Sign Word for Sales Teams Safe

Massachusetts is held as some kind of “model” for gun laws. In this state you have to have a license to even touch a gun. Nearly every gun is registered. The Assault Weapon Ban is alive and well. Basically, every liberal anti-gun dream short of a total ban exists.And when you look at the number of gun deaths, it looks like it is working.Well, you know what they say - There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.Here is how the numbers are fudged.First, when they list gun deaths, they list ALL gun deaths. Nationwide, nearly 2/3 of all firearm deaths are suicide. Here in Massachusetts, firearm s...

There’s a four-letter word you’ve been hearing way too much of recently.It’s not a naughty word.Although it could be soon.GDPR just might become the most upsetting four-letter word you could ever hear if your sales team is handling European data and you’re not properly prepared for the General Data Protection Regulation.(GDPR doesn’t stand for Grief Despair Pain Regret – as much as you and your inbox might feel like it should).If you’re not based in Europe, you might think GDPR is just an irrelevant inbox-punishing law change you don’t need to worry about.But even if you are not a European company – if any of your prospects or customers are residents of the European Union, you need to understand your GDPR responsibilities.Otherwise you risk a €20 million fine. Or a fine of 4 percent of your global turnover. Whichever is bigger.Both are scary.Scary enough for you to concentrate in ready this guide to understanding your GDPR responsibilities as a non-EU company.Quick GDPR ExplainerMost sales and marketing pro’s outside the EU are confused about GDPR. That’s very understandable. The new regulations are wide-ranging and complex. Even some of the experts aren’t quite sure about the impact and fallout.Here’s a quick GDPR summary in the simplest terms possible to bring you up to date:GDPR went live on May 25thGDPR is designed to give European residents more control of their personal dataThe regulations give EU residents the right to know what data companies are collecting from them and how that data is storedEU residents now have the right to ask companies to delete this dataThe law also requires businesses to be able to prove they have reasonable cause to collect data or make contactThat last 3 bullet points have serious implications for sales and marketing professionals.If you want to contact a prospect, lead or potential customer residing in the European union – the game has changed.Does GDPR Affect You?One really important exception you need to understand before we get any further…Know that GDPR will not prevent you from selling and marketing to your existing clients (at least until those clients opt out of hearing from you). Customers have agreed to do business with you by entering into a transaction with you.You don’t need to change your marketing practices for existing customers.If you’re a non-E.U. business who markets to anyone who lives in EuropeYES!!!Sorry for the shouting. Don’t be alarmed (too much).Yes, GDPR affects your business. But you shouldn’t feel scared or frustrated.Take GDPR as an opportunity for you and your team to develop more customer-friendly sales and marketing practices.GDPR is designed to encourage helpfulness. This will also help focus your attention on the right prospects and filter better qualified leads into your pipeline. The businesses with the most customer-friendly experiences win.Because GDPR requires prospects to opt in to almost every sales activity, you’ll only be able to to sell to European residents who are genuinely interested in your products or services. That may mean a smaller number of leads in your pipeline, but they will so much more qualified.If you know for a fact that you don’t sell to Europeans at allNo worries – GDPR won’t directly affect you.There is an asterisk, though.Europe might just be the legislation guinea pig.Other lawmakers around the world will be sweating on GDPR and they might just decide to follow the EU’s lead by passing their own similar data protection laws.While the EU is in the grip of GDPR fever — you can get yourself ahead of the game and build a new GDPR-compliant sales and marketing process for all your customers.One more thing to consider for non-European businesses: are you sure you don’t have any European clients or prospects?You might find it hard to know with certainty.Maybe your product is tailored toward an audience in a particular country, but a European resident is interestedMaybe one of your customers has moved to EuropeMaybe you just don’t know the location of an individual on your mailing listThe penalty for violating GDPR is stiff, so if you’re not sure about the location of even one prospect on your list – it is safest to assume that person is in Europe.The Basics Of GDPRIf you think you might have even one client or prospect in the E.U., you probably have some questions. Don’t panic. We’re going to explain what you need to know to keep on the right side of GDPR.Below are the five points of GDPR most relevant to sales teams:Individuals have to agree to the collection of their personal dataThey must know how and when that data is collectedPeople must be able to request copies of their dataThese individuals also must be able to ask for their data to be edited or deletedThey must explicitly agree to be contacted by salespeopleBefore our experts answer some commonly-asked questions about GDPR, you should know two things about the law:First, GDPR isn’t trying to restrict your right to do business. In fact, the law recognizes businesses’ need to promote goods and services as legitimate.Second, GDPR isn’t banning you from contacting prospects. It’s just giving those prospects more control over their contact with you. You can still talk to prospects, you just have to get them to agree to be contacted.Let’s get to it.What Data Is GDPR-Related?You’re not just dealing with names, vital statistics, or personal email addresses.Under GDPR, “personal data” is broadly defined as any information that identifies an individual.That includes social media accounts, work email addresses, photos – even online quiz results.That’s a lot of info. If you collect any of it – you have to be prepared to defend your reasons for doing so, and explain how that information is stored.There’s a simple remedy to the problems