Fluent Essays

A.ORGANIZATION draft (See page 234- 239).: a.KEY PERSONNEL (Title, Role, Responsibilities, Reports to)- Should agree with Organization Chart from previous week. I attached the previous work but the last file  Well, I guess that based on the business plan draft what type of employees will this business have? what will be their roles and responsabilities Homework Assignment No. 4 Due 9/22/2020, by 12 Noon via Blackboard messages Instructions: Submit all the following via Blackboard messages in a single Word document. Submit with “ Homework Assignment No. 4 ” in the Subject line of your email. Typical Attachment File name: “Your Name, Homework No. 4, Date Submitted” (Due 9/22/2020, by 12 Noon) A. (10 Points) Business Plan Assignment: Business Plan: The MARKET draft See page 234- 239). Executive Summary Mission: Become a multinational corporation producing organic beverages suitable for athletes' health. Problem Summary: Obesity is taking a course in the athletic industry. Extreme weight gain is caused by excess consumption of chemicals from sugar drinks used to boost the athlete's energy. There is a need to duel in energy drinks with low or zero sugar content.  Solution Summary: Salutem produces nutritious and organic energy drinks that will help lower your weight. From a fine distillery, the beverage ensures you have the full strength for maximum output. Market The current consumer is driven by health in determining their type of food. The organic drink produced by Salutem provides all the quality required by athletes. Consumers prefer organic beverages and foods. Competition There are many companies in the United States currently producing energy drinks and have dominated the market. Such companies will be challenging, mainly making products in the same market. Why us? We seek to provide you with organic beverages while offering after-sales customer services. Expectation The company's value proposition is that we offer a healthy organic drink that is carefully packed in eco-friendly bottles and cans at an affordable price to help you live a healthier and wholesome lifestyle. B. (20 Points) Review the Chapter 7 Mini-Case: “Analyzing to Find a Path Forward” (P. 218) and answer the following questions: a. Considering the Porter Model, from what sectors would Ronnie’s competitors be coming? What kinds of threats do they pose to his business? The new entrant is probably the sector where competitors would come from, especially those in the same constraint Ronnie. In this case, they are capable of offering low prices. Low prices are a competitive threat to his business, as it may result in a business shutdown. b. Pick two tactics from the list in Exhibit 7.3 and explain how they could be applied to Ronnie’s business. Explain why you think those tactics would work. Ronnie could use a ‘new product introduction’ with the finest quality through differentiating from his competitors. Using tactical action, Ronnie could use the ‘product/service’ by offering a suggested more extended warranty, which could improve the market. When the two actions are combined, quality is improved, allowing him to find a market niche where customers value products based on quality and not its cost. c. Industry experts say that SEO is an industry on the rise. What are the implications for Ronnie as he plans to run his business? ‘SEO is an industry on the rise’ insinuates that there is a market providing him with an opportunity to grow despite the competition (Katz and Green, 2017). Staying in the market would be an excellent deal for Ronnie, and he should focus more on markets that value the quality of products sold. Furthermore, customers are likely to increase when they are pleased with what their money has bought. C. (20 Points) You Tube Assignment : View the following You Tube Video: “What Successful Entrepreneurs Know”: Amy Wilkinson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86unGITRPLs). a. Outline 1. Building successful business requires time and hard work. 2. Anyone can create and scale new ideas. 3. The six skills of extraordinary entrepreneurs a) Spot the gap (be curious and ask questions to spot something) solve your own problems. b) Drive for daylight (focus more on what is important ahead of you without weighing what you have done) c) Fly the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, decide, and act) Move through the transition faster – learn faster. d) Fail wisely (Be smart because you can’t have a perfect record) Try things to know which will not work and learn from them. e) Network minds (pull bright minds towards you to help build a solution) encourage a cognitive diversity in your workplace to unlock solutions. f) Gifting small goods (exchange small favors, small kindness) figure out a way to be helpful to others to be more productive. You will build big things because you know how hard it is. b. Summarize (minimum 300 words) In the video ‘What successful entrepreneurs know’ Amy Wilkinson outlines that building a successful business takes a lot of effort and quite some time with consistent hard work. Amy adds that anyone can create and scale new ideas because it is a skill in every person – a fundamental human ability to create something. Anyone can think of new ideas and use them to find a solution (Wilkinson, 2017). Extraordinary entrepreneurs have six vital skills. Amy asserts that extraordinary entrepreneurs always spots a gap. A gap cannot be spotted without proper research. It is your responsibility to be curious enough and ask questions to spot gaps. This could help you solve your problems. The second skill is to fly the daylight. An entrepreneur should focus more on what is essential and ahead of you without looking back at what is already completed. The focus gives you more boost to complete task two or three times than usual. The third skill is to Fly the OODA Loop. You have to move quickly with the current market changes. Be someone that observes, orients, decides and acts when a solution is spotted. The idea is to learn faster. The fourth skill is to fail wisely. It is essential to be smart because it is quite impossible to develop a perfect record. Learn from failures incurred when trying out ideas. You will probably know ways that will not work if you fail and learn from them. The fifth skill is to Network Minds. A team mindset yields more result than a single person. Pull bright minds together to build solutions. It would be a great idea to encourage cognitive diversity in your workplace in unlocking solutions. The last skill is to Gift small goods. Exchanging favors, and small kindness will help you build binger things because you will know how hard it is to get there. References Wilkinson, A., 2017. What Successful Entrepreneurs Know. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86unGITRPLs> [Accessed 21 September 2020]. D. (50 Points) Chapter Essay Questions : Answer the following Essay Questions. Be as detailed as possible. INCLUDE THE PAGE NUMBERS IN YOUR ANSWERS! E. Chapter 7: 1. What is meant by industry analysis? How does industry analysis help an individual in the strategy process? Industry analysis (IA) is a research process that provides the entrepreneur with key information about the industry. Entrepreneurs do an IA to find out what the profits are in an industry in order to better estimate possible financial returns. Finding out how those profits are generated often makes the difference between success and failure because the entrepreneur can tell if the industry is growing, stable, or in decline and what the degree of competition is. It can also help them determine if they have or can get the expertise needed to run a profitable business. (Pg.207) 2. Name and describe the different types of generic strategies.  Differentiation, cost, and focus. Differentiation strategies; entrepreneurs try to show how their firms offer some value benefits that are different and better than the ones offered by competitors. Cost strategy, try to show how their firms offer cost benefits that appeal to the customer. Focus strategies target a portion of the market, called a segment or niche. (Pg. 210) Small businesses identify a focus or combination strategy by figuring out what benefits the market most wants. Then, they use differentiation or cost approaches that are reformulated for the niche market. 3. Describe Michael Porter's Five-Forces Model of industry competition. Why is it important to pay attention to these five forces of competition?  