I am sure that everyone who reads my blog or articles is really busy, all day, every day. In fact right about now the year starts to turn into one big blur. We forget much of what has happened and have trouble recalling what it was we have actually been doing so frantically for the past ten or so months. It can often feel like we are simply treading water and not really getting ahead.
I think that it is really important to stop every so often and actually acknowledge what it is we have achieved. I do this in a very visual way. I have a white board in my office that serves as my “AG BIZ HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2009″. At the moment it has 12 circles on it with the things I am proud of achieving so far this year. For me these are the milestones like the publication of certain books, a trip to the USA to see publishers, winning new clients, conferences that were special, meeting certain people and so on.
Really it is all of the things that I am really happy about in my business during the year, all staring back at me from my white board. On the days when it feels like I haven’t really been able to achieve much during the year, a quick glance at my highlights board and I can’t help but get a warm fuzzy satisfied feeling.
It makes sense to actually apply this idea to every aspect of our life, but I find that business is one of those areas where it can often feel like we are not getting anywhere. In fact we are moving ahead in giant leaps, but we need to be reminded about what it is we actually achieved – or in other words, we need to be able to measure progress.
Give this a go and see how it makes you feel. Come up with your own BIZ HIGHLIGHTS BOARD FOR 2009 and feel great about what it is that you have achieved. Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it.
I hope that you have a successful 2010.
ADRIAN CARUSO - http://www.tafastrack.com.au/
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Change Your Attitude Toward Problems
In flying, the word "attitude" refers to the angle of flight of your approach relative to the horizon. The way you think about a problem determines your attitude, or approach, as well. You can use three words to change your attitude and your approach to any difficulty you face.
Situation
First of all, change the word "problem" to the word "situation." Whereas "problem" is a negative word that triggers feelings of fear and anxiety, "situation" is neutral. Instead of saying, "We have a problem," you can say, "We have a situation."
Challenge
My personal preference is to change the word "problem" to the word "challenge." Whenever something goes wrong, immediately say, "We have an interesting challenge facing us today." "Challenge" is a positive word. When you think of a challenge, you think of something that you rise to, something that brings out the best in you and others. Challenges are what make life exciting and worth living. By rising to the challenges of day-to-day life, you fulfill more and more of your potential.
Opportunity
Perhaps the best word of all is "opportunity." Instead of saying, "We have a problem," you can say, "We have an unexpected opportunity." Napoleon Hill is famous for saying, "Every problem or difficulty you face contains the seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit." Your job is to find the benefit, and this way of approaching a problem is determined by your attitude.
Attitude
This attitude of looking for the good in every situation, of looking for the advantage or benefit in any problem or difficulty, is the way that the most successful people think most of the time. Superior people, leaders in all areas, face the inevitable ups and downs of daily life on the way to their destinations by taking complete control of their thinking and their emotions. They do this by choosing the words they use to describe a situation, their tone of voice, and their behavior in dealing with problems.
Action Exercise
A mark of maturity, a vital quality on the road to success, happiness, and balance in life, is expecting problems and difficulties as normal, natural, and unavoidable parts of life. Becoming a superior person requires accepting that when you set off toward a big, exciting goal or destination, you will experience unexpected turbulence.
Situation
First of all, change the word "problem" to the word "situation." Whereas "problem" is a negative word that triggers feelings of fear and anxiety, "situation" is neutral. Instead of saying, "We have a problem," you can say, "We have a situation."
Challenge
My personal preference is to change the word "problem" to the word "challenge." Whenever something goes wrong, immediately say, "We have an interesting challenge facing us today." "Challenge" is a positive word. When you think of a challenge, you think of something that you rise to, something that brings out the best in you and others. Challenges are what make life exciting and worth living. By rising to the challenges of day-to-day life, you fulfill more and more of your potential.
Opportunity
Perhaps the best word of all is "opportunity." Instead of saying, "We have a problem," you can say, "We have an unexpected opportunity." Napoleon Hill is famous for saying, "Every problem or difficulty you face contains the seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit." Your job is to find the benefit, and this way of approaching a problem is determined by your attitude.
Attitude
This attitude of looking for the good in every situation, of looking for the advantage or benefit in any problem or difficulty, is the way that the most successful people think most of the time. Superior people, leaders in all areas, face the inevitable ups and downs of daily life on the way to their destinations by taking complete control of their thinking and their emotions. They do this by choosing the words they use to describe a situation, their tone of voice, and their behavior in dealing with problems.
