Valentine's Day Gifts

35 Dollars, which at the time of writing is around 26 Euros or 21.50 Pounds, that's how much they want nowadays for a 12 piece bucket of Kentucky fried Chicken here in Spain, and they don't do beans. With Valentine's Day approaching I thought I would write a few Squidoo lenses on gift ideas, first, starting with gifts for her and then gifts for him.

Gifts for her are all under 20 Euros.

Grow your own unique Rose and then name it, either after yourself or a loved one. The rose is then registered at the British library.

Name a star, again either after yourself or someone special. There are millions of stars still to be named you can get a box set gift here.

Become a Laird or Lady of a Scottish castle by purchasing some Scottish land, you are legally entitled to use the title Laird. Females can choose to be a Laird or a Lady, when you have registered you will have free access to the castle and can enjoy all it has to offer, a box set is available here.

For the guys on Valentine's day I've included some red letter days, which are named after religious holidays that are marked in red on calenders. Nowadays they are general referring to as memorable days out. For example, a track day, white water rafting, golf lessons with a pro and Segway rally day. It could also be a dinner for two in an up market restaurant, weekend away in Paris or a $200, 000 space travel ticket from Virgin.

Mysteries of the Arctic – The Flight of the Eagle

The explorers S. A. Andrée (1854–97), Nils Strindberg (1872–97), and Knut Frænkel (1870–97). Set off from Norway in 1897 on a journey to the North Pole by Hydrogen Balloon. Merchandising and heavy promotion in Sweden did not sway the majority opinion, that this was a dangerous and risky venture with a high fail probability. Disregarding many signs, Andrée went ahead with the expedition in an almost Polly-Anna optimistic flurry and some would say over confidence.  

They communicated with the rest of the world with steel buoys wrapped in cork and homing pigeons.

A buoy was found with a message from Andrée, saying that so far all was good. Two days later they disappear.

For years people speculated on what had happened and their disappearance was shrouded in mystery. Decades later their bodies were discovered in 1930, with journal entries, equipment and photographs proving that they had landed safely, so now they had the task of finding out what had happened.

Not far from their last camp was the carcass of a polar bear, it was tested and found to have trichina worm…..

There are some great pictures of the ill-fated exhibition that was found in 1930 here

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Grinding it Out -The Making of McDonalds

My Latest lens is a book review about Ray Kroc’s book, ‘‘Grindingit out’’, it’s a great motivational tool, with positive messages through out, and like Ray Kroc at 52, when he started expanding McDonalds; it is never too late to learn and succeed.

Ray Kroc, born Raymond Albert Kroc on the 5^th October, 1902 in Oak Park, near Chicago met the McDonald brothers when he sold them several Prince Castle multi-milkshake machines and became intrigued at their success in such a small town.

Ray Kroc started franchising the restaurants for the brothers as they had no interest in more work.

Eventually he became frustrated with the two brothers because of their unwillingness to run with the business and expand more rapidly, so in 1961, Ray Kroc bought the company for $2.7 million (which was enough to pay each brother $1 million each after taxes).

Artist Margaret Keane - Big Eyes

My latest Squidoo lens is about Big Eyes Artist Margaret Keane, when she started painting those doe-eyed waifs, and met her husband Walter Keane, and how after twenty years of not seeing each other, they go into battle for the rights of the paintings.

Most of the earlier big eyes paintings are only signed Keane so it wasn’t until Margret opened up on a radio interview about the truth behind them, that the battle began. Margaret stated that all the paintings were done by her and her husband took care of the marketing and selling of the paintings, and everyone assumed, with help from Walter, that the paintings were done by him, she was stuck in doors, sweat-shop style, churning out paintings, hidden from the lime-light. Margaret didn’t kick up a fuss at the time because she loved to paint different children, and was inward and shy, focusing on her inner feelings.

After a public challenge, a paint off, in which Walter failed to turn up, Margaret, denounced him on a radio show. Walter returned a statement saying she is only making these accusations because she thought he was dead. This is when the lawyers got involved.  

The paintings at this time were selling like mad with prints and plates shifting in the millions, from department stalls and art galleries. Even the advertisement materials for the products, like posters, were stolen.

The court case went on for three and half weeks and eventually resulted in the Judge suggesting a paint off after Margaret brought in paintings in the big eyes style from her youth. Walter declined clasping his shoulder and making excuses that he had a problem.

Margaret was awarded 4 million and in an interview afterwards said it wasn’t about the money, she just wanted her art and anyway, he would never pay. 

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Sales Targets and Objectives

A sale is a commercial act exchanging goods and services for money or other agreed compensation. In sales, individuals set expected or desired target sales based on previous personal performances or sales targets set by others in a sales team. In our personal lives we set ourselves goals that we wish to achieve - new car, new home and other desired assets. Some want to improve their health, while others may have long term goals regarding their retirement.

In sales it is necessary to set such goals, both short term and long, if success is to be achieved. Sales goals need to be tuned into reality, thought out, and be realistically reachable while still making a difference. Often people fail because they set the wrong goals or they are set too high, this is setting yourself up for failure before even starting.

Sales Target Setting is Important for Success

Sales goals should be well defined and detailed, saying that a number will be hit or that you want to beat the top sales person is not enough. The incremental steps to what will be done to achieve those goals should be written down, and they are the individual's goals not those of others. Working out how many sales it will take to pay bills for example, home loan, car payments, living expenses are not goals, they are needs. A salesperson should recognize the difference between goals and needs.

Goals should surpass needs. Using needs as goals often means that they are just reached or can also fall short. Goals should be set higher than basic needs so when they are achieved, those needs are taken care of and more, and if sales fall short those needs are still taken care of.

Sales targets work on conversions for example, if it takes 20 presentations or calls to achieve five sales, this is the base. If a goal/target is set at 15 sales to be reached in a month, then it stands to reason that it will take 60 calls or presentations. Therefore, the goal for that month must be to make 70 calls or presentations, setting the goal higher than the basis to help achieve, or preferably to surpass.

When making several goals they should share common elements, goals need to be put in writing, and they must be clear and specific, with defined dates for deadlines. Goals should also be set beyond reach but also be realistically reachable. Sales goals should be evaluated every day and have incremental steps and milestones.

Online Sales

Sales and marketing plans may include online sales. Maximizing sales online involves a certain amount of testing. Sell one product on your website using social media advertising or search engine advertising as these methods can closely target your niche audience. This form of advertisement provides clear conversions in respect to how many sales are achieved versus clicks per ad. SEO (search engine optimization) is important to making sales online; good content is needed, rich in keywords that are relevant to the products and services being sold, and that are being used to search the Internet by potential clients.