There are two sources of competition: supply chain, and from within the industry. The supply chain includes suppliers and buyers. The industry sources come from existing competitors, other start-ups business, and the other alternatives or substitutes; customers have been using instead of your product. Rival are direct competition, substitutes and alternatives are indirect competition. These can change the profitability. (Pg. 214) 4. What is an entry wedge? Explain any five of the entry wedges. Entry wedge is an opportunity that makes it possible for a new business to gain a foothold in a market. Customer contracting: Occurs when a customer, often a business, is willing to sign a contract with a small business to ensure a product or service. Second sourcing: seeks out customers who are already being serviced by another firm offering customers a second place to obtain goods or services. Market relinquishment: Market relinquishment occurs when business firms leave a market. Supply shortages: When a new product is in demand and buyers are willing to pay a premium to be the first to have the product. Unutilized resources: can be a physical or a human resource. The key benefits are lower costs, scale savings, or organizational practices. (Pg.212) 5. Differentiate between strategic actions and tactical actions. Strategic actions are competitive responses requiring a major commitment of resources. Examples of strategic actions are: entering new markets, new product introductions, changing production capacity, and mergers or alliances. Tactical actions are competitive responses with low resource requirements. Examples of tactical actions are: price cutting (or increases), product or service enhancements, increased marketing efforts, and new distribution channels. (Pg.214-215) Chapter 8: 1. Explain the market section of a classic business plan. The market section talks about your customers—who they are and what they are like, who else is pursuing them, and how you plan to get or keep your customers. Market and Target Customer: Refers to the people or firms you plan to sell. The target customer section focuses attention on the individual who would buy your product or service, how often they buy, their past experience with your kind of product or service, and what they are looking for when buying your product or service. Competition and Competitive Advantage: It identifies the major competitors for your market by name and location, price, competitive strength, and competitive weakness. Marketing Strategy: Focuses on three ideas: (1) The overall strategy your firm pursues, (2) the sales plan that shows the specific ways you apply strategy to secure sales from your customers, and (3) the longer-term competitive plan that shows how you protect your firm of the competition. (Pg.235) 2. Explain the financial components of a business plan. The one-page financial summary section starts with a paragraph showing the overall financial results. It is followed by "The Ask," which is what you are seeking from others. Projections then follows as the central component of the Appendix. The financial statements expected include: (1) income statements and its assumptions, (2) cash flow and its assumptions, and (3) balance sheet and its assumptions. For start-up businesses, it is also common to include a listing of the expenses incurred in the start-up process. For an existing business, the financials report the last two years of actual data, and then offer three-year projections for the income, cash flow, and balance sheet. (Pg.238-239) 3. Explain the different types of special-purpose plans. There are seven other special-purpose types of plan: Screening plan: Also called a mini-plan, it gives the basic overview of the firm and a detailed look at the financials. Informational plans: Give potential customers or suppliers information about the company. Key employee/partner plan: Provides information on the company, product/service, market, and critical risks to prospective business or marketing partners Invention plan: A business plan that provides information to potential licensees. Operational plan: Business plans designed to be used internally for management purposes. Private placement memorandum: A specialized legal form of business plan crafted by lawyers. (Pg.244) 4. Discuss some of the common critical risks in a business plan. Every business face risk in the real world, so every business plan needs to spend some time addressing them. 1. Experience deficits: experience in the line of business, the industry, managing? Have it or find it. 2. Numbers that are wrong: Examples include balance sheets that do not balance 3. Inadequate cushion: The number one killer of young firms is, not enough money. Having enough cash to survive three months goes a long way to avoiding this risk. 4. Inadequate payback: Any plan that does not clearly specify the key paybacks will fail to sell them on the idea. 5. Narrative and financials do not fit: If you have a plan that calls for a large marketing campaign, but financials do not show costs for one, there is a problem. reader. (Pg.247) 5. Explain the key factors that an influential person looks for in a business plan pitch. Passion for the business, expertise about the business and the plan, how professional you are in your work, and how easy it would be to work with you. Passion for the business: Do not read. Help listeners understand why you are excited about the business. Expertise about the business and the plan: Practice answering questions about the plan. Be ready to explain where you get your numbers and ideas. How professional you are in your work: Your plan should look professionally done, neat and orderly, with perfect spelling and grammar. Make sure you know the names of all the people in the room, and their position, so if there is a part of the plan you think might be of interest to them, you can mention it. How easy it would be to work with you: Use eye contact, use peoples' names, smile, and be honest. (Pg.250) Homework Assignment No. 5 Due 9/29/2020 by 12 Noon via Blackboard messages Instructions: Submit all the following via Blackboard messages in a single Word document; Submit with “ Homework Assignment No. 5 ” in the Subject line of your email. Typical Attachment File name: “Your Name, Homework No. 5, Date Submitted” (Due 9/29/2020, by 12 Noon) A. (10 Points) Business Plan Assignment: Business Plan: The MARKET draft (See page 234- 239) a. Strategy: B. (20 Points) Review the Chapter 9 Mini-Case: “YAK Milk” (P. 312) and answer the following questions: a. How did Dongzhou Gongbu “discover” the new product? b. What was the “total product”? c. Who do you imagine is the target market for Yak milk? Why? d. How might he use this in advertising? e. Can you think of another product that is basically the same as the competition and has been positioned much differently to command a higher price? C. (20 Points) You Tube Assignment : View the following You Tube Video: “Robert Kiyosaki 2019 - The Speech That Broke the Internet!!! KEEP THEM POOR!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azq0S0DKS50) a. Outline b. Summarize (minimum 300 words) c. ANSWER THE QUESTION …”Do you believe/accept his premise?” Question A: Business Plan Assignment Strategy A strategy for marketing is an action plan that a business creates to achieve an overall aim. For instance, a marketing strategy entails an action plan for marketing a particular product that a firm seeks to achieve profitability by enhancing more sales for a specific product (Katz & Green, 2018). The overall strategy that my firm pursues in the market entails using a promotional method. The firm will employ promotional activities to encourage a large customer following and engaging in corporate social responsibility activities to improve its reputation. To secure sales from the customers, my business will promote products on their large quantities to influence customers' buying behavior. They will be more motivated to buy when they know they are getting a gift on the particular product. The long-term competitive plan that shows we protect our firm from the competition's efforts to unseat it includes building a unique brand to stand out from the competition. Another method entail being customer-oriented because the firm considers the customers' opinions and understands what customers like through their purchasing behavior. The data then gets used in production to meet the needs of the customers. Participating in corporate social responsibility activities like helping