J P Morgan

John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier, banker, philanthropist, and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1891 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houson Electric Company to form General Electric. After financing the creation of the Federal Steel Company he merged the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron businesses to form the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. He bequeathed his large art collection to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. At the height of Morgan's career during the early 1900s, he and his partners had financial investments in many large corporations. By 1901, he was one of the wealthiest men in the world. He died in Rome, Italy, in 1913 at the of age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, Jack Pierpont Morgan.


Morgan was born in Hartford, Connecticut to Junius Spencer Morgan (1813—1890) and Juliet Pierpont (1816—1884)) of Boston, Massachusetts. Pierpont, as he preferred to be known, had a varied education due in part to interference by his father, Junius. In the autumn of 1848, Pierpont transferred to the Hartford Public School and then to the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, boarding with the principal. In September 1851, Morgan passed the entrance exam for English High School of Boston, a school specializing in Mathematics to prepare young men for careers in commerce.

In the spring of 1852, illness that was to become more common as his life progressed struck; rheumatic fever left him in so much pain that he couldn't walk. Junius booked passage for Pierpont straight away on the ship Io, owned by Charles Dabney, to the Azores in order for him to recover. After convalescing for almost a year, Pierpont returned to the school in Boston to resume his studies. After graduating his father sent him to Bellerive, a school near the Swiss village of Vevey. When Morgan had attained fluency in French, his father sent him to the University of Göttingen in order to improve his German. Attaining a passable level of German within six months, Morgan travelled back to London via Wiesbaden, his education complete.

Howard Hughes
Wayne Huizenga
Collis Huntington
Lee Iacocca

Increase Your Sales in 5 Minutes

By: Al Hanzal



Increase your sales—in five minutes. This article is the third in a series of five articles probing the five critical points influencing how you find a steady stream of customer for your business.

Customers Buy Benefits

You want more sales? Customers buy for one reason. They buy because your product or service has a benefit they want. Telling your customer your product has a 10 year warranty is a product feature. Telling them that in over 400 roofing jobs last year, there were no leaks, no call backs and no broken tile is selling the benefits your customer wants. Sell customer benefits and you will increase your sales.

Why You Sell Features

Bottom line, selling features is easier. Features are the visible things you see about products and services. Features are the things you see, touch, feel and smell.

Selling features is your self-interest. The products and services are your life-blood. You live with them every day. You know them inside and out. You love talking about them!

Identifying the benefits each customer wants it tough work. Customers are unique. Each buys for his or her own reason. It is easier to talk about common product features rather than uncover unique customer benefits.

Your Five Minute Exercise to More Sales!

The five minute exercise is called “SO WHAT.” When you complete this exercise, you will change your from selling product features to selling customer benefits. Remember, customer benefits are what sell! Here is how it works.

You create a five minute dialogue between a pretend customer and yourself. It’s important to speak this conversation out loud. Start with one of your most popular business features. Explain the feature to your pretend customer. Then listen as the customer says, “so what?” Now answer the customer’s so what question. Then listen as the customer says, “so what?” to your response. Again answer the customer’s so what question. The customer again responds with a “so what” question. Keep doing this dialogue until the customer no longer asks you a “so what?” question.

Now, you have identified a customer benefit!

Check Out This Example

This is how an insurance agent used the exercise. I asked him, “What distinguishes you from other agents?” He told me, “I find the cheapest and best policy for my customers.” I responded, “So what?”

He said, “Well, unlike other agents, I customize each policy for my customer.” I said, “So what”.

He answered, “As part of my program, I promise to keep my customer informed about any policies changes that may benefit them in the future. “ I asked “So what”.

He responded, “The customer has the security of knowing that they have the best program and best costs for their insurance.” I said, “So you are guaranteeing me that I can go to bed at night and not worry that I am paying too much for my insurance?”

“Exactly,” he exclaimed, “That is the security I provide each customer with my insurance program!”

By using the SO WHAT exercise, the agent moved from selling the “cheapest rates” (business feature) to providing the customer the security of knowing he will always have the best rates (customer benefit).

Which agent would you buy from; the one with the cheapest rate or the one that provided you with security about your rate and policy?

Conclusion

Now, you have a simple way to make more money by improving your sales at no additional costs! Use the SO WHAT dialogue with each of your business features and start selling customer benefits. For a special report that shows how the five critical pieces work together in getting more customers for your business, Send an email to al@hanzal.com with subject line, “Special Report.”

Copyright Al Hanzal, 2004. All Rights Reserved

About The Author


Customers have been using Al Hanzal's materials to improve their sales and marketing skills.

al@hanzal.com

Drivers Of Change

Five Drivers Of Change!
By: Roger Gauthier




The huge Tsunami that hammered the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in 2004 gave no warning.

Many were on the beaches and casually going about their day unaware that a deep sea earthquake had sent a shockwave that sent billions of tons of water racing toward the shores of the Indian Ocean at 500 MPH.

