by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage
In which we are reminded that one key to cross selling is understanding clients’ goals and destinations.
“I would like to buy some socks,” my friend said. He was just inside the entrance to a V E R Y nice men’s clothing store, responding to a sales person’s gently formal yet genuinely warm greeting.
“Ah, of course,” responded the sales person, authoritatively. “Socks. Follow me.”
by David J. Kaufman of Duane Morris LLP
I have had a BlackBerry for something like 15 years; each year or so getting a new replacement model. Hell, I even had a Palm Pilot and all of its incarnations. I recall my Palm tethered to an Omnisky modem that “pushed” your e-mails to the device. (Remember those units?) I distinctly remember replacing that brick with a relatively new e-mail device from RIM that automatically delivered your e-mail. Now again it seems like the time to switch to a new device yet again. Here’s why.
by Emilie Duguay of Lavery, de Billy
Are you an inventor or developer who wishes to approach businesses in order to sell, distribute or manufacture your discoveries? Have you met a potential partner? Are you getting ready to negotiate the purchase or sale of a business or enter into any other significant transaction? Does this potentially involve the disclosure of strategic information or other confidential information about your business?
The conclusion of a confidentiality agreement should be the starting point of the business relationship. This agreement should be signed even before you engage in preliminary discussions and negotiations concerning the terms of the deal. Although a confidentiality agreement is not foolproof, the fact remains that using one can help you protect your business secrets and avoid worry and expense.
by Scott Horner of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
We recently represented a US bank in Ontario on a secured refinancing for a Canadian borrower. The Canadian borrower owns a number of Canadian and US subsidiaries (the Canadian borrower and its subsidiaries, the “Loan Parties”) which delivered secured guarantees. US counsel for the bank agreed to a request of US counsel for the Loan Parties that the US security agreement contain only a grant of a security interest (in contrast to also including an assignment, charge etc. by way of security like the US security agreement did on the original financing). The bank’s US counsel stated that they accepted this request on the basis that the Uniform Commercial Code applied to insurance proceeds.
by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage
In which we discover that starting conversations with strangers is easy if we can find common interests.
With the melody, “Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham,” and the rhythmic clapping of a fully aroused, Boston opening night audience still ringing in my ears, I stood at the end of Row Q, waiting my turn to step into the aisle and leave the theater.
In the aisle, waiting his turn to move past me, stood an older man, perhaps in his early ’80s. In his prime, he would have been a little taller than me. Solidly built. I imagine he was probably quite athletic and terribly good looking. Now he was an older man in a wrinkled tan rain coat and blue blazer, his head bowed forward, slightly, almost resting, waiting patiently for a throng of dance patrons to move up the aisle.
“Are you uplifted?” I asked, looking at him.
He turned his face toward me, looking at me silently for a moment, as if gauging the source and the purpose of the question. I smiled at him, gently.
“Yes,” he said, with a thin smile. “I am…. I saw it Tuesday night, I’ve seen it tonight, and I’ll see it Saturday night.”
If you knew two little words that could improve your sales, you’d use them, wouldn’t you?
When you see your customer has some reservations, it makes sense to get the issues out in the open, doesn’t it?
And after the ink is dry on the deal, you should make every effort to make sure your customer is satisfied, shouldn’t you?
So why all the questions? They illustrate a simple technique – sales tie-downs – that can help you improve your sales. By getting your customers to agree with you in small steps along the way, you have a better chance of reaching agreement when it’s time to do business.
by Enrico Forlini, Raphaël Lescop and Frédérique Dupuy of Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
On February 12, 2012, in a long-awaited ruling on Quebec consumer law, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified several questions that have been the subject of doctrinal and jurisprudential debate. For example, the Court clearly established that:
This bulletin aims to expose the primary conclusions of this landmark ruling, which we believe will now be relevant in all future Quebec consumer law disputes, and which are therefore important to grasp as soon as possible.
Article by Jeffrey S. Graham, Stephen J. Redican and Jenna Grant of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) has released a final version of revised Guideline B-6 – Liquidity Principles (“Guideline”). The Guideline has been updated to incorporate the principles set out in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS”), Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision (2008) (BCBS “Principles”).
In early 2009, OSFI had released an advisory stating its expectations concerning the adoption by banks and other deposit taking institutions’ (“DTIs”) of the updated BCBS Principles. At that time, OSFI noted its expectation that, in addition to meeting the minimum standards of the existing Guideline, DTIs should also comply with the BCBS principles.
By Blair W. Keefe, Peter A. Aziz and Eli Monas of Torys LLP
The Canadian federal government recently published three regulations that will impose additional requirements and restrictions on the use of credit card cheques, on cheque hold periods and on the provision of new optional products or services.
Proposed amendments to the Credit Business Practices Regulations would require federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) to obtain the express consent of borrowers before distributing credit card cheques. The Access to Funds Regulations will reduce the maximum cheque hold period for consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the Negative Option Billing Regulations will require FRFIs to obtain consumers’ express consent before providing a new optional product or service.
The Credit Business Practices Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette on March 10, 2012, for a 30-day comment period and will come into force on the date on which they are registered. The other two regulations were published on March 14, 2012, in final form and will come into force on August 1, 2012. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) will oversee compliance with each regulation.
