How Robert fed the ducks!
For the last few days I have been having a long weekend staying in Grassmere in the Lake District. Beautiful. And for once the weather has been beautiful too. Mid afternoon today I was sitting drinking a tea in Bowness by Lake Windermere and a little family (Mum, Dad, two year old boy) arrived to have refreshments too. They looked hot, thirsty and ready for tea. Mum sat down and Dad asked her what... [Read more]
The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales training tips from the hit TV show, week 12, the final
The final of the Apprentice. Cool, professional Kate versus passionate, entrepreneurial Yasmina. Their brief, design and pitch a new brand of chocolate. Sir Alan said they were his best candidates ever and that it was his hardest decision yet. Either could have won. Yasmina did. So that done (!), I thought I would sum up some of the core sales training lessons from this year’s Sales Apprentice… On... [Read more]
Better Business Focus magazine, May 09
One of my articles was feaured in Better Business Focus magazine, the essential key for business owners and managers, again this month. Better Business Focus magazine focuses on the way in which successful businesses in the UK compete and manage their organisations. It focuses on how people are recruited, coached and developed; on how marketing and selling is undertaken in professional markets as well... [Read more]
10 tips for confident cold calling # sales training video 1
I’ve been really busy the last few weeks with two of my sales seminars, Close the Deal and Sales Negotiation Skills, and speaking at several sales conferences so it has been a little while since I’ve posted onto my blog. Given the challenges that some salespeople and business owners are facing at the moment with trying to win new business I wanted to do something a little different… This... [Read more]
How to destroy sales rapport real fast!
As a sales motivational speaker I get the pleasure of working with thousands of salespeople every year and I get asked about many sales training challenges that they face. One area that rears its ugly head quite frequently is the act of reaching and building rapport with senior decision makers. Many succesful salespeople who prospect new clients effortlessly every day can be pushed out of their comfort... [Read more]
What are your favourite sales questions?
All sales training experts and sales gurus alike, myself included, extol the virtues of asking good questions. Asking the right question can develop rapport, increase credibility and turn a sale around. As part of my Real World Sales Tips project I thought that it would be fun to find out what your favourite questions are to ask your clients and prospects. To get you started here are a few from Real... [Read more]
How to listen for hidden client objections
Salespeople and business people know that listening skills are essential yet when I run sales training seminars I am constantantly amazed by how poorly most people listen to their prospects and clients. This may well be that people have had too little sales training in this area, it may be that they hear what they want to hear or it could be that they just don’t care. Whatever. The ability to... [Read more]
How not to win customers, 3 sales strategies that really don’t work!
It’s Christmas and I have probably eaten to much Christmas pudding so perhaps I am feeling unforgiving but, as I wade through crackers, games and pies, I have been mulling over some of the ways that businesess manage to prevent their own sales and lose customers without seemingly trying! So that got me thinking that it would be a bit of fun to have a look at how no to do it, how not... [Read more]
Perfect Presentations article at Training Zone
By Dawn Smith. Whether giving presentations is the thing you dread most, or just another day at the office, it’s a skill that can always be improved. Dawn Smith gathers some tips and advice from public speaking gurus on how to overcome stage-fright, engage the audience and make your presentations shine. The New York Times famously reported in 1984 that speaking in public was most people’s... [Read more]
How to qualify clients in a win win way
Gavin, you recently wrote an article Selling Pies Should Be Easy and you talked about not throwing up obstacles that make it difficult for our clients to buy from us. I totally agree with this however in our business there are various criteria that we need to meet that, from the customers point of view, are often seen as obstacles. To be honest, the customer feels it just isn’t... [Read more]
