Why big public contracts always go over budget

Shock horror! Yesterday the London newspapers announced that a government body says that the already huge cost (£10bn?) of the 2012 Olympics is in danger of dramatically increasing further.

Why the big surprise?

Any self respecting salesperson knows that the price of product is far higher if the buyer needs it for a specific date, than if he/she is in no hurry. The closer to the event, the more they'll pay to get the product in time.

Contractors do not agree to everything from the outset because they know that the price of the 'extras' required later will massively increase as the event approaches. I'll bet that, in 2012, 3 months before the start, one of them will announce that the Olympic committee has asked for something that was not in the original agreement and that only a massive effort by them, suitably rewarded, will ensure the success of the event.

Ah, where would the contracting business be without the ambitions of politicians?

Beware your strap-line

I believe that the purpose of a strap-line is to enhance the possibility of someone buying your products or services.

I was walking through the City this morning and I noticed a van with the name of its business on the side. Whilst I can't remember the name of the company, I did notice it said, "caterers who care".

I thought that, whilst I would remember that strap-line, it wouldn't induce me to consider their services, because it was inviting me to assess its validity. I'd have to first use them before I could assess if the strap-line was true. It sounded like hard work. Anyway, I assumed that all companies cared about doing business.

At the beginning of the 20th century strap-lines such as, "purveyors of fine wines", described exactly what the business provided. Even today there are some companies that still have such strap-lines and, whilst they may seem quaint, at least they don't ask us to make a judgement about whether they care or not.

So, when creating your business strap-line, ask yourself, "does it describe what we do or does it invite people to have an opinion about our business?"

British retailers just don't get it

A friend of mine recently told me about a fab scheme in which she'd become involved. Its a new loyalty card for small independent retailers, cafes, hairdressers etc.,called a Wedge Card. It offers discounts to cardholders who naturally expect to quickly recoup the cost of the card from the discounts. The aim is to encourage people to buy from local businesses and so counter the cancer of the global chains that are turning our towns monochromatic.

Yesterday I received the "Wedge" magasine. As expected, it had articles about new entrants and unusual businesses who'd signed up to the scheme. All very encouraging. But what shocked me was that of the 40 odd featured classified ads, 25 had 'conditions' attached to the discount (e.g. 10% off on products over £50 bought between 10 and 12am on Tuesdays). So, instead of going the extra mile to win us over, these retailers only want our loyalty if we are worth it to them

Loyalty comes from generosity - unconditional generosity.

Sadly, until they get real, these businesses will provide no compelling reason for us to change our shopping habits.

Good grief!

My friend's death had a much bigger impact on me than I would have thought. One consequence was the inertia it caused, including writing up this blog. I suspect that it's been a form of self indulgence.

I noticed that when I grieve, my thoughts are all about me not her; how I won't see her again I won't meet her for our bar gossip next month or receive random text jokes from her anymore, she won't be sailing with me next summer.

At first I kidded myself that I was thinking of her. But then I saw I was using her memory to think about myself. To emerge from grief means I must accept it for what it is - a feeling - not for the loss of a person, but a deep sadness of an unfulfilled expectation or idea of what my life might have been had she still been here.

Corporate liars

Have you noticed how telling lies has become part of corporate speak?
I flew into Heathrow the other day. We arrived on time but we were incarcerated on the plane for a further hour because there was no bus to take us to the terminal. The reason given was "the absence of ground transport is due to...........wait for it.....the high volume of incoming flights"! Hellooo....have I missed something? Since when has the arrival of scheduled flights been a surprise??

It was obviously a balls-up, so why not just admit it and apologise Mr BAA?

No doubt we can expect this winter's train delays to be "due to unforseen stations on the route".

Bah! Humbug!

The departure

Jane died at noon (GMT) on 14th April 2006.

Just say it.

I've just visited a very close girlfriend who is dying. She was unconscious, breathing heavily. The hospital staff said that they thought that it would be only a matter of hours.

