Paul Slade

Managing Your Customers Expectation

Traditionally, sales people are treated in a similar manner to tax collectors, overpriced management consultants and auditors. This is most likely our own fault! Sales people are prone to what I like to call the "Salesman's nod" … when a customer asks you whether your product can solve a particular problem they have … you nod, and answer "of course it can!". What you neglect to tell them is that it's only possible with a month worth of customization by a very expensive technical consultant.

THE PROBLEM then is that you have set a product expectation with that customer. The result … the customer is not happy with the out of the box product as it doesn't quite solve their problem! We have set their expectations too high… or at minimum we have neglected to manage those expectations!

Wynand Roos – CRM Product Manager at Microsoft South Africa seems to have hit the nail on the head!

In order to better illustrate the above point, Wynand has come up with a great (and actually quite humorous) example … click HERE to find out more.

The Morale Marauder

I couldn't resist posting this …

 

Chain Mail Makes Sense – Just this once

Despite its roots in some kind of chain mail, I must say that I really liked this (Ive snipped it to show some faves) ...

42 Tips for A Better Life:

4. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

5. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

9. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

11. Take yourself seriously.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.

18. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

21. Read more books and watch less TV than you did last year.

22. What other people think of you is none of your business.

23. God has everything you'll every need in life so hook up with Him.

27. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

29. Keep believing that the best is yet to come.

30. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

33. Sleep for 7 hours every day or whatever your body needs.

36. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.

37. Do the right thing!

38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:

I am thankful for__________

Today I accomplished_________

40. Trust in God, but lock your car.

Windows – “Mojave” launched!

A brand new OS (Operating System) launched by Microsoft as the successor to Vista …

Or is it?

I stumbled across a research project conducted by the Vista team to understand whether peoples who had a negative perception of Vista were basing their decision on actually using Vista or simply on what they have heard from an uninformed grapevine.

The results are interesting. Click HERE to view the videos.

Our office has been running Vista since BETA … and have been loving it! Improve your understanding of how it works and ensure you have the right hardware … you'll love it too.

PS … it's also a very cool SilverLight site!

STOP THE PRESS – CRM Accelerators about to launch

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM team getting VERY CLOSE to the release date of the various CRM Accelerators which have been whispered about through the Tech-Ed 2008 corridors this year.

We were lucky enough to complete an exclusive interview with Wynand Roos, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Product Manager (South Africa). The video can be viewed by clicking here. . (NOTE: - Please search for "Can your CRM, xRM?" as there are quite a few videos posted now)

Please note that due to time constraints, Wynand was only able to elaborate on a few of the available accelerators soon to be released.

Watch this space or contact me should you require more information on this!

STOP…Forth Revolution

During some friendly banter the other evening with Mike Stopforth of Cerebra, Afrigator and 27Dinner (holy-moly that's a lot of links) I realized something:

Mike, along with a few others in SA, aren't just carving out a niche in a market … they are actually carving the market itself!

This has some serious CONS … but obviously once they get this right, and I have no doubt that they have/will, there are serious PROS.

So what are the CONS?

Getting the target market to convince themselves (which is important) that they not only want, but also desperately NEED these unique services.
Feeding oneself and one's family while waiting for the target market to finally convince themselves of the above...and pay for it
Becoming so synonymous with this niche that it's difficult to transition to anything else later on (similar to child movie stars I guess … no, Mike you are NOT a child movie star)

So what are the PROS?

Not having a rule book to follow and actually letting sense (I didn't say "common sense" because it's not that common) dictate your next move.
Waking up each morning … damn it can be exciting
Becoming so synonymous with this niche that you never have to transition to anything else later on (momentum is a wonderful thing, it may even beat compound interest at times)

Obviously there are many other pros and cons (feel free to add them via the comments section below), but … I have no doubt that if you asked Mike, or any of the other artisans working so hard on carving this market, "Would you rather be doing anything else?" the answer is likely to be a resounding …

NO!

NEVER FEAR – When the Blogging Community is near

…or so I've been told.

So what happens when a small business, hmm let's call it "Buy Me Out" or BMO for short, stretches to the point where it's about to burst … in a good way though!

Well, first of all it moves to new offices (with a little help from Armand, Jaxon and the Agilisto team who now have "new" furniture), second we formalize our strategy and then …

Yes … and then … third, we scratch our heads in an effort to assist the "right" choices to surface a bit quicker. The true challenge now is to find the right people, choose the right opportunities and manage the ATOMIC growth in such a way as to ensure some kind of sustainability.

In an effort to find the right people, I'm shamelessly mini advertising right here!

Developers (not just on the Microsoft platform), Analysts (who dig understanding business process requirements), Marketing/Sales consultants (who understand the value in maintaining and improving customer relationships) … We need you!

Salary – Reasonable
Profit share – Quarterly
Requirement – Add value, define your own measurables … and then blow them out the water.

What on earth do we do? BMO provide Microsoft CRM consulting services (technical, analyst and pre-sales) to other Microsoft Partners and Companies in South Africa and abroad.

We are counting on Bloggers in SA and perhaps even abroad … please circulate this in any forum you feel appropriate!

You are also welcome to mail me at Pauls (AT) bmosoftware (DOT) com

MINI – Raises over R500k for HIV/Aids Charity

Always keeping an eye out for "all things MINI" …

Futurespace.co.za have posted details of the "Life Ball MINI". This year's Life Ball MINI is created by British lingerie label Agent Provocateur.

If you have a "dodgy ticker" don't follow this link to view the pictures and videos of the Agent Provocateur MINI! We always knew MINI was sexy … I just didn't know that the Clubman is a DOMINATRIX!

 

BMW 335 vs. Audi S5

Before being lambasted by the all knowing peanut gallery … Most people know I'm a BMW fan. With that out the way …

I have to say that after driving the A5, I'm suitably impressed. HOWEVER … A local Car rag has just written a long article on how the two cars match up in terms of performance, handling, design etc. Their outcome was a "resounding victory for the S5". They also go on to say that the S5 is "finally a car built by Audi which can actually match a BMW".

Are you kidding me?

Since when has a perceived "tie" become a win? BTW I say perceived, as the scoring system they use puts Audi ahead by two points (out of 100) based on additional points earned in the "Aesthetic Appeal" category – a category influenced not by the numbers or data but rather by a few Jorno's personal preferences.

Read the article skimming only for figures, and you will find that the BMW out performs the Audi on acceleration through to 200km per hour. You may also find an omission that the "face ripping" engine in the 335 has won World engine of the year two years running, as well as World performance engine of the year in 2007.

DO NOT get me wrong … I think the S5 is really good looking and without a doubt a fantastic vehicle!

The 335 is still marginally better …. At least six hundredths of a second better. Don't believe me? Then watch the video clip from5^th Gear.

Your Online Reputation

Wondering how it would be possible to complete a brand monitor without going through the massive expense of putting a research company on retainer, I decided to use my friendly search engine to see what options were available to me.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a local (South African) company who has built an amazing tool which tracks your online brand! I highly recommend checking out what Brandseye have built. At only $750 dollars per month, the cost is minimal (at least when compared to more "traditional" methods).

Stop by Brandseye.com and let me know what your impression of their offering is.