Speaking a foreign language can help you in paid employment as well as in business. I have had the unique priviledge of experiencing the amazing benefits derivable from being able to speak a foreign language, on both sides of the fence.
Below I outline 3 powerful rewards you can expect to reap repeatedly, from being able to speak a foreign language:
1. Unsolicited Support/Assistance – Often When You Least Expect It
There’s nothing quite as exciting and fulfilling as having obstacles that most others are unable to surmount literally get removed from your path by total strangers.
And that, simply because they discovered you can communicate in their language!
Be it in your country or abroad, there will be times when what you seek may seen impossible to get.
Then suddenly you hear the person in charge answer a phone call, or speak to a colleague in a foreign language that YOU, unlike others present, can understand.
Suddenly you realize there’s a chance you can connect with her (or him) on a different level.
And things go beautifully from then on.
The others, lacking similar abilities, are left wondering how you pulled that off!
This has happened to me, more times than I can count.
Out here in Benin Republic, my ability to communicate in French has endeared me to many who meet me.
For instance, finding rented accommodation like I did, at a quarter of the going rate happened not because I’m an expert french speaker(far from it!), but because (as many tell me) they appreciate the work I’ve done (and continue to do) to improve myself.
It apparently inspires those keen to learn english to keep at it.
2. Greater Opportunities for Friendship & Learning
While acting as Production Manager for a 5 week period in 2001, I initiated a series of trials to see if brewhouse output could be improved by increasing the quantity of “grist” (milled maize and sorghum) loaded into the old model mash filters used in the brewery.
Now this was not something that could be done arbitrarily.
Certain loading capacity calculations needed to be done to ensure the best possible results were obtained.
The problem I faced in implementing my idea was however that I could not find anyone who could give me reliable details of the formula for estimating loading capacity for the kind of grist we used.
The manufacturer – Meura, a Belgian company – originally built the plant to handle malted barley based grist(as you may know, French is spoken in Belgium).
But luckily for me, I remembered that a technical representative of the company had flown in few months before I got nominated to act as Production Manager.
At the time, I was his host in my office as Training & Techniaal Development Manager(TTDM), and while chatting he’d discovered I could speak, read and write French.
From then on, our relationship stopped being formal. By the time he left I’d learnt a lot about the filters and how they worked.
And that was why when my surprise nomination to act as Production Manager came up, I readily explored ways to use what I’d learned to improve the filters’ performance.
Realizing that I did not have enough information to competently modify the loading of the filter, I decided to write to my friend.
Starting my email in French (first paragraph) with pleasantries, I made my request known.
24 hours later, a reply arrived from a colleague of his, who explained my friend was away on leave.
But he went on to supply the exact filter loading formulas for our grist type, which they had derived based on extensive trials.
It was just what I – and any Production Manager – needed!
Little wonder that the substantive Production Manager (upon his resumption from leave) and other managers in the technical function, requested copies of that formula as soon as I announced that I had it, in a post secondment report I published after successfully completing my acting assignment!
As you can imagine, the above may probably never have happened if my French speaking skill had not enabled me get closer to the Meura rep.
3. A Foreign Language Gives You a Uniquely Powerful Competitive Edge
Again I say this from experience. Personal experience.
Living and working in a society where a very great majority of people do not speak French or any other foreign language confers a unique advantage on those who can.
And if you can also read and write in that language, your chances get even better.
In a past article, I shared the story of how I got massive career boosting recognition at senior management level while attending an international workshop in Hotel Aqua Palace, Douala Cameroon.
The short conversation I had with the expatriate Managing Director of Guinness Cameroon, in the hotel bar, took place while other delegates from Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, etc looked on.
UPDATE: Isn’t it just amazing? I sent the request for linkedIn.com support to delete my tayo@spontaneousdevelopment.com profile at 13.05pm on 19th April 2013, and after failing to reply my previous email sent more than 24 hours earlier, I get a response confirming my request has been carried out at 13.11pm on the SAME day.
Wow! Talk about SELECTIVELY speedy response. Oh, by the way, she also added: “If you change your mind, just let us know”. Sigh…what a pity!!!
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It’s unfortunate, but this post has to happen – because the guys at LinkedIn.com seem unprepared to be fair and impartial in their dealings with me – for whatever reason. I’ve never been shy about voicing my opinion. And the last thing ANYONE can ever succeed in doing is put me down or intimidate me. Those who have had dealings with me know this for a fact. I also have a habit of going out of my way to help others I discover to be on the receiving end of any form of abuse, or unfair treatment.
As I type these words, I have not heard from them with regard to my request for details of the “suspicious activities” they claim they noticed in my account.
How difficult can it be to specify EXACTLY what it was they saw that was a violation of their terms of use?
I have asked them, they have not replied. I thought it had to do with the discovery I made this week – see below – but in the response they gave me, it is apparently not. Yet, they will not tell me what it is I did wrong.
Now what’s that about I ask???
Ever since I wrote my post titled “If You Can’t Find Me On LinkedIn.com, Here’s Why…” last month, I have patiently waited to hear from them about removing the restriction placed on my profile. This was after I’d sent the the copies of my passport as requested within 48 hours of receiving their email.
Guess what? A few days ago, I wrote to inform them I noticed I’d received a surprising email update via my olufeltks at yahoo dot com email address from LinkedIn.com.
As you will notice in the screenshot below, I noted that that was an account I’d opened over 10 years ago, and never used. It was therefore surprising that I was getting updates on it – it did not even have ANY data on the profile page!
Asking them to delete that old profile, I noted that the updates for that account and my real account at tayo at spontaneousdevelopment.com could have both been coming into my blackberry (since I setup my smartphone to receive mails from them).
I told them it was possible that was what they saw as “suspicious” activity in my account – since I may have clicked on a link on it accidentally before making this discovery that the notification was for a different address. Having said that, considering I’ve been using my blackberry with LinkedIn.com for over a year now, I expect a problem would have come up BEFORE now if the old account had been sending me messages like this.
Note that I also mentioned in my email to them, that in the 10 years since that profile was created I had NOT logged in even once – I did not even know it still existed and even if I tried I would be unable to recall the password.
More importantly, I only began trying to use LinkedIn for business about 3 years ago – via tayo at spontaneousdevelopment dot com
What really got me ticked off was the reply I got from the LinkedIn rep. She wrote back confirming she had deleted the yahoo! email based profile as I requested and then proceeded to REPEAT the same message they had originally sent me about the “suspicious” activity they claimed to have noticed in my real account.
What was worse, she then requested that I send a scanned copy of my passport to them: something I’d done and inserted screenshots of in my post dating back to 19th of March!
