Debunqed

Tag: sales

  • Already GDPR-ed Out?

    Already GDPR-ed Out?

    Well, it didn’t take long. Less than a full week in fact, for the first GDPR-related court cases to surface against social tech giants Facebook and Google.

    It was as if lawyers were just waiting to pounce on them for their apparent failure to protect our rights as online users. This pertains specifically to issues relating to data privacy and the sharing of private details mainly with third-party marketers.


    How Facebook stores and shares your data has been clarified by several intense inquiries in the US and recently in Europe. This is where the law is set to benefit users of the social media platform in that geospatial area of the world.


    The said lawsuit, however, focuses on the opt-out clause that forces you to make a choice to comply or leave. The claimant is a privacy campaigner. He has made the Billion-Euro complaint on behalf of several users; seemingly a challenge to Facebook.


    Additionally, he has launched a separate suit against Google, accusing them of “pressurizing” users into accepting their data collection policies.
    This ‘comply and accept or get thrown out’ clause could leave you without your routine dose of social media consumption. Such a clause is thus deemed unfair.


    It could cost Facebook a lot if they get their way based on the terms stipulated in the new law. The social media giant could be fined up to a few billion or a sizeable fraction of their earnings in punitive damages.

    The aim of the new law

    The passing of the new regulation on May 25th, 2018, better known as the General Data Protection Regulation {GDPR} has been a long time coming.


    Despite the warnings of the “kick-in” of the regulation, many are unprepared for it. Some of the reactions to the law include confusion, anxiety by both large and small firms alike, and plain comical hysteria!


    Non-compliance now carries heavy fines and penalties, up to 20 million euros for anyone operating within the EU borders.

    So, what then, is the big fuss about GDPR?


    Well, it boils down to a right that has since the launch of the Internet to the mainstream, been waivered and overlooked. Gaining CONSENT to use your data for anything other than the reason you went public on the Internet is very crucial.


    This has become a contentious issue as many companies have over the years, unscrupulously benefited from data acquired (mined) – without your consent. Facebook only brought this into the spotlight recently.

    You can read more about data mining here

    Ad: Web, Network & App Scanner

    Who needs compliance?

    If you hold a folder, database of clients whether online or on your internal server, you would have to comply with the rules which stipulate full disclosure. This includes who you share your details with, and how the information is tracked, shared, and kept secure.


    Furthermore, research in March this year showed that only 39% of the Fortune 500 companies in the UK and 47% had GDPR compliance taskforces.


    Another UK firm commissioned study found that our buying behaviours are heavily influenced by we perceive our data is being handled by companies.

    The consent given to use your basic information cannot be taken for granted – even in the medical environment.

    German doctors’ practices, in the wake of GDPR, are manually making you sign consent forms. Doctors are now required to fully disclose who they share your contact information with.

    How to be compliant

    There are simple ways you can stay GDPR compliant. One method is to adopt an attitude of embracing it rather than just complying with it. You can be transparent with your customers by doing the following:

    Add a cookie bar to your website. You can also add a clause/paragraph to that effect (website disclaimer) in your ‘About Us’ section.


    Similarly, you must state clearly on any opt-in forms. Newsletters and any forms where their data is collected, used, and passed onto other third-parties must be announced. State clearly who they are and which data they have access to.


    You then need to give your customer the option to select what they want to share. Even if such data may not be necessary for them to receive services from you.


    Constantly review your relationships with third-party affiliates and partners to ensure that they are also complying with the law.
    They could be jeopardizing your data compliance efforts – as Cambridge Analytica did with Facebook.

    The last and most challenging step requires the action of what is promised above. This means an upgrade of your internal software to include security/encryption.

    GDPR compliant software

    You can obtain full compliance by using a GDPR-compliant package like Office 365 Enterprise E3. This package has email software specially designed for those of you dealing with sensitive client’s data that need to be kept for long periods.  Litigation hold, heavy archiving features; as well as basic email encryption are all included.


    You can add supplementary encryption software such as Azure Information Protection as an extra layer of security. This helps you to safeguard emails and stored data from being lost, compromised, or accidentally shared.


    All said and done it is likely that if you are a bigger firm, you would either need to create the position of a data security officer internally. If your lawyers are not up to date with digital laws, however, you can simply outsource the service.

    This should help make you become fully compliant thereby having to avoid issues with the data compliance authority altogether.
  • The fuss about trade disputes

    The fuss about trade disputes

    What does a small-scale farm-holding, two presidents, some tech companies, and their respective local currencies all have in common?

