How do you prove your value?

Alison's Contribution:

That's a great question.

I start in a different place... which is to ask the client what his challenge is and how I might be able to help make the difference which counts.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

You believe in the four pillars to Business Sustainability ? ( growing, rentability, credibility and operational continuity )

Alison's Contribution:

Interesting question. First let me state that I'm a fan of Senge.

To me they are not mutually exclusive and perhaps most effective when combined.

Pillars add foci points and content - the WHAT of the question.

Learning to learn of HOW to achieve the best result.

All the best,

Alison
posted 7 days ago

How do I outsource my sales effort?

Alison's Contribution:

xI suggest you break down the sales process into manageable steps and outsource the most time consuming ones which don't impact your closings.

Here are some ideas:
-- Get a leads list of decision makers who don't have TPS
-- Direct mail to gather interest and to get them to take action, use as a follow talking point
-- Call/Survey the market to get to the decision maker and to schedule an appointment for someone to close the deal.

I know a couple of good ones. Email me privately if you would like contact details for the one I prefer.

Alison
posted 8 days ago

What industries stand to take the biggest hit or gain the biggest opportunities as a result of the Swine Flu situation?

Alison's Contribution:

Bob's given some good insights. I think that video conferencing facilities will be full to the brim for the next few weeks - as well as online hosting services for meetings.

I also think there will be bandwidth issues because more people will be logging on from home and surfing whilst they work. I also reckon there will be a huge hit on mobile communications.

Restaurants and live entertainment will be hit. Not sure if Taxis will fare better or worse - someone else might have a better insight.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 9 days ago

Is it advisable starting your own business in times of a downturn?

Alison's Contribution:

Lots of food for thought. I guess the short sweet question, is

What is the worst possible thing that could happen? and then
If you did nothing, what do you think your outcome would be?

All the best,

Alison
posted 9 days ago

How risky is it to trade in currency markets ?

Alison's Contribution:

Good question. Very risky - well obviously.

Understanding what moves the market and staying either one step ahead or being a fast follower will minimise losses but may not prevent you from being blind sided.

You may be interested in an article which might lend some help: Political fat tails: Probability distributions didn't do a great job predicting financial meltdown, and we're no.. http://poprl.com/1mi5

All the best,

Alison
posted 9 days ago

What role does market structure or firm size play in determining which firms are most likely to benefit from technological progress

Alison's Contribution:

I think more than size or market structure, there is a more important factor which is the willingness to experiment - even if it means hitting a dead end.

I know of a firm that are committed to trying out new technologies so that they can keep at the forefront of their customers need to utilise these new technologies to do business. A factor in their success is that they have learned how to experiment with new technologies and are thus more likely to be successful - even with disruptive technologies.

This would be a great question to ask in one of the innovators groups as well.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 9 days ago

Is a blog a website?

Alison's Contribution:

The answer is sometimes.

Then there are blogging sites like www.blogger.com which band together lots of blogs on one "site".

There are blogs which are part of a company site - usually with a blog.companyname.com or companyname.com/blog/ structure.

Sometimes though, there is a totally stand alone web domain which acts as the blog for a larger site.

Would I think that if you said you had no web site, would I think you might have a blog? I don't think I'd have an opinion. It's not a requirement to own your own web site. www.blogger.com is free to use. Others charge a monthly fee.

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 9 days ago

What is the ultimate competitive advantage?

I believe that having the right people focussed on doing the “right things well” is the ultimate competitive advantage. Creating a collaborative, achievement oriented environment where they make valuable contributions is part and parcel of doing the right things well