While many in the industry are cutting back, commercial real estate workhorse Marcus & Millichap is witnessing an agent hiring boom.

Since the outbreak of the corona virus in early March, the firm has seen applications for sales and finance jobs double.

And its new online recruitment sessions are drawing more and more interest as job hunters look to get ahead of the estimated 1.5 million New Yorkers whove lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

Our philosophy at a time like this is we will continue to recruit agents because the world is going to need more advisors, not less, Susan Bands, the firms associate regional manager, Manhattan, told an online career presentation given on Thursday (April 23).

We are preparing for when the real estate market comes back, and we expect it to come back with a force. We are interviewing remotely now, and well train remotely if we have to. We have no intentions of slowing down.

Indeed, after a stellar 2019 that saw the Manhattan office alone close over $2 billion in deals in what many considered a down market, Marcus & Millichap was poised for another solid year until COVID-19 struck.

Despite a downturn, Bands said, We are still signing and closing deals, and our agents are spending more time on the phones with clients than ever before.

Our company has state-of-the-art network infrastructure, databases and real estate applications, all of which are remote-enabled.

She said the firm was quick to react to the virus with its own remote contingencies and the firm is very much open for business.

She said the normal recruiting effort had been moved online, with live presentations like Thursdays attracting upwards of 50 viewers at a time with mostly college graduates looking for entry level positions.

John Krueger, regional manager for Marcus & Millichap Manhattan, was quick to tell Thursdays viewers they wouldnt be chasing the multi-billion dollar deals they read about in the press, noting, There are only a handful of brokers in New York City who handle deals like that. We play in the $200 million and below sector, thats our focus and thats why we dominate in our area.

Indeed, the entry level positions are 100 percent commission based, but Krueger was selling a training program that promises to groom them for those skyscraper deals. I came from Indiana. I had a cornfield in my backyard, he said. But here you can learn the business without having a certain pedigree or certain last name. If you put your head down, youll have the opportunity to thrive.

Krueger cited recent historic shocks to the global economy, ranging from the 2009 financial crisis to 9/11, thedot.com bust to the Kuwait oil price shock. In each and every one of those events, the GDP went down, jobs were lost, unemployment rate rose, retail sales went down, but the positive is really a boomerang effect.

During the following 12 months, after every one of those events, you saw a 30 percent growth in the stock market, and were going to have something similar to that and thats what we keep telling our clients. Thats what we keep telling our investment sales force. We have to weather the storm. We have to be smart and we have to be ready for things to pick back up.

And while the pace of deals may have slowed, Krueger said that doesnt mean theres no work getting done.

For each and every client, were asking questions and trying to find out what these clients need so we can provide solutions for them, he said.

Theres massive business volumes that have come just through counseling clients, advising clients in these market disruptions and uncertainty. And when things do stabilize, theyre going to remember, who was there, who was providing guidance and leadership and was an advisor and not trying to just make a quick fee off of them, but really giving them the facts and helping them make an informed decision.

While the focus for now is on junior agents and loan negotiators, Marcus & Millichap plans to hire around 35 agents in Manhattan. In the past six weeks, the firm has conducted 63 interviews for those jobs and continues to be on the lookout for more experienced agents.

Our firm is known for recruiting juniors, training and molding them as salespeople, and turning them into significant earners, said Bands. Our senior agents serve as mentors and team-leaders, which fosters an amazing culture of collaboration, growth and development for everyone.

With over 2,000 professionals in 82 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, Marcus & Millichap closed 9,726 transactions in 2019, with a sales volume of approximately $50 billion.

Just this month, Marcus & Millichap acquired a Dallas-based commercial debt brokerage, Metropolitan Capital Advisors in a move president Hessam Nadji said would aid in the execution of an overall strategic growth plan.

On Thursday, Krueger told the online candidates, Were going to get through the corona virus and were going to find a way to move forward. We may not be setting records, but were doing a lot better than I would have thought just two or three weeks ago.

Since the corona virus pandemic shut down the country, several major real estate firms have announced cutbacks and furloughs, including Avsion Young, Terra Holdings, Compass, Brookfield-backed Convene, and Knotel, among others.

(Visited 1 times, 97 visits today)

Read more here:
How one CRE firm is expanding as others contract - Real Estate Weekly

Marketing And Sales Consulting:

This report studies the Marketing And Sales Consulting market with many aspects of the industry like the market size, market status, market trends and forecast, the report also provides brief information of the competitors and the specific growth opportunities with key market drivers. Find the complete Marketing And Sales Consulting market analysis segmented by companies, region, type and applications in the report.

The major players covered in Marketing And Sales Consulting Market: E.K. Consulting, McKinsey & Company, Interliance Consulting, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, ZS, Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte Consulting, PwC, EY, KPMG, Skaled, The Harris Consulting Group, LLC., JBarrows Sales Training, Scott Leese Consulting, Tenbound, IBM, arketify Consulting, Terrabit Consulting.

The final report will add the analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 in this report Marketing And Sales Consulting industry.

