Salespodder (Page 334)

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Sales 2.0 Sideshow

I was socialising with a team of new business salespeople when the conversation turned to use of their shiny new crm. Unsurprisingly most were unenamoured with it. When one described it as “a sales 2.0 sideshow”, debate began on what exactly the ‘two-point-oh’ part meant. One abstract on which

Concentration Trigger

In the aftermath of an extraordinary major championship win, I noticed this paragraph on a BBC blog [http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/robhodgetts/2010/07/star_shrek_goes_beyond_final_f.html] . > Open champion Louis Oosthuizen reckons he has a problem concentrating. To re-focus he stares on a

Jacklin's Championship Golf Thinking

I just saw golf Major winner and man responsible for changing the course of the now awesome Ryder Cup, Tony Jacklin, deliver his thoughts ahead of the concluding round of the 2010 Open Championship. South African Louis Oosthuizen enjoyed a four-stroke lead going into the final day. Jacklin’s advice

Zen Destination

As the Open golf chugged along to its unusually inevitable, and for new champ Oosthuizen delightfully dominant, conclusion, former Ryder Cup victor Mark James was providing dazzlingly dry-witted commentary. He divulged that his caddy when playing in America, “Adam”, in his ‘zen-like manner’, used to remind him, > “the pin

Is Your Process An Outcome?

I often blog about one fundamental mistake both much sales management and practically all crm systems make. They fail to distinguish between activity and results. My experience is that when confronted with a choice, most sales management structures veer towards ‘activity’ as their primary driver. My firm view is that

Ice Cream Cool

Salespeople I know tend to like business reality shows as they often revolve around selling situations. The Apprentice is probably the daddy, with Dragons’ Den not far behind. It is from this latter stable that I came across a winner’s story as documented in The Telegraph [http://www.telegraph.

Vuvuzela Pump

I am a vuvu god! Bloody hell those things are annoying. They remove all perspective from a game inside the stadium, truly detracting from the experience of a football match. But when you’ve got one in your grasp, they are impossible to resist. A young lady first offered me

Calvin Klein's Dad's Deal

In March 2003 Calvin Klein sold his fashion empire for $400m. In the Red Bull lifestyle mag [http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Red-Bulletin/001242813576014], I learned what drove him. Here’s the cracking insight which he credited with shaping his pricing policies; > As a young child

Moral Hazard

At some stage everyone gets acquainted with the dilemma of how to respond to bad behaviour. Faced with whether to rescue such fallings can cause sleepless nights when you feel that you might inadvertently be rewarding them and thereby encourage future failings of a similar nature, rather than stem their

A Diamond Way

I happened to be chatting to a chap that had recently won a service contract. In neither a town nor sector renowned for its structure and process, the reason for his award appeared to be the pitching of his “Diamond Way”. The man in question enjoyed the surname Diamond and