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Actual for You - National Accounts -- How Do You Create a Program That Really Works?
You can throw out most of the management ideas you find in colleges, graduate schools, company training programs, and the like if you’ll do just one, incredibly simple thing:PAY YOUR PEOPLE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.Management advocates have it backwards, you see.Their pet saying is that the art of management is getting average people to perform exceptionally well.What they leave off is a small tag line. Let me provide you with the entire phrase:“The art of management is getting average people to perform exceptionally well, without paying them anything extra for their productivity.”That’s truly the tacit definition of a good manager, and most of the industrial psychology, job engineering, and yes, management consulting during the past 80 years has been dedicated to this goal.“Make us more money without making us spend more money.”But, alas, human nature and life itself don’t work that way—for long, or without unleashing counter-forces such as unions, restrictive legislation, workers compensation claims, and lawsuits.Somehow, business owners think it’s “cheating” or “dumb” or self-defeating to pay people exceptionally well. They’d prefer to be clever, to invest in labor saving technologies, to cut out the human touch everywhere they can, instead of handing over living, and indeed, prospering wages.But recall, if you will, that practical experiment undertaken by Henry Ford, by no means a soft touch.Ford invented the “$5 Day.”To attract and recruit the very best laborers in America to work on his modern assembly lines he offered that astonishingly high wage. From what I understand, this more than doubled the prevailing rates.People thought Ford was crazy, and I’m sure he was vilified by his fellow captains of industry.But his move paid off. He did get the best available people to work for him, and together, they made very, very good money.From time to time there have been companies that have raised pay substantially, through salaries, profit-sharing, stock options, attractive retirement packages, and the like. And qui
2. Administrative and technical support that can reduce your customers' internal costs enough to affect bottom line operating costs.
3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers' top line.
4. Technology that is core to your customers' business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities. Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts o
Contrary to recent reports criticizing the outsourcing industry of wreaking havoc in the lives of most Americans, a research by the US Chamber of Commerce declares otherwise. The study shows that the effects of the outsourcing industry on American economy and global trade, in general, are very positive. The report also indicates that the American economy is enjoying an upsurge in profits within the global trade market because of its extensive outsourcing programs.The state-supported study shows that the American economy actually gains an average of $50 billion in net profits because of its outsourcing industry. Currently, immigrants and off-shore outsourcing companies comprise more than a quarter of the total workforce of the American economy. Moreover, the outsourced talents function in key positions, often handling critical tasks and major projects. The new study proposes that the American economy benefits from its policies on open trade, immigrants, international visitors, and ultimately, foreign investments. The study primarily portrays the US as a major player in the outsourcing industry of the global trade market.The study also maintains that it is through outsourcing that the American economy manages to keep afloat in the sea of global trade. Thomas Donohue, the CEO for the Chamber of Commerce, suggests that the more open an economy is, the more successful it is -- undoubtedly referring to the American economy.However, most lower-strata American citizens feel and think otherwise. Several critiques are hurled daily towards the American economy's stand on business outsourcing. The most popular of these charges insist that the outsourcing industry only benefits the higher-ups and the major players in the field. They assert that the average American worker is left without a job and a source of income. Other radical views offer a Third World perspective. According to this perspective, the American economy damages the fairness of global trade by outsourcing the talents of the developing countries. As such, the economy of these countries are stunted because of the lack of skilled workers. I
Regain Power by Offering Competitive Advantage
National accounts, by definition, have significant size and buying power which provide leverage in demanding lower prices. In addition, because of their complexity and demographics, they are often more difficult and expensive to service. Consequently, most national accounts are the least profitable.
In response, you need to make a concentrated effort to effectively rebalance the shift of power by offering significant competitive advantages that make your products and services more critical to your national accounts. Without creating competitive advantage, you will be tied to the downward price spiral that eats margin and effectively negates any understanding by your customers that "price is not the same as cost." A structured national accounts program with definitive guidelines is the first step toward gaining competitive advantage. There are four basic broad categories of added value that create competitive advantage:
1. Processes that streamline your customers' productivity, improve quality, take transaction costs out of the supply chain and provide measurable savings (unrelated to price).
2. Administrative and technical support that can reduce your customers' internal costs enough to affect bottom line operating costs.
3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers' top line.
