Human beings are resistant to change. Nothing new in that statement however over the years, many a change programme has floundered on those rocks. In truth, the business world has never really got to grips with the challenge. However, this is no longer an option. The business world has changed forever and no-one will be left untouched by the need to change, adapt and acquire new skills.
Read MoreConsider the following scenario….a salesperson goes to meet a prospect. The meeting goes well. There is good rapport. The salesperson learns about the prospect’s business. The prospect even shares some of their issues and an interest in finding out more about what the salesperson has to offer. All good so far. However, danger lurks! Hope is raised but often only to be dashed in the fullness of time.
Read MoreAs has been espoused many times in these pages (and in more books than a dog could run around), a person’s mindset is a huge contributor to their success in life. How we think governs how we act and behave which in turn, govern the results we achieve.
It therefore follows that if we can identify and flick the right mindset ‘switch’, it can have enormously positive knock-on benefits to our success.
Read MoreOne of the great failings of training in organisations is that far too often it doesn’t lead to the behavioural change that is either desired or required. For anyone who has been around L&D for any length of time, this is hardly a revolutionary statement. What is the typical organisational response? Often, it has been to change the training. Find the latest new technique and try that. However, there is a much bigger issue at play here that holds the key to whether investment in behavioural change pays off or not.
Read MoreManagement information is the lifeblood of any organisation. How much are we going to sell? When are we going to sell it? How confident are you that we’ll get the deal? What are the obstacles? Are we speaking to the right people? What’s your next action? (And so on). If managers knew the answers to these and other fundamental questions and the answers were accurate, running the business would be so much easier – and profitable.
Read MoreOver recent months, we have noticed an increasing number of requests along the following lines….. “How can we get our field service teams to contribute more to our sales efforts?” This community often have more regular access to key customer stakeholders. They are also typically regarded with a level of trust by customers that many salespeople could only dream of. There is therefore an impeccable logic to exploring how this community can help identify and progress additional new sales opportunities with existing customers.
However, this logic faces one massive obstacle…
Read MoreThere are many ways to build respect but when you peel back the layers of the onion, there is often one thing that we consistently see that is a respect ‘killer’ – ego. Not the showing off, boasting type of ego but a more deep seated need to be seen as deserving of the position and title of leader. The following are therefore a few hints and tips to ensure ego doesn’t present itself in unwanted ways that diminish the respect in which you are held by your team...
Read MoreWe recently ran our latest event titled "Dragging Sales Development out of the Dark Ages".
The rationale for the event was the fact that for far too long now, organisations across the world have invested significant sums of money on sales development programmes without getting the value from their investment that we think they should. This is largely down to outdated approaches to development that were formulated in the last century but are no longer fit for purpose in the 21st century.
We believe that it is time for this to change and so we gathered a crowd of over 40 like-minded sales leaders together in London to share insights and ideas on how we think this will happen.
Read MoreIn his book "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", Douglas Adams posed the “Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything”. As many of you know, a huge super computer famously came up with the answer of 42. What less people might know is that this super computer also went on to say that the answer was meaningless. This popped into my head earlier this week as I was reading an article about Brentford Football Club. It was not a football story but one about ‘Big Data’ and a question as to whether or not it is the answer to all our prayers that some think it is.
Read MoreYou can sometimes smell the fear…
Some would say that with an ‘ample’ nose like mine, I should be able to smell most things however there is a serious point to be made here. Not about my nose but about a fear and loathing of selling.
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