Everyone Says Different Things - Who To Believe?

 

During my weekend sales gig, I sometimes get customers telling me it's all so confusing!!! 

Every sales promoter says different things!?

Who to believe???

These "confused" customers are bei kambings.

If you are knowledgeable and can think for yourself, of course you can separate the wheat from the chaff!. Wink.

Have you ever bought an item where you know more than the average sales promoters? 

Got right? 

You chuckle to yourself as you watch snake oils try to dissuade you from your purchase and switch to their brands instead...

Then there are also times when you walked into a store intending to buy Brand X, but you walked out with Brand Y!?

This only happens when you're new to a product category, no?

Then there are those customers who don't trust their own feet.

They go round asking sales promoters which brand is the most popular?

Others buy what, they buy what. 

Safety in numbers!

Then again, they are often the most confused customers too...

Every sales promoter will say their brand is the best selling!

LOL!

 

This One Better Than The Monkey Trap!

 

I was going to write about the Monkey Trap (you can google yourself if you want).

However, I chance upon this YouTube video that's even more power!!!

I'll let you watch without commentary:

How?

Does that not remind you of the group behaviour you see in the investment/trading community?

Notice how the trapped monkeys rushed to the smaller cage in the end?

Can you relate and link this "2nd dip" reflex action to actual examples you may know?

If you share yours; I'll share mine. 

How to Influence Others to our Benefit

 

How time flies!

The first time I worked with Stacked Homes was way back in May 2021 where I shared my SERS journey.

Again, not an advertorial, but if you are into properties or renovating your dream home, I'm sure you would have discovered Stacked Homes by now.

The quality of their editorial content and YouTube videos are truly at craftsmanship level.

 

OK, today is not about them.

It's about me having a vested interest in sharing this article to you:

We Rushed To Buy A Home During The Pandemic: Here's Why It Nearly Became A Big Regret...

There are so many quality articles and YouTube videos at Stacked Homes.

Why this particular article???

Alert and regular visitors of this watering-hole will spot it quite easily. Wink.

Yes, it's that short little sentence, "I regretted not getting the top floor."

Since I'm the snake oil that wears the white hat, I'll share this little Jedi trick we play on our sales funnel all the time.

I could have kept quiet and share the article to you, giving you the "misdirection" it's all about how to avoid choosing an apartment with neighbours from hell!

And you would be none the wiser I'm doing a "psychological operation" on you, "Buy top floor lah!"

LOL!

That's why when I catch myself doing something a bit out of character. I'll look up to see who is pulling my strings.

When you make a decision, do you spend time pondering whether it's the actual you making this particular decision, or are you merely being manipulated influenced by others?

OK, this will keep you awake for several nights!

  

No Relationship, No Lobang

 

I was working on Christmas yesterday. It's a weekend remember?

I thought it was going to an "easy" and "relaxing" day. I mean its busy BEFORE Christmas, but who buys on Christmas day?

You think why we have boxing day sales or post CNY sales? 

Boy, was I surprised!

Worked my ass off yesterday. Tiring, but fun. 

I'm sure readers will be screaming at me, "Its 1% GST increase lah!"

LOL!

And you are right!

It's amazing how 1% can manipulate influence consumer behaviour in some people!?

To save 1%, these customers are willing to pay in full today, and have delivery of their purchases 6-7 months later next year, when they finally get their keys or have their apartments renovated...

Laggards.

What if I tell you most consumer brands have INCREASED their prices by 3-6% between March and June of this year?

No, it's not profiteering.

Remember inflation higher than CPF? 

Or how about higher supply chain costs due to disruptions in China due to Wuhan virus lockdowns or war in Ukraine? 

You can verify it yourself if you have bought any major home appliances or home electronics beginning of this year (or last year) versus current prices.

Feels good when your entry is better than others right?

OK, some of it is pure dumb luck.

I mean if your fridge broke down beginning of the year, you have to buy, you buy.

But if you have a relationship with the retailer or sales promoter, we would have contacted our "best customers" BEFORE the prices increases mid-year. Wink.

No, it's not "lobang" for anyone and everyone,

 

Moral of the story?

People = relationships.

Online = database

Relationships take time to cultivate.

Butterflies who jump from one online retailer to another to get the good, better, best deals; you are merely a statistic.

You think why property speculators surround themselves with the most competent property agents they can find?

