Yesterday I visited several car showrooms as I am thinking about changing one of the cars. I won't bore you with the ins and outs of it and it doesn't matter what makes they were or what companies but they were executive brands / companies and there were 4 of them. It inspired me to have a little rant about a few of things that I wouldn't do if I sold cars! If I sold cars I wouldn't... Sit comfortably in the showroom whilst potential customers looked at my cars on the forecourt - no matter how cold it was! Chat with my 3 mates in the … [Read more...]
Sales Leadership, Are You A Duck Or A Goose?
June 29, 2011 By 1 Comment
Over the last week I have been making the most of the glorious sunshine and have had trips to the Yorkshire Dales (beautiful weather) and the Lake District (raining as per usual!). I’ve also been out jogging along the canal near my home and although I run along it all year, perhaps the beautiful weather has caused me to pay more attention to my surroundings than normal. Something I have been watching with interest are the ducks and the geese and their “management” of their young. It’s pretty interesting… The ducks seem to have … [Read more...]
3 Simple Sales Tips For Sales Success
June 15, 2011 By 3 Comments
I’ve had one of those weeks…. and it’s only Wednesday. I’m sure you have them sometimes too. Mine actually started 3-4 days ago with a nagging headache that built up and built culminating in projectile vomiting at 3am in the morning on Tuesday morning. In fact, I was still feeling nauseous, shaky and hadn’t slept at 615am and was due to get up in an hour to head down to London to give a sales motivational talk… Over the years, I have spent tens of thousands of pounds and invested a good proportion of my time into … [Read more...]
Isn’t Under-Promising Going To Cost Me The Deal?
June 2, 2011 By 2 Comments
On my recent Sales Apprentice blog, I was asked the following question (see below). I get asked quite a lot of questions via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and of course my success blog and it would take up all of my time to answer all of them however I do try and utilise the themes for later blog posts. Some however are best picked up separately and this I felt was one of them as it is a question that I get asked in one form or another quite a lot when I am speaking at conferences or talking with clients... Long time reader of these blogs but … [Read more...]
The Sales Apprentice 2011: Sales Training & Business Development Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 5
June 1, 2011 By 8 Comments
So it’s week 5 of The Sales Apprentice and tonight’s task was to make and brand a unique pet food, make a TV ad and then pitch the campaign to some industry champions. Not an easy task but one at least where the Apprentices wouldn’t be able to actually lose money again this week! Team leaders for the week were selected by Nick Hewer in Lord Alan’s absence and were Vincent and Glen. Glen wasn’t slow in shouting his credentials from the rooftops... “I’m a designer… I do it on a daily basis,” he boasted but not satisfied that … [Read more...]
The Sales Apprentice 2011: Sales Training & Business Development Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 4
May 25, 2011 By 7 Comments
It’s week 4 of The Apprentice and so far only boys have been fired. Will another chap go this week or is it time for a girl to be ousted? With just 15 minutes to get up, out of bed and ready for action the teams are asked to meet at The British Museum. Standing near the statue of Aphrodite Lord Alan set them the task of creating their own beauty treatment service and making profit. In one of the most profitable industries this shouldn’t be difficult but as we know, our Apprentices have a God-given gift of making even the glaringly simple … [Read more...]
The Sales Apprentice 2011: Sales Training & Business Development Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 3
May 18, 2011 By 3 Comments
Welcome back to The Sales Apprentice! It’s week 3 and we’re two boys down. The girls think that the weakest boys have gone and they will have the weakest link this week but I’m not so sure… Tonight’s task was to find 10 items for the Savoy Hotel which was just finishing a 3 year, £200 million refurbishment. The team which could find the 10 items in one day and spend the least money would be the winner. Simples. Or so you might think… Lord Alan positioned this task as one of organization, of negotiation and of buying skills … [Read more...]
What Constitutes A Menial Job? Piffle!
May 12, 2011 By 2 Comments
Excuse me whilst I spit feathers... Ok, done! There was an article in one of the national papers today which read, "Meanwhile, research published today shows that many graduates are ending up in menial jobs such as waitressing." I'm sure that for many people this could have just as easily read, "... such as selling." I was incensed. The sheer arrogance of the sentence is an outrage. Just so as we are singing off the same hymn sheet here... me·ni·al [mee-nee-uhl, meen-yuhl] –adjective 1. lowly and sometimes degrading: … [Read more...]
Captain Ed Goes Down With The Ship… A Guest Post From Last Year’s 1st Out Apprentice Dan Harris
May 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As you know, I don't do many guest posts on my blog but I thought you might like this one from Dan Harris. "Dan Harris? Dan Harris?" Ok, I'll let you out of your misery... Dan Harris was the first Apprentice to get removed from last year's Apprentice so what better person to let us in on his thoughts, feelings, empathy and memories? So for you Apprentice fans... The pontificating is over as the action starts for the new series of the apprentice. The memories of my own apprentice experience came flooding back as I watched. From the off I … [Read more...]