To cap it off, I’ve NOT heard a word from her since I sent an immediate reply. In that reply, I forwarded a copy of the mail I’d sent with the passport on 19th March, asking why she was AGAIN requesting me to send it, without even acknowledging the one I’d sent before!
Not one word from her up till this moment.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When I sent that first email on Monday 15th April telling them about the 10 year old profile, I got (as I have always gotten) an autoresponse confirming the email reached them). But when I sent my second email in which I pointed out that I got autoresponse confirmation when I sent in copies of my passport on 19th March, and that I was sure it reached them, guess what happened? THE AUTORESPONSE FOR THAT EMAIL NEVER CAME TO ME!
The Yoruba’s would say “Ejo eleyi oni owo ninu O!” Translated contextually, that means: “There’s more to this than meets the eye!“
As you will find from reading the screenshot copies of the 2 emails I sent them this week, I made it clear that if I did not hear from them, by today 19th April 2013, that this matter had been resolved, I would want them to delete my profile PERMANENTLY from their website.
This post is therefore meant to notify visitors to this website not to henceforth bother clicking on the LinkedIn.com share icons provided. I’ll be exploring ways to get rid of it. But in the meantime, please do not bother clicking on it.
One thing I’ve learnt from using the web is that it’s NEVER smart to put yourself in a position where others can dictate what happens to you. That’s why smart people don’t set themselves up to be messed up by the next Google algorithm overhaul.
In my honest opinion, I believe these guys made up their minds I was guilty without even trying to verify if that was so. They took action without regard for the impact it would have on my image as a person promoting myself and my products for others to buy from me.
That’s unfortunate. Like they say in my language (Yoruba), there are many routes that you can follow to get to the market:
I no longer wish to follow the LinkedIn route. Period.
Below: Screenshots from the emails exchanged with the representative this week:
Final Words
Did you notice that in her first – and only – response above, she said she looked forward to my response in order to further assiste me.
Well, like I said above, when I responded this time around, protesting that I had proof that my email bearing image copies of my passport had reached them last month, no autoresponse came, and she has not replied since.
If you are a business owner, or someone responsible for sales and/or marketing in the company you work, the information provided here can help you. This article is based on a suggestion I recently sent as an email message to a solo entrepreneur.
I ended up making it so long and detailed that I’ve decided to publish it as a blog to help others. It offers ideas for taking your marketing to the next level by creating Information Products – especially special reports called “Educational Commercials”. I hope you find it useful.
Background
It all began when I read a interesting post by the entreprenur about the powerful health enhancing qualities of products he sells. It struck me that he would most likely have more details/insights to offer on that subject that would interest many people and possibly make them want to buy.
So I wrote the lengthy message below to him. I now invite you to read the same message as if it’s meant for you. It offers valuable insights and tips.
=Starts=
Hi,
I’d like to make a suggestion to you regarding the products/services you promote using your social media profile.
Don’t wait till people get in touch or come to you to tell them, and many others who may likely need to know.
When you stay on your profile, posting brief descriptions and benefits, you can only say so much.
You need to be able to say more to get people from the state of mind in which they are just curious, to one in which they begin to seriously consider buying from you.
To make that happen I suggest instead that you create useful resources that they can discover on their own, which will tell them most of what you would normally tell those who come to you.
Don’t use the generic marketing and sales flyers and brochures supplied by the maker(s) of the products you promote. Their style of communication is too direct.
The minute people see them, they’ll know they’re about to be sold on something!
Instead you need to offer resources they will instantly perceive as offering information or news that is truly helpful.
I refer to the need for you to create your own unique range of information products to inform and educate people about your theme or area of focus (e.g. health, wellness, self image, fitness) as a means of achieving greater and more impactful name recognition/marketing reach.
I offer an example of a strategy you can put to work, by yourself, starting today, below:
Why not write a special report (PDF) branded with your name, photo of you and your product? It won’t be an advert. Instead it would serve as what I like to call an “Educational Commercial”.
In it you would offer tips (for instance, on preventing and managing high blood pressure) that in themselves would be useful to the reader, even if she did not have your product.
At relevant points in the report, you could make “non-salesy” references to the different benefits that your product offers.
Note that it’s important to be subtle in doing this. It’s an aspect of a strategy called “Marketing Without Advertising”.
Click here to view one of the many “Educational Commercials” that I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products and Services to experts working across Africa to get an idea of how this is done.
Basically, you will find creating zero cost custom marketing resources like these useful for the following purposes:
1. Establishing yourself as an authority in your area of business focus.
2. Achieving what is called “Top Of Mind Awareness” (TOMA) in the consciousness of members of your target audience.
3. Saving time in explaining to enquirers how you can help them.
For instance you could include detailed responses in your PDF report, to Frequently Asked Questions you’ve answered from enquirers in the past.
That way next time you get enquiries from someone trying to decide whether or not to buy, you would then be able to simply email her/him a copy of your branded educational commercial, and let it do it’s magic!
As a result of the above you won’t have to waste quality time answering the same questions asked by people just curious.
You would instead be free yourself to attend to those people who are closer to making up their minds, having gotten answers to their queries by studying the various resources you would have prepared.
4. Generating & Nurturing Sales Leads:
This is where it gets really useful for YOU.
Make sure your report is well prepared with information your readers/potential buyers consider valuable.
Also include an invitation for them to subscribe to your email newsletter mailing list, this would enable you effortlessly build a phone number and email addresses database of “Pre-qualified Prospects”.
You can then follow up with them by sending more useful tips and information, possibly in form of articles or other special PDF reports.
To do the above without stress, you will need to use a web based automated email marketing system.
I currently use the FREE version for the weekly Speaking Ideas Newsletter I send out to subscribers, to promote Burt Dubin’s products and services (along with mine) – see www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/blog.
It also has paid options you can adopt if/when your needs require advanced features.
If you do the above, I anticipate you’re likely to quickly build up a library of useful reports, articles & presentations.
They would ideally be in digital form (PDF, Power Point, Video, Audio online/on DVD etc).
It would however be wise to make them print-ready so you can print on paper and photocopy to give out at networking meetings or other events.
Having said that I strongly advice that you lean towards asking persons who indicate interest in your relevant products/services, to give you permission to email the URL (or download/view links) to them to answer questions they ask you, and/or as a gift from you to them.
Sometimes that can evolve into a quality sales lead for you. And you’d have their email address to follow up with them.
Can you see how having an Educational Commercial with useful information gives you a legitimate excuse to ask people to give you their contact details?
It makes it so easy to attract – and convert – potential buyers.
I Use It All the Time. And it Really Works.