caused by collecting too much data:Don’t collect all the data.Just collect the data you absolutely need.Your sales team will thank you for it; if they spend less time collecting data, they can spend more time doing what they do best: selling.What Happens If I Have a Global Account With EU and Non-EU data?If you’ve got an account with any EU data at all, treat that account as a European.GDPR doesn’t just cover EU citizens, it covers anyone who lives in the European union.Better safe than sorry.What Are My Cold Calling Responsibilities?Under GDPR, you need permission to contact an individual. Unsolicited contact sounds a lot like cold calling, but this doesn’t mean you have to stop calling prospects altogether. You just need to take a slightly different approach to European prospects.Article 6 of GDPR says organizations can legally use someone’s personal data for six reasons:If someone has given you their explicit consentIf you need to use their data to fulfill a contract with that personIf you are legally obligated to use that dataIf you must use their data to protect that person (or another person’s) health or well-beingIf you must use their data to protect the public goodIf you are using data to pursue legitimate interests, except when your interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the person you’re callingYou’re probably not cold calling for your prospect’s health or the public good, but check out the bolded bullet points one and six.If someone has explicitly consented to your calling them by proactively checking a box or filling out a form, go right ahead, you are clear to contact them.Now take a look at that last bullet point. As long as you have “legitimate” business interests — you’re selling a product or service to a prospect who might benefit from them — you’re allowed to cold call, so long as your right to promote your product isn’t overridden by your prospect’s desire not to be contacted.In order to claim that your direct marketing efforts are a legitimate business interest, you must do something called a “balance test,” which weighs your right to do business against the prospect’s right not to be called.What about my GDPR emailing responsibilities?The restrictions around sales emails are similar to those around cold calling.Both fall under “unsolicited contact” and both require sales teams to perform a balance test in order to know how to proceed with specific customers.This may seem off-putting, because GDPR compliance is judged on a case-by-case basis, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds.Does GDPR Change the Webform Requirements On My Website?Yes – in a few ways.Firstly, know that pre-ticked consent boxes are a thing of the past.A prospect must actively consent to being contacted, so you must let customers check their own boxes.Additionally, your web forms must be explicit about what clients are consenting to.Under GDPR, you can’t count on someone opting in to a freebie — like a webinar — as consent to be put on your mailing list. You need specific permission for each specific sales or marketing activity. The freebie must be truly free; your prospects should be able to access it without giving away data, and you’ll need a separate consent box for the mailing list.You may be wondering what the point of offering lead magnets is if you’re not getting leads.But this change will help you strengthen your marketing and sales game. Those lead magnets are now there to provide value to potential customers, and you can use those freebies to prove your worth and convince prospects they want to be on your list to receive more helpful resources and marketing info.When prospects are impressed enough with your product to proactively sign up to be contacted by you, those are some of the best-qualified leads you can have.How Can You Find Out Which Of Your Tools Are GDPR Compliant?Over the last weeks and months, you should have been hearing about GDPR compliance from the companies behind the tools you’re using. Responsible vendors should be sending notices to their clients, and posting those notices to their sites, explaining exactly how they’re handling data processing on your behalf.If they aren’t you’ll want to get in contact and ask them some questions:Do you have a data processing contract in place?Are those companies compliant when it comes to moving data into and — more importantly — out of the E.U.?If a client in the E.U. requests a copy of their data, or wants to be deleted, how ready is your vendor to comply?What steps have they taken to train staff when it comes to GDPR?What Should You Expect From Your CRM?Your CRM manages your client data on your behalf.You should be able to trust your CRM partner to manage your customer data correctly under GDPR.Expect new features that make it simple for you to comply with GDPR. You should be able to update your webforms, delete customer data, and offer secure transfer of data into and outside of Europe.Are you sure your CRM has prepared you for GDPR?Call them now and ask.Make sure you confirm where your CRM houses your data. If they’re working with a European data center, you’re likely in good hands.Pipedrive is based in Estonia. It have strong European roots and three European offices – so GDPR is a serious priority for Pipedrive. Data center is in Germany, a world leader in data security management, and Pipedrive have a team dedicated to data-protection and security.If your CRM is based in the US or another non-EU company, that’s fine. But if you’re still unsure about their preparedness for GDPR, it may be time to consider a new CRM.In our opinion, the simple CRM can be the best one !Even Non-European Sales Teams Need to be GDPR-ReadyTake the chance to make sure you have a best-in-class customer experience for you prospects.Yes, the GDPR doesn’t force you to change your practices unless your handling EU data, but you should be proactive. First movers will get the rewards and similar legislation changes are bound to come to your region soon.If you’ve already updated your sales and marketing practices, you’ll be well ahead of your competition and you’ll improve your lead qualification process while you’re at it.But if you didnt,Get your team on track and start your 45-day free trial of Pipedrive’s agile CRM.HOW ?Just past the promo code af-fotc ( like in the picture )This code allows you to use free trial up to 45 days instead of standard 14.