Why high net worth investors have private bankers and brokers feeding them market insights not available to anyone and everyone?

My new BTO flat has gone from $4 to $7?

 

The new HDB letter boxes are the type where we can lock the holes, if we so wish, so that we can't receive spam leaflets and brochures.

But I'm impressed with one real estate agent - she literally mails her leaflet in a proper letter addressed to my flat!?

And imagine doing this to all flats in my estate?

She definitely does not subscribe to Save More. Wink.

Nothing new. 

Didn't our 5,000 years of Chinese wisdom teach us that to attract big money, we need to spend small money as bait?

She knows her marketing or Jedi mind control trick well - the moment I open the letter, in big bold fonts, your home is estimated to worth $738,000 jumps right out at me.

Ah!

She even customizes her sales spin for different flat types! 

HDB 2 rooms, 4 rooms, and 5 rooms will have different valuations on the cover letters I presume! 

Impressive.

I got my keys to my Dawson flat on Dec 2020. The direct purchase HDB valuation was $398,000. 

In 22 months, now it is worth around $700K in the open market?

Alert regular readers will know I did a sleight-of-hand just now.

Hello, my SERS journey started around June 2014 lah!

The compensated SERS replacement flats prices were "frozen" at that point for us. 

Therefore, it's more correct to say that my new BTO flat has gone up from $4 to $7 in 8 years, not in 22 months. Wink.

Don't laugh. 

Many years back, I was poking all the (innocent or knowingly) shenanigans when people were calculating their ROI or XIRR of their portfolios with weird bombastic returns in percentages!?

The percentage return from $4 to $7 over 22 months is different from over 8 years!!!

The same trick is used during seminars or courses. You'll be surprised how many tertiary educated people fall for it!

Hmm...

If Lady Luck were to continue to smile on me in 10 years' time, I may even get my $4 (and more) back from big daddy.

Then again, even I feel the prices has gone up a little too fast, too quick....

I not greedy. If price were to just jump just $1 more over the next 10 years to $8, confirm I will get my $4 back - now that's a low bar or what?

One thing is clear. 

For those who have put money in Singapore properties over the past 8 years, especially if you have bought direct from HDB, your returns are a lot better than equities. No?

Even more alert regular readers will probably point out I didn't "buy" my HDB Dawson flat at $4...

I bought my Tanglin Halt SERS flat at the resale price of $1.25 in 2003.

I better stop. 

In percentages, it's even more ridiculous...

  

Finally No Masks Outdoors!

 

It's a start!

OK, masks are still needed indoors. That meant weekends I still have to put my mask on.

I can live with that!

As a snake oil, I'm used to putting my "in your best interest" mask on when facing customers anyways,

I just hope fellow Singaporeans will have the cow sense to their masks on while travelling in MRT or buses. 

But then, who am I kidding!? Just look how many still talk amongst themselves and on the phones while taking public transport...

For private car hires and taxis, I'm sure the driver will ask their customers to put their masks on during the ride. So no worries here. 

Although I'm not working in the travel related sector, feel a sense of relief for my service related brethren. 

Not gonna lie. 

There's a bit of guilt seeing how retail and F&B have more or less "recovered", yet through no fault of anyone, those who happened to worked in the tourism sector are still "suffering"... 

Hang in there! There's light at the end of the tunnel!

By the way, I still doing my weekly ART test every Saturday before I start work during the weekends. 

The ART kits were provided free of charge by the retailer I'm stationed in. 

Smart business move. You don't want one infected promoter/staff to infect the rest of the hired guns! We are already shorted handed as it is... Cost savings remember? That's why I'm not a fan of save more or austerity...

Of course on the outside, the PR spin its to "protect" our customers. Sure, if you say so...

Breathe.

Ah...

What's My Name?

 

I noticed something quite positive during my weekend sales gig.

More and more youths are making an effort to read my name tag, and use my name in our sales conversations!?

Have you noticed how some old school landowners, chairman of a companies, CEOs, etc; often stop and greet security guards, toilet cleaners, or receptionists by their names?

Politicians often do that, beside kissing babies.

Some are born like that; most learned it as part of their upbringing, at school, or from their corporate trainings.

Why do they do so?

Just ask yourself. 

How would you feel if you are a junior member of the management team, yet the owner of the company is able to remember your name when you both enter into the elevator?

