching for a balanced approach. Leslie doesn’t want to hire another salesperson, because the results didn’t produce a return on investment the last 2 times. Leslie also believes that only some of the prospects will be receptive to a high tech or Internet marketing approach. Leslie decides to survey and evaluate what worked in the past. The survey results indicate that consistent, targeted mailings and staying in touch with clients has worked. The business has grown from referrals and staying in touch with clients. Unfortunately, Leslie is too busy in production and management to perform all the tasks the plan would require. The strategy behind Leslie’s plan is to develop a system that will keep in contact with clients to build stronger relationships, follow-up on opportunities when they develop. Leslie just needs a program that will accomplish this and is affordable.

What advice would you offer?

Since you are reading this scenario from the outside in, who has the better plan? Your answer and perspective will largely depend upon your experience in business, your age and how you approach sales and marketing. Although this is a fictional example, it helps us to realize that there are many options to the same problem and we should examine different options for a resolution. You should begin with a quick assessment and apply corrective action immediately. You should collect information and evaluate what the true nature of the problem is. Determine a way to stabilize the problem and begin implementing a plan of action. As time moves forward, you can modify the plan. Implementation of a plan, any plan is important.

Doing nothing - solves nothing.

There is a mix of reality in this article. There are business owners like Kim who haven’t changed sales and marketing strategies. Unfortunately, many of the old sales strategies of cold calling are not effective when performed by themselves in the wrong markets, to the wrong people.

Taylor’s plan of embracing technology leaves out those clients who don’t communicate on the Internet. This could be a fatal error and an investment lost if the target market is not Internet savvy.

Leslie’s plan could work if it is implemented. The challenge is that many business owners are not prepared and experienced enough to create and develop a dynamic sales plan that is balanced for success. This is where working with experts and consultants is a worthwhile investment.

Steve Martinez is the author of Sales Impactivator a sales e-publication for success oriented individuals. As the President of Selling Magic, his company teaches business professionals how to automate the selling process, preventing sales people and business owners from experiencing the hard lessons in selling. Steve has consulted with businesses around the country sharing his 25 years of sales and marketing experience to eliminate sales failure. Steve uses his experience as a National Sales Manager and National Account Executive to share the real-world lessons in sales. Visit Steve’s website: www.sellingmagic.com

Today’s News:

Details of Top Sales Experts who are presenting over at Business Expert Webinars this week - here you go - just one, but it will be superb, so hurry!!

Tomorrow: I am going to begin a series of posts on goal-setting/performance asessment/2009 planning - because it is that time of the year.

Tomorrow I’ll kick-off with: “I have always worked with the following formula: Attitude + Skills + Process + Knowledge = Success. Therefore, when measuring my teams, I always ensure that I benchmark against that criteria……….”

In the book Emerson’s Essays, there is a section on “Law of Compensation”, which can be summarised simply as “give more, get more.”

This is what most salespeople try to do, so they end up working harder when they could be working smarter.

This begs the question, are your sales activities deciding your strategy or is your strategy deciding your sales activities?

Developing A Consultative Sales Process:

From the Sales Director’s perspective, developing a consultative sales process means developing a comprehensive, formal, realistic and step-by-step outline of what salespeople are expected to do. This is just as appropriate for internal and totally reactive sales teams as it is for external pro-active ones. This outline includes the activity and calls they must make, the relationships they should establish with prospects, the documentation they should use in sales calls, the issues they must discuss and resolve with prospects and the tangible goals they must achieve in sequence along the path to each sale, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

It’s only when such an outline is in place that sales management can be in a position to:

* Monitor the sales force’s activity, progress and results,

* Assess issues as they arise and take appropriate action,

* Redirect individual sales effort efficiently.

Although many organisations appreciate the importance of being customer-focused and talk in vague terms about their “consultative sales process”, surprisingly few sales leaders invest the time and energy required to develop a formal sales process – a process that is at once detailed and resilient enough to guide their salespeople and permit effective management of their efforts.

Overcoming Implementation Intertia:

Even when a consultative sales process has been developed, understood by sales managers, written down and circulated, it’s often not enough. No matter how brilliant, a sales process will only be effective to the extent it is followed and used by frontline sales staff. And this is where most organisations fall down: overcoming inertia – among managers and salespeople alike – and implementing the process.

The hurdles that must be cleared in order to get people throughout the organisation to actually implement it are enough to cause Sales Directors to tear their hair out. But a select few, of the very best, have found some innovative strategies that have enabled them to achieve the Holy Grail:

Sustained sales growth achieved efficiently, reliably and by design - is your organisation one of them?

