Business and Money Tips

It is not what you say but how you say that matters. Instead of saying, “Trust me”, say, “You can see from our past records that we mean what we say” Never say, “This is already very low price”, say “We prefer to focus on value. Tell me, what kind of results you want to get?” Instead of saying, “Vote for me, give me your order”, say, “Can I count on you to help me in this matter?” Never say, “You have to get this product with that machine”, say, “The best thing to do is to get this product with that machine to get more results” Instead of saying, “Price,” or “cost”, say, “Amount” or “Investment” Never argue with people, always agree with their objection and see a common point that can link to your argument. Instead of defending your product’s weakness, mention how despite of this weakness, your product has helped more people to solve their real problems. Finally, instead of saying, “I know”, say, “That’s interesting, tell me more about it”. You’ll definitely will win more friends an

Don't wish your job is easier, wish that you were better, so said Jim Rohn, the guru.  Indeed if the manager or boss is a better person, the team will perform better.  Everyone talks about employee discipline, and everyone assumes that the boss is naturally disciplined and will do all the right things. I beg to differ.  Just look at the many cases of corruption committed by top level people in the civil service and corporate world and you'll know what I'm talking about.  So today's let's look at Boss Discipline and the 5 precepts a boss should take.  These precepts are not rules set by anyone, they are code of conduct that protect the boss from unwanted consequences like high staff turnover, poor reputation and financial losses.  The 5 precepts are:  Abstain From Harming People . Harming people includes mental harm like giving people undue stress, anger, bad temper and taking away credit from employees.   Abstain From Taking What is Not Given .  By avoiding

(This article was first written in April 2014. This is the original un-censored version. The edited version has been selected and published in The Straits Times on 14 March 2015 page R2 Recruit Section) People are more capable than what you think.  Whether you are dealing with your staff, customers, suppliers, contractors or children, you should adopt an open mind and do not limit people's capabilities.  Currently you may see low performance, but understand that such  performance is determined by causes and conditions set before.    Once the causes and conditions change, performance will change .  For example, Japan's economy has, since 1992, on a decline phase and till today 2015, it has not recovered to its glory days of 1980s.  This is because of the causes and conditions that Japan has, chief among them is its closed door immigration policy that limits foreign talents.  If Japan were to change its immigration policy and attract talents like Singapore or USA, its econom

Most salespeople are very good in solution selling.  They find out what customers want and give them exactly what they want. For example, if the customer wants to hang a picture on the wall, they will sell them a drill.  A very good drill.  That is the problem.  The customer does not want a drill. He wants a hole.   Apple did not in 2007 give us customers exactly what we want. If so, we would be using iPhones with keypads with detached batteries and external storage cards. Instead Apple challenged its customers and give them beyond what they need. Apple used the Challenger Sale Method to create limitless enjoyment for its clients, and in turn make limitless money. To find out more about how you can dominate, not compete in the market and embark on 25 sales strategies , come for this newest sales course Cracking The Sales Code... Cracking the Sales Code (new) Date: 29 April 2015 Wednesday 9 am to 5 pm Venue: 7500A Beach Road, #02-346,

For decades, businesses have been trying to discover the formula for the 'perfect' manager.  There are tons of books, blog posts and editorial articles out there, and even training courses on   how to be a better manager .  While I cannot claim to have unlocked the secret theory of management, discussions with bosses and managers since 1987 revealed the following 5 traits of a 'perfect' manager: 1. Know How to Be Tough Many managers are know to be tough to themselves, tough to their customers and sub-contractors and even tough to their families but soft on their team members. The reason is the lack of people working due to the tight labour market and the ban on foreign workers in many industries.  As a result, managers are too pleasing and let the subordinates climb over their heads.   On the other hand, there are some managers that are too tough that they become abusive, aggressive and hated by people.  Such managers end up with zero staff and hav

Dear Colleagues, I read the letter that you wrote to me that day (refer to here ) over 3 times, and this letter is in reply to what you wrote. Yes, I am happy to hear that you guys do not want lesser work for more pay; you guys prefer me as your boss to be a better boss. I fully agree with you that we are all mirrors: bad employees merely reflect bad boss and if the boss becomes better, the employees too become better. As a start, I have enrolled myself in short effective leadership and management courses, one of them has the strange title called Leadership with Sun Zi Art of War.  I will be going for one management course every month from now till December 2015.  I too will be sending you guys to these 13 courses : Building Relationships at Work Dealing with Difficult People Effective Communication Effective Support Staff Excellent Team Members Email Etiquette High Value Employees Productivity From The Inside Problem Solving with Sun Tzu Art of War Service From t

You as the manager must help your sales team overcome their challenges or they will be drown by them.  The top 10 common challenges in sales include: Prospect has just bought from your competitor  Your pricing is too high to be considered  Your people are not aggressive enough to close the sale  Prospect has no money  Prospect has no time and mood to take a look at what you have Your supply is a problem: how to look for new customers?  Other than pricing, your delivery lead time is too long, specifications unattractive and credit period too short  Your sales team lacks motivation  Prospect only look at price and sees no value  Why Bother? Either Resign or Resigned to fate! Now these and other challenges are all overcome in our newest course: Cracking the Sales Code Date: 29 April 2015 Wednesday 9 am to 5 pm Venue: The Plaza 02-346, 7500A Beach Road (inside Parkroyal Hotel building) Fee: $398 each, $299 each for 2 & above, $199 each for 5 & above (with

Dear Boss, This is the first time we are writing you a letter, not e-mail.  At the workplace, we only can talk about work issues and leave our feelings aside, so we guess this letter is the only place where we can put all our feelings without inhibition.  You always say that we are not driven enough, and we always want more pay but work less.  This is of course true, but aren't the shareholders also always asking for more profits with lesser manpower?  As employees, we don't consider ourselves as very hard working or outstanding, otherwise we would have been promoted to director and be on top of you.  Anyway, we like you to know that we don't wish to have lesser work, we just wish that you could be a better boss. In our opinion, you could be a better boss if you could just do the following 7 things: Instead of just telling us to to things, let us know the reason behind it .  In this way we will be able to do the work with more meaning, and with more meaning the qua