Indeed, just yesterday at an exhibition fair, I got 2 purely French speaking exhibitors of artificial aquariums at the Universite D’Abomey-Calavi, here in Benin Republic to eagerly offer me their email addresses (within 2 minutes of my speaking to them in my shaky French).
Basically, what I did was to ask them if their aquariums on display could keep the fish alive if their electrically powered air pump/oxygenators suddenly failed.
I pointed out this was a real possibility, noting that in my country, Nigeria, people sometimes do not have electricity from the power company for months on end.
As a result, most people use generators for alternative power supply.
In such a situation, not many would be willing to keep their generators running (and therefore guzzling expensive petrol) in order to ensure aquariums are oxygenated. And even when willing, some would not be able afford it.
The smart alternative, I told them, would be to build and offer aquarium systems that do not require artificial oxgenation.
In other words, find a way to replicate the balanced ecosystem we see in (especially non-salty) natural water bodies that sustain aquatic life (e.g ponds, rivers, lakes) in our glass aquariums.
Then I explained the scientific principles that make it possible, showing the photos of such aquarium systems I built and kept that way for over 2 years.
I also told them how I have been paid to setup similar systems for school clients to use in explaining the role of the Nitrogen cycle and other naturally occurring processes in keeping fish, snails and other life forms alive in balanced ecosystems.
Before leaving, I subtly suggested that they consider inviting me to speak to deliver my one hour talk on this subject to their members.
The talk is titled “Why Natural Aquariums Never Turn Green & How They Can Be Used As Powerful Aids for Teaching Science & Art Subjects”.
Who knows what opportunities will emerge from that simple 2 minute exchange in the weeks to come!
In case you’re wondering…This Strategy Enables Me (& Can Help YOU) Kill Many Birds With One Stone. Here’s how…
For instance, I have a 5 page report I sell on the differences between Natural & Artificial Aquariums.
With the help of a bilingual consultant friend I’ll be preparing a French version for sale to attendees of my learning events out here.
Also as you can imagine, one or more persons could request training to learn how to build my kind of aquariums…
Or they could even place order(s) for me to build one or more of my custom Natural Aquarium Systems.
The possibilities are almost limitless!
BUT to succeed in doing all the above, for the long term, you would be better off operating from YOUR OWN website as you Business Home on the web.
A recent article I’ve written on the above explains how doing this can protect you from losing the fruits of your hard labour without warning.
This is not the main update on my adventures in Benin Republic. It’s just a preview – especially because of an exciting development that’s occurred. Apart from the news, and stories, I’ve included (1) a photo of a Burt Dubin Classified Advert from 13 Years Ago! (2) few pictures of me with people out here and (3) photos of some big-boy rabbits, and an interesting video of a VERY angry grasscutter that I “chatted” with at an exhibition stand in the FACULTIE DES SCIENCES AGRONOMIQUES on the campus of the Universite D’Abomey-Calavi. LOL!
Creating French Versions of My Software & Information Products
Above: Photo of me with a staff of the Agronomy faculty, in charge of the aquarium stand. I’ll be publishing a separate post on how they reacted when I told them I build and sell Self-Cleaning Natural Aquariums which need no artificial oxygenation.
My interactions with owners of small businesses out here have been interesting. On demonstrating the use of my nifty little Income/Expense Manager to the owner of a multipurpose business centre, he immediately asked if I customize it in French for use in his business.
I told him that was possible, but that I would need to work with a competent bilingual expert to do the needed translation of the messages and instructions in the different interfaces of the application.
For instance, I’m currently looking to complete the translation of my 45 page management research paper titled “Self-Development as a Tool for Achieving Career Advancement (A Practical Guide Based on Experience).
I delivered my first paid talk based on it to managers/directors at the Centre for Management Development. Later I developed a one hour talk based on the management paper, which I delivered in different organisations. It’s titled “Ten Ways You Can Use Self-Development to Become a High Flyer at Work“.
The success I recorded with that talk led me to publish my 113 page Self-Development Bible ™ – which has been on sale at www.lulu.com/sdaproducts since 2005.
I added that I’d anticipated this, not just for my spreadsheet software development service, but also for my information products, and learning events (talks, speeches). However, it’s been hard to find someone with the right mix of skills.
My New Cameroonian Friend is a Lawyer/Language (English/French) Translation Expert
One person I have found to be potentially suitable is a Cameroonian barrister at law who has settled in Benin. Apart from visiting courts, he doubles as the academic head of the English speaking arm of a large institution affiliated to an international educational outfit.
He told me he translated ALL the course materials currently being used by the English speaking students (mostly from Nigeria, some from Ghana) from French to English. And he still has more to do. This makes him fairly busy.
I’m not sure how we’ll make it happen, so I’m looking for alternatives, just in case things don’t work out. That’s held me back quite a bit. My French is not good enough to do a proper translation. The guys I have as friends who can speak some English are not proficient either.
We’ll see how things go this week.
Help, Everyone One Wants a Piece of Me! (Not What You Think Though…LOL)
Above: At last I’ve found Rabbits in Benin! I was told by a senior faculty staff that the ones shown here are actually highly virile imported pure breeds that they intend to cross with local breeds. I’ll tell you this: from what I saw in an elderly lady’s backyard rabbitry, they already have hybrids being used by locals that are quite big compared to any I’ve seen back in Nigeria.
On a different note, I’ve gained an interesting insight into how to capture the active attention and interest of working adults, experts, professionals and career persons out here.
There’s a serious drive amongst the above mentioned group, to learn to speak English. Many professionals enroll at the language institute (CEBELAE – acronym pronounced “saybaylayay”) for short courses.
I’ve been there myself, as I had to drop off a proposal to the director, and I witnessed an oral practical language session taking place. The institute teaches foreign languages to interested persons who enrol.
However, for those who learn English, it appears the absence of an English speaking environment, makes them emerge unable to speak coherently/fluently.
This is similar to the experience I had after my 3 month intensive French course. That was why I and my Cameroonian teacher/friend (Valentine) decided I needed to travel to Cameroon, where I would be forced to speak French more often.
But not all of these guys have the time, money – and I would say, most importantly the courage (!) – To travel to Nigeria to stay a few weeks just to improve their spoken English.
This probably explains why I keep getting approached in cafes, on the campus etc – especially when it happens that I speak English (probably in receiving a call from Nigeria, or chatting with someone who speak English here).
One example: The operator of a cyber cafe I often use here in Calavi insisted on taking my phone number on the very first day we met. This was just after we’d spoken in my shaky French, and he learnt I could speak English.
He said he needed to learn English and that I could help him. I told him I needed to speak more French to improve as well!
