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Appreciation increases your value
A man attending a seminar on interpersonal relationships became convinced of the need for him to begin showing appreciation to people. His family seemed like an appropriate place to start. So on his way home, he picked up a dozen long-stem roses and a box of chocolates. This was going to be a real surprise,…
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Your business depends on your personal touch
Mamie Adams always enjoyed going to a branch post office in her town because the postal employees there were friendly. She went there to buy stamps just before the holidays one year and the lines were particularly long. Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in…
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Arrogance and business don’t mix
In a village long ago lived a young boy who loved nothing as much as competing in athletic contests. Because he was fit and strong, he usually triumphed and grew to love the adulation he received from the villagers around him. One day he challenged two other youths to a race from one end of…
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Sales techniques that work as hard as you do
Whether you run your own business or work for a company in a sales-related role, you’re always looking for sales techniques that work. I’ve developed and learned many over the years from readers providing great advice. One person advised me to ask yes and yes questions. He worked for Hyatt and asked himself, “What else…
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Take a few minutes to learn the two-minute drill
I could fill volumes about chance meetings that have changed people’s lives, led to jobs, business opportunities, partnerships, new ideas . . . all because people sought other people with similar interests. The secret is to seek them out. Every time I’m in a line, on a plane, at a sporting event, wherever … I…
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Marketing Focus – Essays on Management, Marketing & Business Strategies
It’s July, and the start of a new financial year for businesses operating in Australia. Perhaps more significantly, the change of month and focus heralds the end of seemingly countless, inappropriate and largely ineffective End-of-Financial Year Sales. The era of door-buster sales events has lapsed, a product of too many sales, a lack of consumer focus…
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Marketing Focus – 1. Mixed Messages 2. Fabulous Fads 3. Future Retail Trends – Closing Stores 4. Ageism 5. Amazon – River of Change
1. Mixed messages. That is the essential characteristic of the current marketplace. Depending on the information source, differing perspectives, forecasts and analyses are shared. Little wonder the currency of the term alternative truth. In recent weeks scientists around the world marched in support of truth. Unbelievable. The number of participants was disappointing. Now is the…
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The Desensitised Culture
It’s time for a new prescription The community pharmacy is fighting to survive amid aggressive price disclosures, high expenses and pressures from wholesalers. Yet, the treatment of slashing costs and pushing discounts only focuses on the symptom of financial turmoil, rather than treating the root cause of the problem. The financial turmoil facing the pharmacy…
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The Value Of Free Pharmacy Consultations.
There is nothing as frustrating as a patient asking for a pharmacists advice to then walk out empty handed as though all you had said was worthless. In an industry where time and profits have become scarce, pharmacists don’t need the extra waste of time if their is no direct sale. After all, many pharmacists…
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A lesson in making mistakes
Try to remember the last time you uttered the words, “I made a mistake.” Was it painful? Expensive? Career-changing? Or therapeutic? When my kids were young, they used to sing along with a little ditty on “Sesame Street” that went something like this: “Everyone makes mistakes, so why not you?” That’s the wisdom of children…