Is it true that you have to see it to believe it, or rather, do you have to believe it before you can see it?

The three methods of learning are visual, this is where you see things, audio where you hear things and kinesthetic where you feel things.  Each has its own learning processes and generally as children the first learning we do is through the security of the sensory being kinesthetic.  This gives you the security of touch and feel and this can be best demonstrated through the love of a parent.  A child will connect emotionally to the feeling of a parent.  As we go through school we learn much more through audio.  Although the teaching process is a mixture of audio and visual it is known that almost 80% of learning through the school years is connected through audio messaging.  Then as we get older and potentially more knowledgeable we connect through visual impacts, which is where the phrase comes from “you have to see it to believe it”.  It is a process that some people never move out of. 

Approximately 70% of people are visual, 20% of people are audio and 10% of people are kinesthetic.  How do you know who you are connecting with? 

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This week I have come into contact with two people who are going through the experience of committing to a business decision through the form of a contract, agreement  or handshake.  Which one has the greatest ability to be built on?

The first experience was of a friend who was looking at a franchised business opportunity that involved a significant financial committment but was a relatively new business model into the marketplace.  He met with the franchisor and was impressed with their desire and committment to the direction of the proposed business.  He took the step of a handshake to further his potential relationship with this opportunity.  From there he received a franchise contract which was Read the rest of this entry »

The creation of a brand within a brand has become the hallmark of many successful companies as they diversify their customer base from Commercial Importance to Very Important.

How do they do at it? Should more of us being looking into this growth area rather than leaving markets unexplored?

The airline industry has been able to achieve this thinking and in most instances been a regular part of their long haul services.  Everyone gets onto the same plane, the branding is consistent for each customer yet the experience of travelling economy to travelling first class is distinctly different and the value to the airline also is based on a per customer spend.  The level of loyalty between customers in different classes is known to be much more successful when better levels of service are offered.  Clearly the price you pay with an airline can determine the service that you get. 

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Never Assume                    

Always Presume                

When I think back over the past week most of my errors in judgement and dissapointments have come because I have assumed and most of my creativity and best decisions have happened when I have presumed.

So what is the difference?

When we assume we do so when something is supposed to be the case but without proof.

When we presume we do so when something is the case based on probability.

I look at my actions and when I base my thinking or my responses on assuming what other people are either thinking or doing then I am always going to be less certain about the way I can go about making decisions.  There are many areas of our daily lives that we make assumptions but there is a clear difference in most cases between assuming something and presuming something. 

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Last week I was fortunate enough to travel throughout New Zealand with a leading real estate knowledge expert, Mark McLeod.  Mark’s style of presenting is very much about the change that people have to achieve in their thinking before they can enact a programme that will lead to success.  We spoke about one particular area of business, being that of the core product and to think about how the core product can make a business more decisive, responsive and to give the possibility of delivering outstanding sales results. 

What is the core product for a salesperson, an individual who on a daily basis has to understand their core business, potentially has to deliver a company’s core product, but what is a salesperson’s core product?

The definition of core product is described as ‘the prime purpose for the product to exist’.  This differs from the core business which is ‘the essential activity’ that makes the business exist.  When a individual or business understands its core product it then becomes focused on the customer needs but exactly how do you define a core product within a business and how do you know that it will match the needs of the customer? 

Take for example, McDonalds.  From the very start its business was based around standards and repetition.  Ray Croc began the concept of McDonalds through the sale of a milk shake machine, he offered this throughout a number of businesses that then standardised their milk shake menu and also prices.  But what does this all mean to the core product of McDonalds?  Read the rest of this entry »