What is brainstorming? What does it mean to you? What does it actually mean? Who uses it? And why should you care? Let's start off with a Dictionary.com definition shall we... Brain•storm•ing Spelled[breyn-stawr-ming] –noun a conference technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc., by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion. Origin: 1955–60 OK. So, and just incase you haven’t got it, brainstorming is a way of coming up with ideas, … [Read more...]
The Sales Apprentice 2011: Sales Training & Business Development Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 3
May 18, 2011 By 3 Comments
Welcome back to The Sales Apprentice! It’s week 3 and we’re two boys down. The girls think that the weakest boys have gone and they will have the weakest link this week but I’m not so sure… Tonight’s task was to find 10 items for the Savoy Hotel which was just finishing a 3 year, £200 million refurbishment. The team which could find the 10 items in one day and spend the least money would be the winner. Simples. Or so you might think… Lord Alan positioned this task as one of organization, of negotiation and of buying skills … [Read more...]
What Constitutes A Menial Job? Piffle!
May 12, 2011 By 2 Comments
Excuse me whilst I spit feathers... Ok, done! There was an article in one of the national papers today which read, "Meanwhile, research published today shows that many graduates are ending up in menial jobs such as waitressing." I'm sure that for many people this could have just as easily read, "... such as selling." I was incensed. The sheer arrogance of the sentence is an outrage. Just so as we are singing off the same hymn sheet here... me·ni·al [mee-nee-uhl, meen-yuhl] –adjective 1. lowly and sometimes degrading: … [Read more...]
No Chance, You’re Over The Hill!
April 28, 2011 By 1 Comment
Recently I have been toying with the idea of playing the trumpet. This isn’t a plan and it’s not a goal, it’s just something I fancy having a go at. I’ve thought about the saxophone for years but when I started doing a little research I discovered I really quite liked the trumpet. Here are a few examples of some stuff I liked.... You Raise Me Up, Lily Was Here, Song For You, Haydn Trumpet Concerto. But the truth is… it might not be for me, I might not like it and I might not enjoy it. Until you try, how do you know these … [Read more...]
Cold Calling Sucks & It’s Only Going To Get Worse…
April 20, 2011 By 5 Comments
I was the motivational speaker at a sales conference the other day and one of the Sales Directors came up to me to ask about the future of cold calling. He explained that he had a sales team of some 100+ salespeople and that they all had to set up their own appointments and that one of the primary ways of doing this was on the phone. He went on to describe what a nightmare this was and how it was seemingly getting harder every day. I won’t bore you with the whole conversation but I am sure just a few snatches of it will feel … [Read more...]
Remembering The Power Of Now
March 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
As a sales motivational speaker, I sometimes find myself moved by the story behind the story in films. Last night, I watched the film Click with Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale. I’d seen parts of it before but not the whole film. In it Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is an architect who lives a fairly normal life with a wife, children and a job. One night he finds a ”universal remote control” which can skip parts of his life that he finds boring, upsetting or otherwise does not want to take part in. At first, Michael uses it to skip a … [Read more...]
The Power Of Saying, “I Was Just Thinking About You”…
March 21, 2011 By 3 Comments
I have just arrived home from Spain and, whilst it is nice to be back and see my garden waking up, I am this morning swamped by post, emails, to-do lists...You know what it's like. And underneath this avalanche of things to do were several "parcels" addressed to me personally so I thought I'd open them whilst syncing my laptop with my PC... After opening several that were nothing like as exciting as they looked I opened one which was a "motivational" DVD from one of my seminar clients. He had bought it for me and had it sent to me from … [Read more...]
Air Traffic Controllers Threatening To Direct Themselves Into A Head On Collision With Reality
March 14, 2011 By 2 Comments
The world has changed. Did you notice? Do you care? Or are you carrying on in your own little selfish, self-centred reality bubble? Seems to be that many people are in the latter group. I am currently taking a break in Spain and many here are talking about the threatened air traffic controller strikes of 20 days in May and 30 days in July. For a country dependant on tourism and a group of people reliant on those self-same tourists to "employ" them this is incredulous. Did they not notice the global economic meltdown, the ash clouds, the … [Read more...]
