spring summer 2011 edition 23

producing results for your business

There comes a point in everyone’s career when the best way to figure out how you are doing is to step back and ask yourself some key questions. Having all the answers is less important than knowing what to ask. Vision and Priorities � How often do I communicate a vision for my business? � Have I identified and communicated three to five key priorities

to achieve that vision? � If asked, would my employees be able to articulate the vision

and priorities? Managing Time � How am I spending my time? Does it match my key priorities? � How are my subordinates spending their time? � Does that match the key priorities for the business? Feedback � Do I give people timely and direct feedback that they can act

on? � Do I have five or six subordinates who will tell me things I may

not want to hear but need to hear? Succession Planning � Have I, at least in my own mind, picked one or more potential

successors? � Am I coaching them and giving them challenging

assignments? � Am I delegating sufficiently?

NEWSLETTER In this edition:

� What do the Most Successful Leaders Ask Themselves in the Mirror

� NAE—None Actually Exist

� Acronyms

� Insights

� Whose Line Is It Anyway?

� dunnhumby: A Lifetime of Loyalty?

� Distributor or Agent?

� Leadership and Self Deception

� Need a Meeting Room?

� The Angel From Heaven or the Horror from Hell?

Edition 23—Spring/Summer 2011

WHAT DO THE MOST SUCCESSFUL LEADERS ASK THEMSELVES IN THE MIRROR?

Cont on Page 2

Pursuit NHA International, Waltham Court, hare Hatch, Berkshire, RG10 9AA 0118 940 5100 Email: [email protected] www.pursuitnha.com

WHAT DO THE MOST SUCCESSFUL LEADERS ASK THEMSELVES IN THE MIRROR?

Evaluation and Alignment

� Is the design of my company still aligned with the key success factors for the business?

� If I had to design my business with a clean sheet of paper, would it differ from the current design?

� Should I create a team to answer these questions and make recommenda-tions to me?

Leading Under Pressure � What types of events create pressure for me? � How do I behave under pressure? � What signals am I sending my subordinates? � Are these signals helpful or are they undermining the success of my business? Staying True to Yourself � Is my leadership style comfortable? Does it reflect who I truly am? � Do I assert myself sufficiently or have I become tentative? � Am I too politically correct? � Does worry about my next promotion or bonus cause me to pull punches or

hesitate to express my views?

ACRONYMS—OUR FAVOURITES

Acronyms, whether true acronyms or not, add colour, fun and interest to our language, enhance communications, can be motivational and inspirational and greatly assist in memory retention and learning.

ALF Always Listen First ATNA All Talk No Action DRIVE Define, Review, Identify, Verify, Execute KISS Keep It Short and Simple LAST Listen, Advise, Solve, Thank MILE Maximum Impact, Little Effort PRIDE Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence PICNIC Problem In Chair, Not In Computer SEP Someone Else’s Problem TEAM Together Everyone Achieves More


NAE - NONE ACTUALLY EXIST!

I have had the good fortune of having worked in FMCG recruitment for about 13 years. During this period, I have worked for many businesses on countless different roles. Never in that time has recruiting a high calibre National Account Executive been so challenging.

The role of a NAE varies from business to business but fundamentally it is used as a support role for the National Account Manager population. NAE level employees are usually being moulded to become National Account Managers within a defined timeframe to ensure a pipeline of talent is available for the top Account Manager roles.

The NAE role is an attractive one, so why on earth are they so hard to recruit? The answer is apparent if you put yourself in the candidate’s position.

You have been promoted, having been a successful Territory Manager, to the hallowed turf of National Accounts. In this new role you will be developed, trained and coached towards a fully-fledged NAM role.

Invariably the tenure of a NAE is around 12-18 months following which a NAE will move onto an account of their own. With this in mind why would someone move to a new employer only to start from the bottom? .... in short they won’t! The risk is too high.

So what now? For this role increasingly businesses we are working with are looking to us to secure talent and potential rather than experience. The use of Assessment Centres and psychometric profiling to identify potential is proving ever more popular and yielding great results.