Get a Free Sample Copy @ https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/sample-request/global-marketing-and-sales-consulting-market-research-report-2019-2025

Marketing And Sales Consulting Market in its database, which provides an expert and in-depth analysis of key business trends and future market development prospects, key drivers and restraints, profiles of major market players, segmentation and forecasting. A Marketing And Sales Consulting Market provides an extensive view of size; trends and shape have been developed in this report to identify factors that will exhibit a significant impact in boosting the sales of Marketing And Sales Consulting Market in the near future.

This report focuses on the global Marketing And Sales Consulting status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Marketing And Sales Consulting development in United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, and Central & South America.

The Marketing And Sales Consulting market is a comprehensive report which offers a meticulous overview of the market share, size, trends, demand, product analysis, application analysis, regional outlook, competitive strategies, forecasts, and strategies impacting the Marketing And Sales Consulting Industry. The report includes a detailed analysis of the market competitive landscape, with the help of detailed business profiles, SWOT analysis, project feasibility analysis, and several other details about the key companies operating in the market.

The study objectives of this report are:

Inquire More about This Report @ https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/enquiry/global-marketing-and-sales-consulting-market-research-report-2019-2025

The Marketing And Sales Consulting market research report completely covers the vital statistics of the capacity, production, value, cost/profit, supply/demand import/export, further divided by company and country, and by application/type for best possible updated data representation in the figures, tables, pie chart, and graphs. These data representations provide predictive data regarding the future estimations for convincing market growth. The detailed and comprehensive knowledge about our publishers makes us out of the box in case of market analysis.

Reasons for Buying this Report

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Global Marketing And Sales Consulting Market Overview

Chapter 2: Marketing And Sales Consulting Market Data Analysis

Chapter 3: Marketing And Sales Consulting Technical Data Analysis

Chapter 4: Marketing And Sales Consulting Government Policy and News

Chapter 5: Global Marketing And Sales Consulting Market Manufacturing Process and Cost Structure

Chapter 6: Marketing And Sales Consulting Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast

Chapter 7: Marketing And Sales Consulting Key Manufacturers

Chapter 8: Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis

Chapter 9: Marketing Strategy -Marketing And Sales Consulting Analysis

Chapter 10: Marketing And Sales Consulting Development Trend Analysis

Chapter 11: Global Marketing And Sales Consulting Market New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis

About Us:

Reports and Markets is not just another company in this domain but is a part of a veteran group called Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. It offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for a wide range of sectors both for the government and private agencies all across the world. The database of the company is updated on a daily basis. Our database contains a variety of industry verticals that include: Food Beverage, Automotive, Chemicals and Energy, IT & Telecom, Consumer, Healthcare, and many more. Each and every report goes through the appropriate research methodology, Checked from the professionals and analysts.

Contact Us:

Sanjay Jain

Manager Partner Relations & International Marketing

http://www.reportsandmarkets.com

Ph: +1-352-353-0818 (US)

Excerpt from:
Marketing And Sales Consulting Market Growth, Overview with Detailed Analysis 2020-2026| EK Consulting, McKinsey & Company, Interliance...

City Council approves economic-relief plan to help workers and businesses.

Anita W. Harris, Staff Writer|April 22, 2020

Courtesy Long Beach Economic Development

Share on Facebook

Share via Email

Print

Besides its devastating health impact, the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting the local economy hard as well.

The City of Long Beach will suffer a total revenue loss of between $38 million and $44 million by the end of 2020, according to an April 13 memo from the Director of Financial Management John Gross.

Gross projects the Citys general operating-fund budget to fall short by $14 million to $22 million this year, especially due to reduced oil sales and hotel taxes. Gross further projects the Long Beach Airport to lose $10 million in revenue this year due to low passenger volume.

The Citys costs related to COVID-19 including setting up an incident-management team and emergency-operation center amounted to about $5.5 million by the end of March, Gross said. He added that some of those costs may not be reimbursable by state or federal funds and do not include deferred rent, tax rebates or loans to assist businesses.

The current pandemics financial impact will also result in future-year budget losses of up to $27 million through 2024, Gross said.

Further impacting the Citys ongoing financial woes are litigation preventing Measure Ms transfer of water-and-sewer revenue to the general fund, higher pension costs and lower pension-related investment earnings and higher labor-agreement costs.

Gross added that future-year budget projections also do not consider an economic slowdown, which may now be more likely following the pandemic.

The City is currently taking steps to control costs, such as reducing one-time projects and non-pandemic and non-essential operating expenses, including staff hiring, Gross said.

However, the financial strain on the City may be understated because projections assume the pandemic will last through the end of May and be followed by a very strong economy after a recovery period of the rest of 2020 and early 2021.

Because these assumptions may turn out to be optimistic, Gross said, the City should be prepared for more adverse impacts than this initial assessment indicates.

Economic relief To help mitigate the financial impact of coronavirus-isolation measures on workers and small-business owners, the Long Beach City Council unanimously adopted an economic-relief package during its April 14 meeting.

The relief package includes specific steps that the City will take to cover gaps in federal relief measures and help workers and business owners continue functioning during the pandemic emergency.

Among the measures, the council will approve an ordinance once the city attorney drafts it requiring Long Beach employers with more than 500 employees nationwide to give their employees supplemental sick leave of up to two weeks.