I sat next to her, not knowing if she could hear anything. I wanted to say stuff based on my Buddhist beliefs, but I was scared to, in case it conflicted with her Christian ones. I caught the absurdity of my reluctance. What does it matter what one believes and says, as long as it comes from the heart!

I kissed her hand and, through my tears, said that I had loved her in our past lives, love her in this one and would love her again in future lives.

Suddenly she opened her eyes. She tried to focus on me for a few seconds but then slipped back.

She'd heard.

We're complete.

Am I your customer or supplier? - it's make your mind up time!

Last week I had a shocking conversation with an Estate Agent. As you know from my last post, I'm trying to buy an appartment. With difficulty!

I received a call from a 'negotiator' describing a property I might like to view.
"Great! Let's go and see it tomorrow morning?" I said.
"We don't do viewings in the mornings" she replied.
"That doesn't seem to be a very customer-centric approach" I mused, expecting an explanation as to why mornings were out.
"YOU are NOT my customer!" she said.

Duh?

I explained that in normal businesses we regard the seller as the supplier and the buyer as the customer. But she would have none of it.

No wonder UK estate agents are such rubbish - they can't recognise a customer!

Forget first - It's the last impressions that counts

Having watched my bank savings grow at a sub-snail pace over the last couple of years, I decided it was time to become a landlord. I called up a local estate agent (realtor) and asked them to find me some suitable appartments. Within 48 hours they'd sent me details of ~8 properties and the following day (Thursday) the sales guy took my wife and I to view 6 of them. The sales guy was courteous, informative and not at all the pushy type - nice!

During the properties tour we had lots of questions; "what's the potential income from this?.. what are the taxes?... what type of people would rent?.."etc. At the end the sales guy said that he'd call us the next morning (Friday) to answer the outstanding questions - great!

On the way home I said to my wife that I thought he was the best real estate salesperson I'd ever met........

Friday - no call.
Saturday - no call
Monday - he calls!
"Why didn't you call me on Friday as promised?" I asked.
"I was busy" he replied!

I'm viewing with their competitors this week.

They love it! But do they know how to buy it?

Last week a client asked me to review his salespeople's pipeline using the SIJAC methodology. And on first impressions, it looked fat and healthy, so I asked him why he thought it needed reviewing. "I'm not sure Chris. All the prospects say that they absolutely love the product, however no-one has signed on the dotted line yet. The sales cycle is normally quite long, but it doesn't feel right and I can't put my finger on why" he said.

As we went thru the prospects with each salesperson, it quickly became apparent that his doubts were well-founded. Sure enough, each prospect had received a number of great presentations, had expressed real interest in what the product could do for them and had been left with a sense of "Wow, that one awesome product you guys have!"

But that's all they were left with - a nice warm feeling!

They had no idea how to justify a purchase, how to go about incorporating it, who would need to be involved in the purchasing decision, the short and long term impact on their organisation, and what other resources they may need to ensure success.

"Now go back and teach them how to buy it" I said.

Adding more value

In an earlier blog I mentioned how my wife's trip to the vegetable market got me thinking about 'value-added' being adding a positive human interaction to the transaction. Well, last week I had the pleasure of being a receiver of such 'value-added'.

Knowing I was going to Spain for a couple of days I telephoned and booked a car from a rental company I've used the past. Although I'd agreed the price, nevertheless I felt that it was on the high side so I decided to check alternative prices on the web. Sure enough it looked as if I was paying about 25% over the web rates. Hmm, I thought "it better be a fabulous car!"

I arived at Malaga airport at midnight. The rental guy was waiting for me. He treated me like a long lost brother, said I was to his company a 'friend' not a 'client', knew all my driver's details from the last time (3 years ago), handed me the car, told me he'd be waiting for for me on my return and gave me his mobile number in case I had a problem. It could have been all bullshit, but it made me feel great. By the time I was driving away from the airport, I had already decided I'd use them again in the summer.

Here's the thought - next time you say to a prospect that your company provides added value, ask yourself, "how do my customers experience it?"

That fabulous car? I think it was a small non-descript hatchback. Who cares?!