ABC analysis and sales.

Check your sales data for two years. You will find that a few customers (corporates mostly) buy now and then from you.

Those few customers are your "A" customers.

Though they are few in number, they would have given more than 70%
of your business.

FOCUS on them. Meet them frequently. Ask them about their requirements.
Give them some extra service. Feed them information about new products. Give them those pamphlets lying in your sales desk! Don't let your grip on them go away.

Your business is sure to prosper.

How to sell air-conditioners?

You may ask - who is this man who is coming here and trying to
tell us how to sell air-conditioners? We have been doing this all the time.

It is not like that. Life is a learning process from birth to death, is it not?

You sold an air-conditioner. Now, how did it happen?

Did the customer come to you and took one unit (or) did you go in search of a customer and got one?

We used to go in search of customers (cold calls) and sold many units in the past. Now-a-days I find that this going in search of customers is coming down.

If you want to sell more units, GO IN SEARCH OF CUSTOMERS....

More to follow. Suggestions are welcome!

Workmen without tools, etc.

Workmen without tools, etc. !!
=======================

If a handyman comes to your house in US, he will have every necessary tool to carry out the job. He will always use the right tool for the job.

Work is worship. Any work has to be done with devotion, with care, and with self-satisfaction and pride.

But it seems we will never learn.

(1) Last week, we had called a cook to do some simple traditional cooking for three to four hours work. We paid him Rs.2000. He came wearing a pant and shirt and did not even care to bring along a dhoti and towels with him!!

(2) Yesterday, we called nearby franchisee to clean our split air-conditioners. We paid Rs.2,810 to service (clean the filters!!) five splits.
They did the job in one and a half hours. They took from us: (1) Cloth (2) brush (3) cleaning powder. They left leaving the whole house dusty and dirty.

ARE WE GOING TO BE LIKE THIS ONLY FOR EVER??

Never say "No"

A customer walks in and asks for a particular product.
You are not having it in stock.
Never, never start saying "No, but we can give you...."

Then and there your sale is lost.

Say "Yes" and then try to find out why he is asking for
that particular product. Chances are after some discussion
you may find that the product the customer is after does not
meet his requirements at all and the product that you have in
large quantity with you is the one he should have.

Don't spoil a possible conversion and help to customer by saying "No".

Like

Buyer's market

A buyer's market is a market where the supply and availability of goods
is much, much more than the buyers for those goods.

So, what can happen in such a situation?

Sellers will reduce prices to dispose of the stocks. That is okay.

But don't reduce price to absurd levels. Customers will play on your emotions.

Reduce, yes, to survive. Not for suicide!!

Business is dull - How to react?

Right now business everywhere is dull. Whether it is real estate, white goods and so on. But there is a common lesson we have to learn.

Yesterday, my daughter and son-in-law wanted to see some of the upcoming
villa projects in Chennai for possible purchase.

Day-before yesterday, I planned for the outing.

The first company I rang up, they said I could go and see and that they would
send a representative. They did not follow up the next morning giving the person's name and phone number which I wanted. I again rang them up. They said I could go there. No representative was found at site and the security guard said: "I will show you the villas". No issues. Excellent construction. But the surroundings of the project was found very shabby. From the OMR main road, we had to travel for about a kilometer in a small lane of about 23 feet to reach the gated community. While returning a lorry came ahead of us and we had to reverse our car for 300 metres to give way for the lorry. Will you think of purchasing that villa?? I leave it to you.

The second company had two projects, one in Thazambur and the other in Perumbakkam. They said they would give a contact person name and phone number in both places. They did not. The next day, I had to ring up several times between 9.30 am and 10.30 am. No body picked up the landline. Every time I received a nice SMS saying.. Thank you for calling, etc. It looked stupid. Finally they came on line and gave a cell number. He too did not pick up the phone and I got similar message.

When we reached the place, the representative was not pro-active. He could not answer most of the questions and also gave wrong information. He said Villas have piped gas connection. When we reached home and checked the pamphlet it was mentioned piping done to connect cylinders!! Pathetic considering that the buyers are coming back from US after staying there for ten years!!

What is the lesson we learn from above experience?

(1) When business is roaring ten customers will come and two will just pay the money and go. You will not know the quality of your delivery.

(2) When business is dull, you should completely focus on the customer and give all your efforts to get business.

It could be villas, it could be air-conditioners, it could even be potatoes!!

Noise in window air-conditioners.

I am talking of a period some two decades back.

Window air-conditioners with reciprocating compressors used to be mounted
on springs and rubber bushes.

During transit the legs of the compressor would be screwed down to avoid
shaking and damage in transit.

Before the air-conditioner is switched-on these screws were to be removed.

At times the technician would forget to do this.

Result: Whenever the thermostat cuts in and out there will be a huge noise.