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April 28, 2010

Presentation Tips

Filed under: General — Tags: , — afp @ 9:10 am

Presenter

As I’m currently preparing for a presentation I will be giving in a few days, I came across several tips to help me prepare for the big day.  I found these in various places and added my own thoughts to them as well.   I would like to share them with you today and hope they can help you prepare for your next presentation.  If you have any additional to share, please do!

  1. As you prepare for your presentation, think about the one main thing you want the audience to remember.  If you only had 20 seconds instead of 20 minutes to speak, what would you say?  Studies show that by the end of the day, your audience will have forgotten half of what you said.  And by the end of the week, 90% is forgotten.  To make sure that the 10% that sticks is the 10% that you really want them to remember, say it early and clearly.
  2. Make eye contact so people feel you are communicating with them.
  3. Think about how you deliver the information in terms of moods.  In delivering different parts of your presentation you should look and sound different.  Try videotaping yourself or practicing in front of the mirror to see the gestures and body movement you make.  Sound like you do in a conversation.
  4. Add variety to your speech through visuals or questions, keep your audience engaged.  If you are bored writing your speech, the audience is going to be bored listening to it.  If you ask questions, your voice, face, and body language must tell your participants that you want questions and responses. Avoid asking questions that offer a “yes/no” response, unless it is to take a quick survey of the group.
  5. You don’t always have to know the answer to a question that is asked.  Sometimes, it is appropriate to offer to find the answer and get back to them or turn the question back to the group for ideas.  Don’t grade questions by saying, “That’s a good question.”
  6. Remember that people will be monitoring your “communication” before and after the presentation.  Watch your actions backstage, before the show, even when you are talking to the receptionist checking into the hotel.  Don’t bad mouth or say negative things at any time, it will only discredit you.
  7. Ask a question and give people time to think. Don’t rush to fill the silence.  You want to thank those who respond to your questions by saying things like, “Thanks,” “That’s it,” or “Sure.”  If one person answers a question with an incorrect or inappropriate answer, help that person to save face. Take any part of the response that is correct and edit the rest to make it a correct statement.
  8. Be prepared to drop your agenda to focus on hot buttons for the group.

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April 22, 2010

Are you a good Negotiator?

Filed under: General — Tags: , , , , , , , — afp @ 2:06 pm

negotiation

Do you think you are a good negotiator?  If you do, I will let you negotiate a round with my 4 year old daughter.  You will find out very fast you have more to learn.

Negotiation is something we all deal with on a daily basis, whether it is in our business or at home trying to get our kids to bed.  Most people are not naturally gifted negotiators, it is a skill that must be learned and improved over time.  A negotiation should be a positive experience and a win/win for both parties, but many times it ends up being a painful event for at least one of the parties. 

Most negotiations are either soft (parties avoid conflict and make concessions readily to reach an agreement) or hard (one party gains at the expense of another causing harm to the relationship).  Both of these are considered a win/lose negotiation or a distributive negotiation.   Negotiations should be a win/win using a principled or integrative negotiation where the method of negotiating is hard on merits but soft on people.  In a principled negotiation, both parties look for multiple gains and use fair standards. 

The person with the most “power” typically controls the negotiation.  You want to do what you can to gain power.  The 3 elements of power are knowledge, timing and competition.

  • Knowledge is the most important.  Knowledge means analyzing the situation prior to the negotiation to gain knowledge.  Information converted into knowledge is power.  It is important to not give any information without getting as much or more information back.  You have to share to get information;  now is the time to stop talking and Listen, Listen, Listen.  Ask questions… you are not there to answer questions but to ask them.  Once you give up information you can never get it back and I always believe that it is better to play dumb than smart in this situation.  Don’t assume you know it all and don’t quit listening. 
  • Timing.  The party who sets the deadline controls the negotiation.  Never accept another party’s deadline.  That doesn’t mean you have to reject it, but challenge it.  Use timing to your benefit.  A great example is buying a car at the end of the month when reps are trying to make quota versus the beginning of the month.
  • Competition.  Mentioning competition can shift power onto your side, competition can be real or imaginary.  If someone brings up competition to you, ask questions to see if it is real.  Who is my competition?  What are they offering? 

Before any negotiation, you should develop your bottom line.  Your bottom line should be flexible and could change during the negotiation based on what the other party brings to the table.  Make sure you consider and think about the other side’s bottom line also.  This brings us back to knowledge is power. 

There are several tactics that can be used in a negotiation with silence and flinch being my favorite.  Silence is a powerful tool but not used enough.  Think about those staring competitions you had with friends when you were a kid and use what you learned there.  When you are using silence, don’t move a muscle, don’t clear your throat, don’t look around or at the ceiling.  Look directly at the other negotiator.  Silence puts pressure on the other side and usually the first person to speak during a silence gives something away.  The flinch also makes people feel uncomfortable (this is where you make a surprised face or make a small noise to show you are surprised by what they said or gave you).  Use silence as a response to your flinch or in response to the other side’s flinch.  They didn’t say anything, so there is no need to respond.

