Copyright 2014 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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A Chunk At A Time
Chunking is part of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), but can also be used without NLP training.
You can use chunking 1- to divide up tasks; 2- for time & energy management; 3- to understand information & 4- communicate effectively & efficiently.
I've included some references you can use to learn more about chunking.
Note: I'm not endorsing all content in these web sites since I haven't read each article. I'm using these explanations because they're clear. I'm including these URLs, 1- so you can get more information about chunking & 2- to acknowledge the sources.
http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/chunking_questions.htm
"Chunking down is getting more detail by probing for more information about the high-level information you already have. The goal is to find out more, fill in the empty gaps in your picture, test the reality of the situation, and so on.
"To chunk up, you are doing the opposite of chunking down - looking for a more generalized understanding. This includes looking for overall purpose, meaning, linkages, etc."
http://creatingminds.org/tools/chunking.htm
"Chunking up is about taking a broader view.
"Chunking down is about going into detail to find smaller and more specific elements of the system."
http://www.renewal.ca/nlp27.htm
"Addressing Overwhelm. Sometimes we may feel overwhelmed. This can happen if the chunk size is too large. Here we need to chunk down and be more specific or focus more on the details or be more realistic. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"
It's Time For You To Chunk
Hypothetical: You have inventory to sell. You know some people want what you have. You need to identify them & benefits they want [the jobs they need/want to do or maybe they'll hire somebody else to do].
Jobs-to-be-done are results that haven't been completed or possibly haven't been started.
What are the results your products were designed to create?
Let's use trimming hedges is an example.
Where could you find people who trim hedges? No, don't look in hospital emergency rooms. Let's think about people who haven't hurt themselves!
Let's chunk up. Trimming hedges is something home owners would do to maintain or improve appearances. What would they buy for hedge trimming? Garbage cans & bags for the trimmed off pieces. Hedge clippers & blade sharpeners. Electric hedge cutting tools. Insect repellent.
What else do these home owners want/need? Lawn care chemicals & tools; grass seeds. Lawn mower fuel, oil & repairs/maintenance. Pruning shears. Saws/axes to cut trees down. Liability insurance. Winches to pull fallen trees out/off of neighbors' houses. No, let's think about positive things.
OK, they positively should have safety equipment & probably an instruction book.
They may buy other things to beautify their homes: Decorations, bird houses, baths & feeders. Fences & paint. Security alarms & lighting.
Now we can chunk down. Of those PRACTICAL products & services, each indicates something you could offer, or a retailer who might do promotions with you. Depending on your store size, product knowledge & current inventory, you may decide to stock & offer some things listed above. You should also consider your supply chain connections & the local competitive situation.
If you stock all of it, you'd need to find other products from other retailers to cross-promote.
A big part of this is finding retailers who don't compete with you, though they serve similar people. When it's done well, it gets better results than mass media advertising & usually costs less.
Without taking on more inventory risk, you can also maximize the value you offer to your current customer base. Since they already know & trust you, they'll seriously consider the cross-promoted offers.
Like most retailers, you'll probably need to find more customers to make up for losing customers because of ordinary life events.
You shouldn't attract more customers than you can serve with excellence. Attracting customers is inviting them.
Anybody, who hosts a social or retail event, should be ready to spend quality time with guests. It would be rude to invite more guests than you can greet & interact with.
Providing less service than customers expect is far less than excellence.
If your service is less than excellent, you're apt to lose customers to competitors who have better service.
To attain & maintain excellence consistently with each customer, you need optimal systems as I've written about in other posts.
Chunking is a good system for organizing resources.
Chunking An Activity
After you determine how to apply my advice in the previous section, you should implement it to increase your cash flow.
Chunking up from cash flow, we determine you need to sell your current inventory & to earn a profit for this year, you need to sell more merchandise than you currently have.
To sell merchandise, you need to offer value in ways consumers recognize. You can do cross-promotions with other retailers.
Chunking down a level, for the hedge trimming project, what do you currently have in-stock & what is on order? What do the other retailers have in-stock & what do they have on order? You need to coordinate promotions, so you'll each have a good supply of what you'll promote. After those details are set, you can arrange your store to feature your promoted products.
Chunking down a level, though we're focusing on trimming hedges, we hope customers will buy more than hedge trimming supplies. For home owners in general, what do you & each cross-promoter have now & on order? How will you arrange displays of other kinds of products?
For scheduling purposes, when will each of you be ready for specifically cross-promoting related products?
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2014 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
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