Back to those youths who obviously are making an effort in remembering my name during our sales encounter.

Needless to say, if I have to guess, I would bet most of them are working in sales or marketing lah! 

Not bad. They are putting into practice what they have learned. Kung fu don't practice will depreciate one! Its sharpening the saw that sort of thing.

If not in sales, then they are probably corporate high achievers climbing up the corporate ladder. 

Remember the episode where big daddy wanted to introduce a new candidate, but there's an outpour of criticisms? 

This is what happens when you though you just have to "tripod" your bosses, no need to bother with your peers and those beneath you...

How to win friends and influence people?

Start with their names. 

Wink.

 

Bring Forward Or Delay The Inevitable?

 

For those of us snake oils who have planned or participated in sales promotions or marketing campaigns, have you ever experienced this inconvenient truth?

I mean we celebrate when the marketing campaign has been a success! Get our extra commissions, bonuses; plus accolades and recognition from top management.  

But then sales for the next few months dropped quite a bit lower than previous years...

It quickly dawned on us that we have merely brought forward the sales from future months.

In fact, the company would have made more money had we not done the sales promotion in the first place...

What do we do?

Of course next quarter or next year, we will still propose doing the same thing all over again!

That's the difference between hired guns/sellswords from business owners.

Especially when we noticed the business owner is "passive" or not very hands on. Wink.

Got to feel for big daddy. 

During early days of Wuhan virus pandemic, got "recognised" worldwide for our zero Wuhan virus strategy.

Compared to the alarming number of deaths and infections around the world, we really stood out. 

Even got "luxury" to start planning how to "profit" from this pandemic like in past crises. If we open up before everyone else...

Then discovered we are merely delaying the inevitable...

While other countries have peaked, their deaths and infections numbers coming down...

We are now playing "catch up"...

This is not a smart alec "behind horse cannon" poke. On hindsight, everyone is genius!

This post is for those who like to parrot.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Manipulation With Words

 

Those not in politics or sales have too little appreciation on the power of words.

The pen is mightier than the sword is just not some empty words uttered by some scholars who can't fight.

Let's take a snake oil word I hate the most:

"Pre-owned".

What the fish is that!?

2nd hand say 2nd hand. But no... Previously owned. 

No, can't spell it out like that! 

Write "pre-owned", somehow the 2nd hand; other people used before; no more virgin negative "stigmas" are no longer obvious.

Pre-owned has become "neutral".

And that helps in fetching a better price!

Stocks in general can be categorised as big-cap, mid-cap, small-cap.

These are neutral words.

But if I want to sell you buy-and-hold big-cap stocks (so I can milk the AUM fees forever and ever), I would call these stocks "blue-chips" instead!

Some how, when the brain hears "blue-chips", we automatically think sure win, "bao-jiak", and make silly extrapolations like if the stock goes to zero, Singapore will go down too...

See? Told you SPH is blue-chip! It never went to zero right!? Just buy-and-hold. Stocks only go up one!

Similarly, if I want to encourage you to trade penny stocks (I want to fleece the trading commissions from you), I not so silly to call them penny stocks. I would call them small cap stocks. 

The name penny stocks somehow got negative connotations... Like rubbish, risky, 2nd class; and all that... 

Most youths are not aware Venture was a penny stock before. So not all penny stocks are risky speculative bets OK!?

Corporate bonds are getting more and more common in SGX in recent years. 

Most are unrated and are called by a very nice and sexy name - High Yield Bonds.

Old fogeys would remember their former name - Junk Bonds.

What!?

You read correctly. 

But just like penny stocks, junk bonds can be very lucrative, provided you know what you are getting into. 

They say the bond market is smarter than the equities market.

If you wan to play high yield bonds, just make sure you are smarter than the average equities investor/trader. Wink.

What's the moral of the story?

Having a wider vocabulary helps!

Just don't over do it.

Remember the "ponding" incident? 

LOL!

 

Are You A Snake Oil?

 

People most often associate snake oils with salespersons.

Well, that's true and quite obvious.

Sales who can't snake oil won't survive. 

Look, those of us who can snake oil generally do better in life. (As for whether we proud with ourselves, that's another story...)

First, what is snake oil?

Its to say things to others that BENEFIT us. 

