How they seal… sell…

How they seal… sell…

I am currently reading the book “Losing My Virginity” by Richard Branson. He started his business and now it is one of the biggest business in the world. The fundamental point is that , how did he manage to grow his business or what are the differential factors that made his business grow in a very competitive market?

He writes in his book – when he started his Virgin Records Shop the vision for his business, “We wanted the Virgin Records shop to be an extension of Student (magazine); a place where people could meet and list records together; somewhere where they weren’t simply encouraged to dash in, buy the record and leave. We wanted them to stay longer, chat to the staff and really get into which records they were going to buy. People take music far more seriously than many other things in life. … We wanted the Virgin Records shop to be an enjoyable place to go at a time when record buyers were given a short shrift. We wanted to relate to the customers, not patronise them“. True… now it is a very huge company www.virgin.com

I tried to look at the stores that are in my locality and to find out whether what Mr Branson has been talking about is true?!

1. Around a Pound & Pound Stretcher: The name speaks of itself. The products cost around a pound. Some of them even more. This shop sells items like household articles, toys and small things and they are a few cents cheaper than the supermarket. So, if I as customer, would think about buying some petty household article, I would surely pop into this store to buy it.

2. ASDA : This is one of the biggest supermarkets in UK. And they advertise they are the cheapest in UK and every year they get that award. Surprisingly, all the supermarket in their range compare their store prices with them and try to sell it. But ASDA always wins. What’s there in customers minds… the best products are available in UK at the bargain price. Why not shop there?

The above two are the examples of cheap ones.

3. Waitrose :

They promote themselves selling healthy foods and quality. The price is a little higher than the usual. Why should people go to Waitrose instead of ASDA? How do they do business? Waitrose attracts a different class of people. The stores are smaller than ASDA or Tesco or Sainsbury. The customers of Waitrose are of middle or upper middle class. And they give a similar amount of business to them and visit them quite often.

I like this Supermarket, as they promote quality. And quality comes at price.

Everyone sells. Everyone has different class of customers to cater to. How they try to sell is what matters. These are not tricks but it is a different way of dealing.

4. Jessops. They specialise in selling Cameras and equipment. They advertise they will do a price match. What is it? It is a way of negotiation. How? First you do a research of the camera that you want to buy on the internet and find out the best possible price. Then go to Jessops and when you negotiate for the price….show them the print of the best possible price that you saw on internet (what their competitors are sellingthe same item for!). They will contact their HO and find out whether they can offer it on that price. If they say yes, then they sell it to you at that price, so u bag a bargain on the spot!! Or, if they cannot, then they will quote their final selling price.

This type of selling appeals. It is a win-win situation. As a customer, you do a research of the product that you would like to buy and then pop into Jessops to buy it. (They would not price match the internet retailers).

5. http://www.Amazon.co.uk: I love to shop with this retailer since they are prompt, payments are secure and goods are delivered at your door. You can search their website and get the prices of same products from lowest to highest. They have connections to many retailers who sells the same products and they do the shipments from US, UK or Canada. The sellers save on retailing costs and the customers them on a competitive price compared to brick and mortar retailers. The best things is that you get branded goods at fantastic prices. But how do they encourage customers to buy more. Visit their website and it will always suggest you e.g. people who have bought Ipod and also about x y z different products. And you browse those products as well. And this creates a need to buy another one….Quite tempting.

Last but not the least, I was most impressed by this retailer

6. LIDL . Visit their store and it looks like a dumb store. You will wonder whether you are in a LIDL store or a warehouse? You will always their staff busy stacking the products. No proper racks and they store everything in the product cartons with a price tag on the top of it. The stores sells German foods products and most of the brands are unknown in UK. The prices are lower and quality good. But inspite of all this, you will find a lot of people in this store buying the stuff.

How do they sell? Their strategy is having a promotion sales twice or thrice a week! These promotional items are limited stocks and they are sold at bargain prices. They are advertised in the lidl website and the promotional leaflets kept in the store. Look at the prices of promotional items… Targa DVD player 19.99 last year price £59.99 (it has all the features), Blood Pressure meter £ 9.99 elsewhere it is available for £19.99, Pull overs £ 12.99 and elsewhere it for £19.99 and many more. The funniest part is that they are hardly repeated in the year. So if they advertise, then you have shop for them as early as possible on the day it is promoted otherwise it is unlikely you can get it. So customers keep coming back to their stores otherwise they are not going to get them. When they buy these promotion products, they would buy something else in their stores and become their loyal customers.

Everyone has great ideas. But those who think that they can attract people… do good business.

If you know any stores that has good marketing strategy… please comment this blog and share them.

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Dragon’s Den – TV show in BBC

I was watching a TV show in BBC2 – Dragon’s Den. The format of the show was as follows:

“If you’ve ever had an idea to make money, Dragons’ Den is THE show to watch. All manner of money-spinning minds will step into the intimidating world of business financing, determined to make their dreams come true. All they need is the cash. To get this, they must face the Dragons, all of whom are formidable business thinkers with the money to make things happen.