Supplemental sick leave for workers in companies with 500 or fewer employees is already covered by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

To help the local hotel industry specifically, the City will create a Hospitality Recovery Task Force to develop strategies for recovering business travel and tourism, according to an April 15 statement from Long Beachs Joint Information Center.

Hotel and janitorial workers who have been laid off will be protected by worker-retention and rehire policies once the council approves an ordinance for that.

The Citys new Emergency Microloan Program will help small businesses and nonprofit organizations that cannot obtain federal loans to operate during this time. For businesses and homeowners, the City will also develop a mortgage-assistance program with the help of nonprofits and development companies. And it will assist mortgage holders in accessing state and federal programs to prevent foreclosure.

The City already created a checklist of new protocols that essential food and grocery businesses had to post as of April 15 to help ensure the safety of both customers and workers, such as keeping six feet apart in checkout lines.

The City is also assisting those in quarantine with over $1 million in grants through nonprofit partnerships.

During the council meeting, which was conducted by teleconference, City Manager Tom Modica highlighted 12 key areas from an approximately 150-page report developed by the Economic Development Department under Director John Keisler. The council had requested a report on how to maintain economic resiliency at its March 17 meeting, the same week it issued its safer at home policy.

In addition to the above items, the reports guidelines include training hotel and restaurant workers in COVID-19 safety precautions, staggering fees for small-business development and promoting digital inclusion by helping residents and businesses with internet access, hardware and training.

During its discussion, the council specifically addressed whether franchises should be included in the definition of companies of 500 or more and how long the policies would remain in place. It agreed that franchises should be included and that staff would update the council every 90 days.

The council also agreed that employers must allow workers to adjust their schedules for coronavirus-related issues, such as childcare and helping family members who are ill. Employers must also give part-time workers full-time hours before hiring any additional workers, the council agreed.

Many of these policies echo those of the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles (LA) as well, according to the staff report. LA alone is projecting a $231 million revenue loss this year and $598 million next year, according to an April 15 statement from LA Controller Ron Galperins office.

LA projects its travel and tourism income to fall by 70%, with tax revenue down by $61 million this fiscal year and up to $80 million in 2021.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said during the council meeting that LA and Los Angeles County are adopting similar economic-relief packages and that the council will periodically update Long Beachs policies and health orders to align with those other agencies.

Im proud that this economic-relief package protects workers and small businesses, Garcia said in a statement. Long Beach residents deserve paid sick time during this health crisis and our small businesses need loans and access to grants.

For more information, call the Long Beach COVID-19 hotline at (562) 570-INFO (4636) or visit http://www.longbeach.gov/covid19. For business and worker information, call (562) 570-4BIZ (4249) or visit http://www.longbeach.gov/economicdevelopment/covid-19-business-support/.

Go here to see the original:
Long Beach projects revenue loss of about $40 million this year due to pandemic - Signal Tribune

Industry consultant Bob Tullio (www.tullioB2B.com) is a content specialist who advises operators in the convenience services industry on how to build a successful business from the ground up.

By mid-March, operators of all sizes in every part of country felt liketheir businesses had been pushed off a cliff. The fall was both quick and unexpected. There was little time to grieve the loss of prosperity. For the true entrepreneurs in our industry, it was time to act.

Having personally experienced the business impact of riots, earthquakes, 9/11, wildfires, the dotcom bust and the Great Recession, cost cutting is job #1 and raising capital is job #2 when facing a major business crisis. In this unusual health related crisis, ensuring the safety of employees and clients jumped right to the top of the list.

As New York based Judson Kleinman points out, theres never been anything like theCOVID-19 crisis in any of our lifetimes. Compared to other catastrophes that impacted our business, nothing ever happened so fast, so deeply, with so much deterioration, virtually overnight. Everything stopped everywhere, and unlike 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy, the condition is ongoing. There is no quick recovery, said Kleinman, CEO of Corporate Essentials.

Having experienced the brutal punch of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Rob Jessup, now branch manager of First Choice Coffee Service in Washington, D.C., notes that every branch is on their own in a global crisis. With Katrina, we could at least look to other unaffected branches to help us and help support the company, said Jessup, who has about 20% of clients still open for business.

With the immediate needs of clients under control, Jessup and his team are focusing on revamping routes for greater efficiency, riding with route drivers to improve their skills and focusing on sales training for account executives. We are doing a lot of planning, trying to anticipate the changing needs of our clients once they start coming back to the office, he said.

Clearly, the safety of our team members, our customers and their familiesthat's our top priority, said Arthur Siller, VP ofoperationsandbusinessdevelopment at Avanti Markets Northwest. We took a very proactive approach acting on that and communicating that message to our clients.

Our first approach was reaching out to our clients with an official letter explaining what steps we were taking internally and what steps and procedures we were taking in their specific location to ensure safety and sanitization,he remarked. We even posted our specific procedures at the locations we are serving. We want clients to know they can trust us and that our standards, which we consider excellent, will be maintained at an even higher level.

Siller said his company has developed training programs, is practicing strict sanitization procedures, has placed restrictions on business travel, is emphasizing social distancing and anyone who is showing symptoms of any kind must stay at home, he added. Another step we've takenwe've had our suppliers provide a letter outlining what procedures they are taking to ensure the safety of their products and ultimately the safety of our employees and our clients.