    The answer might be obvious if you have been paying attention to the so-called trade war between China and the US in the news lately.
    But why is it of concern and what are the far-reaching implications for the rest of the world?


    Active involvement in international trade is a vital sign of your country’s financial health and boosts its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced in a country. From raw materials (input costs) to value-added (assembly and skilled labour costs) to come up with final goods or services.


    And though “domestic” implies that this refers to your country’s internal economy, the contributions can be extended from a services perspective.


    This occurs when your country places emphasis on or relies on income from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to help boost its economy via its GNP. GNP is a similar measurement but slightly different from GDP as it incorporates.

    Importance of trade

    Fact is, all our goods and services come from unit price or costs that arise from the initial extraction of raw materials.


    These then undergo production leading to the product or service of intrinsic value for both local and international (via exports) consumption.


    An ideal situation for your country is to export more than it imports to maintain a positive balance of trade. So basically more money flowing in than out.


    The trade surplus is then plowed into your economy via the fiscal budget. It can supplement a shortage of funds raised from domestic taxes.
    The opposite, which isn’t always a bad thing, (trade deficit) would have to be managed and nursed like any other loan.


    The US has often criticized Germany for exporting a lot (cars, trains, and machinery) but not importing much. This is deemed not being ‘fair’ in trade practice. But trade itself arises from market forces, priorities, and consumer demand.


    We all love a BMW, Audi, and Mercedes Benz. So these German-made products will always be in demand compared to US car makes.
    Who you chose to trade with gives rise to favourable balance of trade if you are engaged in a trade agreement or a trading bloc.


    Why this is also a big deal

    The demand for your country’s goods and services will directly impact the strength of its local currency. More trade means more of your currency is required to pay for goods and so its value goes up.


    A strong local currency leads to stronger purchasing power for its citizens and residents. Comes in handy when you plan things like holidays, purchase goods online, invest or just send cash abroad as gifts.


    So, you can see why a strong Dollar or Euro is always favoured and why sometimes drastic measures are taken to keep it that way.

    “A higher demand for your country’s products has a direct positive impact on its currency and exchange rate”

    Country Trades

    A quick glimpse of the world in terms of the input costs for goods and services gives it a competitive edge when it comes to trade.

    • US – intellectual property, services, weaponry.
    • Germany – steel and engineering machinery giving rise to high performing automobiles.
    • Many African countries – mineral resources such as oil, tobacco cocoa, and precious stones.
    • Israel – military intelligence.
    • South America – agricultural produce.
    • India – IT and customer services.
    • China – agriculture, building/(manual) labour, and of late technology.

    The beef with China

    The technology that China (no.2 on the list) offers the rest of the world is the subject of hot debate. The alleged theft of US intellectual property for tech gadgets and software by China.


    This is one of several unfair trade practises and motives for why the US recently decided to start imposing heavier (punitive) tax-like increases on multiple goods imported by China.


    These extra costs, referred to in trade terms as import tariffs, have a spill-over effect on the costs of production.


    China then reciprocated by hitting the US with tariffs (on agricultural produce) causing the trade war that drives each country to protect its own economy.


    The higher input costs naturally, lead to the price of your product going up and reducing its competitive advantage and demand. Higher input costs can also affect your local labour force for the worse too.


    Factories, multinational corporations, and industries such as farms (both commercial and subsistence) will have to cut the cost of labour. In worse cases which we have seen, workers are laid-off in a heartbeat to stop or prevent accounting losses.


    These factors would have hopefully been taken into consideration by the respective leaders before pulling the tariff triggers. Acting with emotions rather than looking at the far-reaching implications is irresponsible.


    Have the talks of the trade war impacted productivity and the global trade economy? So far it’s just the stock markets (securities and commodities) reacting. Only time will tell.

  • Data (Gold) Mining

    Data (Gold) Mining

    Let’s face it, if you really were going to quit Facebook, you would have a few years ago. Fact is, you should have asked the serious questions when the ‘free’ social media platform started turning over billions of dollars.

    No free service can generate that amount of money out of goodwill and thin air. So much that they could list on the stock exchange. So, we are not quite sure why everyone is acting amazed or why the knee-jerk #DeleteFacebook campaign is only now coming to light.


    There really is no such thing as a free lunch. If you believe that all these online social platforms would keep it that way, then you are as naive as they are hoping you to be.