Even though it has been about 10 years since the party, I have still chosen to keep this answer anonymous, and I think you will understand why. I was in college at the time and worked evenings and weekends at a grocery store that had, among other things, a candy store that sold ice cream and frozen yogurt. The candy shop was a popular hangout when on break since most of the employees outside of the ice cream shop had physically demanding jobs, and a bowl of frozen yogurt was refreshing. It also did not hurt that the shop was almost 100% staffed by young attractive girls. Most were either in their senior year in high school or were freshman at the local college.Meanwhile, the stock crew, the area where I worked, was mainly college guys who were there for a really great part-time wage to pay for school. The job was physically demanding, and since most of the guys were young, it led to most of us being in pretty good shape. It is easy to see the dynamic here, young people in their physical prime anxious to “sow their wild oats”. It was a wonder that any work ever was completed with all the flirting and skirt chasing going on, accented by “couples” in various states of usually short term relationships. Gossip was in no short supply.Back to the candy store. The one person in the shop who was not a young attractive girl was the manager. I am sure she had her share of admirers in the day, but that time was years before a lot of hard partying and, curiously, a signNow decline in her ability to use make-up properly. All the same, she was a nice enough person, and since she was already married (to another store employee), she seemed to enjoy living vicariously through the girls that worked for her by playing the matchmaker and continually trying to pair them up with the guys that worked in the store.All this leads up to the party of the year! The manager, Julie, decided that it would be a good idea to have a huge party at her house, that she shared with her husband (Jim) and 1 yr old son, and invite all of her employees, as well a healthy selection of guys for her pairing efforts. I am not sure how she convinced her husband that having a house full of 17–19 yr girls, along with an equal number of 20–23 yr old guys would be a good idea. Especially when she was providing alcohol to EVERYONE even though the drinking age at the time was 21.You can guess what happened. Chaos would be an understatement with basically high school aged girls drunk and puking, and a squadron of post-high school guys who were not puking, only because they had *some* experience with alcohol. It was crazy. And loud. And getting out of hand quickly. But, in spite of all of this, Julie was bent on being the “top partyer” and she charged headstrong into a bottle of rum.And then the first incident revealed itself. Julie charged out into the middle of the party screaming at the top of her lungs, what it was I am not sure, but I think it was really just to get everyone's attention. Once that task was complete, she starts trying to rip off her clothes! But she is too drunk to really make any quick progress, and barely into her routine, she passes out cold and hits the floor. And now she is just lying there. I felt bad for her husband, Everyone she worked with, and everyone he worked with, were at the party and there she was curled up on the floor. I offered Jim and a hand, and the two of us carried her into their bedroom and put her to bed for the night. Or so we thought.After the brief entertainment, the party wound the crazy level back up to maximum, and partygoers were no longer containing their efforts to the house or the yard. They were in the street disrupting traffic, and worse still, creating trouble with the neighbors. When the “incident” happened, I was sitting on the couch in the house, and I had just heard sirens in the distance. I was pretty sure someone had called the police, and since my date was not 21, I was already in the process of leaving. And then it happened!The bedroom door kicked open with a scream “Let's get the f***ing party started!” and out emerged the previously passed out hostess, Julie! She apparently had some success with the stripping while in her “timeout” as she was naked from the waist up. Everyone was stunned as the charged into the middle of the living room attempting to dance to the music, but really she was just spinning like a lawn sprinkler. At least for a few seconds until she started to vomit everywhere, but not before managing to tear off her pants and underwear. Yes, she was totally naked, spinning and puking on anyone or anything close to her. She made just a few revolutions before the alcohol hit the “off” button one more time and came crashing down on a glass coffee table, shattering it everywhere. And there she was in all her naked glory, flat on her back covered in glass and unconscious. Her husband was mortified!I am pretty certain I still had glass shards in my shoes as I sped away from the party with my date. I have no idea how Jim navigated his way through the law enforcement that arrived shortly after I left, but for better or worse, both him and Julie were back at work the next day.

Wow.Now, before I fu*king start my demolition of the question, I just want to put forward a statement-Kindness cannot be faked.About the question: I was at first, baffled, like how can somebody degrade themselves to such levels? Then, I was angered as to how audacious the questioner can be! And then, finally I just.. I just felt pity.I pity you.I vehemently urge you to read this: Mohit Daga's answer to Why do you like Cristiano Ronaldo?NOW, where do I start?Okay, Manchester United — 2007,A young girl shouting “Cristiano” and when he got closer, she asked for his shirt. Cristiano said-And he,himself, returned with a warm-up shirt. He could have just delivered that with anyone.Or this?Before the game, a young lad broke free the security to get a jersey signed by Cristiano. He happily signed him away and when crowd cheered to that gesture. He simply let down a smile (acknowledging the crowd), raised his hands and walked away smilingly.Or this?The entire Madrid team waved away from the waiting fans, except Cristiano. He stopped. He signed and he kept on signing. He had to jog to the reception to catch up with his teammates but he stopped for the fans when everyone else walked away.Or this?this young pitch invader was in tears when Cristiano hugged her! He tapped her on the head and asked the security to escort her out safely.Or this?We all know how competitive Cris is, but even after drawing a very crucial game in the Euro’s 2016, he stopped the security for the fan. The guy’s camera wasn’t working and restarting the phone is a lot of time for breeches, even then, Cristiano told to security to wait and took a selfie with the young lad.There are countless/innumerous other such instances which I can cite that shows the humble guy Ronaldo really is. But, since the questioner has already dug past the pit of infamy, he/she could argue —“ThEsE aRe FoR tHe CaMeRaS!!”I’ll talk about his arrogance off the camera! (the stories media covered later.)STORY 1-In 2013 he was named in the Uefa Team of the Year - earning a €100,000 (£89,000) bonus from the European governing