OK, this is an unashamed rant... I am getting sick and tired of people abusing social media, particularly people who ought to know better. They knock cold calling, interruption marketing, salespeople and just about every form of "old school" selling and espouse the benefits of social media instead. They tell you that you can throw away techniques that work because they have a better, spanglier, more professional way of doing things. They do this and then join one of my groups, take no active part and spam it with some irrelevant, generic, … [Read more...]
What Do You Do About Ignorant Phone Boors?
December 2, 2010 By 4 Comments
Is it just me or are people getting ruder and more insensitive? Have common decency and what would once have been accepted as good manners gone out of the window? Or am I, at 42, just becoming a grumpy old man? I'm sure you will all have your opinions! You might indeed wonder why I am asking and what on earth this has to do with sales and success? Well, in my opinion, quite a lot. Sales is a relationship game after all so everything that you do and how you are perceived will impact upon your reputation, your relationships, your sales and your … [Read more...]
The Sales Apprentice 2010: Sales Training Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 2
October 13, 2010 By 5 Comments
“From across the country, 16 of Britain’s brightest business prospects have come to London,” Err, ahem! And with these words, the second week of The Sales Apprentice kicked off. With bad feelings ruling on the boys’ team last week, this week it was the girls’ turn to make the boys look harmonious but they didn’t do it without a helping hand... Stella was moved over to work with them in the absence of Dan (fired) and Raleigh (retired for personal reasons) and promptly took charge. Her strong but fluid style proved to be the … [Read more...]
Sales, Not Rocket Science!
May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I’m in Spain this week working on a couple of new sales books and doing a motivational sales talk at a gig in Alicante at the end of the week. As I have a place out here, I thought it made sense to mix some business with some nicer weather and some writing and as usual, I have been nothing but impressed by the work ethic of some of the street salespeople selling bags, sunglasses and trinkets. Annoying as they may be when you are eating your paella or strolling and eating your helados these teams know quite a lot about sales… Their (very … [Read more...]
Sales Training Tips: It’s Not All About You You Know!
August 22, 2009 By 2 Comments
What are your goals? What are your aims? How many sales do you need to make this month? What is your annual sales target? What does your product or service do? How much sales activity do you need to do every month? How many cold calls do you need to make to close enough sales? How many networking meetings do you need to attend? How many client sales meetings do you need to run? How many sales presentations do you need to make? What does your sales conversion ratio need to be? What price do you need to sell at? What do you need to achieve in … [Read more...]
How Robert Fed The Ducks!
June 28, 2009 By 2 Comments
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 she wanted. “Tea,” she replied. He then turned to the boy, “Robert, what would you like?” The two year old, wearing blue shorts and a … [Read more...]
The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales Training Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 12, The Final
June 7, 2009 By 1 Comment
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 sales motivation and mindset... Top sales performers perform, they don’t talk about performing. Sales is not about what you say … [Read more...]
Better Business Focus Magazine, May 09
May 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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 as in markets with intense competition; on how technology and the Internet is reshaping the face of domestic and home business; and on how people … [Read more...]
10 Tips For Confident Cold Calling # Sales Training Video 1
October 10, 2008 By 638 Comments
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 No Fear Cold Calling video, 10 tips for confident cold calling, will help you to be a more successful and more effective cold caller. Based on my … [Read more...]