Today’s News: At last!! My good friend and the author of the “2007 Top Sales Article Of The Year” Keith Rosen, is finally on the 2008 leader board - coming up on the rails again - you can catch his excellent piece here

We had some severe technical problems over the w/e: This site and JFC were taking up to two minutes to load, so we must have lost a lot of visitors - if you were one of them, please accept my sincere apologies, this is only the second time in three years that our ISP has let us down - oh, and the two JF Uncut posts were pretty good

Tomorrow: A very special guy, and possibly the most innovative member of the Top Sales Experts team

JF Uncut

I had a dream last night - the French all left France. It was, sadly, only a dream.

You could be forgiven for thinking that after my attack on one of France’s most respected companies yesterday, and my comments here today, that I hate all that is French.

Be assured, nothing could be further from the truth, I am a confirmed Francophile; I have an enormous amount of French friends and my love affair with this country which began many years ago, shows no sign of waning……but sometimes, just very occasionally, even my patience is tested to the limit.

I read this a couple of years ago and I was waiting for an opportunity to re-print it - today is the day:

And God Made Britain

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, “Look Michael, look what I’ve made.”

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, “What is it?”

“It’s a planet,” replied God, “and I’ve put LIFE on it. I’m going to call it Earth and it’s going to be a great place of balance.” “Balance?” inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth; “For example, North America will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while South America is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot. Over there I’ve placed a continent of white people and over there, is a continent of black people.”

God continued, pointing to different countries. “This one will be extremely hot and arid, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice.”

The Archangel, impressed by God’s work, then pointed to a small land mass and said, “What’s that one?”

“Ah,” said God. “That’s Britain, the most glorious place on Earth. There are beautiful lakes, rivers, streams, and hills. The people from Britain are going to be modest, intelligent and humorous and they’re going to be found travelling the world. They’ll be extremely sociable, hard-working and high-achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace.”

Archangel Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed,”What about the balance, God? You said there would be balance!”

God replied wisely,

“Wait until you see the b******s I’m putting next to them in France.”

Anon

The rest of Europe think that the French are arrogant, but I don’t subscribe to that view. Parisiens are certainly self-centred, thoughtless, rude and inconsiderate - but then the rest of France would agree with that assertion too.

There can be no doubt that the French economy is heading for serious trouble, but not for the same reasons that Britain is now in such turmoil: For once, France’s financial prudence - which can sometimes feel like administrative constipation and beaurocratic nonsense gone mad, has actually protected them.

You would never catch a French bank lending anyone 125% of a properties’ value, or advancing finance at the rate of eight times salary, knowing full well that the borrower had little chance of making the repayments; absolutely no chance of them introducing self-certification schemes, where self-employed individuals could borrow as much as they like without any proof of income; zero chance of the French property sector crashing, because it has never been over-inflated.

No, France’s imminent decline is going to be brought about by the irresponsibility of successive Socialist administrations, who, in order to stay in power, introduced unsustainable measures which have to now be reversed, if the nation is to survive. But of course, it is not that simple.

For example, how do you tell workers that have become used to a thirty five hour week, that they must now follow the rest of Europe and revert to forty two hours - with no extra pay?

Who is going to break the news to train drivers that in countries such as Britain, retirement, currently set at sixty five and due to rise to seventy within ten years, so why should they stop work at forty five?

Sarkozy has an uphill struggle ahead of him, convincing a country that has become lazy, inefficient and myopic, that there is another way - we wish him well, because he is a good man and a breath of fresh air.

Tomorrow: As I always say, it is business as usual - big week, so be sure to join me.

JF Uncut

The first thing that struck me as I entered the reception area of Eurostar last Thursday was the sea of yellow coated and heavily armed police officers. They were everywhere – probably one hundred, if not more. Then as I slipped off my coat and jacket, placing them on the x-ray machine with all of my luggage, keys, mobile phone etc and walked through the “detection frame” realisation hit me- this was not my usual experience, because this was not my usual route.

For more than five years, I have travelled the Newhaven-Dieppe route, first with Transmanche Ferries and lately with LDL (Louis Dreyfus Lines) who bought out Transmanche a couple of years ago.

I have always travelled as a foot passenger and in all that time, until very recently –  nobody has checked my luggage, asked me if I am carrying anything harmful or dangerous, subjected any of my belongings to x-ray scrutiny – in fact I can assure you that security is virtually non-existent – what a stark contrast to my experience last week!

My question is this: Why, when millions, if not hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent post- 9/11, on upgrading Britain’s security, is the country still blatantly exposed by French incompetence and negligence?

Let me describe the experience of travelling both ways.

When I travel from Dieppe, I collect my ticket - this can often take a considerable amount of time, because invariably, the system is down. Then, as a foot passenger, I am expected to wait in a cafeteria area, until a bus arrives to take me across the car and freight loading area, to the ferry. My entire luggage is with me – no questions, no security, and no x-ray machines – no responsibility

This passage of time is the most frustrating of the entire journey, because there is never a set procedure. Typically we have to wait until all the vehicles are loaded, and the ninety minutes that we are asked to arrive prior to departure, can seem like three hours.