Action Exercise
A mark of maturity, a vital quality on the road to success, happiness, and balance in life, is expecting problems and difficulties as normal, natural, and unavoidable parts of life. Becoming a superior person requires accepting that when you set off toward a big, exciting goal or destination, you will experience unexpected turbulence.
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Do you know what Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage is and how it can affect your business?
Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage
Ricardo is perhaps best known for his theory of comparative advantage of nations, which postulated that specialization leads to wealth, and self-sufficiency leads to poverty. Such a proposition was initially regarded as preposterous—and often still is by those who do not truly understand the principle. Through his research, Ricardo demonstrated that trade between two countries can be mutually profitable, even when one country is more productive than the other in every commodity that is being exchanged.
England and Portugal
Ricardo used trade between England and Portugal as a prime example. Portugal could produce both wheat and wine more cheaply than England, giving Portugal an absolute cost advantage in both commodities. Delving deeper into the economics of these two countries, Ricardo found that one unit of wine in England cost the same amount to produce as two units of wheat, while in Portugal, the production cost of one unit of wine was the same as 1.5 units of wheat. Lost OpportunityEven though Portugal could produce wheat more cheaply than England, every unit of wheat it produced cost the country the opportunity to make a higher profit by producing one unit of wine. This is known as a lost opportunity cost. From this perspective, Portugal had a comparative cost advantage in the production of wheat. Ricardo went onto show how both countries could benefit by trading these two products with each other, with Portugal focusing on the production of wine and England focusing on the production of wheat.
Application in Your Life
At the personal level, this is why, in our coaching program we stress the importance of determining your highest-value tasks—the 20 percent of things you do that yield 80 percent of your desired results—and then focusing on these high value tasks while delegating (or even eliminating) the rest. A second lens through which you have learned to view this principle is that of your hourly rate. Anything you do, for which you could not pay someone your desired hourly rate leads to a lost opportunity cost.
Application in Your Business
Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage is equally relevant in the management of your business. To the extent that you invest any of your business's resources—the money, time, and energy of your employees, your physical plant and equipment, your intellectual capital and the like—in activities where another company has a comparative advantage, you incur a loss-of-opportunity cost. In some cases, the loss can be significant.
Action Exercise
Which of your products or services represent the highest return on investment of your business's resources? These represent your business's areas of comparative advantage.
If you would like to know more about how what your Comparative Advantage is in your business, please contact one of my business coaches at www.tafastrack.com.au
Ricardo is perhaps best known for his theory of comparative advantage of nations, which postulated that specialization leads to wealth, and self-sufficiency leads to poverty. Such a proposition was initially regarded as preposterous—and often still is by those who do not truly understand the principle. Through his research, Ricardo demonstrated that trade between two countries can be mutually profitable, even when one country is more productive than the other in every commodity that is being exchanged.
England and Portugal
Ricardo used trade between England and Portugal as a prime example. Portugal could produce both wheat and wine more cheaply than England, giving Portugal an absolute cost advantage in both commodities. Delving deeper into the economics of these two countries, Ricardo found that one unit of wine in England cost the same amount to produce as two units of wheat, while in Portugal, the production cost of one unit of wine was the same as 1.5 units of wheat. Lost OpportunityEven though Portugal could produce wheat more cheaply than England, every unit of wheat it produced cost the country the opportunity to make a higher profit by producing one unit of wine. This is known as a lost opportunity cost. From this perspective, Portugal had a comparative cost advantage in the production of wheat. Ricardo went onto show how both countries could benefit by trading these two products with each other, with Portugal focusing on the production of wine and England focusing on the production of wheat.
Application in Your Life
At the personal level, this is why, in our coaching program we stress the importance of determining your highest-value tasks—the 20 percent of things you do that yield 80 percent of your desired results—and then focusing on these high value tasks while delegating (or even eliminating) the rest. A second lens through which you have learned to view this principle is that of your hourly rate. Anything you do, for which you could not pay someone your desired hourly rate leads to a lost opportunity cost.
Application in Your Business
Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage is equally relevant in the management of your business. To the extent that you invest any of your business's resources—the money, time, and energy of your employees, your physical plant and equipment, your intellectual capital and the like—in activities where another company has a comparative advantage, you incur a loss-of-opportunity cost. In some cases, the loss can be significant.
Action Exercise
Which of your products or services represent the highest return on investment of your business's resources? These represent your business's areas of comparative advantage.
If you would like to know more about how what your Comparative Advantage is in your business, please contact one of my business coaches at www.tafastrack.com.au
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Most Important Words for the Workplace
A famous athlete was being inducted to his sports' hall of fame earlier this year and in his remarks, he commented on the need and value for team work. He quoted the often used phrase "there is no I in team" but he added "there is an I in win".