For C.J. Recher and his team at Five Star FoodService in Chattanooga, Tenn., the focus is on transparency both externally and internally.

Weve put out multiple memos and updates to both our employees and our customers, said Recher, who noted that Five Star created a COVID-19response page on their website with company updates, links and information from NAMA, the CDC andstatehealthdepartments. Weve communicated all updates on social media as well specifically letting our customers know were an essential business and still here to serve them now more than ever.

Recher found that his clients reacted positively to their proactive approach. Our clients are appreciative that we are here to support their business and their hardworking people through these challenging times, he said. Lots of goodwill and loyalty is being built."

Siller has seen a similar experience with his clients. As a result of being so transparent, our clients are more trusting of our service and they are very thankful in many cases that we have taken such a proactive approach, he said.

Every operatorwhowas interviewed agreed that the need for their services is particularly intensified in businesses that are open right now. For those customers that are still open and coming to the office, we've in some ways become their only source of food and beverage during working hours, saidSiller.Stores are closed, restaurants are closed, they are not leaving the office and not everyone can afford to have food delivered every meal.

In many ways, it is exciting as a manager to help navigate your company through a challenge like this, said Jessup. We are going to adapt to client needs. If they feel better with a different type of equipmentbrewer or waterwe will get it for them, because they need to feel safe.

For Kleinman, it is another chapter in his entrepreneurial journey. Im optimistic. We have overcome challenges before,he said. When you have a good team of people around you, that helps. Unfortunately, some operators will not survive. At the same time, this crisis will make us operate more efficiently and we will see some new revenue opportunities emerge.

Industry consultant Bob Tullio (www.tullioB2B.com) is a content specialist who advises operators in the convenience services industry on how to build a successful business from the ground up. As he is a recognized industry expert in business development and sales, NAMA hired him to write and narrate the new online course,Selling Convenience Services,which is now available. Use discount code B2B10 for an instant discount and for free access to upcoming Q & A Webinars from Tullio in the coming months.Here is a free sample of the course.

Read more:
Operators Show Strength And Initiative In The Face Of COVID-19 - VendingMarketWatch

Most salespeople believe they are ethical and committed to customer success. Our mantra: Treat customers like you would like to be treated. If we could, wed brush our teeth thrice daily with these words.

Unfortunately, companies worshipping at the Maximize Shareholder Value altar have trashed and trampled this ideal. Wells Fargo, VW, and Purdue Pharma come to mind. Theyre not alone. If ex-CEOs John Stumpf (Wells), Martin Winterkorn (VW), and Richard Sackler (Purdue) rightfully earned anything, its widespread scorn. For salespeople, this is vindicating. Too often, CXOs sow stakeholder harm from headquarters, while the frontline sales force does the dirty work out in the field. Expectedly, the salesperson is the first target for customer rage.

The first car dealership in the US opened in 1898. Were early car sales reps sleazy and aggressive? Or did they become that way through circumstance? Nobody today wags a shaming finger at former industry executives whose sales strategies created that ugly archetype. The result of saturating territories with dealerships and forcing the owners to accept quotas of slow-selling vehicles to get the hot selling ones. When people opine cruddy car buying experiences, look no further than the CXOs of the major auto manufacturers as the visionary architects for everything wrong in buyer-seller engagement. And like a stain that wont wash out, its lasted into 2020.

Stereotyping has a benefit, however. Casting salespeople in any industry as slick and manipulative means that our minds dont get encumbered processing deeper understanding. In fact, the putative pushy sales rep is more an artifact of his environment, and less a reflection on his personal character. Contrary to what many believe, greedy ostentatious people are not inherently drawn to the sales profession. Nor do they flock to car selling in particular. Show me a manipulative, aggressive, or unethical sales behavior, and Ill show you a training program that encouraged it, a pay plan that motivated it, a manager that demanded it, and a company that accepted it. Unless we enjoy hearing others rant about slimy salespeople, we must stop blaming the victim, and fix what truly needs fixing.

Importantly, not every revenue scandal involves the sales force. Enrons scheme began in the CFOs office. VWs emissions-cheating scheme was hatched deep in the bowels of its engineering department. Turing Pharmaceuticals predatory price gouging was the brainchild of its profit-obsessed CEO, Martin Shkreli. In 2018, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

But all too frequently, we find Sales close to the epicenter of ethical havoc, the linchpin in the sharp-fanged mechanism for repeatable, scalable deceit. That wouldnt happen if the sales force werent attractive for exploitation.

Five key reasons:

1. The sales force holds a unique position of trust with a companys customers. The easiest way to begin a scam is to usurp existing trust.

2. Most sales forces have variable compensation based on revenue attainment. Pay-for-performance significantly influences behavior.

3. Draconian penalties for under-performance. In many organizations, quota shortfalls can result in termination.

4. Sales culture stifles dissent, and champions conformity. Those who voice ethical concerns are often maligned as whiners or not team players.

