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, 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 tips from the hit TV show, part III
Week 3, the car, circa 6am and the boys were talking. Ben, he of “to me making money is better than sex”, was pumped up and ready for the third task, “I’m not nervous, whoever is up against me, their arseholes are going to be twitching like rabbits’ noses”. Sir Alan had called the candidates to the new athletic complex at Lee Valley, the elite Olympic training ground East of London, “Here... [Read more]
The Sales Apprentice: Sales training & business development tips from the hit TV show, part IX
Well! Well! Well! What was that all about? What did you miss if you chose to watch Man U and Chelsea rather than tuning in to Sir Alan and his wannabee business moguls! After tonight’s Apprentice I was left feeling that something must have been left out in the editing, that something must be lost in translation somehow… Tonight’s show was an odd one with few or no sales training lessons... [Read more]
The Sales Apprentice 2008: Sales training and business tips from the hit TV show, part VI
Tonight’s Apprentice was an interesting one although perhaps not from a sales training perspective but more from a business development angle. The task tonight was to create a range of new greetings cards and then make a sales pitch to three of the biggest suppliers in the industry – Clintons, Tesco and Celebrations. The team with the most number of cards ordered after the presentations... [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]
The Sales Apprentice: Sales training tips from the hit TV show, part X
Week 10 of our Sales Apprentice and what a week! I was pretty much incensed for the whole hour. This was a sales training lesson in how not to sell and for once I would question SAS’s firing decision although I think it was fairly obvious why he did it… After a quick shuffle of the teams SAS set this week’s task, “You are going to be selling live on TV. The team that sells... [Read more]
The Sales Apprentice: Sales training tips from the hit TV show, Part II
I know what the problem with The Apprentice is! I do! There are too many people keeping their heads down in the opening rounds. There were 15 people “competing” last night and I still don’t know most of them. How many can you put a name to? I can name about 6 I think… Rory, Tre, Jadine, Kate, Ifti and Ghazal. Anyway, I think we always knew that Tre and Jadine would be “back... [Read more]