An online search for the author of the following short piece does not bring a definite answer - there are slight variations but the message is fundamentally the same:
- The six most important words:
"I admit I make a mistake"
- The 5 most important words:
"You did a good job"
- The 4 most important words:
"What is your opinion?"
- The 3 most important words:
"If you please"
- The 2 most important words:
"Thank you!"
- The 1 most important word:
"We"
- The least most important word:
"I"
If you need help with getting more from your team, contact me at www.tafastrack.com.au .
Enjoy.............Adrian Caruso
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bad cash flow has nothing to do with sales …
Bad cash flow has nothing to do with sales … but everything to do with how you spend your money …
In fact, it’s decisions to lease something and pay over 5 years, or to take on another type of monthly commitment that kill a company more than anything else.
Imagine running your business, bringing in a great deal of money and then finding out that there’s not enough to cover your bills. It literally happens every day, in fact, it would amaze you how often companies go under, right after their highest period in sales.
For just one reason … they have literally no idea how to manage their cashflow …
Easily more than 80% of the business people I meet have no idea about the cash gap, and even less of an idea about how to work a budget and keep to it …
The cash gap is the difference in timing of when you buy something and have to pay for it, it then sits on the shelf, or is a wage for a person at a desk and then it might be 90 days later or longer you sell it, and then 45 days later still you get paid for it. The cash gap here is 90 days shelf/desk time and 45 days until you’re paid … so 135 days or 4 and a half months that you have to fund.
Now imagine you had to fund 135 days in a company that grew at 10% and you had 10% margins, well you would almost never get to do anything but re-invest the profits back into the company, now triple the growth rate to 30% with the same margins, and you will KILL the cashflow unless you can reduce the GAP …
It’s basically where you think you’re making a profit when you’re really not. You see cashflow is about timing, NOT profitability …
This week I had another session with business owners where I get people to run the numbers on their business for and hour or so. We work out your real gross profit, your weekly expenses and the total number of sales you need each day, or week, or even hour to make a profit …
Learn your numbers or have a look at it next time you meet … if you need help contact one of my business coaches at www.tafastrack.com.au
All the Best … Adrian Caruso
In fact, it’s decisions to lease something and pay over 5 years, or to take on another type of monthly commitment that kill a company more than anything else.
Imagine running your business, bringing in a great deal of money and then finding out that there’s not enough to cover your bills. It literally happens every day, in fact, it would amaze you how often companies go under, right after their highest period in sales.
For just one reason … they have literally no idea how to manage their cashflow …
Easily more than 80% of the business people I meet have no idea about the cash gap, and even less of an idea about how to work a budget and keep to it …
The cash gap is the difference in timing of when you buy something and have to pay for it, it then sits on the shelf, or is a wage for a person at a desk and then it might be 90 days later or longer you sell it, and then 45 days later still you get paid for it. The cash gap here is 90 days shelf/desk time and 45 days until you’re paid … so 135 days or 4 and a half months that you have to fund.
Now imagine you had to fund 135 days in a company that grew at 10% and you had 10% margins, well you would almost never get to do anything but re-invest the profits back into the company, now triple the growth rate to 30% with the same margins, and you will KILL the cashflow unless you can reduce the GAP …
It’s basically where you think you’re making a profit when you’re really not. You see cashflow is about timing, NOT profitability …
This week I had another session with business owners where I get people to run the numbers on their business for and hour or so. We work out your real gross profit, your weekly expenses and the total number of sales you need each day, or week, or even hour to make a profit …
Learn your numbers or have a look at it next time you meet … if you need help contact one of my business coaches at www.tafastrack.com.au
All the Best … Adrian Caruso
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Build an Irresistible Customer Relationship
We know that marketing budgets are very limited for the small and medium tourism suppliers. So why is it that these businesses give up on their hard-earned often-expensive customer lead so easily?
Did you know that almost 50% of sales people have given up communicating with a prospect after the first contact and that 65% have given up by the second contact?
A staggering 90% of sales people have given up pursuing the lead by the time they get to the fourth contact with them.
Do you know what this means?
It means that if you can stay in touch with the prospect beyond five contacts you have a far greater chance of winning their business when they are ready to buy. If you remain persistent in your communication you develop a relationship where they will continue to come back to you or send their friends and family your way.
The key is to developing a plan that will enable you to contact the prospect a minimum of eight times if necessary. Sit down with your staff and brainstorm all the different reasons why you might be able to phone, email, send a letter or even mail a postcard. Decide on the frequency of when you will communicate; will it be every two weeks or once a month then plan what piece of information will go out when and to whom.