4. Technology that is core to your customers' business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities. Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts on
The key is to job hunt smarter not harder. There is no point spending all day applying to over 50 companies and get so frustrated at the end of the day because non of the employers have responded to your applications.Don't join the rat race. Many are called but few are chosen. Why join the many when you can be among the few chosen ones without joining the crowd.A bird at hand is better than 10,000 in the forest. You can always use that one bird to catch the many thousands in the forest because birds of the same feather flock together.The same applies to the job market. Why apply for the thousands of jobs on job boards when you can use a contact person to attract or be introduced to many other key contacts that could help you attain the job you are looking for.For example, if you want to start a career in project management, start networking among your friends. There must be someone you know who knows a project manager. Build rapport and create a network ladder to get to your main contact person.Once you have established contact, you can try using this appointment generating email:Hi Steve,Thanks for taking my call earlier today. In relation to our conversation, Sally mentioned you were the best person to speak to in regards to starting a career in project management.Your reputation precedes you and I feel I have much to learn from you. This is clearly obvious just by looking at your outstanding record of proven achievement within the field of successfully managing global projects.Please find attached a quick summary my resume / CV. It explains and details what I have been doing and how it can be of benefit to you and your department.I am available for a meeting on either:Tuesday the 9th of Jan Wednesday the 17th of Jan Thursday the 25th of JanWhich day will suit you or do you have a more suitable time?Kind regardsJames Thomas
Regain Power by Offering Competitive Advantage
National accounts, by definition, have significant size and buying power which provide leverage in demanding lower prices. In addition, because of their complexity and demographics, they are often more difficult and expensive to service. Consequently, most national accounts are the least profitable.
In response, you need to make a concentrated effort to effectively rebalance the shift of power by offering significant competitive advantages that make your products and services more critical to your national accounts. Without creating competitive advantage, you will be tied to the downward price spiral that eats margin and effectively negates any understanding by your customers that "price is not the same as cost." A structured national accounts program with definitive guidelines is the first step toward gaining competitive advantage. There are four basic broad categories of added value that create competitive advantage:
1. Processes that streamline your customers' productivity, improve quality, take transaction costs out of the supply chain and provide measurable savings (unrelated to price).
2. Administrative and technical support that can reduce your customers' internal costs enough to affect bottom line operating costs.
3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers' top line.
4. Technology that is core to your customers' business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities. Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts o
In the past, the management of an organization's brand has usually been the sole domain of the organization's marketing team. However, with the evolution of the Internet and people's need for instant information, there is a greater call for public relations professionals to become more directly involved with an organization's brand management.The Dictionary of Business and Management defines brand as: a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors.But according to Colin Bates, a brand management specialist from www.buildingbrands.com, brand means much more than that. "More accurately," he says, "brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer."Essentially, brand is more than simply a corporate logo; it is anything people can associate an organization with, whether it is a paid advertisement or an article found in a newspaper. This is where brand management becomes important and PR professionals must be vigilant.It is not enough for public relations professionals to simply communicate news to the media; they must somehow communicate the persona of their organization.For example, Google, the company that runs the best-known and most-used search engine on the Web, has a very distinctive brand. Most Internet users could visually identify its logo. However, Google's branding efforts do not stop there.The company has worked hard to combat Internet users' doubts about the quality of Web search results. Most of the main stream search engines sell advertising in order to make money and many people have accused these companies of skewing search results for money - giving certain web sites a higher ranking in exchange for purchasing paid advertising.However, Google is well-known for the clear division it places between its search results and its advertising business. The visual separation on Google's Web site is an example: search results are prevalent on the left and occupy at the very least 90 per cent of the page, while advertising occupies ver
In response, you need to make a concentrated effort to effectively rebalance the shift of power by offering significant competitive advantages that make your products and services more critical to your national accounts. Without creating competitive advantage, you will be tied to the downward price spiral that eats margin and effectively negates any understanding by your customers that "price is not the same as cost." A structured national accounts program with definitive guidelines is the first step toward gaining competitive advantage. There are four basic broad categories of added value that create competitive advantage:
1. Processes that streamline your customers' productivity, improve quality, take transaction costs out of the supply chain and provide measurable savings (unrelated to price).
2. Administrative and technical support that can reduce your customers' internal costs enough to affect bottom line operating costs.
3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers' top line.