5. Sales roles have become de-skilled through Artificial Intelligence, making salespeople easier to replace.

Among the recent cases where the sales force was caught in a customer scandal:

AmEx Staff Misled Small-Business Owners to Boost Card Sign-Ups

High-flying Medical Firm, a Help to Wounded Veterans, Falls to Earth

American Express Gave Small Businesses One Rate, then Secretly Raised it

Deceptive Sales Tactics Secretly Recorded

Although each of these scandals involved the sales force, the genesis of their eventual resolution defies the ugly stereotype attributed to salespeople. Instead, what connects these stories is that each incident was exposed by a salesperson calling out management abuse- not the other way around.

Its tragic to learn that in at least three of the cases, it was the sales rep who was fired for taking a principled stand, and not someone higher in the organization. In the instance of the AmEx credit card deceit, When human-resources staff reached out to the employees manager, he denied the saleswomans allegations and said she was underperforming. The employee later left the company. The manager was later promoted. Whoever said righteousness will always prevail never worked in Sales.

What can companies do to protect customers, other stakeholders, and themselves?

1. Establish the right culture and model ethical behavior. CXOs must talk the talk, and walk the walk.

2. Hire for the right sales attributes. Stop relying on what was your biggest sale? and how much did you W-2 last year? as proxies for selling talent. Instead or in addition ask the candidate to describe an personal ethical selling dilemma, how he or she managed it, and whether the outcome was fair.

3. Embed ethics training into professional development programs, and foster discussion about it in internal meetings. That should include guiding staff into how to raise issues and advocate for themselves when they feel uncomfortable about a strategy, tactic, process, or policy.

4. Establish formal mechanisms for reporting, documenting, and mitigating ethical matters in the workplace.

5. Above all, make it safe for employees to speak and exercise their values. Employees who fear retaliation for speaking up when something feels wrong are unlikely to do so. That is a risk that no company can afford.

When it comes to getting dragged into committing scams, salespeople are sitting ducks for management manipulation. Its appalling that sales training companies havent moved to protect salespeople the very group they purportedly serve. Why havent they embedded content to help salespeople and their managers navigate moral ambiguity in customer engagements? Why dont their course materials offer business development staff guidance to advocate for themselves whenever their values and instincts about the right thing to do are confronted?

Instead, they send legions of trainees into the workplace who appear adept at closing the deal but are woefully unprepared to stand up to an unscrupulous boss. I surveyed the websites of three prominent training companies Sandler, Richardson, and Janek and found ethics unaddressed across the board. Businesses might get a revenue lift from their training, but I wonder whether customers might be paying a price for the love sales training companies lavish on the top line of the income statement.

Treating customers like you would like to be treated and focusing on revenue are not incongruent goals. If you need to learn how to do both, ask a salesperson. They know how.

Visit link:
Why Good Salespeople Do Bad Things. And How They Can Avoid Going Astray - Customer Think

Barry Lynch: looking forward to seeing some progressive three-year-olds he bought

Tattersalls

County Cork-basedbloodstock agent and breeder Barry Lynchtells us about how he is managing both personally and professionally with theEurope-wide lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus

How is life ticking over for you at the moment?

Despite the world coming to a standstill life has been ticking over nicely. My family have stayed healthy and the weather has been kind to us in the last month.

I've had a few nice foals and some of our mares are covered again. Generally speaking we've just been trying to keep as busy and prepared as possible for when racing and sales kick off again.

With no racing or sales in Europe at present, your scope to do business must be limited. What are you doing instead?

Business has been challenging but I'm still working on buying horses privately and I've been keeping in touch with clients and trainers.

I've managed to pick up several breeding prospects and horses in training but it has been difficult and the logistics of doing business are greatly hampered.

I'm also making sure that the admin, accounts, website and so on are up to date as I'm hopeful that when racing restarts we'll see plenty of trade.

All the sale companies have been working tirelessly to re-arrange the sale dates, schedules and locations. Hopefully, I'll be able to support the sales by buying some good two-year-olds in training when the market opens up.

What's your view on online sales, if they had to happen in Europe this year?

Inglis Easter earlier this month showed that online sales are workable and if they do happen in Europe this year I'll be doing my best to take part.

It's important for agents that we're able to see the horses in the flesh to get a feel for them, but if we can manage that somehow, coupled with all the other information that we're able to attain online breeze videos, conformation photos and vet information I feel it would be a suitable remedy to overcome the coronavirus restrictions.

More importantly, for sales to restart we need racing to restart. Without racing it will be very hard to make the sales work.

Are you keeping in contact with clients and trainers?

I'm still in contact with trainers, to check in with how clients' horses are working, and then informing clients about their progress. I'll also be making tentative enquiries with clients about getting involved in the breeze-up sales.

Do you think there will be any positives to come out of the crisis eventually?

I thought is was very innovative of Arqana and Goffs UK to join forces by staging their breeze-up sales together in Ireland. It showed that our industry is willing to pull together for the greater good when our backs are up against the wall.

They're giving the breeze-up consignors a solid opportunity to provide a good sale. We're going to see a focus on online bidding, and more internet data such as videos, photos and measurements, which are all good steps in improving the selling of horses in future whether the coronavirus is here or not.

In difficult times it's often hard to see the outcome as positive but the racing industry has overcome lots of obstacles and recessions in the past. It can bounce back as quickly as it dips.

On a personal level, how are you keeping yourself busy during lockdown?

