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Tales of Tuna – lost but not forgotten

Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

I remember as a young boy being out on my father’s first ski boat in Fish Hoek Bay fishing for the giant Southern Bluefin Tuna. A long bamboo pole extended from one of the rod holders. To this pole the Dacron fishing line was tied with a piece of white cotton. The line extended just below the surface where the hook was attached to a large live squid with a hook lightly tucked into its back. The “live bait” stayed just below the surface, food for roaming and hungry Bluefin Tuna. Continue reading “Tales of Tuna – lost but not forgotten”

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Strangely disappearing cash that can’t be explained

Bay of ICE
Bay of ICE (Photo credit: Odalaigh)

Have you heard about the big problem Cape Town has with its beaches quickly losing sand and disappearing into the ocean?

The nudist beach at Sandy Bay has lost so much sand, the Cape Argus reported this week, that 25,000 m³ of sand is being taken from Hout Bay to Sandy Bay “as a last-ditch effort to try replenish the beach’s stocks”.

On the West Coast Langebaan’s popular beach is under threat of completely disappearing unless something is done to stop sand erosion. “The beachfront houses here are in big trouble,” Jaco Kotze from the Langebaan Ratepayers’ Association, told the Argus reporter. Continue reading “Strangely disappearing cash that can’t be explained”

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Closing the sale: emotional connection, building relationships and gaining trust is critical

How many sales will this fruit seller close today? (Photo credit: Aneesh KS, Creative Commons
How many sales will this fruit seller close today? (Photo credit: Aneesh KS, Creative Commons

When you come up with an idea for a new product or service and develop it for market, you will need to sell it to prospective customers. Selling involves a process of qualifying the prospective customer, presenting an appeal to buyer needs and finally closing the sale.

If you are going to be successful in your start-up or existing business, it stands to reason that the more sales you make, the more successful your business will be. It also means that the better you are at closing sales, the more revenue you will produce for your business. Knowing how to close sales is therefore critical to the success of your new product or service. Continue reading “Closing the sale: emotional connection, building relationships and gaining trust is critical”

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How to craft a persuasive sales presentation

English: 9 of hearts.
English: 9 of hearts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The most persuasive sales argument is the one that is already in the mind or heart of your prospective customer.

Remember that when you’re selling your new product or service that you’ve developed from idea to reality, you may find yourself in selling situations in a car park, showroom floor, boardroom or even restaurant. In these dynamic environments selling is oral and needs to be clear, fast and real. There is no time for flipping through flashcards or checking your cellphone. It’s all got to be in your head.

Sales trainers will show you how to find persuasion sales argument by anticipating 20 objections, using syllogisms and enthymemes and the four-stroke method but although these are interesting as someone new to selling its best to follow the simple methods. Continue reading “How to craft a persuasive sales presentation”

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Discover how a new idea led to anti-malaria soap

Two students studying at the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Burkina Faso have come up with the idea for an anti-malaria soap.

Noctar Dembele and Gerard Niyondiko entered the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) launched by Berkeley MBA students. They beat 650 competitors from about 40 countries. It’s the first time an entry from Africa has won the competition.

They have taken their idea and transformed it into a product to have a positive social impact. Tests and trials are still to follow as well as commercialisation.

The “Fasoap” is made from local herbs and natural ingredients such as shea butter and essential lemongrass oil. The soap leaves a scent on the skin that repels mosquitoes and claims to prevent the development of mosquito larvae.

I find this new idea transformed into a product is a good example of how start-up owners and entrepreneurs go about taking their idea and turning it into a product or service. Continue reading “Discover how a new idea led to anti-malaria soap”

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Big game fishing off Cape Point – the ones that got away

Credit: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Credit: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

My first fishing experience goes so far back into my early childhood that most of it is like a blurry dream. Flashes of memory place me at a fishing spot behind Clovelly station off the rocks. My father had handed me the rod but I can’t remember pulling in the fish. My next image is seeing a large white Steenbras on a rock next to the water’s edge with white surf rushing in. I did not see the Steenbras escape but I know I lost it and I have always remembered the bad feeling I experienced afterwards.

Charles Horne recounts how on Wednesday, January 9, 1957 fisherman at Rooikrantz, near Cape Point, landed about 200 tunny weighing from 9 kg (20 lb) to about 20 kg (60 lb). He says in “Big Game Fishing in South Africa” that “no estimate will ever be made of the number of big fish that threw the hooks or broke away” and how many were lost on light or weak tackle. Continue reading “Big game fishing off Cape Point – the ones that got away”

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How to handle objections when selling your new product or service

Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

You’ve come up with a new product or service that you’ve spent months developing and testing and you approach your first customers. Don’t be surprised when you encounter your first objections. You can’t expect a prospective customer to just say yes to your product and hand over their money. It may happen with low value items but the higher the purchase price, the more hard work you need to put into the sale. Continue reading “How to handle objections when selling your new product or service”

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Use email to sell your products or services

AROBAZE

Millions are made selling products and services via email. Are you using email to sell? And if you aren’t, should you give it a try?

Email has been tainted by companies that spam (sending the same message indiscriminately to large numbers of recipients on the Internet) prospects, alienating them. But by persuading prospects to opt in to your mailing list and sending them useful valuable information, you can build a relationship with them which can lead to opportunities for selling. Continue reading “Use email to sell your products or services”

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5 questions to help you qualify your prospect

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

Have you ever walked onto a car showroom floor and immediately the salesperson starts showing you the latest models that are way above your budget and are not what you were looking for in the first place?

This high-pressure selling makes you instantly lose confidence in the salesperson. Emotion is a big part of buying and selling. One of the biggest emotions is fear. Fear that you will be ripped off. Fear that you will buy the wrong product or a product that is of inferior quality. Fear that you could have got a better deal elsewhere. Fear that once the salesperson has got your money, they won’t care a fig about you should something go wrong with your product. Continue reading “5 questions to help you qualify your prospect”

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An innovator shows how new uses for products can open new markets

Technology developed in Africa shows how innovation can lead to new uses for products which can open new markets.

greysanatomy1A small to medium-sized company developed an x-ray scanner for detecting diamonds at mines in South Africa. Because regular checks were made the scanner had to emit minimum levels of radiation.

The innovative entrepreneurs making the scanner were not satisfied with this one market for their product. They began looking for new uses for applications for their scanner technology.

Now Lodox Systems has supplied more than 40 of their x-ray scanners to hospitals in South Africa and around the world. Their Xmplar-dr scanner takes 13 seconds to produce a full body overview of injuries and foreign bodies (such as bullets in gunshot victims). Continue reading “An innovator shows how new uses for products can open new markets”