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 IX
Week 9 and this week the apprentices had to select and sell two baby products per team at the Baby Show in Earls Court. The team who sold the most would win and on the losing team, someone would get the sack. Leading Ben, Debra and Yasmina (Empire) this week was James. Leading Howard and Kate (Ignite) was Lorraine. I’m really not sure who I wanted to lose this week or who I’d like to sack first.... [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]
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 2008: Sales training tips from the hit TV show, the final
The final of The Apprentice 2008… Who would Sir Alan choose to be his apprentice? Would he go for the corporate girl? The “reformed” loud mouth? The “young” boy? Or the geezer? What sales training and business lessons would we learn if any? It doesn’t seem any time since we had 16 candidates and here we were with just four left and a final decision to make. The teams for tonight had already... [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]