body.But rather than cash the cheque, he donated it to the Red Cross.A year later the star led Real Madrid to La Decima, their tenth Champions League victory, and picked up a £450,000 bonus from Los Blancos.But Ronaldo, again decided against cashing the money, instead sharing it among the three charities he is an ambassador for, Unicef, World Vision and Save the Children.STORY 2-He is an ambassador for three major charities, Save the Children, Unicef and World Vision, and has spoken up for countless more.At his 2014 Ballon d'Or speech, Ronaldo made a point of mentioning a group of children he had met with leukemia. In 2016, he recorded a message to the children affected by the Syrian conflict, saying it out loud and clear-“I am a very famous player, but you are the true heroes”.He also made a secret donation which he asked Save the Children not to reveal.STORY 3-In 2011, Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the European golden boot after scoring 40 goals. Rather than keep the award in his already packed trophy room - Ronaldo opted to sell it for charity.The boot went on sale at auction and raised a stunning £1.2million.The funds went towards building a number of schools in war-torn Gaza.STORY 4- Ronaldo repeated the trick of selling off one of his trophies in October, selling off his 2013 Ballon d'Or trophy at a charity auction in London.The gala dinner, to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation - which grants wishes to children with life-threatening and terminally-ill childen - was a roaring success.Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or replica made a massive £530,000 for the organisation.Ronaldo has always been generous when it comes to donating because in his own words- “If I have it, I want to help. If I can help, I must help. If you give more, the God is gonna give you many many more.” (Selfish act- maybe?)Since the question explicitly asked about children, let’s have it.STORY 5-In Lebanese capital Beirut, Real Madrid fan Haidar was orphaned when both of his parents were killed by a suicide bomber.A local reporter got in touch with the Spanish giants and eventually the boy was invited to the club. It lead to a heart-rending video of Ronaldo cuddling the youngster as he burst into tears of sheer delight to meet his hero.STORY 6-Ronaldo was alerted to the story of Nuhuzet Guillen, a nine-year-old with terminal cancer in 2009. After hearing about the fan, Ronaldo decided to send a driver to bring the family to the hotel where the Real Madrid team were staying.After emerging from the lift, he is reported to have joked to the youngster: "Don't you want to say anything?"He dedicated a goal to Nuhuzet, inviting him to watch the match in his private box at the Bernabeu, and after the match gave him his match shirt.After speaking with his father, Ronaldo learned there was not much that could be done, although there was experimental treatment available in the US, which the star paid for.When Nuhuzet's condition worsened, Ronaldo offered to pay for all of his medication, costing hundreds of thousands, and treatment at a private medical centre. Ronaldo paid that for more than a year, until the boy sadly passed away in March 2013.STORY 7-In 2014, the mother of another young fan, ten-month-old Erik Ortiz Cruz, asked Ronaldo to donate a shirt to the boy, who has cortical dysplasia.The brain abnormality causes up to 30 seizures a day.After hearing the full story Ronaldo paid £55,000 for initial brain surgery and pledged to cover the cost of any follow-up treatment - although none has so far been needed.He also helped raise extra money for Erik by donating a signed kit to sell at auction.STORY 8-This is pure class. The boy fumbled and wasn’t fluent but he tried.STORY 9-Before a game(warming up) Ronaldo blasted one of his trademark free-kicks into the crowd. Unfortunately for 11-year-old Charlie Silverwood, the shot broke the boy's arm.The statement that was recored after the boy received Ronaldo’s signed jersey and etcetera was- “This is one of the most spectacular way (refers to broken arm). A Ronaldo freekick broke my arm.”Ronaldo made sure to send him wishes and a signed shirt.STORY 10-The man who is disliked by many, not because of his game, but solely for his personality, that same superstar bends down to sign a little masoct’s shoe which followed more signatures because other little guys also wanted Cristiano’s signature.Now, I am really tired. This is an endless list. I tried to hand pick some of the really stand out moments.Thing is, media is particularly biased against him for reasons better unsaid. The most recent example is -Mohit Daga's answer to Was Cristiano Ronaldo correct in celebrating against Manchester United? (Answer is collapsed for some unknown reasons)Anyway, it really is a futile enterprise to get on with answering questions like these, because no matter what the reasons say/ the stories prove/ the facts told there will be a**holes who just wouldn’t get it and start aRgUiNg regardless, while there will also remain people like you: who appreciate and understand what this really means.For what it’s worth, I have never seen Cristiano disrespect(shoo away) any children. He is known for stopping the securities from harshly taking the invaders away. He stops and signs when every(other) single superstar is walking away. He gifts generously and genuinely, and doesn’t stick it to the person. His pride and arrogance is flamed by media, stating one liners and more often than not fabricating stories to benefit their own-selves.And I will again ask this, Find me one child who would smile at you, if you do not treat them with care and tenderness!

Completely Reworked Answer that was published by the Business of Fashion:http://www.businessoffashion.com...I ran a three part Forbes series:  The Rise of Gilt Groupe:[Part 1]  The Great Recession Fuels the Perfect Storm - http://bitly.com/tdkQHp[Part 2]  Gilt Ascends to Dominate the US Private Sales Landscape - http://onforb.es/twqCVS[Part 3]   Gilt's Strategy to Combat Full Frontal Assault by Competitors  - http://onforb.es/xq0aD0======================================================I have worked with Gilt several times as a vendor.  Here is their business model:They have excellent buyers - they find the best brands with great product.  Once you have established a relationship with their buyer they purchase samples.  The brand sends the ATS (Available to Sell Report: the available inventory that is currently not allocated to orders) to the buyer and then Gilt requires the vendor to block out the inventory for the saleGilt promotes the sale & implicitly the brand.  After the Sale ends, Gilt places their firm PO against the orders that they have received payment for and based on the available inventory that the brand allocated or "blocked out".  Credit terms are normally Net 10 or Net 15.Gilt Groupe Metrics & Statistics:Shopper ProfileMale:  39%Female:  61%Ages<24:     19%25 - 34: 30%35 - 44: 22%45 - 54: 17%55+:      13%Margin:Brands can expect to take a 55% to 60% discount  on Wholesale  (can be more depending on the deal you craft).  Brands should always try to craft a deal that prices the deal at Landed & Stored Cost (i.e. FOB + Duty + Shipping + Landing + Allocated Storage Costs).  [Author's Note:  I guess I didn’t realize how piss poor of a job I did defining the Margin Analysis in this answer, so in answer to the 15 messages in my Quora Inbox - here is a deeper dive into the context of Margin.]Background Definitions to better understand:Since there are not many people familiar with how the #s work for Retail, let’s breakdown some terms to serve as the foundation for further analysis.FOB:  Most footwear and apparel firms purchase FOB [Free On Board], commonly referred to also as First Cost, which is the price paid to the factory for the fully assembled, boxed, and cartonized shoe at the Port of Hong Kong.Landing Costs and Tax & Duty:  FOB is the cost to get it to Port of Hong Kong, which you hoepfully strategically planned to hit on a Thursday so you can catch the 11-day Maersk Fast Boats to Port of LA.  Landing Costs include expenses like freight insurance, bonds, transport from the port to your warehouse, the warehouse inbound fee (eg the fee to unload the container and put your inventory on the shelves of the warehouse).Landed Cost:  This is FOB + Shipping + Landing Costs + Tax & Duty.  This represents the baseline figure that you use to set your pricing as a brand.Pricing:Wholesale Price:  This is the price that the brand (Me) charges to retailers like Urban Outfitters, Finish Line, Journeys, or Amazon.  Generally speaking there is a golden rule called "keystone" where fashion companies establish their pricing by multiplying everything times 2.  Here is an example:Landed Cost: $25.00Wholesale Price: $50.00[Note:  Landed Cost can get FAR more complicated when we start discussing issues like IRS 263a for capitalization of expenses.  However, for purposes of this example we are going to assume that ALL Warehousing, Fulfillment (pick the order and ship it to the retailers, and Inventory Costs will be accounted for in the Operating Expenses (more specifically, Selling Expenses - commonly referred to as SG&A).]Easy Peasy!  Now that we have the price that the traditional retailers pay, we need to define the customer’s price that you see at the stores, more commonly referred to as Retail Price.Retail Price:  This is the price that the ultimate consumer of the product pays when you purchase a product from Urban Outfitters, Bloomingdales, Finish Line, etc.  This price is also generally “keystone” or Wholesale Price times 2.  For Example:Landed Cost:        $25.00Wholesale Price:          $50.00 (Landed Cost X 2)Retail Price:          $100.00 (Wholesale Price X 2)[NOTE:  Keystone is the general rule, but certainly Wholesale Price can be 2.1x Landed or Retail could be 2.2x Wholesale.  This all depends on the retailer's pricing power, brand positioning, and market position to be able to make these tweaks.]For purposes of moving forward, I am going to assume that you understand what Gross Margin is (Gross Profit / Revenue) or the % of each $ of Revenue that drops down to fund OpEx.  Let’s run through a quick example, from the Retailer’s Perspective:Retail Price: $100.00Wholesale: $50.00Gross: $50.00Gross Margin: 50%[Remember:  This is from the Retailer’s Perspective, so the Wholesale Price is a COST to the Retailer as it represents the cost of the retailer to get the goods to sell]Now that we have a baseline defined, let’s begin to apply it to Gilt Groupe.  Gilt is a Private Sales site that sells items for a huge discount.  Gilt Groupe is what we call a "cut-out shop" meaning that they look to purchase unsold inventory from brands at a discount.  The logic is that production is based on the stupidly difficult art of inventory forecasting of multiple sizes per style.  Therefore at the end of the season, you don’t sell all of your inventory - you may have sold all of your size 10 shoes in color x but have 100 pairs of 10.5s remaining in inventory.  This is what makes footwear so hard: every color needs to be forecast to a 10-variable equation - if you screw up the sizing on 2 or 3 sizes, you can kill the profitability for the entire style.Since I have 100 pairs of the 10.5s and numerous other sizes still in inventory, Gilt comes to the brand and says “hey, we like your stuff.  We are going to host a sale.”  Because they agree to retail inventory that is slow moving or in odd sizes (eg you only have 8.5s, 9.5s, 10.5s, 11.5s remaining because you screwed up the half size variable), Gilt looks for a 50% discount off of Wholesale.  For example:Wholesale Price: $50.00Gilt-Offer Price: $25.00 (50% off Wholesale)If Gilt acquires the product for 50% less they can mark it up 2x and sell it for the original Wholesale Price.  For Example:Gilt-Offer: $25.00Gilt-Customer-Price:  $50.00  (2x Markup yielding a 50% margin to Gilt).Also Note:  If the Original Retail (from above was $100) and Gilt’s Customer Price is $50.00 then the customer who purchases the product on Gilt received a net savings of 50%.Now, you maybe saying “Matt, Gilt says on their site that this is 60% off retail.”  The answer is that we “adjust” the price comps.  If retail is $100.00 (a keystone markup), I might tell Gilt that retail is $125.  Therefore, the discount that the customer sees is 60% ( use % change ((end-beginning)/beginning)-1).  Logistics:There is a caveat to the Gilt offer is that you have to use their logistics company to send the product to them (i.e., ship inventory to Gilt, who then fulfills it to the customer).  This is a standard plug of 5%-off.  You can fight with Gilt, but it’s a pretty safe figure at 5%.Therefore, when you add this layer of complexity:Wholesale Price: $50.00Gilt-Offer-Price:         $22.50 (55%-off Wholesale - 50% for inventory, 5% for logistics)Gilt Customer Price:   $50.00 (2x Gilt Wholesale Price)Gross Margin: 55%Cash Conversion:It's a brilliant model, they run the sale and collect cash immediately on purchase.  Based on Sales, they purchase only what was sold, nearly eliminating their inventory risk.  Additionally because of their credit terms, they are holding cash at the market rate of equity for the 15-20 days (assume 5 days for shipping) - a killer benefit for them.[Note: If you are building a model on this don't forget that they are taking an average of 1.75% of Gross Sales in credit card fees]One interesting aspect of Gilt is that they pay via WIRE - probably one of the most interesting aspects of the cash cycle.  Let's take the Groupon Model where the company mails the vendor a check.  In addition, Groupon could implement an accounting control whereby ALL checks are issued on a Thursday.  This means that Groupon effectively has somewhere between 3-10 days of cash that it's holding at the market rate of equity [think about how big of a number that is when you are talking about the discount rate applied to a $1.35B valuation on $400m in Rev - It's a ridiculous model].This little policy of paying vendors via Wire is incredibly interesting because it is something that would go unnoticed by 99% of people.  Per my detailed explanation below of the cyclical nature of fashion, this is critical money and having a vendor tell a brand that the check is in the mail is almost as good a saying "we haven't sent it."  Although the wire reduces the return on holding cash, it is implicitly investing in your product by maintaining killer relationships with the coolest brands.  