But this is no lottery – the contestants will need all their powers of reasoning, presentation and persuasion to convince our five business experts that theirs is a product worth investing in. The Dragons know what makes a successful idea, how much it’s worth and how much cash is needed to get it off the ground. “

Whow… Dragons (Investors) were intimidating. Asking the contestants all sorts of questions before investing £150,000 and share in the business. The Dragons are the people who can be classified from rags to riches story. As I was seeing the programme, I started thinking… these are the fundamental questions that we should also ask. How much risk can I take? Or is it better to stick to 9 to 5 job !!! The spark is always there…. can we take ??? This question you can ask yourself… every night before going to sleep.

Some wisdom from the dragons…

Dragon :

Profiles

Peter Jones

Top pitching tip – Know your end goal and work towards it.
Cardinal pitching sin – Do not exaggerate the opportunity, be objective.
Motto – Believe in yourself, never give up and go about your business with passion drive and enthusiasm.

Peter’s entrepreneurial journey started early when, at the age of 16, he founded a tennis academy. He then set up a computer business and had various other interests including a restaurant. At the age of 28, Peter joined corporate giant Siemens Nixdorf and ran the computer business in the UK. In 1998 he founded Phones International Group, a telecommunications firm that now generates revenues in excess of £200m. His business interests range from telecoms, leisure, publishing as well as TV and media. Peter has won many national awards, including Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001. Aged 39, Peter is now considered one the UK’s leading young businessmen. Find out more >>

Profiles

Doug Richard

Top pitching tip – Understand what an investor is looking for.
Cardinal pitching sin – If it’s too complex to explain, it’s too complex to understand.
Motto – Where’s the Exit i.e how do we make money on this!

This 46 year old Californian is founder and Chairman of data services company Library House and co-founder of the Cambridge Angels (supporters of high-quality technology start-ups). Since setting up and selling his first software venture in the ’80s, Doug has become President and CEO of US software company Micrografx. Doug has a BA in psychology from University of California, a Juris Doctor from the School of Law (UCLA) and an Executive Management Certificate from the UCLA Anderson School of Business.

Profiles

Rachel Elnaugh

Top pitching tip – Don’t be afraid to be different. The best businesses are innovative and you can’t achieve that trying to be like everybody else.
Cardinal pitching sin – Not having a basic grasp of the numbers. No point having a great product that sells unless you can show how it will make money.
Motto – Never give up. Learning from failure is an essential part of the entrepreneur’s experience.

Rachel had an entrepreneurial spirit from an early age, selling home made gifts and cards from her dad’s shop. After leaving school she worked her way up from Office Junior to become a tax consultant at the world’s then leading accountancy firm Arthur Andersen, advising top-flight entrepreneurs like Sir Terence Conran.
Then at 24 she left to set up her own company Red Letter Days which as market leader pioneered the UK’s £200million experiences industry, selling gift experiences such as balloon rides and shark-diving.
After stepping back from the business in 2002 the company ran into financial difficulties and despite Rachel’s efforts to save the business, it fell into administration in August this year, only to be bought by fellow Dragons Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones.
As well as being a high profile business speaker and adviser, Rachel has now been appointed CEO of the UK’s leading art retailer easyart.com with the brief to grow the business and float it on AIM

Profiles

Duncan Bannatyne

Top pitching tip – Know your numbers, know your percentages.
Cardinal pitching sin – The very worst thing you can ever do is arrive late.
Motto – You only live once. If you don’t enjoy it, it’s your fault, nobody else’s.

A poverty-stricken childhood steeled Duncan’s drive to make his fortune from an early age. He began his entrepreneurial life by trading in cars, but it was with an ice cream van that he changed the course of his life – setting out to become the king of the ’99’. He then switched to nursing homes, becoming a multi-millionaire in the process. Since then Duncan has built up a chain of health clubs called ‘Bannatyne’s’ and also owns Bannatyne’s Casino, Bar and Hotel. Estimated to be worth around £130m, Duncan has recently been awarded an OBE for services to business and charity. He was also North Region Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 and Master Entrepreneur Of The Year 2003 for the North Region.

Profiles

Theo Paphitis

Top pitching tip – Make sure you look right and have the answers that will press the dragons’ buttons.
Cardinal sin – A lack of cashflow is like a heart attack – if you can’t pay your bills you’re out of business.
Motto – There are three reasons to be in business. To make money, to have fun – and to make money.

Born in Cyprus, Theo came to England when he was six and was running the tuck shop at his north London school at 15. Starting out as tea boy at a City insurance broker, he found his flair for retail as a shop assistant at Watches of Switzerland. Theo returned to the insurance industry in sales at 20, where he discovered his natural ability of pointing out the obvious and applying common sense (which is not common). In no time he was helping businesses in difficulty and this soon became a full time role. He has turned Ryman, Contessa, La Senza and Partners the Stationers into successful and profitable retail businesses. He now heads up a 350 store chain and a group turnover approaching £250m. His latest ventures include Red Letter Days, the company he salvaged out of administration with fellow Dragon Peter Jones.

Dragon’s Den – TV Show

Try to put the three things what they have said in

• Top pitching tip
• Cardinal sin
• Motto

Currently I am reading the book Losing My Virginity – Richard Brandson

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