We eventually arrived at a compromise: to speak each language to each other on alternate days. Yesterday it was my turn, so I got him to respond to me in English till I left. Today he’ll be grilling me in French
When a Medical Doctor Came Asking…That Got Me Thinking – Hard….!
Above: A picture of staff at the exhibition stand.
Just as I was leaving the cafe yesterday, a well dressed gentleman who had apparently heard me coaching the café operator to speak English approached me.
Speaking English in a manner similar to that in which I speak French, he told me was a medical doctor. He’d taken English classes at CEBELAE, but due to work pressure had be unable to make the most of the opportunity.
To use his exact words:
“I will be very happy if we can become friends, and speak English together.”
We both laughed as I told him I would also want us to speak French. Exchanging call cards, we parted…but I got thinking there was an opportunity knocking in form of these encounters.
I realized that these people strongly desired something I had, and took for granted. For me – and you I’m sure – being able to speak English is no big deal. It’s the same for them with French. But out here, my ability is considered of greater value, and they want it.
It eventually struck me that I had to find a way to use this “need” they had to launch my public speaking events out here. By so doing, I would be able to promote relevant products and services to them while adding tangible value to them. If nothing else, I’d earn significant name recognition in a fraction of the time it would normally take.
My target audience are Beninese and Benin based experts and professionals who want to learn English and those who already speak, but who want to get better.
Suddenly, I Discover How I Can Give Them What They Want & Help Myself at the Same Time
This morning, something pushed me to spend an hour in the library here to do some thinking.
By 11 a.m when I left the place for my first meeting, I’d had an epiphany of massive proportions!
Based on that “revelation” I’ve now resolved to use my friendship with a TV show host I met here in my first week, and his newspaper colleagues, to promote a series of learning events. I’m convinced many career persons and professionals out here WILL jump at it.
I can’t give details now. But I can tell this will work. I start preparing the relevant write-ups from tonight. My goal is to finish and have my stuff ready latest by Monday.
Video of a VERY Angry Grasscutter
This is already too long, but I felt you might like the entertainment – there’s more where this came from. For now, just listen to/watch this short clip of a grasscutter placed at the Agronomy Faculty exhibition today. You don’t want to run into this guy in an alley – and you certainly do NOT want to poke a finger into that cage – he’s very different from his docile Rabbit relatives…LOL!
I’ll be publishing a follow up to this preview later this week.
Memories: Photo of a Burt Dubin Classifed Advert from 13 Years Ago!
Below is a picture of a printed page from an edition of Michael Angier‘s Success Digest newsletter which I received via email in 2000 – while still in Guinness.
Burt Dubin will recognise the classified ad at the bottom of that page.
This article explans – with practical examples – how developing in-house expertise in automation of Microsoft Excel.can dramatically boost productivity – and profits – in your company.. Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool for analyzing and presenting information.
Too frequently however, many users – individuals and organizations – fail to realize the extensive range of functionalities offered by this application. They therefore decide that a need exists for a special application that will do things like:” automatically analyse, manage a database, chart and print reports of “ accounting, financial or other data for them in a pre-defined format etc.
Their often-erroneous assumption is that the desired functionalities are not obtainable in existing standard spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, which they already have. So they engage a software developer to design a standalone windows based application to do those tasks.
The Problem
That’s all well and good – if they can afford the huge costs that often result from such acquisitions. For instance, with the requirement to enforce the software anti-piracy laws, many organizations must get a licence for each copy of software to be put on every one of their PCs. So, imagine a company that has over 170 managers and maybe 1000 staff that use PCs. That’s a lot of money!
But then such big companies might be able to afford it. What about the smaller businesses that get into such expenses because they believe they have no choice?
Even it you had such money, why not spend it more prudently and get greater value for that which you spend? That is after all why one runs a business – to make (more) profit!
The question then becomes “Is there any other way to achieve the same objective?” My answer is that there is! The alternative is one that puts the user in a position where inhouse custom automated spreadsheet solutions can be developed using standard spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel.
This way, your organization would only then have to invest in employee training and time, to have appropriate and convenient solutions developed by one of your own staff!
It also means that if/when changes occur in your processes (which happens all the
time), you will only need to get one of your in-house experts/ developers to effect modifications to accommodate such changes. Only when a really complex and major need arises, would you then have to consider going out to get a developer or pick a package off-the-shelf.
Additional Advantages Of The Proposed Alternative
Most of the advanced functionalities/automation that users desire (or need) can be easily achieved in Excel using its extensive range of functions/tools coupled with its powerful programming language – Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Excel.
There are custom pre-programmed Excel spreadsheet applications solutions – some called Enterprise Information Systems – that have been developed using VB for Excel, which most uninitiated users would insist could not have been produced using Microsoft Excel.
Microsoft has described Visual Basic for Excel as a complete development environment, consistent with the stand-alone version of Visual Basic, and shared by all Office applications. Having used Visual Basic myself, I could not agree more.
Certain kinds of scenarios, (some listed below) if existing in an establishment, might require an organization to seriously consider having its staff trained on “Mastering Microsoft Excel”.
1. Management of routinely collated and analysed data in spreadsheets is still done manually, even though the tasks carried out on such data tend to be fairly repetitive. Through training, they could learn how to use Visual Basic Macros to automate daily simple and/or complex tasks.
2. In using Excel, they often go the “long way” via the standard menu hierarchies to effect specific commands. This will detract from their productivity while using the application. Through training, they could learn numerous shortcut techniques, tips and tricks to make more efficient use of Excel. This would result in drastic productivity improvements in spreadsheet use on their jobs.
3. Not many of them can confidently handle Excel and expose its many capabilities to other colleagues or new entrants. Through training, they could gain confidence needed to educate colleagues etc on the use of Excel. In a short time, the knowledge will spreads to others, with positive benefits to the business.
For best results from training, a Visual Basic for Excel Micro Information Specialist (i.e. someone who not only knows VB for Excel programming, but can also understand your processes and provide relevant examples, solutions etc) should handle such training.
Apart from teaching them advanced ways to use Excel, he could also teach your staff how to develop/maintain customised automated spreadsheet packages to solve their routine data management, and reporting problems. (Click here to request a custom Training Course/Coaching program).
Justification For Custom Automated Spreadsheet Solutions
I worked for over seven years in a large, multinational manufacturing organization. Within that time I had become widely recognized in the company for developing various custom automated spreadsheet solutions that dramatically facilitated “raw” data collection/analysis from the production and packaging processes. Quite often, large corporate, network-based software applications do not address “shop-floor level” data collation/analysis challenges that individual employees encounter daily.