the community during times of crisis and giving back to the community by creating opportunities for employment for the community members helps build trust to retain customers while acquiring new ones. Question B: Review the Chapter 9 Mini-Case: “YAK Milk” How did Dongzhou Gongbu “discover” the new product? Dongzhou Gongbu ‘discovered’ the new product by consulting a specialist and discovering the features of Yak milk that make it stand out from the other products in the market, and what makes it different from cow milk or any other milk (Katz & Green, 2018). He then capitalized on these features, which included the fact that despite Yak Milk being expensive, the various features like its nutritional content make it an alternative that is healthy for other products in the market. The Yak is an animal of low maintenance as they need no feed and survive in the harsh climate. Total product The overall output quantity that a firm produces is usually specified according to a variable input, which is where the analysis of short-run production begins. The amounts of Yak milk that get produced are lesser than those produced by the dairy cattle, which could be due to the fact that they don't need feed and the harsh climatic conditions within which they survive. Its nutritional components make Yak milk expensive as it is on high demand for individuals seeking an alternative to other products like cow milk. The target market for Yak Milk. Why? I think that the market targeted for the Yak market is individuals seeking a more nutritional product that could serve as an alternative for milk from the cow. China is also a target market for Yak Milk as it intends to use it to eradicate poverty in various parts of the country. It is rich in butter content and used in the production of products like yogurt, cheese, and butter, which makes it perfect for a population of young people at their developmental stages of life. The herders in the native Himalayas are also a significant target market that tends to consume as many as 40 cups on a daily basis. The Himalayas also use comfort butter tea often, and thus, they constitute a significant target market for the Yak Milk. How this may be used in advertising Dongzhou Gongbu can use the various elements of Yak Milk in advertising by informing the target market of the multiple benefits of Yak Milk. Telling the public of the nutritional benefits that Yak Milk has can enhance customer curiosity and make them want to explore this rare product. When the public hears of the intention of a country to use the milk to eliminate poverty, their interest in the product will be enhanced as more countries will be interested in using the same product for a similar purpose. Another product that is basically the same as the competition and has been positioned much differently to command a higher price? Another product that is basically the same as the competition, which in this case is cow milk, is camel milk. I can think of camel milk because despite being comparable to milk from the cow in terms of calories, carb content, and protein, milk from camels contains nutrients that are important for a person's overall health and has been established to be more nutritious than cow milk in the sense that it offers more of vitamin C and B vitamins due to its low-fat saturation. Camel milk also contains more potassium, iron, and calcium, adding to its nutritional content. Question C: “Robert Kiyosaki 2019 - The Speech That Broke the Internet!!! KEEP THEM POOR!” Outline Reasons people are and remain rich Reasons people are and remain poor Why schools don’t teach about money School system designed to create employees Importance of fundamental attitude Attitude as the determination of success Summary In his life-changing speech that broke the internet, Robert Kiyosaki talks about the reasons why people that are rich stay rich and those that are poor remain poor. He talks about how he learned about money from his "rich" dad, who was his friend's father, and from his "poor" dad, who was his father (Kiyosaki, 2019). With his father being the head of education, he explained why schools don't teach about money, yet in his opinion, the purpose of education is to get a job, and the goal of getting a job is to earn money. This makes him wonder why schools don't teach about money, which his father responded that the schools taught what the government let them. Robert learned about money from playing monopoly with his father. His father advised that one of the ways of getting money entails playing a monopoly in real-life where assets that have been acquired become assets that are bigger. Robert states that rich, poor, poverty, middle class begins with a fundamental attitude. Poverty, middle class, among others, get passed on in the family. He states that the design of the school system is created to teach people to become employees and never teaches about money. It is essential for one to know things that are not taught in school like finances. Robert argues that most teachers in schools are out of ethics that are required in the sense that they teach subjects that they themselves do not practice, which makes it impossible for them to equip the students with the necessary knowledge. They mostly teach subjects because they get paid to teach and don't practice. According to him, therefore, most teachers in schools are fake because they teach things they don't do. One becomes what they say they are, which means that the attitude that one has is what determines success. Whether I accept his premise I accept Robert Kiyosaki's sentiments that while school is meant for one to be able to get a job, and the job for the generation of money, it does not make sense why schools fail to teach about money. I also agree that most teachers in schools engage in teaching subjects that they do not practice for the purpose of getting paid and not that the topics are of any benefit to the students. It is critical that young people find their game to obtain what they desire in life in terms of money. The systems of education are structured in such a way that sometimes students end up learning things that they will not apply or benefit from in real life. References Katz, J. A., & Green, R. P. (2018). Entrepreneurial small business. McGraw-Hill Education. Kiyosaki, R. (2019). The Speech That Broke The Internet!!! KEEP THEM POOR! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azq0S0DKS50 D. (50 Points) Chapter Essay Questions : Answer the following Essay Questions. Be as detailed as possible. INCLUDE THE PAGE NUMBERS IN YOUR ANSWERS! Chapter 9: 1. Differentiate between customer roles and profiles, and state how developing these helps the young entrepreneur define their target market. The customer roles refer to the roles tied into buying and using products or services. When you buy it yourself and for yourself, you are the end user, and the purchaser. When you buy a product for someone else, you are the purchaser, but the end user is the person receiving the product. Another role are influencers, people with the ability to make recommendations to other people in any of the other roles. Understanding these roles is essential to understanding who your customer is. With customer profiles, the most important initial piece of information for the start-up is understanding at a deep level what the customer is like. Face-to-face interviews with people identified as potential customers with the goal to get an unbiased sense of the ways they thing about dealing with the issue your product or service helps resolve or improve. Then with these interview answers and the demographics you can build one or more customer profiles. The point of identifying the customer roles and building the customer profile is to help you clarify who would be the best customer for your business (your target market). (Pg.279-280) 2. Name and define the two major categories of marketing research. Provide examples for each category. Primary research and secondary research. Primary research is an approach to researching based on the gathering of new information, using techniques such as interviewing, surveying, and observation to answer a specific marketing question. Examples include the interviews you performed creating the customer profile. Other techniques include observation, focus groups, and surveying. Secondary research is an approach to researching based on the use of existing information, often from government, commercial or academic databases and research efforts