Always be willing to walk away from a negotiation, this shows power on your side.  It sends a clear sign that you have gone as far as you can go, even though the minimum or maximum may not have truly been reached. 

The best way to improve your negotiating skills is by practicing; in personal life, business life, any time you have a low risk situation.  You will find out that practically everything is negotiable.  Just ask my kids.

April 15, 2010

Vendors: Are You Losing Business Because You Don’t Offer Financing?

Filed under: Sales Tips — Tags: , , , , , , — afp @ 8:56 am

money

Research indicates that more companies are seeking and securing vital financing from their vendors as other forms of credit remains tight.

According to the National Small Business Association’s (NSBA) 2009 Small Business Credit Card Survey, 30% of business owners said they relied on vendor credit over the prior 12 months, compared to roughly 18% who did so prior to the credit crisis.

Not all vendors are willing to take the risk of extending interest-free pay cycles to 60 or 90 days, but vendors are seeing that type of request more frequently, The Wall Street Journal reported.  Vendors shouldn’t have to take that “finance” risk.  By partnering with one or multiple leasing companies, vendors have the option to offer competitive finance and lease programs to their customers to help increase sales.  Many of the vendors I talk with today are losing sales because people simply can’t afford to pay cash for the equipment, they don’t want to spend their cash on equipment right now or their bank can not finance them.  Vendors also run the risk of not being paid or being paid slow by the customer once the equipment is delivered.  Leasing offers many benefits to the customer, but also benefits the vendor by offering upfront payment to the vendor in some cases and more importantly, definite payment. 

I’ve seen vendors lose deals to competition because the competition offers financing and they didn’t.  Offering a finance programs doesn’t cost you anything and if it can help you make or save a sale, why not?

If you are a vendor and do not offer a finance or lease program today, or at least have a company you can refer your customers too, it is time to consider making a change.  In the market we are in, anything to help you make a sale should be something considered and sought after.

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April 5, 2010

Accounts Receivable Financing/Factoring

Filed under: Other finance programs — Tags: , , , , — afp @ 10:58 am

FactoringVsAccountsReceivable-1

Leveraging accounts receivable to release cash to fund business has been common practice for centuries.  An increasing number of CFO’s are turning to receivables-based financing because they have a higher reliability than a line of credit.  Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing or Factoring typically costs more (sometimes 30-40% more than an unsecured bank line), has more stringent reporting on accounts receivable and collections and provides less flexibility in negotiating terms with customers, but in today’s economy, CFO’s find the reliability to be much more important.  They know when they get in a bind or have an unanticipated problem that the asset-based lender will be there for them.  Factors provided $140 billion in financing in 2009 showing a slight growth over 2008.   

What is Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing? 

A/R Financing or Factoring is a form of working capital where the bank advances money to you based on your outstanding accounts receivable.  The bank essentially purchases your accounts receivable at a discount.  Most banks will advance up to a specific percentage of your accounts receivable to you.  When the bank collects the payment from your client, they will take their fee from those funds and you get the balance.  A/R Financing is not a loan. 

Who Qualifies?

A business who is selling to another business or the government on terms could qualify for A/R Financing.  Approval for A/R Financing does not focus on your credit worthiness or the strength of your financial statements, yet the credit worthiness of your customers and the strength of your accounts receivable.  Factoring is used by all sizes of companies needing cash to support rapid growth, firms with seasonal peaks and valleys in their business cycles, companies undergoing a restructuring, and start-up companies.  Many new businesses use factoring that do not yet qualify for a bank line of credit.  Some companies use factoring services for 12-18 months and then, as they strengthen their business credit, turn to bank financing once they qualify.  Companies as large as Belgium-based InBev, who bought U.S. beer king Anheuser-Busch in July 2008, use A/R Financing when they hit a cash flow crunch.  If your business lacks history, is growing fast or is distressed, A/R Financing could be a perfect for you. 

Top Industries Using A/R Financing

Some of the largest industries utilizing A/R Financing today are transportation, temporary staffing, wholesale/distribution, manufacturing, other services, construction and third party medical.  Many businesses that sell to other businesses on credit terms of less than 60 days can also use Factoring. 

The Benefits of A/R Financing

A/R Financing can help you make payroll on time, get discounts from suppliers for quick payment, pay taxes on time, pay bills on time and fund growth.  Factoring can offer a lot of support to your business as well.  New and smaller businesses in particular use factoring because factors act as their credit and collections department.  The factor will evaluate potential clients on strength and solvency for the business so the business owner knows they are working with the right clients.  The factor is then the one who takes the loss if the client can not pay.  Partnering with a factoring company may allow you to reduce overhead that comes with a back office staff. 

A/R Financing can play a significant role for many businesses especially in today’s economy where banks still aren’t lending.  Too many business owners are utilizing credit cards to the detriment of their personal credit and could be using factoring to gain the cash they need while keeping their personal credit in tact.  The whole goal of A/R Financing is to help the business get back on their feet to qualify for bank funding in the future.  A/R Financing can be used along with other finance means such as equipment leasing.  AFP partners with one of the largest factoring companies in the world who has been in business over 200 years.  Contact us with any questions on A/R Financing.

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