Target candidates are often 2nd job graduates who are looking for a long term career in sales.

So therefore NAE = New Assessment Experience?

Mark Akehurst, Consultant Team Manager

Acronyms, whether true acronyms or not, add colour, fun and interest to our

INSIGHTS

For several years Pursuit NHA has been using psychometric tools to help build teams and individuals. The main focus has been on Myers Briggs (MBTI), 16PF, OPQ32 and ability tests which have helped increase the effectiveness of client organisations.

From June 2011 Pursuit NHA will be accredited to use the ‘Insights’ Discovery and Navigator tools.

At the heart of the system is Insights Discovery, a preference based system with its foundations in the work of Carl Jung. Using colour as a common language for self-understanding, effective interaction and organisational growth, Discovery represents the unique thread running through the entire Insights portfolio.

As its entry point, Insights Discovery learning system identifies four colour energies - Cool Blue, Earth Green, Sunshine Yellow and Fiery Red - and presents these on a wheel - the Insights Discovery Wheel.

Each person uses these colour energies to varying degrees, though it is the unique ordering of the energies that will shape personal style, and it will show a preference for one colour that will indicate the dominant or preferred style of thinking, working and communicating.

Insights focuses on Individual, Team and Organisational effectiveness. It has specific applications for Sales and Leadership, for example, Insights Sales Effectiveness is an extensive programme of development for sales professionals which is designed to explore a sales person’s mindset, capability and behaviour at every stage of the sale.

Available in 30 languages Insights can make a difference to your company through self-understanding. Would your results be better by: � Building effective teams? � Developing transformational leadership? � Upskilling your sales team?

If you can answer yes to any of these 3 questions then call Andy Ferguson on 0118 940 5100 or email [email protected] for more information.


WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? We all have our favourite quotes whether they are motivational, in-spirational or just plain funny. We thought it would be fun to test your knowledge of what we believe to be some of the best.

Before we do that let’s look at some of the WORST!!

“Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” – George Bush

“No one will ever need more than 637kb of memory for a personal computer. 640k ought to be enough for anybody” – Bill Gates

“I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father” – Greg Norman

We are sure that you can think of many more especially from Mr

Bush!

Can you match the quotes below to one of the following authors—� Nelson Mandela � Albert Einstein � Mary Kay Ash � Michelangelo � Winston Churchill

The answers are at the bottom of page 11.

1 – “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”

2 – “No problem can be solved from the same level of conscious-ness that created it”

3 – “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”

4 – “If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right”

5 – “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aims too high and falling short, but in setting our aims too low and achieving our mark”

.

DUNNHUMBY: A LIFETIME OF LOYALTY?

For readers not at the heart of the FMCG world, here is some insight as to how major retailers are stalking their customers. The pace at which shopper data and shopper insight has moved on gives some retailers the visibility of real-time store-by-store sales data of each individual sku.

Retailers’ progress in implementing loyalty and data schemes has resulted in a significant shift to retailers, yielding them even more power. The ability to sell shopper insight to suppliers, rather than vice versa, is a fascinating development.

Interestingly, Walmart and most of its international subsidiaries have refused to acknowledge the value of loyalty cards and the data/insights that result. Their stock response is, these cards are too expensive and a distraction from Every Day Low Price!

Launched in 1995 in conjunction with dunnhumby, Tesco was one of the first British retailers to develop a loyalty card.

The Clubcard scheme is arguably one of the best and most effective examples of loyalty marketing and shopper insight.

This fits with Tesco’s philosophy which is to ‘create better value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty’.

So, how does it work? Tesco use consumer purchasing data to help better understand its customers and create a picture of the kind of person each customer is. People are segmented into various ‘lifestyle groups’ based on products they buy:

These groups are combined with purchases to understand when, where, why and how often certain shopper segments buy certain items, brands or ranges.

Data from the card, complimented with initial registration data on where you live, age and family profile, continues to build the picture.