We all bounce around from company to company, so keeping these relationships is critical.Example:Wholesale Price: $100.00Gilt.com Discount Price:  $45.00 (55% discount on $100.00)Total Units:  1,000 piecesTotal Revenue for Gilt.com:  $100,000.00Total Cost of Goods:  $45,000.00 (Vendor (me!) Revenue)Other CostsCredit Card Fee: 2.00%Fulfillment: 7.5% from Vendor (me) to Gilt & back out to Customer (Gilt's Customer)Remaining Inventory & Exchanges:As I said, they only purchase what they have already sold.  However, there is risk for chargebacks, fraud (can be a surprisingly high number), and product exchanges/returns.  I am not sure of their return policy and cannot speak authoritatively on how returns and exchanges are managed on their end or affect the profitability of the sale.[UPDATE:  What is the return policy for Gilt Groupe? - Explains this directly.]Fulfillment: Logistics: Do private sale sites like Gilt Groupe and RueLaLa handle fulfillment in-house or do they outsource it?Additionally, there is a lot of interest in Drop Shipping.  I give a FULL breakdown on the pros & cons of drop shipping: Matthew Carroll's answer to In retail distribution, is drop-shipping the best way to bootstrap an e-commerce company?Benefits to Brands:For the past 2 years, it's been nasty for brands & cutout shops.  Literally, we were at the will of these folks who were in many cases being completely unreasonable (sometimes asking for 90% discounts).  Gilt is a great company that is honest, efficient, and nice to work with - they don't get greedy trying to shake you for an extra couple of points.In addition, brands get rid of inventory, boost cash, and basically sell the inventory for about their cost.  This is killer because by the time we are getting rid of the cutout for the season, we have a huge cash requirement for the next season's production.  Although these sales hurt overall profitability, it's a trade off based on the upcoming cash requirements and holding costs associated with the inventory.Furthermore, Gilt generally becomes a large source of inbound traffic to the brand's site (forecast a 5x increase in traffic during the sale with a decreasing 25% daily following the sale) with conversion rates of 1-1.75% vs industry average of .50% conversion rates).  Meaning that brands can offset some the Gilt losses with the 75% margins that we make on direct sales for products not in the sale or items that were sold out.  Although the volume will be decidedly smaller than the Gilt PO at least their are ancillary benefits associated with working with Gilt.  Additionally, there is a level of marketing to exposing the brand to the historically high-end member of the Gilt community.  We have also seen that customers who really love the brand will actually purchase the goods directly from the brand to support us - proactively paying more because they missed the sale or just want to support.Alternative Business ModelsThe business models for other discounters like Karmaloop's PLNDR or Revolve Clothings Reverse/Rewind (whatever they are calling it now) are different.  PLNDR purchases the inventory then holds the stuff (higher risk, but they want a larger discount - 60-70% off wholesale.)  Revolve Clothing's Reverse actually takes delivery of the blocked out PO and then sends back to the brand what doesn't sell, so they can fulfill quicker.  The interesting part of the Revolve Clothing model is that they pay 50% of the received PO PRIOR to the sale.  They put their own $$ on the line and trust the brand to issue them a check if the brand doesn't perform well during the sale.  In a strange twist of fate, you have a vendor who now possesses the credit risk from a brand, versus the other way round [credit is still effectively dead for fashion, so we all became credit analysts]. Different business models that have their benefits & risks.Similar Business Model & Comp:Considering the nature of your question, I am assuming that another example would be helpful.  Another company that was very similar to Gilt was JackThreads.com.They were acquired by Thrillist in May for $7m.[Source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/13...Subscriber Growth:Q4 ‘07: 15,000 (http://on.wsj.com/umlnIe)Q1 ’08:  75,000 (http://onforb.es/v5ykz3)Q4 ’08:  500,000 (http://cnnmon.ie/vXJ9Af)Q3 ‘09:  1,500,000 (http://onforb.es/spCXUW)Q2 ‘10:  2,500,000 (http://on.wsj.com/vnhQAc )Q2 ‘11:  3,500,000 (http://read.bi/vAKOXw)Why does this model work?I have kept the above fairly objective and a matter of fact/experience.  However, there has been this constant nagging about addressing the factors that led to Gilt's success in the market, and I figured that I provided enough unique context above to dive into this here.They were actually exclusive:65%  less than 35 years old67%  greater than $150k in Annual Income87%  bachelor degreesIn 2007/2008, you really had to be someone to get an invite.  It took me having to step up and run a pretty damn cool footwear brand before I got my login.  It was not like the bandwagon camps that say "members only" and there is an automatic approval system.  Gilt had a highly sophisticated (aesthetically and culturally) audience that had the ability, the means, and the inclination to purchase your product at full retail (more often than not, Gilt purchases are from people purchasing additional items for brands that they had paid full price for at the beginning of the season and were really stoked on the purchase - the opportunity and the exclusivity compelling them to purchase again).This is a business that has grown predominantly through word-of-mouth marketing. Seventy-five percent of our membership has come from the suggestion of a friend, using our onsite 'Invite Friends' feature [in exchange for a $25 credit.] That's how we launched. We sent invites to a list of about 15,000 people—friends, former colleagues and classmates, dating back to grade school! I'm surprised you didn't get one.Susan Lyne, Former CEO Gilt Groupe, http://on.wsj.com/r5DQiN - Wall Street Journal Interview on Oct, 29th 2010A Sense of Urgency:Not really in the sense of time of the sale.  But in the sense that the customer FEELS like s/he will never be able to find this brand producing this model ever again at this price.  You HAVE to get it before everyone else snakes it. The most exciting challenge we've faced is how 50% of all revenue from Gilt sales come in less than an hour [after the sales start online]Alexis Maybank, Co-Founder Gilt Groupe, http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010...In addition, these are incredible deals that simply are not available during an end of the season "half-yearly" sale.  Due to the inventory risk of carrying product, retailers could not take in the inventory, ESPECIALLY in the last two years.  CIT died so boutiques didn't have credit (READ "limited size & product variations available as lost sales were better than sitting on product in their eyes") and the transportation costs of moving these units between stores would KILL margins.  Gilt enables their target demographic to have the ability to access the aggregated excess inventory from across the country in one central location with guaranteed availability.  