Now that's it out of the way, let's give some examples where we snake oil to make our lives better:

Guy do this all the time when we meet girls. How else to get inside her panties?

Girls, you not stupid to tell him you don't actually love him or even remotely sexually attracted to him... But he knows how to EARN MORE, and that's enough for you!

(Guys, you don't pretend pretend to be surprised. Why else you seek Financial Freedom if not to get girls?)

Some of your kakis got "lobangs" love to share with you. 

Of course most won't share the kickbacks they received for recommending customers to their "sponsors". Wink.

Affiliated marketing is not new. Since biblical times it exists. 

"Recommend new customers to my tavern, I'll give you free wine next time you visit!"

Why do you go back to your favourite hairstylist? Because each time he sees you, he makes you feel good!

"Chen tai tai! Did you lose weight! I almost couldn't recognise you!"

"Wait! Do you have a new lover? Why is your complexion so radiant!?"

Then of course we often snake oil our way out of trouble whenever we were caught.

"Mom, I didn't break it! 'Di di' broke it!"  (Di di is a 5 year old who can't defend himself)

"Daddy, I wasn't smoking... I didn't inhale... Swear!"

"Teacher, I didn't box him; his eye ran into my fist..."

If you are a doctor or car mechanic, and you found out your patient/client got insurance... 

What do you do? 

Snake oil for more "good to have" medical tests or parts replacements of course!

I'll give politicians and religious shepherds a pass this time round. Only because its painfully obvious.

The only question is whether Multi-level Marketing (MLM) stole with pride from religion and politics, or was it the other way round?

That's exponential compounding if you not already aware. 

Recruit 10 people, they in turn recruit another 10, and so on it multiplies.

That's how revolutions get started. And just like that, a new religion is born!

By the way, isn't that's how cryptos are being marketed?

How else for prices to shoot to the moon if we don't get anyone and everyone to buy in?

Its not new again. Someone did it with some flower in the past. 

I noticed women love to watch palace intrigue dramas. 

Is it because women are more into passive aggression, while men are more into overt confrontations? 

Snake oil skills come in handy when you want some idiot to do the dirty work for you... While you stay aloof from the fray. 

What? You play politics? 

Never!

Is snake oil the same as EQ then?

They seem similar...

Don't look at me! I didn't study psychology.

Then again, I'm a people watcher. (Less creepy than to say I like to look at women)

I'll say its same same but different!

But I'm at a lost to explain the differences...

Its like pissing in the snow on a dark winter's night. 

I believe I'm making a difference in the snow...

But its hard to tell!

Bei Kambing Retail Customers

 

During my weekend sales gigs, I've come across some really "bei kambing" (naive, innocent, blue-eyed sheep) customers.

When I told them which countries the products are made, some customers remarked they can then get from the factories direct themselves.

I said, "Sure! You can definitely get them cheaper! Although the factories will ask how many 40 feet containers you want to order..."

You should see the blank look in their eyes.

Yup, it flew over their heads...

LOL!

Then there are customers who like to ask where the distributor/agent showroom is located in Singapore.

They think by going to the distributor direct, they will get better prices than from retailers' showrooms?

I told them confidently, "Sir, this is their address. Feel free to visit their showrooms and then come back to buy from us."

"Why? Shouldn't the prices be lower at the distributors?" asked the perplexed customer.

I patiently explained, "Think about it for a moment. We retailers are the ones selling their products for the distributors. If they undercut us, which retailers will continue to display and promote their products?

Some customers will sheepishly smile as they knew I made sense.

Some practice Trust But Verify - they come back a few weeks later and buy from me. Yeah, I was right! Our prices cheaper...

LOL!

Of course I understand and empathise.

Not everyone has worked in sales or with supply chain. 

Or have profit and loss responsibilities.

You could be highly educated but you work in academia or at the back office all your lives...

How would you know how the real world worked?

If you are one of those customers, just have the awareness that when you embark on your journey as a fundamental "investor", you do not start at ground zero - you start from negative.

Right off the bat, your fellow cohorts who had more real world experience than you have an edge over you when reading annual reports. 

They can read between the lines and beyond the numbers.

You can either do your best to close the fundamental gap (no, its not taking more courses) by asking your sales or supply chain colleagues out to lunch, or maybe switch to technical analysis instead?

Look, technical analysis is voodoo. Since its voodoo, how can anyone claim to have an edge over others?

