Talking with a few machinery agents last week, the subject of whether they were going to Meatex came up. Although they were attending next month, they told me that they weren't taking a stand, sighting the cost and the poor turn-out of the past event. The view they share have has not been limited, as I understand a good few of the major players in the machinery and indeed the packaging and ingredient society will not be attending this year either.
Has William Reed who I believe rightly or wrongly run the event become too greedy in their costings of the stands and not put enough into the marketing of the event?.. Want an example?... A £1000 to put in 3 phase electricity even on small stand?!...And if you dont read the William Reed publications, would you find out about the exhibition?
Personally I feel we should attend and support Foodex Meatex, however WR need to think long and hard about their pricing strategy of stands, and offer more incentives to both exhibitors and attendees. The event in my opinion is tired and predictable and so needs new energy to bring it back to it's former glory.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Friday, 5 February 2010
When it is best to say nothing!
I called on a business this week in Scotland that among other things, auctions catering equipment over the Internet. The owner was not present, however we had the misfortune to talk to one of the biggest bull shitters I have ever met. When I explained what Buy it! Sell it! Want it? was all about, he said his boss would not be interested as they could "crap in a bucket and sell it", so they have no need to look at other ways to sell their equipment.
He went on to say that they had spent over 2 million pounds on building the Internet site, and that they had 10 IT guys working on it around the clock!. 2 million quid??.. If I did not get change out of £2000 for building the same type of site, I would be a very unhappy guy!!.
I would love to send you all the link to the "golden site" but I don't want to give them free publicity.
I then spotted a van which I believed was from a customer that recently went bust. I highlighted this fact to this "manure spreader", however he said that I was mistaken. On later inspection, I noticed that the livery that was removed still had the imprint of the company's logo and my customer's name on the side of the van!
It was at this point my friend who was with me walked away, later telling me, that he was nauseated by the smell of crap the guy was spinning! . He should have put that in a bucket and sold that as well!
Anyway Stewart (if that is your real name), if you are reading this, not everyone has just came off a "banana boat" or "sailed up the Clyde on a water biscuit" . You need a bigger bucket as you have two places to shovel from!!!
He went on to say that they had spent over 2 million pounds on building the Internet site, and that they had 10 IT guys working on it around the clock!. 2 million quid??.. If I did not get change out of £2000 for building the same type of site, I would be a very unhappy guy!!.
I would love to send you all the link to the "golden site" but I don't want to give them free publicity.
I then spotted a van which I believed was from a customer that recently went bust. I highlighted this fact to this "manure spreader", however he said that I was mistaken. On later inspection, I noticed that the livery that was removed still had the imprint of the company's logo and my customer's name on the side of the van!
It was at this point my friend who was with me walked away, later telling me, that he was nauseated by the smell of crap the guy was spinning! . He should have put that in a bucket and sold that as well!
Anyway Stewart (if that is your real name), if you are reading this, not everyone has just came off a "banana boat" or "sailed up the Clyde on a water biscuit" . You need a bigger bucket as you have two places to shovel from!!!
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Eat pork and have a better sex life!
The president of Argentina has announced that pork is a more effective sexual stimulant than Viagra, as she tries to boost the country's pig industry.
Cristina Fernandez claimed she and her husband had just spent a fulfilling weekend of marital bliss after tucking into some barbecued chops.
"Eating pork improves your sex life. I'd say it's a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra," she said in a speech to the leaders of Argentina's pig farming industry.
"And let me tell you, I am a big fan of pork meat, and I am not just saying that to look good here."
Ms Fernandez's half-joking comments were met with applause from the country's pork industry leaders.
The light-hearted comments introduced Fernandez's proposed subsidies for Argentina's pig business.
The president did, however, voice concern as to how her husband, former Argentinian president Nestor Kirchner, would react to her public revelation.
"I just realised what I said - Kirchner will kill me," she said.
The comment has been played repeatedly on television and radio stations, and has sparked fierce debate on whether Argentines, some of the world's most avid beef consumers, should add more pork to their diet.
Argentinians consume a little more than their body weight in beef every year and have little interest in replacing their beefy meals with chicken, pork or other meats.
The head of the association of pork producers, Juan Luis Uccelli, has supported Ms Fernandez's speech, saying that Denmark and Japan have a much more "harmonious" sexual life than Argentinians because they eat a lot of pig meat.
"In Osaka, Japan, there is a village in which the people who reached 105 years old and ate a lot of pork had a lot of sexual activity," he told a radio station.
Others were sceptical.
A specialist in sexual dysfunction, has told the Argentinian newspaper La Nacion that there was no study showing that pork meat significantly improves sexual activity.
Friday, 29 January 2010
Good Buyer or Bad?
Being in sales for more years than I can remember, I think I have came across every type of buyer there is, ranging from my mates who own small butchers shop to the large supermarket category buyers.
As every sales man or woman will know, your face doesn't fit in every account, as customers have their favourite suppliers, and possibly has close ties to their sales person. This I fully understand, and I like to think that I am in that privileged position of having a good few customers who buy because of me.
However I have been working on a deal with a buyer who incidentally does not own the business, and proved to him without doubt that by making a painless change to our products they will make savings in the region of £45k a year!. 2-3 production staff's wages!
His only excuse not to buy was " I'm happy with current supplier"!..I bet his boss isn't!
So, what do I do?...Go to the owner with this proposal???..No I would never do that, as that is not the way to do business, and I will need to "bite the bullet" and walk away this time.
However I really do wonder some times why they call themselves buyers, and really would you employ someone like that to get the best deal for your company?
As every sales man or woman will know, your face doesn't fit in every account, as customers have their favourite suppliers, and possibly has close ties to their sales person. This I fully understand, and I like to think that I am in that privileged position of having a good few customers who buy because of me.
However I have been working on a deal with a buyer who incidentally does not own the business, and proved to him without doubt that by making a painless change to our products they will make savings in the region of £45k a year!. 2-3 production staff's wages!
His only excuse not to buy was " I'm happy with current supplier"!..I bet his boss isn't!
So, what do I do?...Go to the owner with this proposal???..No I would never do that, as that is not the way to do business, and I will need to "bite the bullet" and walk away this time.
However I really do wonder some times why they call themselves buyers, and really would you employ someone like that to get the best deal for your company?
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