This problem frequently exists because corporate-level software packages are designed with a broad user group in mind. As such, they do not cater fully for the variety of users’ peculiar needs arising from differing operational processes.
For instance, even though Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria Plc both brew “beer”, the way they individually collate, document and analyse records from the beer production process for management reporting differ significantly. This is not just because different people run the companies, but also because their raw materials are different, and they process their beers differently!
Now, the two companies would ideally want to produce reports that are easy to compare with those from other brewing companies’ (or even their sister companies) within or outside the country. They would therefore want data from the lowest levels of the production processes, to be channeled – intact – to the management reporting level in what should be a fairly standard format. That is of course already being done in both companies on a regular basis.
However, it’s the “HOW” of doing it that poses a significant challenge, leading to questions like those below:
1. How much effort and time does it currently take them to get that data? How much effort and time should it take?
2. How many employees are currently involved in getting the data? How many really need to be involved if the process was efficient?
3. If one employee collated the data this month, and another next month, would there be a difference in the reliability of the resultant summaries posted into the networked corporate database?
The above, are the kinds of questions that need to be asked in order to check for existence of data collation/handling inefficiencies in routine data, management processes in an organization. Let’s face it, if accurate data were not being fed upwards for use by management, the effects would not only be inaccurate interpretations of the business’ performance, but also a danger of its possible collapse in the longer term.
Summary Of Benefits
The development of custom automated spreadsheet solutions would effectively bridge the existing gap between manual data collation done by employees, and the automated data handling by corporate software applications.
Being able to develop such solutions will give oganizations the capability to produce simple yet reliable remedies to data management and reporting problems as the need arises.
The developed packages are also likely to be more effective – and relatively inexpensive (having been produced by an employee – who “understands” the process) compared to those done by outsider(s).
Cost conscious organizations can save huge amounts of money by empowering their employees to develop a mastery, firstly of Microsoft Excel, and then of Visual Basic for Excel. Note that true mastery of Microsoft Excel is imperative, if one is to be effective at developing robust and reliable automated spreadsheet solutions.
Examples of Specific Areas of Potential Application
The following are specific areas for which automated spreadsheet applications could be (and have been) successfully developed. Note that by virtue of their being customized and inexpensive, automated spreadsheets applications can also be easily acquired for use by individuals – on their jobs or for personal use (see item 3. below):
1. A VB for Excel Enterprise Information system could be developed to retrieve, summarise – and present graphically or otherwise – data from an external database like Access, Oracle etc.
2. A custom automated Excel spreadsheet application could be developed to
a. Collate raw “process” data, which will then be inputted into a larger application or corporate database.
b. Collate and analyse process or other data for use – by individual employees on special projects; by departments for internal checking/controls, or in performance monitoring/testing etc.
3. A nifty VB for Excel automated spreadsheet package could be developed for specific application by self-employed individuals (or small businesses) e.g. an automatic sales recording/invoice generation spreadsheet
BUILT-IN EXCEL SOLUTIONS DEVELOPMENT
Self-Development Academy’s Excel Heaven™ is the FIRST provider of Preprogrammed and Custom Spreadsheet based solutions in Nigeria. We offer Workbook Auditing/Optimisation and VBA Automation; Custom Spreadsheet Software Development; Sales; Job-Based Spreadsheet Coaching; and Consulting/Advisory Services on effective application of spreadsheets for business use.
NB: Our Custom Automated Excel Visual Basic applications are provided as-iswith no warranty of any kind. We also cannot assume responsibility for either any programs provided here, or for any advice that is given since we have no control over what happens after our code or works leave us.
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Invite Me To Speak
If you’re reading this after 31st March 2013, I would have begun travelling slowly across West Africa as a Location Independent Entrepreneur. If you’re in West Africa click here to invite me to speak to your members or group on this topic.
Above: In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos. (Click here to download the PowerPoint slidesshow and mind map I used for that talk).
If you’re in West Africa click here to invite me to speak to your members or group on “How to Use Excel-VB Automation To Boost Your Profits.”
This is the third and final part of “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)” – a 3 PART EDUCATIONAL SERIES. This installment ends with links to other articles that describe key components of a WMS. It’s titled “A Passion for What You Do, Will Help You Use A Web Marketing System to Get New/Repeat Business At Close to Zero Cost”. (Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here).
A WMS enables a business dramatically reduce marketing expenses, while increasing marketing reach and impact. In this final article, I explain why a business owner NEEDS undiluted PASSION to successfully use a WMS to acquire those benefits.
The key message here is that to get the best results from using a WMS, you must be in a business you thoroughly love!
Many People Fail To Follow Their Passions in Business
The phrase “having a passion for what you do” is one that I first came into contact with as a young manager in Guinness Nigeria Plc. This was in October 1994, when I was recruited along with 11 others as a new set of Graduate Management Trainees.
This happened after a rigorous selection process that ended with a grueling selection board discussion session, involving shortlisted candidates.
I believe strongly, that my exposure to best practice operations in that company, made a tremendous difference to my ability to function as a human being, at the highest levels of performance possible.
And I believe honestly that the culture of striving for excellence perpetually, which was promoted within that organization, helped me to really discover who I was, and to go after anything I want in my life.
Having a passion for what you do, is crucial to your ability to excel. I think a lot of people fail to get involved in vocations and businesses that they have a passion for. And that explains why some of such people so readily settle for cutting corners, in trying to achieve their business goals.
When you have a passion for what you do, you will not have a problem continuing to strive, till you achieve your intended business goal. And you will prefer to do so with integrity.
Only a Lack of Passion Will Make You Accept To Give a Bribe to Succeed In Business
Imagine if somebody tells you, as a Fashion Design expert, that you need to grease his palm, to make him submit your designs for consideration by a panel of decision makers.
Maybe they need an official designer for an international event – and you want that exposure.
If you accept to bribe that person, it shows that you don’t know who you are. Don’t start a business you only enjoy doing because of the money. Once the incentive of income disappears, you’ll find it hard to persevere with honesty and integrity.
Without a passion for what you do, you cannot know who you are. A lack of passion will make you willing to accept any conditions given you by others – even if that means cutting corners.
So let me put it the other way around. When you venture into a line of business that you see other people seemingly making big money from, without knowing what fundamentals will help you succeed in it, you set a trap for yourself.
This is because you do not have a passion for it. When things get tough you’ll crack under pressure. And things do get tough: in every area of life, in every line of business, there will always be hard times.
Without passion, you will find it difficult to keep going during hard times, because the inner drive will not be there.
You’ll start looking for quick fixes and short cuts. And that’s when you become crooked. And when you become crooked, your work will likely become crooked, because then it’s no longer about quality, it’s about surviving!