� Convenience Shoppers � Price-Sensitive � Finer Food Shoppers

� Mainstream Customers � Less Affluent


‘Zodiac’ - a software programme - searches websites and census data to build up a socio-economic profile of areas and customers. Up to 45 ‘values’ are assigned to each product bought, these include price position, ethnicity and brand.

There are 4 key sections in the database: items, promotions, attributes and customers.

The data is sorted around customers and stores, baskets and products to identify:

� Who visited a store during the week? � How often? � What part of the store they bought from? � How old were they? � Did they buy promotions etc?

At a macro level with such a large penetration across the UK, Tesco can make informed strategic decisions on store-specific ranging and merchandising as well as new markets, e.g. mobile phones.

Tailored money-off coupons can be sent to customers every quarter, generating additional sales and encouraging the trial of new productsM 9 million variants of the quarterly Clubcard mailing are distributed.

A sample of the Clubcard data is published, available through the ‘shop’ system, enabling suppliers to search products and promotions, monitoring their performance by store and customer group. Suppliers are now able to gain a quicker and more accurate measurement of their campaigns.

What will they know about you in 5 years?

Key Facts:

� 16 million families shopping habits can be tracked through Clubcard

� 6 million transactions are processed each day � 100 baskets are recorded per second � On-line questionnaires are sent to an attitudinal panel of

65,000 Clubcard holders

IS IT BETTER TO HAVE A DISTRIBUTOR OR AN AGENT?

A common challenge faced by many suppliers and manufacturers in the UK is how networks develop in order to break into the export markets. The underlying dilemma is whether it is better to market and distribute products through an agent or a distributor – each having specific advantages and disadvantages. Agency agreements A typical agency relationship arises where the export country agent contracts on behalf of the supplier or manufacturer (the principal) to arrange sales to customers in their country without retaining any contractual liability towards the customers. The advantage of using an agent is that the principal retains control over how the product is marketed and sold, and what after sales service is offered. It is easier for the UK company to direct the agent’s activities and monitor the success of the product launch. The company can also benefit from the agent’s knowledge of the local trading conditions and take advantage of the customer contacts developed. The downside is obvious. When employing an agent the UK supplier retains all

legal and commercial risk, for instance, in respect of product liability and disputes,

and a statutory obligation to pay compensation to the agent on termination

Distribution agreements

A distributor purchases goods from an a UK supplier or manufacturer for

resale to his/her customers. The distributor makes a profit on the margin

imposed on the resale of such products and passes title to the products to the

customers directly.


The advantage of this arrangement is that the distributor retains contractual liability for the sale of the products and no relationship is formed between the supplier/manufacturer and the customer, which means that once the product is sold to the distributor, there is no further liability for costs and commercial risks. These worries are essentially shouldered by the distributor. The UK company is free to concentrate on product development and targeting new markets. The disadvantage is the lack of connection between the end user – the export market customer – and the supplier/manufacturer. It is therefore considerably harder for the manufacturer to have access to the customer’s list and monitor trends in the market which naturally affect product development. In the same way the supplier has little or no influence over the distributor’s marketing tactics or pricing policy. Seek local advice

The safest route is to seek advice at an early stage from a lawyer

qualified to act in the relevant jurisdiction. Not only will this involve

the local legislation in the foreign market but also how terms of an

agreement may be challenged or affected by EU competition

which has an increasing role to play in respect of cross border

relationships.

Tax liabilities should also be considered, particularly the issue of

whether or not, by employing an agent or distributor, the overseas

supplier/manufacturer would be deemed to have a permanent

establishment in that country. This may be relevant in respect of

whether or not they would be subject to double taxation

regulations and payments due at the end of an agreement.

local trading conditions and take advantage of the customer contacts

THE BOOK

The premise of this book, written by The Arbinger Institute (Arbinger is a worldwide institute that helps organisations, families, individuals and communities solve the problems created by self-deception), is that Self-Deception determines our experiences in every aspect of life.

The book focuses on how Self-Deception is a central issue in leadership.