often gathered for some other reason than your specific question, but can be just as useful. The challenge in secondary analysis is finding good data. (Pg.285) 3. Describe how to construct a value proposition and state the importance of the value proposition. What is the difference between a benefit and a feature of your product? Create a value proposition for your business by replacing the text in parentheses as it reflects to your product, market, and strategy. For (target customer) Who (statement of the need or opportunity) The (business name) is a (product or service category) That (statement of key benefit- that is, compelling reason to buy/purchase) Unlike (primary competitive alternative) Our business (statement of primary differentiation) Is available (where) The goal of the value proposition is to create and occupy a space inside the target customer's head. A feature of your product is a specific aspect that is unique. Customers buy a product or service because of the benefits they get from using your offering to get their job done. (Pg. 292-295) 4. Outline the importance of marketing and tell why a marketing plan is important for both start-up firms and established organizations. Marketing is one of the basic building blocks for your business plan and your road map to what you want to do. Successful businesses are constantly tweaking their marketing to accommodate necessary adjustments found during evaluation and control reviews. For start-ups, they help define how the firm will build its brand and relationship with customers. For established businesses, the marketing plan becomes a key step in imagining how a firm might reposition itself and maintain its most important relationship, the one it has with customers. (Pg. 296) 5. Describe the four stages of the product life cycle and explain how companies market each stage of their products. The four stages of the product life cycle are the introduction stage, the growth stage, the maturity stage, and the decline stage. The introduction stage is when new products are introduced to the larger market. During the introduction stage, from a marketing standpoint, the more innovative the product, the slower the sales, because fewer customers are comfortable with such products. During the growth stage, acceptance of the product increases rapidly. Prices tend to drop as production becomes more efficient and competition increases. From a marketing standpoint, consumers are aware of your product and know how it will make their lives better. Once the rapid growth begins to slow down, the product enters the maturity stage. Promotions such as coupons, rebates, or multipacks flourish during this stage. A product may stay in the maturity stage for a long period of time. Once a product begins its permanent decline, this decline can be slow or fast, stead or unsteady. Both sales and profits fall during this stage. Advertising and promotion expenses are usually nearly eliminated at this point. Some products' decline is permanent. (Pg. 306-308) Chapter 10: 1. State why sales forecasts are important and Identify the sales forecasting methods outlined in the text. Sales forecasting is important because they will feed directly into your financial projections. Sales determine your profitability and, ultimately, whether you will stay in business or not. Sales projections are also the basis for estimating how much money you will generate in the future. Estimate the time it will take you to sell your inventory based on the length of time it took others to sell a single similar item. If you have a product and service tied together, such as laying sod for new lawns, you can estimate the total market by looking at projected new homes being built in your area. If you are opening a restaurant, you need to find the number of potential customers within you market that fit within your seating capacity. You also need to consider your hit rate, or how many prospects you need to approach in order to make one sale. (Pg. 356) 2. What are the different steps involved in the process of personal selling? Personal selling is the process in which a business owner sells his products and service; it includes prospect and evaluate, prepare, present, close, and follow-up. 1. Prospect and evaluate: Thoroughly knowing the target market are key and critical. Customers may prospect themselves by asking for more information or responding to a direct mail advertisement. Business owners may buy mailing lists of prospective clients as well. 2. Prepare: Preparation means finding out about the clients before approaching them. At the end of this phase, the initial contact is made or the appointment is set up. 3. Present: During the presentation phase, the salesperson presents a logical and compelling argument for purchasing the product. Most salespeople emphasize the needs or wants their product can satisfy. Close: Customers nearly always have objections and the good salesperson is prepared to answer these objections. Once the material has been presented and the objections answered, the salesperson needs to close the sale. The close is the commitment from the customer. 5. Follow-up: Finally, the close is not the end of the sale. The important objective of follow-up is to make the customer feel at ease. (Pg. 347) 3. What is customer relationship management (CRM)? What are the different strategies of CRM? The name for the general approach to keeping customers is called customer retention (CM). CM focuses on satisfying customers after the sale, and managing the marketing efforts of a business with the customers to maximize their loyalty to and purchases from the business. There are two major elements to CM. One is handling problems that crop up after a sale, and the other called customer relationship management (CRM), which focuses on identifying customers and their purchases, and managing a business owner's marketing efforts with customers to maximize their loyalty to and purchases from the business owner's business. The strategies behind CRM depend on what kind of customer business owners are seeking—new or existing and what they are trying to sell them—a new product or one they already have. These variables lead to four approaches. Selling the same products to the same customers is called a market penetration approach, while selling the same customers a new product is called product expansion. If business owners are looking at people who have not been customers, they might seek a market expansion strategy to sell their existing products to them, or a diversification strategy if they are trying to sell newly developed products. (Pg.350) 4. What are the two steps in customer relationship management (CRM)? What is the goal of these two steps and how do you know your CRM effort is working? The steps involved in customer relationship management (CRM) are: (1) Gathering the data, and (2) Analyzing the data. Gathering the Data: The key to CRM is the data on current or prospective customers. Given the power of repeat selling, the most valuable data comes from the existing customers. For all existing customers there are two kinds of data—contact data and performance data. Analyzing the data: Lets business owners summarize information by date, by product or service being sold, by groups of customers, or by the purchases of an individual person or firm. Reports such as this can help business owners decide how to operate several key aspects of your marketing effort. The goal of all this data gathering and analysis is to increase your sales and help make your marketing efforts as economical as possible. The proof of a CRM effort is seen in (1) higher levels of customer loyalty in existing customers, (2) higher levels of purchasing from existing customers, and (3) more tracked prospects making initial purchases from a business owner. (Pg. 352) 5. Differentiate between follow-through and follow-up. Fundamentally, the keys to customer service are follow-through and follow-up. Follow-through refers to business owners doing what they said they would do. If a customer mentions a concern or problem, business owner will try to fix it. If business owners remember to keep up their customer relationship management (CRM) database, a good CRM system will remind them of the promises they have made. Follow-up refers to the contacts business owners periodically make with customers in order to remind them of their business, and their interest in the customers' business. This can be done through personal contacts by phone, mail, or personal visits, although increasingly contact is done electronically through e-mails, electronic newsletters, discussion lists, or interactive web services like blogs or wikis. (Pg. 354) Homework Assignment No. 5 Due 9/29/2020 by 12 Noon via Blackboard messages Instructions: Submit all the following via Blackboard messages in a single Word document; Submit with “ Homework Assignment No. 5 ” in the Subject line of your email. Typical Attachment File name: “Your Name, Homework No. 5, Date Submitted” (Due 9/29/2020, by 12 Noon) A. (10 Points) Business Plan Assignment: Business Plan: The MARKET draft (See page 234- 239) a. Strategy: B. (20 Points) Review the Chapter 9 Mini-Case: “YAK Milk” (P. 312) and answer the following questions: a. How did Dongzhou Gongbu “discover” the new product? b. What was the “total product”? c. Who do you imagine is the target market for Yak milk? Why? d. How might he use this in advertising? e. Can you think of another product that is basically the same as the competition and has been positioned much differently to command a higher price? C. (20 Points) You Tube Assignment : View the following You Tube Video: “Robert Kiyosaki 2019 - The Speech That Broke the Internet!!! KEEP THEM POOR!