If You Will Struggle To Continually Think Up New/Useful Things to Say to Promote Your Business, Don’t Bother With a WMS
So, when I talk about using a WMS, as a complementary alternative to spending money wastefully, in traditional media like newspapers, TV and radio, especially as a small business person, that’s what I mean.
You’ve got to first of all be passionate about what you do. That way you will not have a problem adopting this alternative method, because this alternative method requires that you have no difficulty whatsoever, continuing to do the necessary things to make it work.
If you’re going to have a problem thinking up new ideas to talk about, in relation to what you offer your potential customers…
If you’re going to have a problem thinking up a new topic to write about, that will be used in promoting your work to potential customers…
…Then don’t bother trying to use a WMS!
Just go back and keep looking for money to pay the newspapers and the TV stations and the radio stations.
Then you sit back and wait for magic to happen. God help you. Hopefully, magic will keep happening. And hopefully, there’ll always be big money for you to spend on it.
Also, hopefully, you’ll also have enough profits to make it worth your while
Final Words – A Web Marketing System Will Keep Your Marketing Going (Even When You Sleep) Till You Succeed
However if you want to be able to beat your chest that you get business on merit, and that the value you deliver is actually what gives you the patronage you are able to show off, then I believe this is the time for you to consider using a WMS.
If you have a passion for what you do. If it’s something you wake up at 8am and are ready to jump into the streets and get started doing it all over again like you did yesterday, last week, last month or last year…
If it’s something that you don’t mind keeping at, even when you’ve not had a meal, since morning, and you’re working on it till 12 midnight and never get tired…
If it’s something that you never get bored with…
…then you can use a WMS to succeed in your business marketing.
This is because it is your passion that will help you make your WMS give you the results you want i.e. MORE sales leads or potential customers!
What you have just read is final part of a 3 part series titled “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)”.
There is a lot more you need to know. This series is available as a keynote speech, a half-day or full-day workshop – or request for audio/video version.
You can also contact me if you would like me to send you a report that breaks down what a WMS comprises, and how to get started with yours within the next 24 hours. E-mail tayo at tksola dot com with “Re: Why You Need A Web Marketing System” as the subject.
Further Reading: Components of a Web Marketing System (WMS)
The articles listed below describe key components of a Web Marketing System that I always recommend that my clients adopt for use. Read them and apply what you learn to started with yours.
This is part 2 of a 3 PART EDUCATIONAL SERIES. This installment is titled “Understanding How (Routine/Repeated) Use of Paid TV, Radio & Print Media Short Changes YOU ”. (Click here to read Part 1). If you run a business in Africa, the ideas offered in this series can help you. Any 21st century African business that depends more on paid traditional TV, Radio and print media for business promotion, is wasting money. Indeed, if you’re not using the ideas on offer here to find new clients and customers, YOU ARE LOSING PROFITS. I elaborate below…
Invite Me To Speak: If you’re reading this after 31st March 2013, I would have begun travelling slowly across West Africa as a Location Independent Entrepreneur. If you’re in West Africa click here to invite me to speak to your members or group on this topic.
In this 2nd part, I use a real life example or analogy to illustrate how the typical traditional media organization asks business owners to pay to share their expertise. This is an arrangement that benefits the media house, but rarely helps the small/medium businesses.
A Real-World Relevant Analogy
Consider this. A typical newspaper outfit. They come to you and tell you: Oh Look, We’re doing this special thing. We’re going to feature your company in our newspaper. We give you half a page, one page and you get to give us a little speech or talk about something you do, or share your expertise in our medium, and potentially you have the opportunity of getting read by millions of our wonderful readers all over.
And so you ask them: Right, if I do this, what’s in it for me?
And they say: Oh, you’re going to get read by so many people and they’re going to call you. And all of that.
You ask them: And I’m going be the one that supplies the content?
And they say: Yes of course, you put in your content, basically anything you want. If you want an editorial, we’ll let you do that. And so on.
Then you say: Well, that’s nice. That sounds good. When do we get started then?
And they say:Oh, there’s one thing: you’ve got to pay.
That stops you dead in your tracks.
You ask:Oh, I thought I was going to share my ideas and expertise. And I thought that would be in exchange for exposure through your medium?
They quickly reply:Well you see, everybody else pays to use our medium. This is the way it works. We’ve got to charge you because that’s really the marketing space or slot we have.
So you ask: Okay exactly how much are we talking about here?
They reply: From N200,000 (i.e. $1,500).
You say: What? That much – even though I’m offering my expertise?
But your friend – maybe he is more familiar with these things – tells you: Oh yes, that’s the way it’s done really. You see it’s a national newspaper, and you’re going to get a lot of exposure.
So, You Agree. And You Pay.
And they put this beautiful write-up you’ve done in the Monday edition (Monday being the day that maybe a lot of people like to look at real estate, and you are a real estate expert. So they tell you it’s going to get by a lot of people who are passionate about real estate).
Problem number 1:
On Monday, the paper comes out, and it’s about 150 pages thick. And your write-up? Yeah it’s in the real estate section alright. The challenge is that the average reader on a Monday is busy, and probably won’t have enough time to flip long enough to find that page – except he knew about it ahead of time, and was looking forward to it.
Problem number 2:
By the end of that day – I would say 10pm, some would say 12 midnight. The point is, by the next morning, the Tuesday edition is out: Your N200,000 would be gone!
The truth is more often than not, you’ll probably get a handful of phone calls or emails – if at all you get any responses to your ads that is.
It doesn’t make any sense!
What I’ve found out is that apart from a few leads which mostly fizzle out eventually, all you end up with are bragging rights that you had the means to place an ad in that kind of medium. But your target audience more often than not could not care less, if it does not add value to them!
If you’re a big company, there’s a budget for it, and you do have the cash flow to cope with it – probably because of your size, you get a lot of customers. And so, maybe it won’t matter much, you won’t feel the pinch and the returns would be tangible.
But if you’re a small, medium or micro business owner, the last thing you want to do is give that kind of money to advertising or marketing in a medium that has a shelf life of 24 hours! That’s just too volatile.
I say this from years of personal experience struggling and falling flat on my face for years, actively exploring cost-effective ways to get high impact long term marketing exposure, to the right people that are interested in my products and services.
Instead, You Need To Think Smart!
$1,500 can do a lot of things for you for a much longer period of time, and you’d be able to measure the returns. And those returns more often than not would pay for the money you spend in marketing in that way.
I have just done this analysis to help you put in perspective, the way you spend your money on traditional advertising or marketing media in your local market.