I have a few mares that I own in partnership with my father. We've been busy covering and making sure the foals are progressing well.

Outside of work, I got back running and spending some quality time with my family. It's a big change from previous years as I would normally have been travelling for work in late February and March.

Any film, TV or book recommendations to share to get through home confinement?

Peaky Blinders is always a good watch, but the kids seem to take over the TV so Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol have been the staple through lockdown!

A book I can recommend is As The Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer. Its a fascinating story with multiple twists and turns.

What are you most looking forward to when racing returns?

Racing cannot come back soon enough. There are several progressive three-year-olds I've bought who could have a good year ahead in Bodyline (with Sir Mark Prescott), Animal Instinct (with Sir Mark again), Schroders Mistake (with Ken Condon) and Elusive King (another with Ken).

I'm also excited by the two-year-olds I bought as yearlings who are due to run, including a Kingman colt out of Merry Jaunt with Sir Mark, a Starspangledbanner filly out of Condensed in training with Joseph OBrien and a fast Territories colt with Michael Dods all good examples.

It will be great getting back on the sales and racing scene, where I have some great friends and colleagues. We'll be able to leave this pandemic behind us and have a much better appreciation for racing having been starved of it for such a long while.

Readmore Life in Lockdown Q&As with industry figures

Tim Lane: 'Working with horses does you the world of good in these times'

Jerry Horan: 'My sister butchered my haircut. I think it was payback'

Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham: 'Social distancing isn't hard - just lonely!'

Henry Beeby: 'Nick Nugent and I have entered a beard growing competition'

Charles O'Neill: 'ITM will be ready to go when the markets open up again'

Freddy Powell: 'We're improving our online sale platform in case it's needed'

Bumble Mitchell: 'Online sales could be tricky for outlying studs like mine'

David Stack: 'I had to give a garda a lesson about the birds and the bees'

Colm Sharkey: 'I've been torturing myself trying to sort out my golf swing'

Rachael Gowland: 'I didn't realise how much I loved racing until I couldn't go'

Sam Hoskins: 'I've been listening to endless Cold War podcasts on my tractor'

Niamh Spiller: 'Video calls are very important to keep everyone motivated'

Jamie Lloyd:'Staff have had all their own gear labelled, even wheelbarrows'

Michel Orlandi: 'The stallions are flying and that gives me great hope'

Richard Venn: 'The French are in a good position to get back racing sooner'

Tim Kent: 'It's difficult to plan when we don't know when racing will resume'

Russell Ferris: 'Weatherbys had contingency plans that we activated at once'

Grant and Tom Pritchard-Gordon: 'Inglis Easter has kept us busy since January'

Peter Hockenhull: 'The social side of meeting and chatting to breeders is gone'

Polly Bonnor: 'We've fulfilled every feed order, including all our exports'

Richard Lancaster: 'We're fortunate that some Shadwell staff live on site'

View post:
Barry Lynch: 'The industry has often bounced back as quickly as it dipped' - Racing Post

L to R: Joseph Huling, Keith Kramlich (Photos: Takeuchi-U.S.)

Takeuchi-U.S. promoted two employees in its organization: Keith Kramlich takes over as national product and training manager, while Joseph Huling fills Kramlichs previous role as national service and warranty manager, effective immediately.

For Kramlich, this is his second promotion since he was hired in 2016 as a regional service manager. In his new position as national product and training manager, his main responsibility is overseeing product development, which includes supervising, managing and developing the product and training department.

Additionally, he will support corporate sales efforts by establishing business partnerships with dealers and distributors to provide exceptional product, training and support for them and their customers who have purchased or use Takeuchi products.

Huling was promoted from his previous position as the northeast regional service manager, which he held since he started at Takeuchi in late 2017. As national service and warranty manager, his main responsibilities include managing Takeuchi regional service managers to ensure they are providing service support in their respective regions, reviewing all warranty claims and providing final approval. Additionally, Huling will monitor failure trends to expedite solutions and calculate and review warranty costs, developing plans to reduce costs.

Kramlich has a degree in specialized diesel technology and applied service management from Wyoming Technical Institute. Huling has a bachelors degree in business administration and management from Brenau University.

The Andersons added Clint Formby to its Plant Nutrient Group to serve as territory manager for the professional turf business.

Formby will manage the distribution of The Andersons turf and ornamental products in the south-central region of the U.S.

Formby has more than 15 years of experience in the lawn and landscaping industry. He comes to The Andersons from SePRO, and he has held management positions with Native Texas Nursery and Regal Chemical Company, serving nursery, sports turf and landscape markets throughout Texas.

Formby earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Ruppert Landscape made four personnel moves in the companys landscape construction division.

Jim Tuzzolino has been promoted to the position of division regional vice president.

He has more than 20 years of experience in the landscape construction industry and has been with Ruppert for almost 15 years. He first joined the company as an intern while attending SUNY Cobleskill, where he earned a bachelors degree in wildlife management. He has held many positions during his Ruppert career including production manager in the Maryland branch, operations manager in both Maryland and Virginia and most recently as branch manager in Virginia.

In his new role, he will support landscape construction division operations, specifically overseeing the Virginia and North Carolina branches, working closely with those teams to ensure continued improvement and success.