When you know in advance what you need to do and your staff know what they need to do, and why, then your consistency and persistency will help you to build an irresistible customer relationship.
Did you know that almost 50% of sales people have given up communicating with a prospect after the first contact and that 65% have given up by the second contact?
A staggering 90% of sales people have given up pursuing the lead by the time they get to the fourth contact with them.
Do you know what this means?
It means that if you can stay in touch with the prospect beyond five contacts you have a far greater chance of winning their business when they are ready to buy. If you remain persistent in your communication you develop a relationship where they will continue to come back to you or send their friends and family your way.
The key is to developing a plan that will enable you to contact the prospect a minimum of eight times if necessary. Sit down with your staff and brainstorm all the different reasons why you might be able to phone, email, send a letter or even mail a postcard. Decide on the frequency of when you will communicate; will it be every two weeks or once a month then plan what piece of information will go out when and to whom.
When you know in advance what you need to do and your staff know what they need to do, and why, then your consistency and persistency will help you to build an irresistible customer relationship.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
TAFastrack
Established in 2003, TA Fastrack has now become Australasia's leading travel, tourism and hospitality industry business solutions provider. Offering a range of specialised services including consultancy, business coaching, training and a separate marketing division. TA Fastrack's vision is to enrich the lives of members of the travel and tourism industry world-wide by providing the world's best solutions.
This is achieved by providing the industry with the world's 'best-practice' business solutions delivered by a specialist team of consultants, business coaches and people. Some of these 'best-practices' have been developed exclusively by TA Fastrack for the industry. TA Fastrack is the only company of its type in Australasia. No other business solutions company specialises solely in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry nor has the hands-on knowledge or experience that the TA Fastrack team has. TA Fastrack has worked with over 800 travel & tourism businesses in Australasia including some some of Australasia's leading travel companies.
This is achieved by providing the industry with the world's 'best-practice' business solutions delivered by a specialist team of consultants, business coaches and people. Some of these 'best-practices' have been developed exclusively by TA Fastrack for the industry. TA Fastrack is the only company of its type in Australasia. No other business solutions company specialises solely in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry nor has the hands-on knowledge or experience that the TA Fastrack team has. TA Fastrack has worked with over 800 travel & tourism businesses in Australasia including some some of Australasia's leading travel companies.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Agents in Australia need to evolve or they will disappear
Agents and wholesalers need to start immediately changing (or I prefer to say ‘reinventing’) the way they do business with their customers and operate if they want to survive into the future. They will disappear if they don’t!
Agents need to join together as one and start immediately communicating with consumers the value a travel agent provides to their travel. That the travel consultant (or as they are now calling them in the USA/Canada ‘Travel Coincierges ) provides value, expertise, convenience and personal service to their customers. As opposed to booking their travel via the Internet and directly with the suppliers.
If they want to book a quick flight or week-end getaway….then tell them to use the Internet for it is normally an unprofitable booking for the agent anyway.
‘Travel planning is not about bookings or places…..It’s between people. The travel industry is a relationship business and travel agents in Australia don’t seem to understand this as much as their counterparts in the USA/Canada. Travel agents are the invaluable link between travelers and their destination. Agents are customer advocates. Agents are there for our customers before, during and after a trip and when the unexpected happens (one of ASTA’s motto’s and one that is printed on thousands of cards that have been distributed to every agent in the country).’
‘Agents need to work together in conjunction with organisation’s such as AFTA to assure consumers that agents provide value. Jointly both organizations need to create a national PR campaign that promotes the value of agents. Working together agents can help consumers make the right travel choices and encourage them not to use the Internet or book directly with suppliers. Both Internet and direct supplier bookings will continue to rise if agents don’t do something about it and start promoting their value and building strong relationships with their customers.’
Agents need to also better sell and promote themselves as ‘travel specialists’ or as they call them in the US now ‘concierges’ NOT travel agents. Remember…..agent means an agent for a supplier which we know agents aren’t. Over 95% of agents have been successfully charging Service Fees since 1995 including for fees for itinerary planning.
They also seem to have access to a great variety of on-line travel tools and information resources that Australian agents haven’t seen yet. ‘We are now going to start bringing some of these tools to Australia over the next couple of months. This will make an agent’s job much easier and provides greater value for their customer's experience.’