It tells of a manager, a CEO, a father, and a 19th century scientist who while searching diligently for their problems "out there" find that the problem is within themselves. The beauty of the book is that it's written as a business fable that follows one character through his self-discovery and correction. Along the way, you'll be drawn in as you find yourself relating to the character's challenges, wanting to know what happens next in order to help yourself.

Leadership and Self-Deception sets out to answer the problem: "How can people simultaneously (1) create their own problems, (2) be unable to see that they are creating their own problems, yet (3) resist any attempts to help them stop creating those problems?"

Whether you are struggling to influence your team or organisation to willingly embrace change; or find yourself as a parent with a "difficult" child, then this is for you. This is the story of a new guy 6 months into his new company, attending his first review with the boss. He believes that he has done really well since he joined and is anticipating positive feedback, acknowledgement and Champagne.

However, his boss (the enlightened one!) has a different view. What unfolds is a home truths session that could be you or I... dealing with the essence of why we create the problems we do with people. Not until the final pages does the author reveal the solution.

Having read Covey, Blanchard, Johnson and Goleman, this is a refreshing and different view of the eternal challenge with people.

Pursuit NHA have incorporated some of the insights and mindsets into coaching programmes with very positive results.

Leadership and Self Deception—Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute

ISBN:-10: 1576751740 RRP £9.99


With the chancellor's latest announcements to decrease corporation tax by 2% for 2011/12 whilst maintaining the 50% income tax rate band for individuals there has never been a better time for businesses to incorporate. If you need help setting up a business or with practical tax planning opportunities we can help, choosing the right trading vehicle can literally save you thousands in tax! Professionally qualified accountants and tax consultants providing affordable and professional accounts, taxation and business advisory and support services to a wide range of businesses and individuals. To find out more visit our website at www.accountantsinreading.co.uk or call Paul Worthington today on 0118 940 5124

NEED A MEETING ROOM? LOOK NO FURTHER B.

The Pursuit NHA Conference Centre has 3 meeting rooms suitable for 2 to 30 delegates.

� Natural daylight in all rooms � Unlimited refreshments � Free on site parking � Quiet, rural location with easy access from M4 and M40,

Twyford railway station and Heathrow � Dedicated support team � Conveniently located between Reading and Maidenhead � Internet access

For further details, to view the Conference Centre or to make a booking, please contact Nikki Dawson on 0118 940 5100

A BUDGET FOR BUSINESS BBB.

Answers 1. Winston Churchill 2. Albert Einstein 3. Nelson Mandela 4. Mary Kay Ash 5. Michelangelo

THE ANGEL FROM HEAVEN OR THE HORROR FROM HELL?

These are different positions our trained buyers from retail and B2B can adopt in the Negotiation Skills “Meet the Buyer” training module.

Pursuit NHA has been developing its Negotiation Skills Programme to enable teams to manage their negotiations more effectively.

A modular approach means that different elements of negotiation can be included depending on the skills and needs of the individuals and team.

The modules are:

Each programme is tailored to the individual company’s business and goals. It includes presentation and discussion, individual exercises, team activities and case studies.

Negotiation is an area where the benefit of being effective can truly be measured M“as a result of understanding our variables we achieved an extra £x of profit” ...“by using the building brick technique we achieved an extra £y per unit” M”understanding the buyer’s mindset and KPIs was key to winning the contract worth £z”

Whether you want your team to practise negotiation with a buying professional or understand the negotiation process more thoroughly, call Andy Ferguson on 0118 940 5100 or email [email protected].

Negotiation A Four Stage

Process

� Prepare � Discuss � Propose

� Bargain

Negotiation

Types and

Tactics

� Negotiation Ladder

� Ploys � 7 Types of

Question � Dealing with

conflict

Negotiation The Psychology

� Control � Buyer types � Personality

Profiles � Language

� Non verbal

communication

Negotiation Meet the Buyer

� Understanding

mindset � KPIs/Goals � Pressures � Role play

Pursuit NHA International, Waltham Court, hare Hatch, Berkshire, RG10 9AA 0118 940 5100 Email: [email protected] www.pursuitnha.com

spring summer 2011 edition 23

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