    Think about it, the companies behind the platforms, actively recruit in pretty much tens and hundreds of cities globally.


    And the simple fact of the matter is that in order for them to pay all their staff of programmers, developers, executives, lawyers, and other stakeholders. They need to be paid!

    What your data means

    Facebook, Google, Twitter, Snapchat, and any social media platform that has over 100 million users sit on a goldmine for advertisers.

    The commodity, however, is not just what their users wish to own in the short term, or their purchasing power directly for that matter.

    The commodity is simply you, the user. So, your preferences, habits, and views along with their personal data are analyzed via machine-learning systems to study behaviours and habits.


    The data, in turn, is used for constant revenue maximization. In some extreme cases, it is used for political, psychological, and social manipulation!

    “Your ‘payment’ on a social media platform is your consent to have your information used for marketing purposes. Opting out of marketing would give you true ‘free use’ of the service. But no profiteering company offers you that privilege today. The best you can get is a month’s free trial.”

    Your likes, spending habits, music preferences, political views, location and working habits enables marketers to present their goods and services.


    They can position their offerings (sometimes subliminally) into spaces where you are likely to indulge in them.


    Social media platforms, in this case, become the marketplace for them to ‘mine’ data to use.

    Social network sites worldwide as of January 2018, ranked by the number of active users (in millions).
    Most famous social network sites worldwide

    Source: © Statista 2018

    How the mining works

    text-mining-icon-2793702_640


    Data mining is not a new idea and completely legal if presented transparently in the terms and conditions of any service. The terms get longer by the day (small print) that we don’t bother to read them.
    Microsoft envisioned this a decade ago and changed the way its operating systems work (with its Windows 8 series).

    Its operating systems are now more of a social, interactive, and information gathering system. Allegedly designed to “help you” organize things better.
    This is fostered by a voice-activated app called Cortana – all under one Microsoft account.


    Amazon has its own ways of data mining via your shopping habits and Alexa – is its own voice-activated search and information-providing device.
    Google (owned by Alphabet company) has the biggest stranglehold of the lot. They must, therefore, be the most cautious when it comes to data privacy and security.


    This applies especially with its partnership with Android, which makes it a requirement for you to use for all their devices to link all your data.


    These include phone contacts, emails via Gmail, pictures via GoogleDrive, apps (music, movies, etc) orders via the Google (Play)Store, and social media (Google+).


    You can even have your search fields stored and synced onto your devices – from your laptop to phone and tablet via Google.


    You are now having to give up your personal details to unknown affiliated marketers and partners of tech giants. They get first dibs on this data – and paying good money for it.

    Read more about Affiliate Marketing here

    Required by regulation

    The main violation by Facebook, therefore, might not even be non-consensus selling of data to marketers. Such things could be countered with a clause.
    They may have strategically stuck one in while you were busy posting selfies and liking random videos of cats.


    The real issue is the potential use of the data for political or advanced manipulation of data for fraudulent purposes. This can be facilitated by the use of artificial intelligence to influence you without your knowledge.

    Read more about the uses of Artificial Intelligence here

    250x250

    It is possible for you to have full data privacy and absolute freedom from advertising on social platforms. This, however, comes at a ‘cost’.

    This was reiterated recently by the COO of Facebook who admittedly confirmed that ‘opting out’ would mean you will have to pay to use Facebook in the future.
    They had just not put this in place but will now forcibly have to make it a clearly visible option.

    The fact of the matter is we are in an era of Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and AI. All of these require your data to ‘operate’.

    Data mining is here to stay

    Though many were reluctant at first, pretty much every company now has a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram page. It serves as a platform to showcase and communicate with thier clients via the newly termed phrase ‘social engagement’.

    This has turned out to become a strong branding and marketing tool for them.


    And if you think you are out of it by leaving one platform, just remember this: Facebook owns WhatsApp & Instagram; Google owns YouTube; Microsoft owns LinkedIn, and so on.


    There is, in fact, nowhere to hide if complete online privacy is important to you. And let’s not forget your web-browser: Not many of us actively use ad-blockers: but your browsing data is being scanned and processed by external third-parties companies.


    If you aren’t using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you should seriously consider it! Along with some good plug-ins to help secure your online browsing from all types of behind the scenes snooping and ransomware.
    It will be interesting to see the outcome and verdict of the probe into the Facebook case.