You want to give yourself an opportunity to reach out to as many people as possible, so as to find those who would be willing to pay the kind of money you want for your quality products and services.
I’m placing deliberate emphasis on quality because I’m assuming that the person reading this now is the kind of person that is not involved in selling anything that is substandard…or low quality…or cheap.
In order to benefit from the ideas I offer here, you’ve got to be somebody that has, on offer, products and services that command respect, and that appeal to people who are discerning in their tastes, and in their preferences.
If you’re not someone like that, you’ll not be able to use the ideas I offer here. But if you are someone like that that, then what I’m saying I’m sure will make sense to you. For every naira you spend, you must seek to extract at least an equivalent return in terms of marketing reach and impact – marketing mileage you achieve.
There is a Better Way to Do It
The channels of radio, TV, newspapers, flyers, bulk SMS and all that, can work in conjunction with, and can be complemented, by this other method that I’m talking about.
I cal it the use of a Web Marketing System. I will explain it in detail in my next article. This article you’ve just read was written to demonstrate, in practical terms, how the current and more familiar marketing and advertising media cannot really help you to cost-effectively achieve the kind of reach and impact you need in an economy where money is not as available as it used to be.
People are getting more reluctant to spend and need more reasons to do so, therefore making it more difficult for the man who wants to sell products and services to find customers. Therefore, everyone needs to be smarter. The WMS enables you to be smarter in spending your money, and smarter in getting returns, tangible returns, that add to your ability to make sales. That’s what a WMS does for you.
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What you have just read is part 2 of a 3 part series titled “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)”.
Part 3 follows tomorrow (I’ve decided to dispense with the plan to publish according to the weekly schedule, so readers can find all 3 parts close together).
There is a lot more you need to know. This series is available as a keynote speech, a half-day or full-day workshop – or request for audio/video version. You can also contact me if you would like me to send you a report that breaks down what a WMS comprises, and how to get started with yours within the next 24 hours. E-mail tayo at tksola dot com with “Re: Why You Need A Web Marketing System” as the subject.
NB: This is the second of a ten part series (click here to read part 1) based on an e-book I wrote few years back. Subsequent parts are published at weekly intervals – in the “Entrepreneurship” and “Self-Development” categories.
This was one of the exciting matches I watched in a handball competition that ended over the last weekend – from Friday till Sunday evening. The organisation and quality of play was impressive.
I actually got a chance to play with one of the teams – but over 15 years without playing competitively is a long time. I was simply too match rusty and had to be taken off after costing the poor guys on my side two goals
The competition was held in honour of a referee who passed on. More in the update I’ll be publishing.
*****The above was just a quick news flash/preview of what’s to come in my next DN Travel News update.****
Now, to the article proper.
Risk-Taking Is Inevitable
You cannot run away from risk in business or life in general, if you want to excel. And you can be sure you’ll fall flat on your face more times than you’ll enjoy looking cool, calm and collected while you work your way up to success.
That’s the truth. True champions usually have to get themselves dusty, muddy and dirty from fighting their way to the top, before they finally arrive.
If you don’t like the idea of looking (or being) vulnerable, or you detest the thought of looking bad from making mistakes/getting things wrong, you have a big problem on your hands.
One thing is certain: authentic success is likely to elude you.
I quit my high paying job in Guinness Nigeria (1 year after being promoted/sent to the UK), to start my business. Ten years on, I remain more fulfilled than I ever felt while working in my high paying job as a manager in a large corporate multinational!
Some people reportedly said I was mad then. I later learnt one of those who said so was made redundant a year after I left.
Now think about it: At least I was ready and I chose to leave by myself. In his case, he wasn’t and he never saw the sucker punch coming either. Double trouble I call that.
And it can happen to anyone. It could have happened to me too. You can insist on holding on to your comfortable job for as long as possible. But it’s not likely to be able to return the favour. You could of course try moonlighting – where you try you hands at a busienss idea on the side during your time away from work.
Example: It Makes No Sense To Expect A Loan Without Collateral
Many aspiring or practicing entrepreneurs usually want bank loans without collateral etc. But that does not make sense since banks need money from all of us, to loan out and make profit from interest they charge those who take such loans!
Prepare your mind to do what is at stake. Be OPEN to opportunities of support from others.
That’s what those who achieved authentic success did.
A well known entrepreneur explained that what helped him launch his sports magazine was that someone purchased an advert page in the first edition, which was used to produce the second edition.
But if he had not taken the risk of starting without knowing where money for the second edition would come from, he would never have been able to get that opportunity.
Later on, he found a mentor who backed him for 3 years in printing subsequent editions at night without asking payment!
Final Words: I Practise What I Preach
The moral of the above is that you must understand that to get what you want, you will not be the only one to make it happen.
And that’s why you must keep an open mind as you explore your options. Purge your mind of petty biases. Understand that anyone – no matter how small they appear to be – can become a source of unexpected blessings to you from your creator. So be prepared to take leaps of faith as the need becomes apparent.
Let me end by saying this: Just in case you’re wondering, I practise what I preach and I get great results from doing so, in terms of achieving my set goals.
For instance, I’m writing this from a bar in the Etoile Rouge area of Cotonou, Republic of Benin. Less than 2 weeks since I arrived here, I’ve made good friends in this country, by adopting the mindset described in this article. And that attitude has opened more doors of opportunities for me out here, than I would ever have had otherwise.
People I have never met in my entire life have gone out of their way so many times to help me achieve progress towards my goal. It’s been amazing. Just today, I met yet another person – barrister at law, and educational consultant who translates documents from French to English – among other things. We’re going to be working together to produce a complete French version of my 45 page management research paper which I delivered at the Centre for Management Development on formal invitation.
Details will be shared in my next update article to be published under the My DN Travels category on my blog this week. So stay tuned
I came across this school by accident. Never knew they had one here. Turns out it gets frequently mixed up with one (non-nigerian) school called “English International School” – which is in an entirely different location. If you ever have to visit one, make sure you don’t end up being taken to the other – by specifying whether or not it’s the Nigerian one
This is part 1 of a 3 part educational series. If you’re an expert running a business in Africa, the ideas offered in this 3-part series can help you. This installment (Part 1) is sub-titled “Why You May Need To Change The Way You Find Buyers for Your Products and Services”. Any 21st century African business that depends more on paid traditional TV, Radio and print media for business promotion, is wasting money. Indeed, if you’re not using the ideas on offer here to find new clients and customers, YOU ARE LOSING PROFITS. I elaborate below…
Invite Me To Speak: If you’re reading this after 31st March 2013, I would have begun travelling slowly across West Africa as a Location Independent Entrepreneur. If you’re in West Africa click here to invite me to speak to your members or group on this topic.