And it involves less brain power too. 

Its like looking at ink blots or ice cubes in a glass. We see what we want to see!

P.S.   The only times when distributors have prices lower than their retail showrooms are:

1)  Clear horribly aged stocks that no retailers are carrying anymore. Great for retail customers looking for that "retro" look.

2)  Reconditioned products. When we bought lemons and returned our products to the distributor and got a brand new replacement, have you ever thought where your defective product ended up?

Landlords love reconditioned products. I mean if you are renting out your apartment, you don't expect your tenants to take care of your home appliances, do you?

 

I'm losing another part of my past again - Robinsons Closing

 

I can't show people the physical building that I've studied at Hua Yi Primary School before. 

My primary school does not exist in Singapore anymore. It was merged with Queenstown Primary School in 1991.

But I can proudly tell others that my primary school band was featured in our old $50 dollar bill:

I was in the school band for 1 year during primary 3. 

However, I suck. 

Crash got sound! That's how I found out. Wink.

This morning, another bit of my past got erased, again:

Robinsons to close.

Robinsons is the company that I remember my chequered career past with fond memories. I was treated "right" there. The soul and culture of Robinsons was something from a bygone era...

That's why those of you who remember the old Robinsons will see staff working 30-40 years there. Company do take care of us. We were treated like family.

However, I stopped being a Robinsons customer when OCBC sold Robinsons off....

The new owner changed everything. Only the name remained.

I felt like a "guest" in my own home.

Evidently, I'm not the only customer who felt that way.

Still...

Hong Kong has its Lane Crawford. Present tense.

We got Robinsons. Past tense.

162 years in Singapore... Makes one wonder whether Singapore would be around 100 years later... Don't you?

Shareholders of OCBC must be glad their bank divested Robinsons when they can; and not when they have to.

Quitting when we are ahead is not the same as quitting.

Evidently, the board and management of OCBC don't suffer from Buy-and-Hold delusions!

Wait.

Do I own any retail stocks?

Phew.

 

The Thing About Extended Warranties

 

A few years back, when I switched to retailing of home electronics and appliances after moving on from my weekend Howard Storage World sales gig (company went bankrupt), the retailer I was posted to by my brand organised a meeting for all promoters not under their payroll.

For those not familiar with the retailing of home electronics/appliances scene, the majority of the sales staff are not on the payroll of the retailer, even though we wear the same uniform. Wink.

That's why you walked into the store interested in brand X, but walked out with brand Y... You've been "washed". LOL!

This retailer has a partnership with a insurance company to bundle and sell extended warranties. So they want us to promote these extended warranties to our customers.

Of course non of the promoters were interested. We were more interested in promoting our own brands - the carrot is sales commissions and incentives like bonuses if we hit our sales targets; the stick is no sales survive on basic very the sad one...

A few months passed and the extended warranty scheme was a dismal failure... 

So the retailer used the stick and threatened us. If we don't sell X number of extended warranties per week, they will kick those non-performing promoters out.

Never make threats you can't follow through... 

Most of us ignored their bluff. (Except those weak or newbie promoters who got worried)

Remember I said most of the sales promoters are not on their payroll?

The retailers depend on us "free" resources. So the threat is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Furthermore, most of the brands belong to international worldwide MNCs. You think they care about a local local or regional retailer? Really?

So after a few awkward months of empty threats, the retailer finally capitulated. 

Now switch to carrot approach.

Going forward, every extended warranty a promoter sells, we'll get a sales commission. 

Now the extended warranty scheme finally took off!

Not too bad. Its not really any extra work. After closing a sale, we just ask customers whether they want to add an extended warranty to their purchase.

The extra commissions for those who can "push" these extended warranties can amount to a few extra hundreds a month. 

See how extended warranties become "good" for customers once promoters get incentivised?

Of course this story is not really about extended warranties. 

Its about human psychology and motivations.

And you probably never thought about it. (Unless you're landowner or shepherd.) 

Its pervasive. 

From politics, to business, to religion. 

Yes, even religion. 

The cell leader for that Taiwanese Buddhist monastery (very big in Taiwan) was very frank with me when she confided with me one of reasons they offered "free" meditation sessions was to not only create more awareness and publicity for the monastery (relatively unknown in Singapore), but its also to raise funds for further expansion in Singapore. (Got market share KPI?)