The details of these regulations are discussed below.
One of my clients is paying top dollar for the assets of MFDA and IIROC member firms.
Please contact me directly with referrals.
Successful sales will be rewarded with a generous contribution to your favorite charity.
Eric Grossman, CGA
Email: eric.grossman@grossmancga.com
Tel: 647.333.7229
LinkedIn profile: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/ericgrossmancga
Do your or a client need capital or debt?
See: Available: Funds
Join the LinkedIn Canadian Commercial Lenders Group,
the Canadian Securities Group,
or the Canadian Accountants Group!
By Blair Keefe, Dan Logan, Peter Aziz and Eli Monas of Torys LLP
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) issued several guidance notes and decisions affecting the payments and card business of federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) and others in 2011. In this bulletin, we highlight some of the FCAC’s more important pronouncements.
Background
In January 2010, the Canadian government introduced the Credit Business Practices Regulations1 (CBP Regs) and amended the Cost of Borrowing Regulations (CoB Regs) under the Bank Act, Trust and Loan Companies Act and the Insurance Companies Act to enhance the protection of consumers of financial products and to better ensure that consumers have access to credit on terms that are fair and transparent. In addition, in August 2010, the government introduced a Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (the Code) to promote greater transparency for business owners and consumers who use credit and debit cards. In addition to monitoring various other consumer provisions applicable to FRFIs, the FCAC monitors compliance with, and provides guidance on the interpretation of, these regulatory requirements.
by Peter Moffatt of Gardiner Roberts LLP
Ontario’s Bulk Sales Act poses a challenge to investors who want to acquire an Ontario business. An investor who is considering the acquisition of a business based in Ontario, Canada, and the attorneys who are advising such an investor, need to be aware of the application of Ontario’s Bulk Sales Act,R.S.O. 1990, c. B.14 (BSA).
Bulk sales legislation, including the BSA, has its roots in English law and historically was common in many jurisdictions in North America. Today, Ontario is one of the few remaining jurisdictions in North America, and the only jurisdiction in Canada, which still has bulk sales legislation in force. Several jurisdictions in the US, including California, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, continue to have bulk sales legislation in force, and additional jurisdictions in the US, while no longer having in force bulk sales legislation of general application, have bulk sale notification provisions embedded in their taxing statutes.
The primary reason cited for the repeal of bulk sales legislation in jurisdictions of Canada other than Ontario is, in the words of the Supreme Court of Canada, that bulk sales legislation achieves its goals “only at the cost of significant commercial inconvenience, disruption and expense”: National Trust Co. v. H&R Block Canada Inc., [2003] 3 S.C.R. 160, at para 8 (H&R Block). The purpose of this article is to describe the types of transactions to which the BSA may apply and to provide insight into how to overcome BSA compliance issues.
by Robert Kasian of MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP
“If you care at all about the future of the world’s food supply, you care – whether you know it or not – about Saskatchewan.” (Andrew Ross Sorkin, Columnist – The New York Times, October 11, 2010)
Saskatchewan has received a lot of attention in the world press and investment community over the past several years. In particular, investment in Saskatchewan farm land has been on the radar of some of the world’s most prominent investors for several years. This interest has been driven by several factors including Saskatchewan’s booming economy, Canada’s stable financial and political environment, growing food demand and increasing commodity prices. At an average price of approximately C$500/acre, Saskatchewan also has some of the cheapest farm land in the developed world. In Alberta the average price is approximately C$1,400/acre and in the United States almost US$3,000/acre. In the United Kingdom, the average price of farm land is approximately US$10,000/acre. All of these factors have contributed to unprecedented interest in Saskatchewan farm land as an investment.
Whether you’re managing a team of employees or you’re on your own, remember that although what you do and how you do it are important, it’s the “why” that provides real motivation to succeed.
An experiment conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business demonstrates the power of “why.” At a university call center where employees phone alumni to solicit contributions to scholarship funds, the staff was randomly divided into three groups: The first group read stories written by former call center employees about the benefits of the job (such as improved communication and sales skills). The second group shared accounts from former students about how their scholarships helped them with their education, careers and lives. The third, a control group, read nothing, just explained the purpose of the call and asked for a contribution.
After a month, the researchers found that the first group and the third group raised roughly the same amount of money from alumni after the experiment began as before. But callers in the second group, who had related the stories about the impact of the scholarships students received from the fund-raising campaign, raised twice as much money from twice as many alumni as they had before.
by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage
In which we are reminded to prepare a plan to finish our sales processes.
“So, are we going ahead, then?”
This question asked of me by Kyle, a bank residential mortgage specialist. I had called him for information about his bank’s lending procedures, closing costs, time frames, etc. etc. etc. and rates. I’d called him, specifically, because (1) I use one product from his bank and (2) their rates are among the best in the market at this point. My other option was to apply for the loan with Bob, a specialist who has assisted me with multiple refinancings during the 30 years I’ve lived in Massachusetts. His rates and terms weren’t quite as good. I’d called Bob first, then Kyle.
“So, are we going ahead, then?” Kyle had heard a pause – the slightest waffle in my voice as he finished sharing his information. I was feeling the impact of some loyalty to Bob. I was thinking, “I want to think about it.”