Mike Ryan has been promoted to fill the role of branch manager in the Virginia landscape construction branch.

He has more than 20 years of industry experience and holds a bachelors degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech. He joined Ruppert in 2015 as production manager in Virginia and was quickly promoted when the position of operations manager became available only a year later.

In his new role, he will oversee all landscape construction operations in the companys Virginia branch, which covers projects primarily in the Northern Virginia and D.C. markets. His responsibilities include planning, budgeting and personnel development within his region as well as ensuring customer satisfaction.

Brad Matthews has been promoted to fill the role of operations manager in the Virginia landscape construction branch.

He has been with Ruppert for more than 15 years, having joined the company straight out of Mississippi State University where he studied construction management. Since then, he has held almost every position on the landscape production side of the business, most recently as project manager.

Anne Kawecki has been tasked with taking on the role of business development manager in the Virginia landscape construction branch.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marymount University and was an interior designer and co-owner of a vintage and repurposed home furnishings store in Southern Maryland before joining the companys Virginia branch in early 2019 as an assistant project manager.

The Manufacturing Institute named Lorraine Amesbury Holder, vice president of operations for Stihl, as an honoree for its 2020 STEP Ahead Awards.

Prior to her promotion to vice president of operations in 2018, Holder served as the director of manufacturing for Stihl for 10 years. She is passionate about skilled trades and educating others about the viable opportunities available in the industry.

The eighth annual STEP Ahead Awards recognizes women in science, technology, engineering and production who exemplify leadership within the manufacturing industry.

Husqvarna appointed Robert M. McCutcheon as president of North America for Husqvarna Division, effective June 1.

Prior to joining Husqvarna North America, McCutcheon served as president and managing director of the Americas for Britax Child Safety in Fort Mill, S.C. Bringing more than 23 years of experience and expertise in consumer products, he has led successful business growth initiatives through innovation, marketing and operational excellence. McCutcheons background includes positions with Conagra Brands, Walmart and Britax.

McCutcheon is succeeding Earl Bennett who served the company both as legal counsel and president of the North American division. He has been instrumental in building a strong organizational and business platform for the future growth of Husqvarna in North America.

Kyle Renninger will join Anuvia Plant Nutrients as CFO.

In his new position, Renninger will be a senior executive responsible for managing financial actions and planning and analyzing the companys financial status. As Anuvia CFO, Renninger will use his skills in finance to advance market growth of Anuvias innovative, biobased and sustainable products, including SymTRX for agriculture.

Renninger brings 15 years of experience in his career leading the financial analysis and planning for global agricultural businesses. Most recently, Renninger worked as CFO for Arysta LifeScience Corp., overseeing the North America, Australia and New Zealand business units. During his time with Arysta, Renninger served as marketing manager for U.S. Herbicides, financial planning and analysis manager, manager of sales and operations analysis and reporting, senior financial analyst and cost accountant/cost analyst. His background also includes various cost accounting and manufacturing analysis positions for IBM.

Renninger holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Penn State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Campbell University. He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Sennebogen appointed Greg Roberts as tree care manager for the manufacturers new line of tree care handling machines.

As tree care manager, Roberts undertakes the responsibility for growing and managing the companys tree care division including the Sennebogen 718 and 738 tree handlers. His role will be to deliver field-based customer service including application support to end users, dealer development, sales training and product demonstration.

Read the original here:
People on the Move: Promotions and hirings from Takeuchi-US, The Andersons and more - Landscape Management magazine

Ajoy Chawla, CEO of the jewellery division at Titan, tells Samreen Ahmad that the company is gearing up to train nearly 25,000 people in Titan's ecosystem in two weeks to restart post-lockdown work.

Titans jewellery division, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the companys total revenue, reported a dip of 5 per cent in revenue in March because of the Covid-19 lockdown. The company is now preparing to roll out a digital initiative for customers who want to buy gold during Akshaya Tritiya, which is around the corner. Ajoy Chawla, chief executive officer (CEO) of the jewellery division at Titan, tells Samreen Ahmad that the company is gearing up to train nearly 25,000 people in Titans ecosystem in two weeks to restart post-lockdown work. Edited excerpts:

What are Titans plans for Akshaya Tritiya, which will occur during lockdown this year?

Akshaya Tritiya is the second most important event for us in terms of sales after Dhanteras. We reached out to our customers who are typically Akshaya Tritiya buyers and found out that 54 per cent of them actually want to buy during the occasion even if it is a token purchase. Since gold appreciates in value, people are also seeing wisdom in hedging and parking money in gold as a safe haven. The business community is positive towards it. Even the salaried class is beginning to see gold as an interesting asset class.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: WHO says worst is still ahead; Mumbai cases top 3,000

So, what offers will be rolled out for these customers?