I'll leave it to you to figure out how to raise funds when its "free" meditation sessions?

If you confused, you're probably the target for all those "free" course previews, "free" spa treatments, "free" drinks, "free" food promotions!

LOL! 

 

 

Working 7 days a week

I've got to know another part-time weekend promoter at my weekend sales gig.

I've always thought he's my senior until last week; turned out he's one year younger than me!? 

OK, I'm no longer have "boink, boink" I am moisturised cheeks, but this promoter looks much more worned out and haggard than me... 

And I found out why.

Unlike me, he has a Monday to Friday technician day job. 

So plus his weekend sales gig, this promoter works 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year!

The only time he has any days off is when we have a public holiday - and that's provided its not over a weekend!

In case you don't know, there's only 11 days of public holidays in Singapore.



Writing here, I must thank the Christians for introducing the Day of the Sabbath to the modern world.

Before this 7th day of the week is a day of rest took root, imagine you were a servant for the landowner in feudal times, what weekends or public holidays!?

Yes, there were festivals then instead of public holidays, but you even more busy doing the preparations during the festivals!!!

What you got, if you were in China duing those feudal times, is maybe 15 days of "holiday" during CNY where you were allowed to return home for your family reunion. 

And that's only if you are a free person working for a wage; not an indentured servant or slave. 



This promoter is married with children.

I didn't want to pry too much,

Suffice to say if you can Save More, you are probably earning "enough". 

For those with family expenses that exceed their monthly salaries, the only solution is to Earn More. Especially when your salary is not high...



I've noticed if we only mingle and mix around this FIRE community, our sense of bearings can get warped and twisted if we are not careful...

Its a big echo chamber where you say something and your followers echo back, "Yalor, yalor!"

Pretty soon you probably think whatever you espouse is the holy gospel! Everyone should listen to you!

Pride, arrogance, and hubris least we forget... Just count the number of Indian Chiefs out there.



Some of the goals and aspirations shared don't make much sense outside the community. 

I've learned something talking with this promoter last weekend.

There's a stronger source of motivation out there than being financially free; love for family is much much more powerful and enduring.

Would you spend 7 days a week to come up with your own investing thesis or trading ideas?

See?

You not really motivated in the first place, were you?

Were you a trainer before?

The best compliments are those that are not spelt out or spoken; they are implied between the lines. Wink.


I like to "read" people.  It started out as part of the requirement for doing sales, but it quickly turned into a hobby.

Yesterday, a husband and wife couple were checking out some kitchen appliances. After some foreplay, I casually asked the husband if he was working in the Food and Beverage industry? I complimented him he's very knowledgable about the appliances!



Press pause button.

Fellow snake oils will know what technique I'm using. 

Female readers who are skilled at influencing men are probably laughing out now. 

"Bang, you so clever!"

"Wow! You so very de strong!"

"Oppa, why others can't, but you can?"

There's usually a follow up statement but I don't share. Don't worry girls, I won't spoil our "bawu" :)

Press play button.

The husand replied he's a chef in one of the 5-star hotels in Singapore. Ah! No wonder!

What happened next was not according to script...

The husband asked me whether I were a trainer before?

My smile was brigher and sunnier than my bald head!

LOL!

OK, as a chef, he's managing people too. 

Both of us were smiling and nodding our heads.

It felt good. 

Its always nice to get acknowledgement from your peers.

You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl... 

I am glad the country is still within me. Wink.

He knew its a SCAM, and he still did it anyway!?

Last Saturday, I was assigned to another showroom to help out as that store had some sales promotions there.

7th month, so it was an awkward experience where sales promoters present were more than customers at the store.

Very free, so got chance to talk to a 17 year old boy from ITE doing his internship at that showroom. 

He told me he will be going to NS next year.



Looking at him, it reminded me 34 years ago, I too was working on the selling floor with Metro...

34 years!!! I feel like a relic!



This young boy asked me which sales jobs can earn lots of money?

I told him what everyone knew - life insurance and property.

Outdoor sales pay better than indoor sales. 

But retail sales can be fun if he liked the idea of managing his own store or department - that's the store operations route.

Alternatively, he can join the merchandising route and have fun making frequent overseas buying trips.

He seemed only interested in making lots of money... And fast!



Curious, I asked him why?