    Rest assured, many other heavily used platforms will be deleting and removing ties with data mining marketers. Especially ones that have had a similar agenda to what Cambridge Analytica was accused of conducting.

    A change in the verification of marketers, data storage and data security laws (such as the new GDPR law) were long overdue. Facebook will now be the scapegoat to enforce data security laws on social media.
  • Data (Gold) Mining

    Data (Gold) Mining

    Let’s face it, if you really were going to quit Facebook, you would have a few years ago. Fact is, you should have asked the serious questions when the ‘free’ social media platform started turning over millions and even billions of dollars in revenue. No free service can generate that amount money out of goodwill and thin air – so much that they could list on the stock exchange. So, we are not quite sure why everyone is acting amazed or why the knee-jerk #DeleteFacebook campaign is only now coming to light.

    There really is no such thing as a free lunch and if you believe that all these online social platforms – who may have started off with sole intentions to provide a free service, would keep it that way, then you are as naive as they are hoping you to be. Think about it, the companies behind the platforms, actively recruit in pretty much tens and hundreds of cities globally. And the simple fact of the matter is that in order for them to pay all their (global) staff of programmers, developers, executives, lawyers and other stakeholders – they need revenue.

    Facebook, Google, Twitter, Snapchat and pretty much any social media platform that has over 100 million users, therefore, sit on a goldmine for advertisers. The commodity, however, is not just what their users wish to own in the short term, or their purchasing power directly for that matter. The commodity is simply you, the user. So, your preferences, habits and views along with their personal data are analysed via machine-learning systems to study behaviours and habits for constant revenue maximization or in some extreme cases: political, psychological and social manipulation!

    “Your ‘payment’ on a social media platform is your consent to have your information used for marketing purposes – opting out of marketing would give you true free use of the service. But no profiteering company offers that privilege today – the best you can get is a month’s free trial.”

    Knowing your likes, spending habits, music preferences, political views, personal information including location and working habits is enough for any company or institution to cater their goods and services and position them (sometimes subliminally) into spaces where you are likely to indulge in them. Social media platforms, in this case, become the marketplace for them to ‘mine’ data to use.

    Most famous social network sites worldwide as of January 2018, ranked by number of active users (in millions).

    Most famous social network sites worldwide

    Source: © Statista 2018

    text-mining-icon-2793702_640

    Data mining is not a new idea and completely legal if presented transparently in the terms and conditions of any service – which are getting longer by the day (and smaller in print) that we don’t bother to read them. In fact, Microsoft envisioned this a decade ago and changed the way its operating systems work (beginning with its Windows 8 series), to more of a social, interactive and information gathering system – designed to “help you” organize things better. This is fostered by a voice-activated app called Cortana – all under one Microsoft account.

    Amazon has its own ways of data mining via your shopping habits and Alexa – is own voice-activated search and information-providing device. Google (owned by a group called the Alphabet company) has the biggest stranglehold of the lot and must, therefore, be the most cautious when it comes to data privacy and security.

    This applies especially with its partnership with Android, which makes it a requirement to use for all their devices (phones and tablets) to link up all your data including phone contacts, emails via Gmail, pictures via GoogleDrive, apps (music, movies and games) orders via the Google (Play)Store and social media via Google+. You can even have your search fields stored and synced onto your devices – from your laptop to phone and tablet via Google.

    You are now having to (almost mandatorily) give up your telephone number, location, and other preferences indirectly to unknown affiliated marketers and partners of the tech giants who are getting first dibs on this data – and paying good money for it.

    The main violation by Facebook, therefore, might not even be non-consensus selling of data to marketers, because such things could be countered with a clause they may have strategically stuck in while you were busy posting selfies and liking random videos of cats making funny faces. The real issue is the potential use of the data for political or advanced manipulation of data for fraudulent purpose with the use of sophisticated and artificial intelligence to influence you without your knowledge.

    Read more about the uses of Artificial Intelligence here

    N26_banner-300x250-EN

    Full data privacy, though not conceivable, and absolute freedom from advertising on social platforms is possible – but at a cost. This was reiterated recently by the COO of Facebook who admittedly confirmed that opting out of the terms to have your data sold or used would lead to you having to pay to use Facebook in future. They had just not put this in place but will now forcibly have to make it a clearly visible option.

