Posted by Dan Martin on Tue, 15/11/2011 - 18:33
Melody Hossaini, a candidate in the last series of BBC TV's The Apprentice, social entrepreneur and founder of InspirEngage International blogs about the fourth episode in the new season of Young Apprentice. Melody has 14 years experience in the youth sector and tweets at @Melody_Hossiaini
Week 4 task: Choose products for the over 50s market to sell at an exhibition.
The first thought that struck me after watching this week's episode was "wow these young people are immensely impressive"! It's easy to get lost in the entertainment and banter of the programme, however it's incredible to think that these very confident contestants are merely 16 and 17 year old. Every single one of them is exceptional and could give most adults a run for their money!
From a baby task in week two, to over 50s iand they are teenagers!
Stereotypes were flying all over the place, the question being, what do over 50s buy?
James McCullagh's team chose to go for the mini-vac and won the trolley over the other team.
Haya Al Dlame (who had stated she hangs out with her granny so should be PM!) went with the pie-maker and the bird box, against Harry Maxwell’s and Hayley Forrester’s strong advice to go for the pillow. A PM has to be able to make a decision and it’s common to make decisions that not everyone agrees with. The outcome of that though is that if you win, it’s strong leadership and if you lose then on your head be it! (It’s not easy being a leader!).
A lot of you along with myself liked the pie-maker! @johnsalehprice tweeted: “@Melody_Hossaini Yeah, I mean I would love a pie maker, and I'm 20 :P”
An important learning point to remember at product selection is to negotiate when discussing selling prices. It’s also worth considering prices related to volume. James did well in this respect, whereas, the usually impressive Zara Brownless wasn’t as effective.
The other thing to note about product selection is your audience! You’re selling at an over 50s exhibition- not a bird-watching gathering. Especially at £200… or £125… or £100 or however much they had decided to charge the product that was quite niche.
The two teams went about selling and the the mini-vac was flying off the shelves. Unsurprisingly the bird boxes weren’t selling but once again Harry M steps in with a last minute sales push and brings in £400. Last week he sold the ghastly plant for a healthy profit last minute. Maybe someone should employ him just for the purposes of lastminutesales.com!
In the boardroom, James’ team secured a fly-away win, receiving an incredible prize with Dynamo the magician! Super jel! (a close second to the prize of dancing with Diversity for me personally!).
Haya (who I really like) was left fighting her corner as PM, deciding to bring in Hayley and Lewis. (right decision the majority agreed). Once again Lewis Roman 'put his hands up' for his mistakes and @AmitMajithia tweeted: “Why does Lewis always blame himself and speak negatively? He's definitely going to be fired!”
In the end, the finger was pointed at Lewis. Congratulations to him for getting as far as he did (it’s not easy!). We wish him the best of luck for the future.
Week 4 lessons learned:
- Negotiate on prices from the retailer and greater volumes = different pricing structures.
- Research and consider the audience you’re selling to and the the platform of sale you’re given
- It’s good to put your hands up to your mistakes, but don’t force Lord Sugar’s index finger in your own direction.
Next week: Join me for live tweets and another blog post as the remaining candidates make a TV ad for an anti-perspirant!
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