This time its going to be an e-Akshaya Tritiya as the stores are shut till May 3. Our central warehouse is in Hosur and unless we reach our warehouse we will not be able to commence deliveries. However, we have opened online to book orders and will take 100 per cent advance from customers and deliver to them whenever we can at the earliest. We are giving up to 25 per cent off on making charges on gold as well as studded jewellery. We are also running a gold coin scheme which enables customers to lock in and protect the current gold rate. If one wants to buy 25 grams worth of gold, he can buy in the form of gold coins today. These gold coins can be redeemed against future jewellery purchase any time up to November 30. The making charges on gold coins that we charge upfront now will be set off against the making charges of the jewellery that they buy later. We have also put together a back-end team, which is in touch with customers. Buyers can finalise a product and the moment our staff are allowed to go into stores, our sales executives will try on the jewellery for the buyer using a video based approach. Also, if you pick a product but on physical receipt it doesnt work out, then you can exchange it till June end.

How is the company coping with the slump in demand?

Jewellery demand will not be as badly hit as other discretionary products such as garments and shoes as it appreciates in value. Every consumer facing company is going through a tough time. Our sales lost during the lockdown period will not come back. There will be deferred demand for wedding buys as customers will delay wedding purchases to may be the second or third quarter. There is also pent-up demand, which happens during birthdays and anniversaries. No one can predict how this will play.

ALSO READ: Top automakers delay resuming production over dealers' inability to sell

How are you ensuring that Titans 10,000-strong karigar community is taken care of during these times of crisis?

We have ensured that they are getting cash flow support even though many of them operate on a variable basis. But currently, theres no work. So, they are being supported directly or indirectly by us. Food is being ensured wherever possible. For those who need cash support, it is being provided. This support will continue for a few months till the flow of work begins.

How are you deploying work from home for such a large number of employees?

Its a great opportunity to sharpen the saw. The retail staff are undergoing sales training, product training, and participating in innovation workshops. We are also doing health and wellness sessions with them. Every manager is in touch with his or her team on a daily basis even if it's an informal virtual chai pe charcha. Our karigars have been involved in design competitions. At the senior level, executives are conducting webinars and learning from around the world on how we need to be prepared besides looking at the financials.

Is Titan gearing up for a restart post lockdown?

We are in the process of rolling out a comprehensive training programme for two weeks starting Monday for 25,000 people who are a part of Titans ecosystem. Every karigar, support staff, vendor, security staff, housekeeping, franchisee staff, sales people and cashier will undergo this training. We are looking at changing layouts in stores to avoid crowding. There will be a shift system for staff to see there is no crowding. We are also working on adequate safety material availability, including reusable masks, thermal scanners, gloves and sanitisers.

Will launch of new collections be affected this year?

One of the drivers for sales is design and new collections. And that will not be compromised as it is a pillar of the Tanishq brand. Certainly, our launch calendar will get deferred and we are reworking it. But it's important to build desire for the customer with new collections.

Is the company going to cut salaries of staff?

We have not taken any call on that front. We have ensured that all the people in our ecosystem get their salaries.

First Published: Mon, April 20 2020. 22:44 IST

Read more from the original source:
Titans jewellery division to roll out digital initiative for clients: CEO - Business Standard

A TEESSIDE business which employs 15 people was one of the first in the country to receive a government coronavirus support loan.

HTES Ltd,which specialises in training and assessment services to engineering and construction industries, said it had seen a 'significant drop' in sales following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Hartlepool-based firm had applied for thecoronavirus business interruptionloan aftercompany directorBrian Goodlad said sales had dropped by75 percent as a result.

But confirming HTES had been one of the first to get the loan, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said he was "pleased" that emergency loans had started to arrive.

He said: Businesses across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are facing unprecedented uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, but I am pleased that these emergency loans are starting to arrive to businesses in my region.

"It is important in this time of national crisis that firms in every corner of the country get the valuable support they need, and fast.

The government has really stepped up to the plate when it comes to support for small and medium sized businesses.

"This is a really difficult time for everyone and people are understandably concerned, but the support is available to help firms get through this pandemic with as minimal impact as possible."

Brian Goodlad, director of HTES said: We have seen a significant drop in sales following the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

"The support provided by Business Enterprise Fund provides a boost to our cashflow which ensures certainty and stability in very difficult circumstances.

It is an important lifeline that will help us survive and safeguard 15 full and part-time jobs.

It comes asChancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed more than 90 million of loans to nearly 1,000 small and medium sized firms hadbeen approved under the governments Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemesince launchinglast week.

Today, The Northern Echo was told employers had claimed for 67,000 jobs in just 30 minutes of the new furlough scheme going live online.

Read the original:
Hartlepool firm among first to get 60k loan from government - The Northern Echo

Cape Cod Times Monday Mar9,2020at5:22PM Mar9,2020at5:22PM

The RAIN Group, a global sales training company, announced that it was presented with four gold Stevie Awards in the 14th annual ceremony in Las Vegas in February.

For achieving outstanding client results, the firm received top honors in the categories of sales training program of the year with SAGE Publishing and business development achievement of the year with Chatham Financial. The company also won awards for sales training practice of the year, and Bob Croston, company vice president, was named sales training professional of the year.

With more than 25 years of experience, Croston won the award his successful career as a sales consultant. Croston's clients worldwide include Toyota, Hitachi, Fidelity Investments and Harvard Business School.

The Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service honor outstanding customer service, business development and successful sales professionals.

Email business news and high-resolution photos to biz@capecodonline.com. Please include a contact phone number.

Read the original post:
Osterville Resident Bob Croston named sales training professional of the year - Cape Cod Times