    250x250The fact of the matter is we are in an era of Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT) and AI – all which require data to analyze. These platforms are thus here to stay and still serve their specific functions well. More importantly, they’re also the livelihood for many small-to-medium-sized businesses. Though many were reluctant at first, pretty much every company now has a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page to showcase and communicate with their clients via the newly termed phrase ‘social engagement’ – a strong branding and marketing tool.

    And if you think you are out of it by leaving one platform, just remember this: Facebook owns WhatsApp & Instagram; Google owns YouTube; Microsoft owns LinkedIn and so on – there is nowhere to hide if complete online privacy is important to you. And let’s not forget your web-browser – not many people actively use ad-blockers unaware that even their browsing data is being scanned and processed always by external third-parties companies.

    If you aren’t using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you should seriously consider it along with some good (some free) plug-ins to help secure your online browsing from all types of behind the scenes snooping and ransomware.

    It will be interesting to see the outcome and verdict of the probe into the Facebook case and rest assured, many other heavily used platforms will be deleting and removing ties with data mining marketers that have had a similar agenda to what Cambridge Analytica was accused of conducting.

    A change in verification of marketers, data storage, management and data security laws (such as the new GDPR law targeting businesses coming in May 2018 to the EU region) were long overdue, and Facebook will now be the scapegoat to enforce data security laws on social media.

  • Run your business on cruise control

    Run your business on cruise control

    Are you running your business as you did in the eighties, nineties? If so, you are probably working like a donkey and for the same kind of income – if you are even making any!

    Business automation has developed albeit quite slowly, over decades. It was accelerated significantly via the “www “.  And now even more so with the Internet of Things (IoT).

    Ways of doing business

    Let’s begin looking at communication – a key pillar in running any successful venture. Getting in touch with your clients can now occur in numerous ways.


    We have come a long way from shouting on street corners to invading people’s places of comfort with door-to-door sales visits.


    We can now get in touch physically via phone, Skype, Emails, online chatting, video-conferencing, and social media.


    And though it may sound like overkill, using these tools can actually help save you time and target your products effectively.

    This makes them efficient and worth every penny you spend on them.
    Hosting your email nowadays does not require the expertise of IT professionals.


    Likewise, IT pros are now discovering they have more time to perform administrative work (productivity reports). 

    As an IT expert, you must hate having to walk from PC to PC to install software. Such ‘excursions’ can consume hours during the day and, probably gets on the nerves of people trying to get work done.

    Hands-free IT

    As an IT pro, you can now administer and carry out IT-related tasks from the comfort of your office. You can even do it remotely from your, laptop, or your smartphone!


    So now, your emails can now be hosted with a few clicks. You can then receive them instantaneously on your desktops, mobile phones with a syncing feature. This is made possible by a newer mail protocol known as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).


    You can now synchronize your emails, calendars, and events, and contacts on your devices using Microsoft Exchange Online services.

    These are strenuous tasks that you would have had to manually create using special scripted rules. Tools like PowerShell, patches, domain routers would have to be applied to a physical server to enable such functionality.

    The cloud has made this all possible. We will not get into the intricacies and workings of the cloud but we have seen a massive uptake of it.


    Companies of all sizes, countries, and industries are moving to the cloud.
    This uptake of cloud services is happening on a regular basis as old servers are being made redundant and getting subjected to creative destruction.

    Software for hire

    Software as a Service (SaaS), is basically the hiring of software rather than owning it and leaving the maintenance to the software provider.


    Major cloud players such as Microsoft Azure, and Google Business, offer you the software just as a front-end and user-friendly application.


    They take care of the ‘back-end’ operations such as backups, updates, and upgrades, security, and compliance. All that for an annual or monthly fee.


    You can liken this to hire-purchase or the car leasing services that the automobile industry offers its clients.


    Our car servicing and maintenance are performed timeously by the manufacturer. You just drive it and pay for your own fuel on top of the monthly leasing fees. Such a service can even be monetized using Cryptos such as IOTA.

    Great collaboration tools

    stress-2883648_1920

    Another daunting yet integral task in running a business is the act of hosting meetings. Business meetings are often rescheduled as easily as procrastinating a spring cleaning exercise.

    Tools that facilitate online meetings like Skype for Business or Google’s Meet, allow you to schedule meetings from your calendar. This will send you and your meeting participants a reminder. With a click of a button, you can join, host or participate in an HD video or audio conference call.


    This can be done from wherever you are on the globe as long as you have a good enough broadband connection.

    The kicker with this tool is the ability to present your full (hopefully clean and avoid any embarrassing items) desktop, to all participants.

