Thoughts to ponder

Have a character like 'SALT'!  Its presence is never felt, but its absence makes things USELESS!

Life is not the amount of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breaths away!

One gets hurt, so one gets to know who cares when one is hurt.

Noone ever won a game of chess just by forward moves. Sometimes you have to move backward , for a better step forward.

My recommended websites this month

1.Twitter search

http://search.twitter.com/

2. Panoramic views

http://www.gigapan.org/?window_height=643&window_width=1263

3. World wide Telescope

http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

'Results' oriented marketing

I have seen a number of 'marketers' who are measured by activities , relegated to carrying out 'fringe' activities that are non-critical to business and usually do not have the complete picture.

Some even wail in private, that they do not have clear results to deliver to, not measured on business goals and hence feel they are not being ' recognized'!

- Do the marketers in your organisation have complete view from opportunity generation to order conversion?

- Do they know what happens to the leads they create? why some die? why some go on to become clients?

- Are they willing to be measured on revenues both from existing and new clients?

- What role do they play in mining an existing customer account?

I am surprised to see the number of people who equate marketing with glossy brochures and ads.

Fighting 'Price Pressures' from customers

I am yet to come across a marketer who does not face 'price pressures' from customers.

Customers demanding lower prices,leninent terms, freebies, favors....

relentless competition keeps you awake at night....

Increasing product/service costs....

How do you still achieve the famed 'Profitable Growth'?

How about approaching this issue from a different end?

- Instead of trying to get a good price from the customer, why not 'find' customers who will pay you a 'good ' price?

Someone suffering chest pain will not hesitate to pay the price to a cardiac specialist, while someone with hypertension finds the cardiac specialist 'costly'.

If you are a cardiac surgeon, focus on reaching out to those with chest pain, not those who are just hypertensive.

Try finding those prospects who are in 'serious pain' and need you 'desparately'?

Chance are price is not the first thing on their mind!

Let No one else 'control' your happiness

There is no shortage of 'stereotypes' we come across in our daily lives - at home, at work, in society ... nervous wrecks, control freaks, short tempers,long tempers, dominators... the list seems endless. For all we know, we ourselves might be one or more of these at different points of time. Being with some of these stereotypes for long , might make us acquire these 'qualities' ourselves. How do we ensure these do not affect our 'happiness'?

I have a simple observation/advice to offer.

Many times, we let ourselves controlled by others by simply 'reacting' to these qualities.

The moment you 'react' to these, others have already started controlling you & your happiness.

Try this:

Understand that you 'need not' react to every impluse from others.

Know that the moment you 'react' you put your happiness in others' control.

Finally, stop reacting both internally and externally , knowing that this way, you alone will be controlling your happiness!

Wishing you 'happier' times!