Agents also need to ‘look outside of their box’ they operate in. They need to find new ways of making clients loyal to them and also not just book the ranged of suppliers and wholesalers that are available in Australia. They need to ‘look outside the box’ and start booking suppliers directly not just to become more competitive but to offer a greater choice…..AND to specialize. ‘There is an amazing amount of great products and destinations out there. But agents in Australia think they can only book a wholesaler or supplier that is based in Australia. This is incorrect. There are so many more options you can give your clients if you look at booking overseas suppliers. This includes resorts, hotels, tour and ground operators. This will allow you to perfectly match what your customers want and save them lots more. ‘
Almost every agent in the US and Canada is a specialist to a destination or group or destinations and they actively promote themselves as one. They are not a travel specialist for EVERY destination or type of travel. Agents in the USA/Canada are also finding niche markets and specializing in them such as art, fishing, sports events, culinary tours etc. ‘Agents usually produce a CV’s on themselves on their area of specialization and where they have traveled to.’
The above brings the question of the value of agents in Australia belonging to a franchise chain and the value of the Franchisor’s name. In the US the most successful agents do not trade under a franchise name. They all trade under the owners surname, travel specialty, or other name. This makes them unique and assists them in promoting themselves to the market they want and not compete with a similar named agency. However they all belong to a buying consortia of some type.
Agents in the USA and Canada do things very differently to agents in Australia and have survived the Internet, direct bookings with suppliers and world events such as hurricanes and terrorist bombings. Agents in Australia need to start changing the way they do things NOW or they will dissappear. They need to start thinking outside the box.
Agents need to join together as one and start immediately communicating with consumers the value a travel agent provides to their travel. That the travel consultant (or as they are now calling them in the USA/Canada ‘Travel Coincierges ) provides value, expertise, convenience and personal service to their customers. As opposed to booking their travel via the Internet and directly with the suppliers.
If they want to book a quick flight or week-end getaway….then tell them to use the Internet for it is normally an unprofitable booking for the agent anyway.
‘Travel planning is not about bookings or places…..It’s between people. The travel industry is a relationship business and travel agents in Australia don’t seem to understand this as much as their counterparts in the USA/Canada. Travel agents are the invaluable link between travelers and their destination. Agents are customer advocates. Agents are there for our customers before, during and after a trip and when the unexpected happens (one of ASTA’s motto’s and one that is printed on thousands of cards that have been distributed to every agent in the country).’
‘Agents need to work together in conjunction with organisation’s such as AFTA to assure consumers that agents provide value. Jointly both organizations need to create a national PR campaign that promotes the value of agents. Working together agents can help consumers make the right travel choices and encourage them not to use the Internet or book directly with suppliers. Both Internet and direct supplier bookings will continue to rise if agents don’t do something about it and start promoting their value and building strong relationships with their customers.’
Agents need to also better sell and promote themselves as ‘travel specialists’ or as they call them in the US now ‘concierges’ NOT travel agents. Remember…..agent means an agent for a supplier which we know agents aren’t. Over 95% of agents have been successfully charging Service Fees since 1995 including for fees for itinerary planning.
They also seem to have access to a great variety of on-line travel tools and information resources that Australian agents haven’t seen yet. ‘We are now going to start bringing some of these tools to Australia over the next couple of months. This will make an agent’s job much easier and provides greater value for their customer's experience.’
Agents also need to ‘look outside of their box’ they operate in. They need to find new ways of making clients loyal to them and also not just book the ranged of suppliers and wholesalers that are available in Australia. They need to ‘look outside the box’ and start booking suppliers directly not just to become more competitive but to offer a greater choice…..AND to specialize. ‘There is an amazing amount of great products and destinations out there. But agents in Australia think they can only book a wholesaler or supplier that is based in Australia. This is incorrect. There are so many more options you can give your clients if you look at booking overseas suppliers. This includes resorts, hotels, tour and ground operators. This will allow you to perfectly match what your customers want and save them lots more. ‘
Almost every agent in the US and Canada is a specialist to a destination or group or destinations and they actively promote themselves as one. They are not a travel specialist for EVERY destination or type of travel. Agents in the USA/Canada are also finding niche markets and specializing in them such as art, fishing, sports events, culinary tours etc. ‘Agents usually produce a CV’s on themselves on their area of specialization and where they have traveled to.’
The above brings the question of the value of agents in Australia belonging to a franchise chain and the value of the Franchisor’s name. In the US the most successful agents do not trade under a franchise name. They all trade under the owners surname, travel specialty, or other name. This makes them unique and assists them in promoting themselves to the market they want and not compete with a similar named agency. However they all belong to a buying consortia of some type.
Agents in the USA and Canada do things very differently to agents in Australia and have survived the Internet, direct bookings with suppliers and world events such as hurricanes and terrorist bombings. Agents in Australia need to start changing the way they do things NOW or they will dissappear. They need to start thinking outside the box.
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