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Vol. 24, No. 11 • November, 2006

You can find this newsletter and some past issues on the web @ www.Freeman-Spicer.com

The Big Picture

Those coveted 13-to-25-year-old consumers, part of the so-called millennial generation, are fast establishing themselves as civic-minded. In a new survey, 61% said they feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world. And more than 75% said companies should join them in this effort.

Percentage of 13-to-25-year-olds who say they:

•          Are likely to switch brands (given equal price and quality) to support a cause........89%

•          Are more likely to pay attention to messages of companies deeply

            committed to a cause..........................................................................................74%

•          Consider a company’s social commitment when deciding where to shop ............ 69%

•          Consider a company’s social commitment when recommending products ........... 66%

            (BusinessWeek)

Management Style

Here’s a concept: The person who knows best should make the decisions. And the boss doesn’t always know best. Traditional bosses like to have decisions bounced upwards. It enhances their power and status. Their people sometimes like it, too, as it absolves them of responsibility. But in practice, bosses are not always in the best position to make difficult decisions. The way decisions are handled distinguishes a great boss from a poor one. The great boss, forever humble, respects the fact that his people know more and are closer to the situation and often defers to their better judgment. Too many bosses succumb to the temptation of providing a quick fix to their people’s problems. (Things You Must Do to be a Great Boss)

Are You Ever Too Old

Are you ever too old to donate your organs? Your organs have no expiration date and, like your car, they’ll last a long time when properly cared for. As a result, there is no age limit for organ donors (those younger than 18 need parental consent). According to Dr. Michael Smith, medical editor in chief of WebMD, “As long as an organ is functioning properly it can be donated. There are only certain medical conditions, such as HIV or cancer, that could prevent someone from being an organ donor.” The transplant physician makes the final call. So, even if you’re 95, your liver might still go another 100,000 miles. (Megan McCain in Newsweek)

Check Your Internet Speed . . . . . . . See how fast your internet connection speed is by logging on to http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest - it will tell you whether you are getting good speed on up loads and down loads.

What We Buy . . . . . Consumer spending on everything from Apple iPods to Axe Body Spray - powers 70% of the U.S. economy. A look at average daily purchases of popular products:

* 18,000 bottles of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.

* 35,079,448 12-oz. servings of Bud Light.

* 34 Porsche 911s

* 628 Toyota Camry 4-cylinder Les

* 125,000 Barbie Dolls

* 150,000 Hot Wheels Basic Cars (small size)

* 123,287 Trojan Ultra Thin condoms

* 14,100 First Response pregnancy tests

* 88,163 Apple iPods

* 300,000 packs of Pampers

* 50,051,507 12-oz. cans of Pepsi

* 8,179,726 20-oz. bottles of Aquafina water

* 3,160 Men’s Rogaine 5% Solution

* 4,760 CoverGirl Very Black Lash Exact mascaras

* 1,900,000 Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts

* 87,431 slim-Fast Optima Multi-pack shakes

* 234,586 cartons of 64-oz. Tropicana Pure Premium (no pulp) orange juice

* 500,000 Hostess Twinkies

* 153,424 lbs. of Starbucks coffee

* 24,657 bags of Whiskas car food

* 66,665 Pedigree Jumbone dog-bone treats

* 28,876 Axe Phoenix body spray

* 1,852,516 Dove Beauty Bars of soap

* 2,400,000 Burger King Whoppers

* 536,000 Domino’s pepperoni pizzas

* 20,826 Dell notebook computers

* 6,000,000 Federal Express packages shipped

On the first day . . . . . . . . . God created the dog and said: "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years? And I'll give you back the other ten?" So God agreed. On the second day, God created the monkey and said: "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span." The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten as the dog did?" And God agreed. On the third day, God created the cow and said: "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years." The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?" And God agreed again. On the fourth day, God created man and said: "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years." But man said: "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?" "Okay," said God, "You asked for it." So that is why, for the first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. There, life has now been explained to you . (N. O’Brien)

Holidays are coming . . . . . . . . Shadow Flying - Traveling or expecting someone for Thanksgiving? Flightview.com notifies you of airport delays (coming or going) and the current status of any flight. You can even use a live flight-tracker to watch the plane head toward its destination. (Kiplinger)

Selling . . . . . . . . Whenever you give someone a fact on your product or service, it only has meaning if you attach it to some benefit that the prospect can relate to. Use a few woods as a bridge to connect the fact you’ve just mentioned to the benefit it represents. A common bridge is “which means.” It would sound like this, “This car has a 26-gallon gas tank, which means a lot fewer stops at gas stations.” You need lots of different bridges so you don’t keep repeating yourself and don’t become boring. Some alternate bridges: “this allows you to....” or “with that feature you can....” Never mention any feature of your product or service without telling the prospects the benefit it represents to them. (Just Sell It)

Check . . . . . . . . . your spare tire. The next time you have an oil change, have them check your spare tire to see that it’s properly inflated and that you can get to it. Those SUVs that store the tire on the outside of the car (under the rear of the car) have a cable that holds the tire in place. It can get rusted - and, of course, when you need the tire, you can’t get the tire to come down and be accessible. Have the tire checked and learn how to get to the tire.

Personnel . . . . . . . . Treat good buyers as corporate heroes. If a salesperson closes a huge deal, word quickly spreads and he or she is hailed as a hero. I think the same hero treatment should be given to employees who make great buys. If a staff employee negotiates a lease or service contract that reduces his company’s operating cost, that deal might have a more positive long-term effect on the bottom line than a onetime megasale. And yet that stellar effort often goes unnoticed and unheralded. If you recognize and honor people for negotiating great buys, your employees will not only learn from them, but will take pride in emulating them. (On Negotiating)

The Kiplinger Monitor . . . . . . . . . Boomers - What’s on their minds? ■ 1 in 4 - Number of Americans who are baby-boomers. ■ 1 in 2 - In 2003, the number of boomers with pension coverage who received a lump-sum distribution and rolled it over. ■ 4 in 10 - Number of boomers who say they will alternate work and leisure during their next phase of life. ■ 29% - Percentage of people ages 50 to 59 who think they’ll need $500,000 to $2 million to retire comfortably. ■ 55% - Percentage of people ages 50 to 59 who say they’re very concerned about running out of savings in retirement. ■ 74% - Percentage of people ages 50 to 59 who say they’re very concerned about the cost of health insurance in retirement. ■ 17% - Percentage of people age 60 who say that achieving financial security or paying off debt would be their best possible birthday gift. ■ 38% - Percentage of individuals eligible to vote who are boomers. (Kiplinger)

PDF Pad . . . . . . . . . . . What is PDF Pad? It’s a comprehensive online destination where you can download and print the high quality documents you need for work, school and play, free of charge or registration hassles. Go to http://www.pdfpad.com for Calendars, Flags, Graph Paper, Smith charts, Staff Paper, Storyboards and even Sudoku games . . . all for free. (Kim Komando)

Question to think about . . . . . . . Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Are you humming right now?

“Formula for success: Underpromise and overdeliver.” - Tom Peters        

Sincerely,

Edward C. Levy

President