Traditional Media are Not Bad – They Just Cost Too Much For Too Little
Capital is not easy to come by, for business startup or expansion in Africa. Very few can access funds adequate to start large enterprises or multinationals. That’s why African economies depend heavily on micro to medium businesses. If these smaller players can find buyers faster, with less effort, and at less cost, they would become more profitable. And that benefit, would create positive multiplier effects across the African economy.
This article explains why intelligent use of Low Cost Web Marketing Systems can help them achieve that goal faster than paying for access to traditional media.
What I’m trying to do in the African market is to get as many business owners as are willing to listen, to understand that there are other ways they can get customers or clients interested in actally paying good money to get their products even if the market is down.
The Web Marketing I propose will complement and not replace whatever methods you already use. However, over time you may find it worthwhile to reduce your use of the latter, if/when it becomes obvious that they cost your more money, time and effort.
Two Questions You Need To Ask Yourself About Your Marketing
It’s time people began to think of the fact that obvert hew last 15 to 20 years, they’ve followed the same trafitional; methods of marketing and advetixing, spenting quaite a lot of money on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, to get customers to come and pay for their products and services.
Over trhe years, we’ve found thayt there has been a new market, or let me say a new method of markeing that allows you to get probably the same or even beytter results, without spending up to half of what yopu currently spent.
First question. You spend money on newspaper adverts, TV and radio jingles, and then you waith,. 9 times out of 10 people who do these kinds of things say “Oh, that’s what everyone else does.”
The question I ask is this; If every othewr person is doing it, can you afford to do what they’;re doing? Will you get the same results they get? And will the resuts you get, be satisfactory, for you, in terms of your bottom line, your profits, how much you get to keep in your pockets, after you take out all your expenses?
At the end of the day, if you find thayt you are not able to account, for a significant increase in your profit margins, then that method of marketing is not doing as well as it should, and you need to think of other ways.
What You Need To Do
I believe one of the smartest ways to do business is to find customers at little or no extra expense over what you are already spending.
So first of all, I say you have to do what is called a Mind Shift. Change the way you think about your marketing. Begin to consider that you can actually find peiopkle who will pay good money to get your products and services without seeing one expensive ad by you in any of the traditional media – be it radio, TV, newspapers or what have you.
Secondly: Consider a method of marketing that makes it possible for you to stay visible, to be noticed, and followed and contacted by potential customers, year in year out, without your having to spend one extra kobo, or naira, or dollar – depending on where you;’re living or where you’re based. That’s what I’m talking abvout.
A Web Marketing System helps you to leverage those kinds of marketing channels to your advantage, and make them work for you even when you’re asleep.
What you want is a situation where, every now and then – and with an increasing frequency over time – people who need your products and services pick up the phone at 8.00am in the morning and call you and say:
“Hello. I found out XYZ about you while I was doing ABC somewherw an dI’d like to know how much it would cost to get ABCD that you offer”.
And this guy would be talking with you obviously in a state of mind that shows that s/he is ready to pay good money to get what it is you offer, because your WMS would have done its job of getting him or her to that level of decision making readiness.
Final Words
What you have just read is part 1 of a 3 part series titled “Why You Need A Web Marketing System (WMS)”. Part 2 will be published next week.
There is a lot more you need to know. This series is available as a keynote speech, a half-day or full-day workshop – or request for audio/video versions. E-mail tayo at tksola dot com with “Re: Why You Need A Web Marketing System” as the subject.
Conflicts rarely occur when there’s mutual respect and consideration between two parties in a business (or even personal) relationship. You may have heard an entrepreneur complain that a client refused to pay up for work done or product delivered. This could happen with a a new client. At other times it’s an old client.
Sometimes conflicts can arise because the entrepreneur himself fails to deliver a product or service to the client’s satisfaction.
Here’s an example of how that can happen:
A prospect makes lots of demands, while offering to pay little. The entrepreneur knows the work to be done cannot be covered by the money offered. But business has been tough. So he decides to take on the project as a bread-and-butter-job to tide him over till something better comes along to complement it.
Now here’s the clumsy part: Accepting to do that much work, for inadequate remuneration makes him unable to take on (or go in search of) other projects to earn additional income. This is because doing so would jeopardize his commitment to delivering the first (poor paying) project to specification and/or the agreed deadline.
And yet, he knows he’ll run out of money before he can finish that job. And once that happens it would be even more difficult, if not impossible to finish it: What a trap!
Maybe something similar to the above has happened to you before…? It’s happened to me. Several times too – especially as I started out 10 years ago. I’ve since learnt a lot.
Clients Will Treat You The Way You Treat/Present Yourself
The truth of the matter is that as an entrepreneur, you owe yourself a duty to always get those you do business with to treat you as an equal – with respect and consideration.
Now if you take on a large demanding project and accept poor fees offered by a client, do you think she’ll accept a poorly finished job from you? Not likely.
In fact, the irony is that most clients who offer poor remuneration to those they do business with are often notorious for being the most demanding. They typically want everything, for as little payment as possible. Figures.
By implication therefore, when you accept to work under such unflattering terms, you make it possible for such a client to treat you as she pleases!
As far as she’ll be concerned, you must have accepted the project because you thought it was good enough for you to do the job to her satisfaction. And she would feel entitled to demand that you fulfill that obligation. Plus a little more if she can get it
A Smarter Way To Operate
There is a better way. You need to let those you do business with see that you know the value of what you offer – in terms of how it can help them.
Tell them what that value you offer reasonably translates to in monetary terms.
To do this you have to get information from them, and from their industry/markets (and other relevant sources).
The use what you learn to come up with real world relevant estimates of practical savings in cost, time, effort they get. In addition, point out the various ways your solution delivers convenience to – and confers prestige on – them.
You must also always remember to impress upon clients (and prospects) the fact that you have standards you work to. That there are (what I like to call) “lower control limits” for your fees, meant to protect not just you, the provider, but also him, the client.
The above are basic requirements you need to have clear in your mind. At all stages of your business interactions with others, you should be able to effortlessly apply them, to ensure no unhealthy developments are initiated. Or to nip any that do occur in the bud!
Final Words
I’m sure there are many other strategies that can also be used. The approach I have however described here is based on what has worked for me over the years.
I like it because it almost always helps me win the respect of a client, and also ensures future dealings with her are profitable for both parties. A win-win relationship.
Only when the other person has had ulterior motives (with the intent of cheating or exploiting) has this strategy ever failed. And under such circumstances it’s helped me stay safe, and move on to better things.
And that’s why I highly recommend it.
…a multi-disciplinary blog for people passionate about reaching their goals!
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