4. Technology that is core to your customers' business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities. Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts o
IntroductionVery often people are curious as to whether there is a certain methodology that successful inventors are following that can be adopted by others. In my opinion, one should look no further then Thomas Edison, one of the greatest minds of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries; inventor who gave the world a long-lasting light bulb and phonograph – just a few inventions that revolutionized and modernized our world. In fact, Edison patented 1,093 Inventions in US alone, not counting numerous patents obtained in European countries like Germany, France and England.Edison And His MethodologySo, what methodology did Thomas Edison follow when he worked on his numerous ideas? Many researchers and bibliographers who studied Edison’s life claim that the famed inventor didn’t use systematic approach while working on his ideas; in fact, many claim that Edison favored the so-called random approach. In my opinion, above mentioned claims are misleading and should be taken with big grain of salt.Thomas Edison never rushed into conclusions and methodically studied any available literature on the topic he was working. Edison once wrote the following –“When I want to discover something, I begin by reading up everything that has been done along that line in the past - that's what all these books in the library are for. I see what has been accomplished at great labor and expense in the past. I gather data of many thousands of experiments as a starting point, and then I make thousands more.”Respect the Work of OthersOne can clearly see that Thomas Edison had the uttermost respect for the researchers who worked before him, either successfully or unsuccessfully. Famed inventor realized early on that his success heavily relied upon work done by others - Edison carefully analyzed facts produced by others, noted their mistakes and learned to avoid these mistakes in the future.Regarding Trial And Error ApproachEdison did use trial and error (or random) method, but in a different context. Once Edison formulated and documented his ideas, inventor used trial and error a
1. Processes that streamline your customers' productivity, improve quality, take transaction costs out of the supply chain and provide measurable savings (unrelated to price).
2. Administrative and technical support that can reduce your customers' internal costs enough to affect bottom line operating costs.
3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers' top line.
4. Technology that is core to your customers' business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities. Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts o
Business brokers help you in the sale and purchase of businesses. They charge fees for providing brokerage services. The fees depend on the size of the business, the final sale and the purchase price. There are different business brokers for dealing with different kind of businesses. For example, some of them might specialize in mergers, and others in acquisitions. Apart from the fixed fee, most of the brokers also charge commissions. The commission can be computed on the basis of the selling or purchase price of the business. The larger the price, the greater the leverage to negotiate commission rates with a business broker.If you have sold your business or purchased a new one you might feel you don’t need the help of a business broker, especially if you know the prospective seller or buyer well. But if you are entering a new industry, buying or selling a big business, or do not know the buyer or seller you are dealing with, then a business broker can be of great help. Business brokers not only help in negotiating and taking one through the complete transaction, but they have a wide range of contacts. They could find you a better deal through these contacts.Business brokers are good at making discreet inquiries in the market to find potential buyers or sellers, and a much higher price than what you are presently being offered. If you have a small business to sell, you might not be able to get in touch with a big company which you see as a potential buyer. But a business broker could do that. They are in touch with most of the big corporations. In fact, some of the business brokers specialize in dealing only in small businesses. The list of business brokers in your area could be available either online or at the local chamber of commerce.
2. Administrative and technical support that can reduce your customers' internal costs enough to affect bottom line operating costs.
3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers' top line.
4. Technology that is core to your customers' business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities. Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts on all of these issues.
Four Fundamentals
The ultimate success of a national accounts program depends on the hard work and team participation of all company employees involved in the process. There are four basic fundamentals of success in any national accounts program:
1. Knowledge - Study the internal processes of your company and/or the internal workings of your national accounts program if you already have one in place.
2. Understanding - Research the business environment in which your company operates and the resulting defined objectives for a national accounts program.
3. Clarity - Identify the big picture of market and customer demand and direction. This should be a true understanding of what your corporation is trying to accomplish in total.
4. Commitment - Secure the commitment of your entire company.
Knowledge
It is essential to outline the objectives of your program, the process involved, and the direction to take in order to receive help and support when necessary. If you have no program in effect, it is critical to develop this process.
Second, activity measurement and open communication (both up and down the chain of command) are absolutely critical for success. Accountability is an absolute necessity and it must be clearly defined. Support from your company's information management system can provide the fundamental elements of success for the national accounts program. A weak information system could leave dangerous voids or even misrepresent the true picture of the national accounts program.
Understanding
Understanding brings the field view (external view) closer to corporate headquarters. An internal company survey may provide the necessary clarity as to how a national accounts program
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