This is a value proposition that represents a critical risk to their members as the chance of finding it (the featured product) at a major's half-yearly sale poses signNow transportation (they are a lot of bloody people, it takes a lot of time) and high opportunity costs (there is no guarantee that this style in this color in this size is at the accessible location to, its a lot of bloody effort to get there, and suffer through the lines without finite expectations of tangible results).  These push factors instill a sense of urgency for executing the transaction  with a "screw it, I'll get them both" mindset.Optimized Product & Pricing:  Gilt maintains a tight locus of control over their product selection with highly informed statistics about their target audience.  Humans are inherently very poor when it comes to wide product selection as the more options there are the more that they experience signNow cognitive dissonance after the execution of their purchase.  When you evaluate the product selection, notice that each sale/opportunity segments their target demographic into purchase categories that increase vertical associations (i.e. shirts & pants) and reduces horizontal choice (i.e. do I want the blue shirt or the green shirt).  These segments focus on the guy who would rock a grey-plaid shirt, is a blue t-shirt guy, and these pants go with both.  I have an insane amount of respect for their analytics/data mining team, but also for their buyers who manifest these data points into purchasing decisions that they are held accountable for.  “If we have 50 sales a day, we can't fit all 50 in one email,” she explains. “With SAS (http://www.sas.com/technologies/...), we can figure out the top sales to put in front of you based on your preferences.”In addition to cross-shopping, the company witnessed a 10-20% lift for customers browsing in new merchandise categories who had not purchased in those categories (percentages vary depending on the category). It also saw a 20% increase in new member conversion rates.Tamara Gruzbarg, senior director of customer analytics and research at private sale site Gilt Groupe  (http://www.dmnews.com/gilt-group...)Since a large portion of you folks are web app folks, think of this as moving from a 5-step sign-up process to a 2-step (I log in, the product is arranged so my "style", draws me to grab x, y, and z and bam I am checking out - not stuck sorting between color A or color B. The potential to miss my size being available is too great (i.e. opportunity cost) - I have to just do it.A Symbiotic Ecosystem Compelling Vendors Gilt has some of the best buyers in the industry who are bloody cool.  Not 'uber-trendy' or 'holier-than-thou fashionista' cool, but down to earth people who fundamentally understand, are passionate about what they do, and have a DAMN good eye.  More importantly, selling your excess inventory to Gilt was like receiving a nod of approval (not so much now as they are facing insane competition and expanded their signNow).  Generally speaking, a brand studies very closely who & where they close their inventory out to in a manner that optimizes cash flow and ensures that the target audience DOESN'T see it.  For fashion (emphasis on small, higher-fashion brands - the Theory's/Bloomies/Saks staple brands of the world do not necessary apply), once your customer knows you are at Nordstrom Rack/Barney's CoOp, it means you are mass market and your brand is trending down.  As I alluded to above, Gilt could actually carry as much, and in some cases even more, weight than retailing at the best boutiques in the country (i.e. Fred Segal, Atrium, American Rag, CNCPTS, or Bodega).I am referencing the above to illustrate the critical link in the symbiotic ecosystem required for a model like this to function effectively.  The confluence of about 30 different factors all boil down to a systemic value proposition for ALL parties (Gilt, its members, and the brand).  This is the clear differentiator as the core nature of Gilt compels great brands to work with them and provide them with the best styles, in a manner that serves to benefit Gilt & its members.As a brand, you could sell your excess inventory to your target demographic through a venue that actually serves to augment your core intangible asset (i.e. the brand). OH YA... Keep in mind that these sales occur at a CRITICAL juncture in your seasonal cash flow cycle as the brand has plowed every dollar back/drawn down on ALL of their revolving credit facilities to finance next season's production hitting their ex-factory dates.  International distributors have just paid and this partnership with Gilt bridges your cash flow through landing the goods and collecting on your CODs and net 30 term accounts - well, at least until you can coerce your Factor into accepting the accounts that achieve your minimum receivables factor rate.[Definition: Minimum Receivables Factor Rate = the % of your credit accounts that a company NEEDS to sell to be able to meet obligations for the next 30-45 days or uphold the required cash reserves of your financing covenants.]A Unique Approach to Pricing Power:This update is in response to an answer that I found to What is so special about Gilt Groupe?  One of the answers there stated that the special-sauce was their pricing power that gives them some sort of advantage.  If we think about pricing power in the classical sense of the word, we think of the Walmart model.  The more powerful you are the more you can drive your cost down, a concept called "Economies of Scale" & "Opportunity Cost."After digging into this deeper, Gilt in fact does leverage its brand and pricing ability in a form of pricing power, however in a very different manner than would be classically defined.  The Gilt model is NOT, as Tom Friedman would say, in a race to the bottom.  A lower price for Gilt does not create long term value for their business.  As you are drive down prices, your brands/vendors get pissed off that we are getting screwed, and we stop selling to you.  If they are trying to force down prices for discounts in the near term they are destroying their long term shareholder wealth by alienating the vendors that enable them to have a product-focused value proposition.In addition, considering the level of the SES (Socioeconomic Status -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soc...) of the members of Gilt, the product will not sell any better at 65% versus 55% off wholesale.  As I explained above in the Urgency section, these are emotional purchases with very limited quantity available.  Meaning that if there is a 10% difference in discount, the product's scarcity supports the higher price.  Furthermore, since Gilt maintains no inventory risk of slow moving product there is no incentive for them to drive down the prices to the vendors.In stark contrast to the classical sense of Pricing Power, Gilt actually employs its brand position to secure a fair market rate for cut-out-inventory.  They have effectively established a market-rate for cut-out at 55% of wholesale, for an industry that was in a bloody free-fall.Gilt's Business Units:Gilt Competitor Analysis:

Affiliate marketing is one such method, and it is also a way for retailers to sell more products with relatively little up-front investment.In this post I’m going to cover everything you need to know if you’re new to affiliate marketing, whether you’re a retailer or a publisher.In basic terms, affiliate marketing is when a publisher drives traffic to an ecommerce site in return for commission if those visitors take a specific action within a set timeframe.Usually the desired action is buying something, and the publisher will get a share of that sale in return for directing the customer to the product page.How does it work?The process is split between the following four participants (I'm sure there's a better word for it than that, but bear with me):The merchantThe networkThe publisherThe customerThe merchantOtherwise known as the retailer or advertiser. A brand is looking to increase sales but all those content campaigns ate up its marketing budget and it certainly doesn’t want to shell out for more staff.So the brand researches how to achieve this seemingly impossible feat and comes across affiliate marketing as an option.‘What’s that? We can get other people to do all the work creating content and attracting customers and we only have to pay them once we actually make a sale? Where do I sign?’Again, this is an extremely simplified version of events, but generally this is how it works from the retailer’s point of view:The merchant gives a publisher a trackable link to its site.The publisher includes the link in its content.If someone follows that link to the retailer’s site and buys something within a certain timeframe, the retailer pays that publisher a percentage of the sale.The networkSome retailers, such as Amazon, have their own affiliate programmes. But many will go through affiliate networks.These networks effectively act as the middle man between multiple merchants and publishers. So a publisher could sign up and get access to any merchants that network is working with, and vice versa.(Note: these types of affiliate display ads obviously won't get past most ad blockers)Working in this way ultimately makes life easier for the merchant, but it does mean they give up a certain amount of control over where their products are advertised.The publisherThese are the guys that include affiliate links to retailers on their sites and promote the products of said retailers in the hope that people will click the links and buy something when they get to the other side.If that does happen, the publisher will get paid a percentage of the sale.Either that or they’ll get paid for each click or action the customer takes, depending on the arrangement they have with the link provider.Some publishers include affiliate links in their everyday content, while other sites are dedicated to producing content with the specific goal of selling affiliate products. I’ll cover both types in the example section below.The customerThis is the consumer who clicks on the links on the publisher’s site and hopefully purchases something when they get to the merchant’s site at the other end.Different compensation methodsAround 80% of affiliate programs use revenue sharing to compensate, i.e. the affiliate gets a percentage of any sales that result from their affiliate links.But there are other payment methods available, such as cost-per-action (CPA), which could be used when the brand in question isn’t actually selling physical stock.Then there is cost-per-click (CPC), where the brand is simply paying the affiliate for traffic.=> Join our team to learn more: Here Is Your Opportunity To CLONE Our $20k A Month Proven Affiliate Business System!

Here’s a list of random facts about our great state-Our state is named after the county of Hampshire in Southern England.We’re the 9th state. We were admitted to the union on June 21, 1788.Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, is from Hillsborough, New Hampshire. Unfortunately he is regarded as one of our worst presidents.Ever since 1952, the New Hampshire Primary gave New Hampshire international attention as presidential candidates battle it out in the nation’s most important primary.Some famous people from New Hampshire or who have lived here for long periods of time include: Franklin Pierce, Adam Sandler, Seth Meyers, Sarah Silverman, John Irving, Robert Frost, J.D. Salinger, and Dan Brown.Mt. Washington is New England’s highest peak at 6,288 ft. (1,900 M). It is frequently regarded as one of the most dangerous mountains in the world with over 150 deaths since 1849.New Hampshire has the shortest coastline in the US at 18 miles (29km).New Hampshire is the least religious state (flip flops with Vermont) in the country with 52% of the population identifying as irreligious.New Hampshire has a sizable Francophone minority with over 16% of Northern New Hampshire’s population speaking French as a home language.New Hampshire has no seatbelt laws or motorcycle helmet laws.New Hampshire and Louisiana are the only two states that have bilingual welcome signs in English and French.New Hampshire’s famous state motto is- “Live Free or Die.”New Hampshire’s largest city is Manchester at 110,000 residents.People here are very loyal to Boston sports teams. It’s a sin to root for the Montreal Canadiens or New York teams.Although Dunkin’s motto is- “America Runs on Dunkin.” it’s really “New England Runs on Dunkin.” Apart from McDonald’s and Subways, it’s the only chain restaurant that is common in New Hampshire.New Hampshire is one of the three whitest states in the country with 92% of its population consisting of non-hispanic whites. The other two whitest states are its neighbors, Vermont and Maine.New Hampshire has one of the largest parliamentary bodies in the world with 424 members.New Hampshire has no sales or income tax. Go to any New Hampshire shopping center, and at least 50% of the vehicles are from the other 5 New England states.New Hampshire has the lowest overall homicide rate in the country at 1.1 per 100,000 residents, and the lowest firearms homicide rate at 0.6 per 100,000 residents. In other words, it’s very safe here.Saabs and Volvos are unnaturally common in New Hampshire. If New Hampshire had a state vehicle it would be a Volvo XC70.New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate in the country at 7.2%.Skiing is the state sport with nearly everyone in New Hampshire flocking up North to ski resorts like Loon Mountain, Gunstock, Cranmore, Attitash, and Waterville Valley.Moose aren’t uncommon so don’t be surprised to see warning signs regarding moose on our highways.We get invaded every Autumn by tourists who come to go “leaf peeping.” Seriously though, nowhere beats New England when it comes to Autumn.New Hampshire is home to Dartmouth College which is the smallest of the Ivies.New Hampshire is the second oldest state in the country by median age at 43.0 years.New Hampshire is the wealthiest state in the country by median household income at over $75,000.Our beloved Old Man of the Mountain no longer exists as it collapsed in 2003.The original Jumanji with Robin Williams was filmed in Keene.New Hampshire’s nickname is the “Switzerland of America” due its landscape.Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is the busiest airport in Northern New England.