    So, you can present an Excel spreadsheet of financial data, discuss the design of a brochure or flyer for marketing, or run a PowerPoint presentation. The apps come even complete with an infrared pointer!

    For more solutions, have a look at the previous blog on sales software and CRM systems. This will help you understand a bit more about how SaaS can help grow revenue for your business.

    Good broadband is key

    Again, these services obviously require great Internet connectivity. This might also be the only stumbling block deterring many smaller companies and some big data-sensitive firms from taking on the cloud.

    But as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and local governments are now actively getting involved in making broadband a necessity for us.

    There are endless possibilities that the cloud and good software, in general, can offer your business.

    No one wants to spend hours in traffic leading to stress at work or home. You also wouldn’t want to spend large budgets on unnecessary travel, marketing, and communication tools that are not effective.

    We are not fully in favour of substituting your human interactions with technology.  It will, nevertheless, help you to find ways to bridge the gap when you find that personal contact is not possible.

    Allow software automation to help you!

  • One tool to serve them all

    One tool to serve them all

    When working in retail, finance, and manufacturing (sales) industry, you often come across one unavoidable piece of software.

    A Customer Relationship Management software or what is abbreviated to CRM.

    Now what really is really astonishing is when people ask how a CRM can actually help their business. Often one gets asked what CRM stands for or even means!
    Now granted, it is a technical and industry-specific jargon depicting an online tool. More specifically, it is software used on hardware like PCs, tablets, scanners, point-of-sale devices, and modern cash registers).
    What it does, however, is something many businesses both small and large take for granted – and mostly to their detriment.

    The purpose

    We use CRM solutions a lot more than we think. Take our Smartphones for instance: they are basically miniature customer (data or content) managing tools and though personalized, they serve the same function.
    Now to put this into perspective very quickly and simply: our phones store and manage all our contacts. Our friends, family, businesses, and clients are kept in records primarily to help us access and communicate with them quickly.
    Mobile phones, have also evolved to now enable you to not only manage your contacts to just make calls or send SMS. You can now share all sorts of  content with via the various social media platforms.
    Each of these platforms naturally has its own purpose and account. Android phones, for instance, come with (need to be activated by) a Google account.
    You can then subsequently use it to access many applications (via an app store) and not just your email.
    CRMs manage a company’s accounts in a similar way. They enable you to quickly get a hold of people to either sell directly to, create or follow-up on a sales lead, or nurture the lead until it becomes a sale.
    This is carried out by software that sits on the front-end of a database stored on a local server or on the cloud. The software is normally user-friendly for it to be adopted and used frequently by end users.
    This enhances your productivity and therefore increases  revenue for your business.

    Practical uses of CRM

    They are used more by salespeople and staff of companies that offer a service via their customer support services or front-end teams.
    So, when you call your local phone company because you are behind on a payment or would like to hand in a product for repairs, it is a CRM system that is used to log, track and manage the case till is solved.
    The transcript, along with the call logs and resolutions are kept for a later date or time for if you make a follow-up call, request a new service. These records are stored in a database or what is called an instance.
    Depending on what your company does, it will have several (national or regional) instances to help access data even faster.
    A CRM can help you manage a healthy relationship with your clients to ensure that you are not calling them several times a day to put them off.
    It will stop you from forgetting to follow-up on scheduled calls or emails or worse yet, sending them the wrong product or information about your offerings.

    Salient features

    A good CRM package also comes equipped with a means for you to create and store brochures, create effective and targeted marketing campaigns, generate quotes and invoices (PDFs). It will also come with a solid built-in knowledgebase.
    This is a stored pool of resources containing processes and scenarios to help you quickly resolve a problem, prescribe a product or log a case.
    And nowadays, like a mobile phone, a good CRM software can seamlessly help you integrate with social media platforms to follow, service or attract customers from those digital marketplaces.

    Several CRM tools out there that offer different functionalities and depending on the size of your business, you can get a basic one that just manages your contacts and interactions.
    Then you have ones that handle full-scale operations (back-office processes like warehousing, inventory, accounting, finance, payroll, and HR).
    Those fall under another high-level category of CRMs known as Enterprise Resource Planning tools or ERPs. A topic for another blog perhaps as they are a totally different animal altogether.
    CRMs are however, an component of ERPs and bigger companies would need both to handle large scale operations.
    So you see how useful a CRM is in helping to run your company. They are now being even more automated with the help of Business Intelligence and AI.
    That makes it even easier for you to use them to grow your business to levels where ERPs you would eventually need an ERP.