It was too late when those on the beach looked up and saw the wave that was so large that they had no time to escape. There was no warning.

We are facing a Tsunami of Change of even greater proportions in business. The drivers of change are forcing business leaders and individuals to rethink their strategic plans.

At Tri-Vision Global http://wwwTriVisionGlobal.com , we have been working on some projects related to strategic business development. This has forced us to think long-term. The data on the changes that are about to break onto the shore of the business world will create massive changes in the business environment.

These changes can have a disastrous impact on your business; or, they can create gigantic opportunities.

Here is the short list of five major drivers of change in today's business environment.

Changing Marketplace Trends

1) Entrepreneurial Workforce

45 million Americans own a business. That is 20% of the workforce. Americans are now entrepreneurial in their career perspective. They are more mobile and likely to change jobs or careers rapidly based on their circumstances and individual motivating factors. Loyalty to employers is minimal. Consider the cost associated with searching, screening, hiring, training and supporting an individual before ever realizing any return on investment from that person in their job function. Ask any CFO or senior human resource manager and they can tell you exactly how this issue impacts the bottom-line.

2) The Internet Age

The changes occurring in the way people live as a result of the Internet is only beginning. In most domains of human activity, massive paradigm shifts are being generated by this disruptive technology. 80% of all purchases in the U.S. start with an Internet search! The democratization of the music, film, and broadcasting industries is allowing both producers and consumers of content to bypass media centers to get what they want.

Major producers of big ticket products are scrambling to devise Internet strategies. Web developers are working overtime to meet the demands of rapidly changing business models.

3) Baby Boomer Exodus

The most notable pressure is the retirement exodus of the Baby Boomer generation. This group represents over seventy million people in the American workforce today that are entering retirement age between now and 2015. For some job classifications, over 50% of the work force is expected to retire within the next twelve months! While skills can be taught, the life experience of someone who has spent years in an industry or company and weathered multiple business cycles and market shifts isn't knowledge that is easily replaced or transferred. This will result in a huge deficit in skilled workers, wage inflation, and diminishing productivity.

4) Workforce Retention

Another catalytic trend emerging is the concept of "blending" one's professional and personal life. Americans by far put in more hours on the job than any other industrialized nation. The next generations of workers are much more interested in balanced living between their careers and personal interest, thereby challenging employers to think more holistically in developing their human resources strategies. You can only automate and outsource to a certain degree. Eventually, all organizations succeed or fail based on the quality of their people. In the twenty-first century people are interested in significance and lifestyle. Knowing what workers want and need will become even more important in the years ahead. This challenges organizations to seriously consider their employee hiring, development and retention strategies especially as the pool of talent becomes shallower.

"People are the greatest asset to any organization"

5) Globalization and competition

Here in the West, we seldom practice the art of long-term thinking. Everything is about how fast we can make things happen. We focus on short term gains that can allow us to flip to the next bigger better deal. However that isn't how our global competitors think. China, India and others are becoming economic super powers because their strategic thinking is fifty years or more down the road.

Japan's Toyota Motor Company is arguably the biggest automotive manufacturer in the world. That didn't just happen in the last few years, it was part of the vision they cast over forty years ago and they have stayed the course.

The companies that prepare themselves for the changes coming regarding these five trends will be positioned to take advantage of them better than their competition. Change management can no longer be reactive and passive, dealing with problems of change as they are required. Business leaders must learn to be to proactive in planning for the changes.

Human resources, marketing and sales divisions must be transformational in their planning regarding these trends.

These changes also imply that individuals should examine their future plans. What skills can you develop in an Internet-driven world that will make your visits to the bank be for deposits rather than withdrawals? What do you need to learn about the Internet that will position you well for the future? As Boomers retire, those who don't can be in demand if they have the skills and maturity that businesses will need. If you don't want to retire, how can you position yourself to be at the forefront of that demand? How can you start an Internet-based business that does not require all of your time? Is there a business you can start that will serve the changing human resource needs of businesses?

Rapid change creates danger and opportunity. The Chinese character for both words is the same. The meaning depends upon the context of where it appears. That there will be massive changes in the business environment during the next few years cannot be questioned. The dangers are severe, but the opportunities are numerous. What will you do to position your business and yourself for those changes?

This article is produced by Tri Vision Global, Inc. - TVG (http://www.TriVisionGlobal.com) TVG is a Jacksonville, Florida based firm that provides business optimization, planning, training and Internet services globally. CREDITS: Contributing authors are Steve Chelette of the Gumbo Group, Roger Gauthier and Dr. Larry D. Pate of TVG.

For further information about TVG contact media relations at press@trivisionglobal.com or 888.367.9461

PERMISSIONS: Article may be copied & reproduced, but must be published in entirety, including credits & permissions.



About The Author

Roger Gauthier

The TVG team is comprised of partners and TVG leadership. It includes Steve Chelette, Founder of the Gumbo Group, Dr. Larry Pate, CEO Bridging Peoples Consulting, & Roger Gauthier, CEO Tri-Vision Global.