Sales Survey 2009, The State of Sales in the UK
I recently partnered Aaron Wallis sales recruitment in producing The State of Sales in the UK, a sales survey, the largest of it’s kind in the UK. Over a period of 6 weeks nearly 800 sales professionals competed the survey and the answers made interesting reading. I am going to be talking about some of the finding and what they mean for you in future blog posts but for now here are the headline... [Read more]
Check out this loser!
Check out this loser… 1831 – Lost his job 1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature 1833 – Failed in business 1835 – Sweetheart died 1836 – Had nervous breakdown 1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker 1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress 1848 – Lost re-nomination 1849 – Rejected for land officer position 1854... [Read more]
Sales training tip: Know your sales ratios
When I ask salespeople and business owners what their ratios and conversion rates are, few know. They cannot answer simple questions like… How many calls do you need to make to get a meeting? How many mail shots do you need to send to get your quota of inbound leads? How many meetings do you need to chair to get a qualified opportunity? What percentage of qualified opportunities will result in... [Read more]
Repetition is the mother of all skill if you want sales success
“Repetition is the mother of all skill.” ~ Tony Robbins, author of Unlimited Power In sales seminars and sales training programmes I often talk about the difference between sales skills and sales techniques… Sales techniques are something external to you, they are something that you hear or that you know. Sales skills are something that you own, they are yours through hard work and practise.... [Read more]
The UK Sales Survey 2009
In the complex and tough markets of 2009 it is essential that every employer knows what motivates their sales teams and salespeople in general. For salespeople, it is critical that you know what motivates you. To help with this I have partnered with recruitment company Aaron Wallis to sponsor the 2009 Sales Survey. We are aiming to get responses from over 1000 sales professionals thus giving us a true... [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]
The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales training tips from the hit TV show, week 11, the interviews
So I guess the biggest question tonight was which, if any, of the interviewers would you want to be interviewed by? Indeed, if their behaviour tonight was representative of their general leadership styles in the workplace which of them would you actually want to work for? But, real or not, representative of their day-to-day style or not, this was prime time TV and they had to make a spectacle of it.... [Read more]
The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales training tips from the hit TV show, part X
If you spent tonight watching Manchester United play Barcelona in the Champions League then the good news is that you didn’t miss a lot in the way of sales training and business tips on tonight’s Apprentice. What you did miss however was Sir Alan sacking someone that, based upon your emails to me, many of you had thought would make the final. I agreed with Sir Alan’s decision but more of that... [Read more]
The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales training hits from the hit TV show, part VIII
Week 8 and an interesting task rebranding Margate from being “a little tired” to being “a cool place to go”. Not many sales training tips this week but an interesting night and a few good tips. Leading the two teams this week were Debra and Yasmina. Yasmina declared that she was suggesting herself for this task as it required a “multitude of skills” and that she had them. Nothing if not... [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]
