Thaw Spend Freeze

I suspect that virtually all of us are experiencing that the credit crunch is biting.  I had a couple of cheekies after stumps with a pal of mine Thursday night who’s responsibilities include managing financial risk and reducing borrowing costs for one of the most well-known global luxury retail brands.  We got to talking about what needed to happen to bring back the sunshine.

He gave me a fascinating insight into the decrees being cascaded throughout his organisation concerning purchases.

In general, there is no authority for new expenditure.  Hardly news for the typical solution salesrep there.

This though is news.  Anything where a process improvement is touted is to be ignored.  So, claiming you’ll shave or slash time from a process will get you nowhere.  The exceptions are twofold; equate an improvement to the direct and instant cutting of a ‘head’, or provide a tangible (ie: raw hard cash only) payback in less than just a couple of months.

And as a final pointer, if you really want to gain traction, offer an evaluation period as a deal-maker.

These tip-offs have certainly made me rethink about how I can get my own foot inside new doors.