Bring On The Future of Nano Manufacturing And We Will Save The World From Itself

How will the future of nanotech manufacturing processes save the world from itself? The other day, I was speaking with an interesting individual about human transportation, fossil fuels, oil, gasoline, and CO2 Global Warming Theory. She explained to me that we were ruining our environment. I asked her if she drove a car, to which she said yes. I asked how many cars in her household, she said three. I asked her how many kids she’d produced for the planet, she said; three so far, and that’s most likely it.

She said she was worried about the future for her kids, so I asked her why she had so many. No reply. I explained to her that technology was helping with the challenges of too many people and all the kids that she and everyone else had been producing for the planet, also that I wasn’t too awfully concerned that we’d reach an extinction event due to mankind’s own follies, and wasn’t even concerned about Global Warming Theory, so she asked why?

Well, I gave her an example. You see, there was an interesting article in Homeland Security News on September 21, 2012 titled;

“Microstructural improvements enhance material properties” which stated; ” DARPA merges structural engineering principles with new fabrication technologies to demonstrate microstructural control of materials at the micron level; the ultimate objective of the agency’s Materials with Controlled Microstructural Architecture (MCMA) program is to be able to develop materials in the future with properties tailored to meet specific mission requirements”

Now then, this is what we need for abundant production of nanotech materials to make our cars, planes, ships, lighter and stronger – better homes, bridges, space craft, dams, building materials, and military equipment – right on DARPA, bring it on, we need this now, this is where we ought to be focusing our research dollars, the applications are endless and it will provide all the alternative energy future we got promised, better solar cell % efficiency, better everything – better batteries, computers, furniture, transparent materials replacing glass and saving the weight – better medical devices, robotics, everything – yes everything.

Instead we see wasteful political pet projects by the Administration forcing the DOE to make stupid guaranteed BS loans. I am a little upset about all that as a taxpayer, but I would say that DARPA gets it. Eventually, all of this new technology will become transfer technologies and help humans solve all their problems. If we can make things out of our waste byproducts then we don’t have to “cut down rain forests” or deal with REEs, or worry about poor mileage cars – everything will be more efficient with less waste moving forward.

Cleaner, meaner, greener, or whatever you wish to call it, I just call it better and more efficient meaning we can do more with less, thus, solving one of the main complaints of environmentalists. Indeed, I don’t believe we need fuel mandates, I believe fuel prices and entrepreneurship, along with decent new technologies will solve these problems. For instance, jet airliners today are 75% efficient than they were in the 1970s. Okay so, please consider all this and think on it.

Bridging the Sales Experience Gap – Selling Approach

“How do you teach new sales people to read the client, to understand their personality and only provide the information when the client is open to receiving it?” I received this excellent question recently from an overseas user. Some people seem much more able to read people than others. Such talent reinforces the idea that sale people are born rather than made.

Those born with acute interpersonal communication skills together with drive, commercial acumen, motivation, and a generous helping of all the other important characteristics of extraordinary sales people are rare.

The rest of us learnt the hard way, via many years of practise speckled with failures and setbacks. Is it possible for a training course, teacher, or coach to bridge the gap? If we can imbue new sales people with the experience of a twenty-year professionals and the judgement of high flyers, then the world will become a wealthier place.

Every sales situation is different. This is why the profession continues to defy attempts to systemise it. Unexpected sales situations inevitably undermine all systems that dictate a particular strategy, tactic, or style. Those with sufficient experience know what works in which situations and so you can adapt or switch their approach to suit.

To help sales people judge sales situations in the same way that the most experienced top performers do, we have constructed a framework concept and labelled it ‘Learning Frameworks’. The frameworks represent models of how successful sales people make the choices that lead to their success. They are simple to understand and adopt. Whether you are in management or sales, there are many ways to use them. In this article I have explained a framework that describes the appropriate sales approach – ‘Approach Strategy’ and some its uses.

Imagine a 2×2 matrix. The vertical axis shows sale value increasing from zero the whatever is a realistic maximum in your sales environment. The horizontal axis shows complexity increasing from low to high. A diagram is available in this article on our web site.

The four quadrants are labelled as follows:

Warrior Selling

Those making decisions about lower value, less complicated sales are typically easier to access. Success in this arena depends on individual skills, efficiency, and work rate. We call this ‘Warrior Selling’, where a single person can conduct the whole sales process.

The warrior seller can acquire and maintain the necessary technical or product knowledge and has sufficient skills and resources to address the customer’s decision-making needs.

Examples of solutions where normally only one person manages the entire sales process include, contract renewals, repeat sales or regularly purchased products, and relatively low value items that are decided upon by middle managers such as event venues and services, replacements, and maintenance requirements.