    Many CRM suppliers offer free trials and even free online software, so take a shop around to see which one fits your needs.
    The current industry leaders in CRM solutions are Dynamics (Microsoft), Salesforce, Oracle, SAP CRM and Zoho.
  • Sales misconception – debunqed!

    Sales misconception – debunqed!

    The ‘great’ art of selling is about earning and keeping your client’s trust. In business or commerce, there is nothing greater than the feeling of completing that successful sale.

    By successful, we refer the whole process: from convincing the customer that your product or service will meet his/her long or short-term needs. This is after listening carefully to their requirements through thorough discovery.  The client is then able to the payment without hassles and take timely delivery of the goods.
    Finally, the customer acknowledging and thanking you for it with the hopes of coming back should be the most rewarding part of the sale. That coupled with your commission of course!
    A successful sale is a step-by-step process and must have all the above elements.
    Anything short of that is paramount to a quick-fix or even a scam. It is only lazy salespeople (taking shortcuts) that give the trade a bad reputation.
    Granted, not all of your sales interactions will turn out to be complete success. Some elements of the above process could be stymied by aspects out of your control.  For instance, the client’s lack of funds, suppliers’ delivery delays or a faulty product can mess up a good sales cycle.

    A true story

    Some of the most successful sales are even conducted by faceless agents. Once, while based in Johannesburg, we sold a product (that was mass produced in China) and had it delivered from New York to Cape Town via air-freight.
    This was based on a demand (order) that was placed on a then operational website. The actual sales were brokered via correspondence by email and phone.
    Luckily, the product (and delivery) quality was good enough not to warrant a face-to-face visit, though in those days having Skype for Business would have been a great resource to at least give ‘a face’ to the sales rep.
    They were, however, willing to deal with the agent several times without having met them personally based on the quality of the (medical) product. This was in addition to the vote of confidence and guarantees provided throughout the intensive sales interactions.
    This little anecdote proves that it doesn’t matter what you sell, if the product is of good quality, and meets all (compliance) requirements including the recent GDPR law – the sale actually becomes the easy part.
    You will, however, still require a little bit (and the right kind) of presentation skills to position the product/service adequately enough to execute the sale.

    There is no real art to selling – we all do it all the time without realizing it. From the time we apply to a kindergarten or high school, to university and finally to all the jobs in our working career.

    Reinforce the brand

    As salespeople, we must present ourselves (our unique skills and character) and persuade a ‘buyer’ to take us on. This is also something no automated sales agent or Chatbot can do and is an area that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not beat us on.
    And just like a brand, everything we do is intended to enhance our value and the more we beef-up our brand (with educational, mentorship and technical qualifications). The better our brand, the more demand for your offering.
    250x250But back to selling. We sell people ideas: something as simple as convincing your mate to meet at the pub after work or your girls to join you for a weekend spa takes skilful persuasion. And even more so if they had other plans or options.
    That is essentially what sales is about – persuading a buyer to choose your product or service over that of others using tools such as the consumer black box.
    Such persuasion obviously can be genuine or fraudulent. Those salespeople trained by their leader Jordan Belfort as illustrated in the 2013 Wolf of Wall Street movie are a testimony. The revealed how persuasion can be used effectively when capitalizing on with an inherent human trade – greed.
    Being truthful, however, (even if it means letting go of a sale) will determine whether you get repeat customers. This is something most successful salespeople make use of to boost their conversion rates and pipelines.

    Mentorship

    Debunqed.com likes to follow unconventional salespeople who use unorthodox but effective methods.  These are not necessarily the textbook style of selling but will help to inspire you to address the potential client’s needs honestly.
    Such ‘on the ground’ learning is done with the help of a mentor. Shadowing one or two mentors that are passionate about what they do can rub off a few skills that can supplement traditional sales theory.
    Sales is a skill best learned on the ground and you will hardly find an institution offering it as an elective course.
    Such revenue-multiplying potential that repeat-customers can provide for your sales portfolio or pipeline beats getting a quick-fix by conning people no matter how big the ‘score’ is.
    What you should be doing as a salesman is gaining your customers’ trust whilst solving their problem.
    A trusting customer will always look you up for more purchases.

    If you operate in an industry where you have multiple products or one that needs to be renewed – you earn revenue for life!
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