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azq0S0DKS50) a. Outline b. Summarize (minimum 300 words) c. ANSWER THE QUESTION …”Do you believe/accept his premise?” Question A: Business Plan Assignment Strategy A strategy for marketing is an action plan that a business creates to achieve an overall aim. For instance, a marketing strategy entails an action plan for marketing a particular product that a firm seeks to achieve profitability by enhancing more sales for a specific product (Katz & Green, 2018). The overall strategy that my firm pursues in the market entails using a promotional method. The firm will employ promotional activities to encourage a large customer following and engaging in corporate social responsibility activities to improve its reputation. To secure sales from the customers, my business will promote products on their large quantities to influence customers' buying behavior. They will be more motivated to buy when they know they are getting a gift on the particular product. The long-term competitive plan that shows we protect our firm from the competition's efforts to unseat it includes building a unique brand to stand out from the competition. Another method entail being customer-oriented because the firm considers the customers' opinions and understands what customers like through their purchasing behavior. The data then gets used in production to meet the needs of the customers. Participating in corporate social responsibility activities like helping the community during times of crisis and giving back to the community by creating opportunities for employment for the community members helps build trust to retain customers while acquiring new ones. Question B: Review the Chapter 9 Mini-Case: “YAK Milk” How did Dongzhou Gongbu “discover” the new product? Dongzhou Gongbu ‘discovered’ the new product by consulting a specialist and discovering the features of Yak milk that make it stand out from the other products in the market, and what makes it different from cow milk or any other milk (Katz & Green, 2018). He then capitalized on these features, which included the fact that despite Yak Milk being expensive, the various features like its nutritional content make it an alternative that is healthy for other products in the market. The Yak is an animal of low maintenance as they need no feed and survive in the harsh climate. Total product The overall output quantity that a firm produces is usually specified according to a variable input, which is where the analysis of short-run production begins. The amounts of Yak milk that get produced are lesser than those produced by the dairy cattle, which could be due to the fact that they don't need feed and the harsh climatic conditions within which they survive. Its nutritional components make Yak milk expensive as it is on high demand for individuals seeking an alternative to other products like cow milk. The target market for Yak Milk. Why? I think that the market targeted for the Yak market is individuals seeking a more nutritional product that could serve as an alternative for milk from the cow. China is also a target market for Yak Milk as it intends to use it to eradicate poverty in various parts of the country. It is rich in butter content and used in the production of products like yogurt, cheese, and butter, which makes it perfect for a population of young people at their developmental stages of life. The herders in the native Himalayas are also a significant target market that tends to consume as many as 40 cups on a daily basis. The Himalayas also use comfort butter tea often, and thus, they constitute a significant target market for the Yak Milk. How this may be used in advertising Dongzhou Gongbu can use the various elements of Yak Milk in advertising by informing the target market of the multiple benefits of Yak Milk. Telling the public of the nutritional benefits that Yak Milk has can enhance customer curiosity and make them want to explore this rare product. When the public hears of the intention of a country to use the milk to eliminate poverty, their interest in the product will be enhanced as more countries will be interested in using the same product for a similar purpose. Another product that is basically the same as the competition and has been positioned much differently to command a higher price? Another product that is basically the same as the competition, which in this case is cow milk, is camel milk. I can think of camel milk because despite being comparable to milk from the cow in terms of calories, carb content, and protein, milk from camels contains nutrients that are important for a person's overall health and has been established to be more nutritious than cow milk in the sense that it offers more of vitamin C and B vitamins due to its low-fat saturation. Camel milk also contains more potassium, iron, and calcium, adding to its nutritional content. Question C: “Robert Kiyosaki 2019 - The Speech That Broke the Internet!!! KEEP THEM POOR!” Outline Reasons people are and remain rich Reasons people are and remain poor Why schools don’t teach about money School system designed to create employees Importance of fundamental attitude Attitude as the determination of success Summary In his life-changing speech that broke the internet, Robert Kiyosaki talks about the reasons why people that are rich stay rich and those that are poor remain poor. He talks about how he learned about money from his "rich" dad, who was his friend's father, and from his "poor" dad, who was his father (Kiyosaki, 2019). With his father being the head of education, he explained why schools don't teach about money, yet in his opinion, the purpose of education is to get a job, and the goal of getting a job is to earn money. This makes him wonder why schools don't teach about money, which his father responded that the schools taught what the government let them. Robert learned about money from playing monopoly with his father. His father advised that one of the ways of getting money entails playing a monopoly in real-life where assets that have been acquired become assets that are bigger. Robert states that rich, poor, poverty, middle class begins with a fundamental attitude. Poverty, middle class, among others, get passed on in the family. He states that the design of the school system is created to teach people to become employees and never teaches about money. It is essential for one to know things that are not taught in school like finances. Robert argues that most teachers in schools are out of ethics that are required in the sense that they teach subjects that they themselves do not practice, which makes it impossible for them to equip the students with the necessary knowledge. They mostly teach subjects because they get paid to teach and don't practice. According to him, therefore, most teachers in schools are fake because they teach things they don't do. One becomes what they say they are, which means that the attitude that one has is what determines success. Whether I accept his premise I accept Robert Kiyosaki's sentiments that while school is meant for one to be able to get a job, and the job for the generation of money, it does not make sense why schools fail to teach about money. I also agree that most teachers in schools engage in teaching subjects that they do not practice for the purpose of getting paid and not that the topics are of any benefit to the students. It is critical that young people find their game to obtain what they desire in life in terms of money. The systems of education are structured in such a way that sometimes students end up learning things that they will not apply or benefit from in real life. References Katz, J. A., & Green, R. P. (2018). Entrepreneurial small business. McGraw-Hill Education. Kiyosaki, R. (2019). The Speech That Broke The Internet!!! KEEP THEM POOR! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azq0S0DKS50 D. (50 Points) Chapter Essay Questions : Answer the following Essay Questions. Be as detailed as possible. INCLUDE THE PAGE NUMBERS IN YOUR ANSWERS! Chapter 9: 1. Differentiate between customer roles and profiles, and state how developing these helps the young entrepreneur define their target market. The customer roles refer to the roles tied into buying and using products or services. When you buy it yourself and for yourself, you are the end user, and the purchaser. When you buy a product for someone else, you are the purchaser, but the end user is the person receiving the product. Another role are influencers, people with the ability to make recommendations to other people in any of the other roles. Understanding these roles is essential to understanding who your customer is. With customer profiles, the most important initial piece of information for the start-up is understanding at a deep level what the customer is like. Face-to-face interviews with people identified as potential customers with the goal to get an unbiased sense of the ways they thing about dealing with the issue your product or service helps resolve or improve. Then with these interview answers and the demographics you can build one or more customer profiles. The point of identifying the customer roles and building the customer profile is to help you clarify who would be the best customer for your business (your target market). (Pg.279-280) 2. Name and define the two major categories of marketing research. Provide examples for each category. Primary research and secondary research. Primary research is an approach to researching based on the gathering of new information, using techniques such as interviewing, surveying, and observation to answer a specific marketing question. Examples include the interviews you performed creating the customer profile. Other techniques include observation, focus groups, and surveying. Secondary research is an approach to researching based on the use of existing information, often from government, commercial or academic databases and research efforts often gathered for some other reason than your specific question, but can be just as useful. The challenge in secondary analysis is finding good data. (Pg.285) 3. Describe how to construct a value proposition and state the importance of the value proposition. What is the difference between a benefit and a feature of your product? Create a value proposition for your business by replacing the text in parentheses as it reflects to your product, market, and strategy. For (target customer) Who (statement of the need or opportunity) The (business name) is a (product or service category) That (statement of key benefit- that is, compelling reason to buy/purchase) Unlike (primary competitive alternative) Our business (statement of primary differentiation) Is available (where) The goal of the value proposition is to create and occupy a space inside the target customer's head. A feature of your product is a specific aspect that is unique. Customers buy a product or service because of the benefits they get from using your offering to get their job done. (Pg. 292-295) 4. Outline the importance of marketing and tell why a marketing plan is important for both start-up firms and established organizations. Marketing is one of the basic building blocks for your business plan and your road map to what you want to do. Successful businesses are constantly tweaking their marketing to accommodate necessary adjustments found during evaluation and control reviews. For start-ups, they help define how the firm will build its brand and relationship with customers. For established businesses, the marketing plan becomes a key step in imagining how a firm might reposition itself and maintain its most important relationship, the one it has with customers. (Pg. 296) 5. Describe the four stages of the product life cycle and explain how companies market each stage of their products. The four stages of the product life cycle are the introduction stage, the growth stage, the maturity stage, and the decline stage. The introduction stage is when new products are introduced to the larger market. During the introduction stage, from a marketing standpoint, the more innovative the product, the slower the sales, because fewer customers are comfortable with such products. During the growth stage, acceptance of the product increases rapidly. Prices tend to drop as production becomes more efficient and competition increases. From a marketing standpoint, consumers are aware of your product and know how it will make their lives better. Once the rapid growth begins to slow down, the product enters the maturity stage. Promotions such as coupons, rebates, or multipacks flourish during this stage. A product may stay in the maturity stage for a long period of time. Once a product begins its permanent decline, this decline can be slow or fast, stead or unsteady. Both sales and profits fall during this stage. Advertising and promotion expenses are usually nearly eliminated at this point. Some products' decline is permanent. (Pg. 306-308) Chapter 10: 1. State why sales forecasts are important and Identify the sales forecasting methods outlined in the text. Sales forecasting is important because they will feed directly into your financial projections. Sales determine your profitability and, ultimately, whether you will stay in business or not. Sales projections are also the basis for estimating how much money you will generate in the future. Estimate the time it will take you to sell your inventory based on the length of time it took others to sell a single similar item. If you have a product and service tied together, such as laying sod for new lawns, you can estimate the total market by looking at projected new homes being built in your area. If you are opening a restaurant, you need to find the number of potential customers within you market that fit within your seating capacity. You also need to consider your hit rate, or how many prospects you need to approach in order to make one sale. (Pg. 356) 2. What are the different steps involved in the process of personal selling? Personal selling is the process in which a business owner sells his products and service; it includes prospect and evaluate, prepare, present, close, and follow-up. 1. Prospect and evaluate: Thoroughly knowing the target market are key and critical. Customers may prospect themselves by asking for more information or responding to a direct mail advertisement. Business owners may buy mailing lists of prospective clients as well. 2. Prepare: Preparation means finding out about the clients before approaching them. At the end of this phase, the initial contact is made or the appointment is set up. 3. Present: During the presentation phase, the salesperson presents a logical and compelling argument for purchasing the product. Most salespeople emphasize the needs or wants their product can satisfy. Close: Customers nearly always have objections and the good salesperson is prepared to answer these objections. Once the material has been presented and the objections answered, the salesperson needs to close the sale. The close is the commitment from the customer. 