A systemised approach is often effective for solutions in the warrior quadrant because success depends on a higher volume of lower value sales.

Eagle Selling

If a sales person is required to address both low value and high value uncomplicated sales, sometimes he or she will need to call high. The higher the value of the sale, the more senior the decision maker will be.

Calling high demands a different level of credibility, presentation, and skills. We call this Eagle Selling. An example would be management consulting. The impact on customer profits can be substantial and it is hard to succeed in selling management-consulting services through lower echelons because consultant contributions depend on ‘C’ level involvement and recommended changes inevitably require board level support.

Crew Selling

When the complexity of a sale is high, because either many people are involved in the decision or many issues must be considered, it is more efficient to use specialists working as a team. These people may work for the same company or different companies operating in alliance.

An example would be the sales of technology or software to expert customers such as engineers, scientists, manufacturers, and system integrators. The level knowledge required demands specialists however; the sales value is relatively low when compared with the largest contracts achieved by the seller. Consequently, a flexible team of specialists address sales opportunities.

Many technology vendors sell through third parties and provide expert sales and technical support as necessary. Those who sell direct, provide sales people with access to pre sales technical specialists who often accompany the sales person on customer visits.

Tribal Selling

When the value of a sale is very high, Crew Selling becomes Tribal Selling. High value sales of services, solutions, and equipment require a Tribal approach. Competing for big deals drains resources that the seller cannot recover. Losing such a sale may compromise the seller’s ability to replace the lost business from other sources.

Complex, high value sales demand the attention of the whole department, division, or organisation. Leaving anything to chance invites disaster. If you were leading a sales campaign to supply several million pounds worth of new manufacturing machinery, both yours and your customer’s profits will be dependent on a good outcome. The results will affect investor income and careers. The degree of success or failure affects every stakeholder and employee in both companies. Such circumstances bring new meaning to the term ‘due diligence’.

The ‘Selling Approach’ framework helps with sales campaign planning at all levels. For sales people it clarifies what must be done to win a sale. For example, beginners often become locked in a relationship with one contact at a prospective customer. For sales in the Warrior and Eagle quadrants, this may not matter providing the customer contact is the decision maker. In the Crew and Tribal quadrants, it is courting disaster and often leads to a lost sale.

Using our ‘Selling Approach’ framework helps sales managers’ marshal their resources to maximise productivity and results. Learning or training can be directed at the tasks in hand or talent can be focused on the most suitable type of sales opportunity. Managers can use products sets, geography, named accounts, vertical markets, and even the demands of specific sales opportunities to organise sales teams and resources to improve performance.

Frameworks improve sales effectiveness by speeding up communication between managers and their teams. Teams brought together to address particular sales opportunities gain a better grasp of the wider picture and the nature of individual assignments. Identifying or justifying resources necessary to win a sale is easier using the ‘Selling Approach’ framework.

The Benefits of Starting a Concrete Block Manufacturing Business

Chances are, if you’re considering starting your own business, you’re probably not thinking about creating and selling concrete blocks. I mean, when you think about starting a business, you probably consider offering a service you know how to provide, or selling a cool retail gadget online, or maybe writing a book or something. But a concrete block business? I’m sure that never crossed your mind.

The truth is, starting a concrete block business is one of the best things you could do for yourself! The biggest problems a new business owner faces are start-up costs, finding and developing a market for his products, and determining a critical benefit to use in his sales message and marketing.

But with concrete blocks, you don’t have to worry about making sure you have a market to sell to – concrete blocks are in high demand all the time!

Think about it – highway construction, new office buildings, new retail spaces, new schools, new bridges – all of these structures require concrete blocks! As long as builders continue to be contracted to put up buildings, bridges, and new highway overpasses, they will continue to need concrete blocks manufactured and delivered to their work sites.

The second reason why a concrete business would be a fantastic business to start is that you have many different options of equipment to buy. You don’t have to have a lot of money to purchase a small economy sized machine to get your business started, and then as your business grows you can upgrade your equipment.

Of course, another reason that becoming a concrete manufacturer is a good idea is that concrete is heavy, and it’s expensive for a builder or contractor to transport concrete from another city. By becoming a concrete manufacturer, you can market directly to your local area and save your customers money!

To sum it up, a concrete manufacturing business would provide you with instant clientele (any local builder, highway repair contracting companies, commercial builders, etc), instant sales message benefits (save your local customer transportation money), and options for economical business start-up.

If you do decide to launch a concrete block manufacturing business, your best bet is to find someone in the industry who would be willing to help you start your business by counseling you on which machines to buy, how & where to start your business, and details you need to know before you get started.