Topic

academy

A collection of 124 issues

Welcome to the Pudding Club

"It is over dessert that the best stories are often told, in the literal and metaphorical sense. Be it the last seconds of a long phone call that produces the headline statement or, and this is more enjoyable, the killer anecdote or opinion shared over an even longer lunch." Words

MAC Thought Refinement Spotlight

Ever start a call or drop a message saying; “…just looking to follow-up…” ? Please, no. Yet this is a fairly commonplace error. A prospect asked me about this recently. Prompting me to blog accordingly. I was in the process of crafting a quote. A mini-Proposal. And was duly seeking true

Backward Sales Planning

I was reminded of this drill when discussing a tech company that sought to major on one particular recently bundled new(ish) product. Classic backward or reverse sales plans begin with your total Number. What revenue must you hit to reach 100%. Or more aptly, say 110%. You’ll need

When Did Your Daily Dials Last Hit 112?

A quarter-century ago. Seems so distant. Yet supersonic flies the time. My first ever role as a cubrep. I’d been bending the ear of the chief exec. The database was full of rubbish. So one day he made an interesting offer. He’d help me clean it. On the

One Lovely Word To Tease Out The True Value

How do you find out about a key number on a deal? Do you dive right in and ask? However awkward or abstract, do you hear yourself uttering ‘how much is that?’ Whether you’re trying to identify their budget, pinpoint a principle pain or even delve into competitive positions,

Cushion Statement

I explored this nuance definition when talking about building empathy whilst delivering *shudder* an objection handling workshop. A ‘cushioning statement’ is one aimed at helping make the buyer feel heard. As it was first described to me; with an empathetic bent you repeat back to the prospect their negative comment

What Any Solution Salesperson Must Know About Election TV Debate Running Order Choice

The first ever UK genuine general election television debate took place only last time round. 2010 saw a trio of debates with the then three main party leaders sharing a stage. It’s very different for 2015. In the run up to 7 May there is just one single such

What’s Your Calibrating Question?

Banksters, estate agents, used-car dealers. Now pollsters are added to the long list that charge the earth for losing you money. During the final weeks of the Scottish neverendum, they flooded the media with poll after poll. I heard one organisation claim they were done as freebies. Mainly to promote

The Two Words That Get A Senior Exec Cold Email Response Of 1 in 9

I was presented with a prospecting puzzle. A small target market of C-Suite names. Yet each and every one a total stranger. How could you quickly identify the most keen and eager winning prospects from the general populace? The obvious answer is to send an initial email. These would of

Chief Execs Can Also Need Sales Tuition

So Radio 4’s flagship Today news show has a feature called Friday Boss. On Friday 30 November, this came on around 0620GMT. It featured Keith Attwood, Chief Exec of a firm now callede2v [http://www.e2v.com]. Previously known as the English Electric Valve Company, back in the day