When the bus finally arrives, we load our cases on a cart, which is towed by a small tractor and follows the bus. Unfortunately, once aboard the bus, we do not immediately proceed to the boat, because at that point, we need to have our passports inspected by the Police Des Douanes – a sort of cross between police and customs officers and it is not unknown to have to wait up to half an hour for them to pitch up.

Even if there are only two or three foot passengers, they still arrive mob-handed, often one officer for every passenger – this goes some way to explaining why France has such low unemployment.

That’s it – the full extent of French security and scrutiny.

Once we arrive at Newhaven, we are loaded onto another bus, which takes us to the terminal building and when our cases arrive on the same cart and tractor, we pass through a passport check – just one guy – and we are off.

And if you think that things must be more rigorous at the British end, you are sadly mistaken. The routine is almost identical, but now they do have a couple of people –  I am convinced they are distantly related to the Adams family – who occasionally ask if they can have a look in your hand-luggage They also get you to sign a form, which confirms that you have been asked if you are smuggling anything illegal.

This last act suggests that all hardened criminals, drug runners and signed up members of Al Qaeda, are scrupulously honest, when it comes to admitting that they are concealing five kilos of cocaine, a Kalashnikov or enough semtex to blow up the ferry.

I have no idea how many people have identified and abused this gaping hole in Britain’s rearguard – the thought is horrifying in itself.

Let’s just hope that enough of the right people read this and take the right action.

Tomorrow: More JF Uncut

Our style of negotiation will be influenced by the style of the other party. If both sides are adversarial; there will be little trust between the two parties, however, if one side decides to be co-operative, there is a danger the other side will use this apparent sign of weakness to their advantage.

Co-operative bargaining has the advantage of being a more efficient style of negotiation, however certain rules have to be followed by both parties for it to work.

Let us look at the two styles of bargaining and their features:

Features Of Adversarial Bargaining:

• Each side takes up a position and defends it.

• Opening bids are set at unrealistic levels; too high or too low, in order to give room for manoeuvre.

• Movement is small or non-existent until later on in the negotiation.

• Tactics are used to gain short term advantage.

• Too much emphasis is placed on trust. .This really is my best price!

• Information is withheld, or misrepresented.

• The outcome is often “win-lose”, or “lose-lose”.

• The more aggressive negotiator usually does best.

• This style does not encourage long term, mutually beneficial relationships.

• Neither side asks enough questions, or explores alternatives in sufficient depth.

Features Of Co-Operative Bargaining:

• Each side recognizes that the other has needs and feelings and accepts implicit rules.

• Objective measures are taken of what is fair and reasonable.

• Trust is not an issue as either side is willing to share information.

• This style is friendly, but not soft. There is a willingness to trade concessions.

• There is a clear, communicable strategy.

• Bad behavior is punished.

• This style involves creative problem solving.

• It encourages long term, mutually profitable relationships.

• Each side asks more questions and explores alternatives, rather than taking up fixed positions.

 The usual outcome is “win-win”.

Today’s News: “Selling Through The Slump” is clearly the hot topic right now, for all the reasons we understand - and you will know that I have very strong opinions about the causes: But this is not a time for additional recrimination; it is a time to collaborate, co-operate, and work through it together.

Last week I co-presented with Jill Konrath and Kendra Lee for Landslide Technologies - if you missed it, you can still download it here - and last night, I listened in to The Customer Collective’s gig.

On December 9th, the Top Sales Experts  launch our inaugral “TSE Roundtable.”  

Presenters include: Leslie Buterin, Colleen Francis, Jill Konrath, Paul McCord, Keith Rosen and me - hosted by Maureen Blandford.

I think it is quite probably going to be THE definitive event on the subject so far.

It’s FREE to register, and everyone will receive a very special ebook: “Selling Successfully In A Downturn Economy” with contributions from all of us.

Registration will be limited to the first 1000 applicants, and we will open the doors for booking on December 2nd at 6pm GMT (12 noon Eastern)

More details, very soon.

Tomorrow: It’s that time of the week again - JF Uncut - for me it’s cathartic; for some, it’s time to be amused; for others, it’s time to be enlightened - whatever, just join me.

Find out how you can bring a kilo or two of heroin, some semtex, a few hand-grenades, some chemical weapons, in fact anything you like into the UK or Northern Europe, completely undetected.

No clandestine locations - simply sail pass Customs Officers, without challenge.

I’ll give you the complete lowdown - prepare to be amazed.

Ever since 9/11, and for a long time before this, the UK has been hopelessly exposed.

Negligence just does not describe it, and I am going to be very interested to see how the British government are going to explain this one away. 

Yep, it’s an exclusive! “The Gaping Hole In Britain’s Defences”