5. Follow-up: Finally, the close is not the end of the sale. The important objective of follow-up is to make the customer feel at ease. (Pg. 347) 3. What is customer relationship management (CRM)? What are the different strategies of CRM? The name for the general approach to keeping customers is called customer retention (CM). CM focuses on satisfying customers after the sale, and managing the marketing efforts of a business with the customers to maximize their loyalty to and purchases from the business. There are two major elements to CM. One is handling problems that crop up after a sale, and the other called customer relationship management (CRM), which focuses on identifying customers and their purchases, and managing a business owner's marketing efforts with customers to maximize their loyalty to and purchases from the business owner's business. The strategies behind CRM depend on what kind of customer business owners are seeking—new or existing and what they are trying to sell them—a new product or one they already have. These variables lead to four approaches. Selling the same products to the same customers is called a market penetration approach, while selling the same customers a new product is called product expansion. If business owners are looking at people who have not been customers, they might seek a market expansion strategy to sell their existing products to them, or a diversification strategy if they are trying to sell newly developed products. (Pg.350) 4. What are the two steps in customer relationship management (CRM)? What is the goal of these two steps and how do you know your CRM effort is working? The steps involved in customer relationship management (CRM) are: (1) Gathering the data, and (2) Analyzing the data. Gathering the Data: The key to CRM is the data on current or prospective customers. Given the power of repeat selling, the most valuable data comes from the existing customers. For all existing customers there are two kinds of data—contact data and performance data. Analyzing the data: Lets business owners summarize information by date, by product or service being sold, by groups of customers, or by the purchases of an individual person or firm. Reports such as this can help business owners decide how to operate several key aspects of your marketing effort. The goal of all this data gathering and analysis is to increase your sales and help make your marketing efforts as economical as possible. The proof of a CRM effort is seen in (1) higher levels of customer loyalty in existing customers, (2) higher levels of purchasing from existing customers, and (3) more tracked prospects making initial purchases from a business owner. (Pg. 352) 5. Differentiate between follow-through and follow-up. Fundamentally, the keys to customer service are follow-through and follow-up. Follow-through refers to business owners doing what they said they would do. If a customer mentions a concern or problem, business owner will try to fix it. If business owners remember to keep up their customer relationship management (CRM) database, a good CRM system will remind them of the promises they have made. Follow-up refers to the contacts business owners periodically make with customers in order to remind them of their business, and their interest in the customers' business. This can be done through personal contacts by phone, mail, or personal visits, although increasingly contact is done electronically through e-mails, electronic newsletters, discussion lists, or interactive web services like blogs or wikis. (Pg. 354) Homework Assignment No. 4 Due 9/22/2020, by 12 Noon via Blackboard messages Instructions: Submit all the following via Blackboard messages in a single Word document. Submit with “ Homework Assignment No. 4 ” in the Subject line of your email. Typical Attachment File name: “Your Name, Homework No. 4, Date Submitted” (Due 9/22/2020, by 12 Noon) A. (10 Points) Business Plan Assignment: Business Plan: The MARKET draft See page 234- 239). Executive Summary Mission: Become a multinational corporation producing organic beverages suitable for athletes' health. Problem Summary: Obesity is taking a course in the athletic industry. Extreme weight gain is caused by excess consumption of chemicals from sugar drinks used to boost the athlete's energy. There is a need to duel in energy drinks with low or zero sugar content.  Solution Summary: Salutem produces nutritious and organic energy drinks that will help lower your weight. From a fine distillery, the beverage ensures you have the full strength for maximum output. Market The current consumer is driven by health in determining their type of food. The organic drink produced by Salutem provides all the quality required by athletes. Consumers prefer organic beverages and foods. Competition There are many companies in the United States currently producing energy drinks and have dominated the market. Such companies will be challenging, mainly making products in the same market. Why us? We seek to provide you with organic beverages while offering after-sales customer services. Expectation The company's value proposition is that we offer a healthy organic drink that is carefully packed in eco-friendly bottles and cans at an affordable price to help you live a healthier and wholesome lifestyle. B. (20 Points) Review the Chapter 7 Mini-Case: “Analyzing to Find a Path Forward” (P. 218) and answer the following questions: a. Considering the Porter Model, from what sectors would Ronnie’s competitors be coming? What kinds of threats do they pose to his business? The new entrant is probably the sector where competitors would come from, especially those in the same constraint Ronnie. In this case, they are capable of offering low prices. Low prices are a competitive threat to his business, as it may result in a business shutdown. b. Pick two tactics from the list in Exhibit 7.3 and explain how they could be applied to Ronnie’s business. Explain why you think those tactics would work. Ronnie could use a ‘new product introduction’ with the finest quality through differentiating from his competitors. Using tactical action, Ronnie could use the ‘product/service’ by offering a suggested more extended warranty, which could improve the market. When the two actions are combined, quality is improved, allowing him to find a market niche where customers value products based on quality and not its cost. c. Industry experts say that SEO is an industry on the rise. What are the implications for Ronnie as he plans to run his business? ‘SEO is an industry on the rise’ insinuates that there is a market providing him with an opportunity to grow despite the competition (Katz and Green, 2017). Staying in the market would be an excellent deal for Ronnie, and he should focus more on markets that value the quality of products sold. Furthermore, customers are likely to increase when they are pleased with what their money has bought. C. (20 Points) You Tube Assignment : View the following You Tube Video: “What Successful Entrepreneurs Know”: Amy Wilkinson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86unGITRPLs). a. Outline 1. Building successful business requires time and hard work. 2. Anyone can create and scale new ideas. 3. The six skills of extraordinary entrepreneurs a) Spot the gap (be curious and ask questions to spot something) solve your own problems. b) Drive for daylight (focus more on what is important ahead of you without weighing what you have done) c) Fly the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, decide, and act) Move through the transition faster – learn faster. d) Fail wisely (Be smart because you can’t have a perfect record) Try things to know which will not work and learn from them. e) Network minds (pull bright minds towards you to help build a solution) encourage a cognitive diversity in your workplace to unlock solutions. f) Gifting small goods (exchange small favors, small kindness) figure out a way to be helpful to others to be more productive. You will build big things because you know how hard it is. b. Summarize (minimum 300 words) In the video ‘What successful entrepreneurs know’ Amy Wilkinson outlines that building a successful business takes a lot of effort and quite some time with consistent hard work. Amy adds that anyone can create and scale new ideas because it is a skill in every person – a fundamental human ability to create something. Anyone can think of new ideas and use them to find a solution (Wilkinson, 2017). Extraordinary entrepreneurs have six vital skills. Amy asserts that extraordinary entrepreneurs always spots a gap. A gap cannot be spotted without proper research. It is your responsibility to be curious enough and ask questions to spot gaps. This could help you solve your problems. The second skill is to fly the daylight. An entrepreneur should focus more on what is essential and ahead of you without looking back at what is already completed. The focus gives you more boost to complete task two or three times than usual. The third skill is to Fly the OODA Loop. You have to move quickly with the current market changes. Be someone that observes, orients, decides and acts when a solution is spotted. The idea is to learn faster. The fourth skill is to fail wisely. It is essential to be smart because it is quite impossible to develop a perfect record. Learn from failures incurred when trying out ideas. You will probably know ways that will not work if you fail and learn from them. The fifth skill is to Network Minds. A team mindset yields more result than a single person. Pull bright minds together to build solutions. It would be a great idea to encourage cognitive diversity in your workplace in unlocking solutions. The last skill is to Gift small goods. Exchanging favors, and small kindness will help you build binger things because you will know how hard it is to get there. References Wilkinson, A., 2017. What Successful Entrepreneurs Know. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86unGITRPLs> [Accessed 21 September 2020]. D. (50 Points) Chapter Essay Questions : Answer the following Essay Questions. Be as detailed as possible. INCLUDE THE PAGE NUMBERS IN YOUR ANSWERS! E. Chapter 7: 1. What is meant by industry analysis? How does industry analysis help an individual in the strategy process? Industry analysis (IA) is a research process that provides the entrepreneur with key information about the industry. Entrepreneurs do an IA to find out what the profits are in an industry in order to better estimate possible financial returns. Finding out how those profits are generated often makes the difference between success and failure because the entrepreneur can tell if the industry is growing, stable, or in decline and what the degree of competition is. It can also help them determine if they have or can get the expertise needed to run a profitable business. (Pg.207) 2. Name and describe the different types of generic strategies.  Differentiation, cost, and focus. Differentiation strategies; entrepreneurs try to show how their firms offer some value benefits that are different and better than the ones offered by competitors. Cost strategy, try to show how their firms offer cost benefits that appeal to the customer. Focus strategies target a portion of the market, called a segment or niche. (Pg. 210) Small businesses identify a focus or combination strategy by figuring out what benefits the market most wants. Then, they use differentiation or cost approaches that are reformulated for the niche market. 3. Describe Michael Porter's Five-Forces Model of industry competition. Why is it important to pay attention to these five forces of competition?  There are two sources of competition: supply chain, and from within the industry. The supply chain includes suppliers and buyers. The industry sources come from existing competitors, other start-ups business, and the other alternatives or substitutes; customers have been using instead of your product. Rival are direct competition, substitutes and alternatives are indirect competition. These can change the profitability. (Pg. 214) 4. What is an entry wedge? Explain any five of the entry wedges. Entry wedge is an opportunity that makes it possible for a new business to gain a foothold in a market. Customer contracting: Occurs when a customer, often a business, is willing to sign a contract with a small business to ensure a product or service. Second sourcing: seeks out customers who are already being serviced by another firm offering customers a second place to obtain goods or services. Market relinquishment: Market relinquishment occurs when business firms leave a market. Supply shortages: When a new product is in demand and buyers are willing to pay a premium to be the first to have the product. Unutilized resources: can be a physical or a human resource. The key benefits are lower costs, scale savings, or organizational practices. (Pg.212) 5. Differentiate between strategic actions and tactical actions. Strategic actions are competitive responses requiring a major commitment of resources. Examples of strategic actions are: entering new markets, new product introductions, changing production capacity, and mergers or alliances. Tactical actions are competitive responses with low resource requirements. Examples of tactical actions are: price cutting (or increases), product or service enhancements, increased marketing efforts, and new distribution channels. (Pg.214-215) Chapter 8: 1. Explain the market section of a classic business plan. The market section talks about your customers—who they are and what they are like, who else is pursuing them, and how you plan to get or keep your customers. Market and Target Customer: Refers to the people or firms you plan to sell. The target customer section focuses attention on the individual who would buy your product or service, how often they buy, their past experience with your kind of product or service, and what they are looking for when buying your product or service. Competition and Competitive Advantage: It identifies the major competitors for your market by name and location, price, competitive strength, and competitive weakness. Marketing Strategy: Focuses on three ideas: (1) The overall strategy your firm pursues, (2) the sales plan that shows the specific ways you apply strategy to secure sales from your customers, and (3) the longer-term competitive plan that shows how you protect your firm of the competition. (Pg.235) 2. Explain the financial components of a business plan. The one-page financial summary section starts with a paragraph showing the overall financial results. It is followed by "The Ask," which is what you are seeking from others. Projections then follows as the central component of the Appendix. The financial statements expected include: (1) income statements and its assumptions, (2) cash flow and its assumptions, and (3) balance sheet and its assumptions. For start-up businesses, it is also common to include a listing of the expenses incurred in the start-up process. For an existing business, the financials report the last two years of actual data, and then offer three-year projections for the income, cash flow, and balance sheet. (Pg.238-239) 3. Explain the different types of special-purpose plans. There are seven other special-purpose types of plan: Screening plan: Also called a mini-plan, it gives the basic overview of the firm and a detailed look at the financials. Informational plans: Give potential customers or suppliers information about the company. Key employee/partner plan: Provides information on the company, product/service, market, and critical risks to prospective business or marketing partners Invention plan: A business plan that provides information to potential licensees. Operational plan: Business plans designed to be used internally for management purposes. Private placement memorandum: A specialized legal form of business plan crafted by lawyers. (Pg.244) 4. Discuss some of the common critical risks in a business plan. Every business face risk in the real world, so every business plan needs to spend some time addressing them. 1. Experience deficits: experience in the line of business, the industry, managing? Have it or find it. 2. Numbers that are wrong: Examples include balance sheets that do not balance 3. Inadequate cushion: The number one killer of young firms is, not enough money. Having enough cash to survive three months goes a long way to avoiding this risk. 4. Inadequate payback: Any plan that does not clearly specify the key paybacks will fail to sell them on the idea. 5. Narrative and financials do not fit: If you have a plan that calls for a large marketing campaign, but financials do not show costs for one, there is a problem. reader. (Pg.247) 5. Explain the key factors that an influential person looks for in a business plan pitch. Passion for the business, expertise about the business and the plan, how professional you are in your work, and how easy it would be to work with you. Passion for the business: Do not read. Help listeners understand why you are excited about the business. Expertise about the business and the plan: Practice answering questions about the plan. Be ready to explain where you get your numbers and ideas. How professional you are in your work: Your plan should look professionally done, neat and orderly, with perfect spelling and grammar. Make sure you know the names of all the people in the room, and their position, so if there is a part of the plan you think might be of interest to them, you can mention it. How easy it would be to work with you: Use eye contact, use peoples' names, smile, and be honest. (Pg.250)