He told me he is making good money selling "charity vouchers" door-to-door in the evenings after school.

Each "charity voucher" costs $12, and for every voucher he sold, he gets to pocket $5.

I suddenly got a heavy heart... I continued fishing him for info since I wanted to keep abreast of the "market rate", those who wear the black hats charge nowadays. 

Turned out his leader, the one who recruited him, gets to keep $2 as overriding commission.

I see... The creator of this scam gets to keep $5 out of $12 from the naivety of Singaporeans and underlings like the young boy. 



I looked at the young boy with a straight face. 

"You know not a cent goes to charity right?"

The boy just smiled sheepishly. 

"Its a bit like MLM."



My heart starts to boil inside. He knew and still did it anyway!!!

After NS, if he joined retail, he will be like those Sim Lim crooks...

Who knows? Maybe he will be the next millionaire getting involved with those MLM scams like Gold Trading or Ostrich Farms...

And if he has explosive charisma, he can even hit the big time by listing his company or starting his own religious cult...

Its all about the money. Nothing else matters.



I noticed my rising anger; I am just as aware as I let my emotion fade away.

I quietly nodded in silence and walked away.

And haven't spoke to this future "black hatter" for the rest of the day.



But my thoughts were not on him.

Yup, its what you all are thinking right now.

The "Wash"

I was having lunch with another blogger yesterday afternoon. 

It was one of those "talk male chicken" sessions.

And the topic somehow touched on my weekend sales "manipulations".



In our industry, the local lingo in Hokkien is "shueh" or "wash".

Companies usually will employ either or both pull and push strategies when it comes to marketing and sales.

Pull is to psycho the customers through advertising, social media advertorials, or public relations campaigns, to seduce the customers to ask for your brands/products when they walk into a store or browse any online shopping platforms. Top-down.

Push is what we do inside the stores or online shopping platforms to steer you to our brands/products. Bottom-up  



There are some smaller brands of home appliances that don't employ Pull strategies. 

What they rely on is the skill and incentives they provide to their promoters to push their brands out to customers in the stores. 

Contrary to what you expect, the bigger and more famous the brand, the less attractive the commissions scheme will be.

Think about it for a moment. 

Would you need to give more or less commissions to promoters to help you sell Apple phones versus if you were selling "unkown" brands from China?

Same logic works for Term insurance policies.They sell by themselves for financially savvy customers. But for wholelife and endowment policies, you need to incentivize your insurance agents to push these out right?

When your investment bank recommends you unrated corporate junk bonds over those that are rated, make a wild guess why?

Now you know why peer-to-peer lending platforms can offer up to 18% interests to attract willing "philanthropists". Wink.



So when a brand advertises and attracts customers to a store, a percentage of the customers will end up buying other brands when they walk out.

If it happened to you, you've been "washed"!

And that is all thanks to the promoter's "washing" skills.



Put yourself in the promoter's shoes.

If I sell brand X I get $200; and brand Y gives $300.

Which brand would you promote?

Shh...

Paris got Bak Kut Teh?

I got this joke from my Facebook feed.

Funny!

You want to know we find it so funny?

Its because we are laughing at ourselves!



Hands up to those of you who have mispronounced European designer brand names for years until you sheepishly discovered your mistake?

Don't believe?

Want to try the most mispronounced designer names?



Hermes


BVLGARI


Yves Saint Laurent


Ralph Lauren



Want to bet most of you will get the last one wrong?

It looks the simplest but its a trick I've just played on you. 

Now we have Youtube's How to Pronounce... You people can check it out for yourselves!



Ralp Lauren is an American brand (you idiot). You pronounce "Lauren" in the normal American way. 

But because I've primed you with fancy European way of pronouncing before, especially placing "Yves Saint Laurent" in front of "Ralph Lauren", most of you would have pronounced "Lauren" as "Laurent"... 

Got you! You pretentious you!



This goes to show how subtle we snake oils can get into your heads without you realising. Wink.

Notice the similar technique is used in seminars or workshops?

Tell a joke; everyone laughs.

Guards down. Disarm.

Pretend to lead your flock in one direction; actually you leading them elsewhere.

Next time you come out of a seminar or motivational workshop, go into the toilet.

Look into the mirror.

If you aware, you may see the fish hook in your mouth.

You may want to pull it out.

No need to thank me.

Just buy me coffee!