Topic

academy

A collection of 124 issues

Optimum Presentation Slot

I enjoyed an interesting discussion over a sushi lunch about when an upcoming presentation should be appointed. Everyone involved realised that two times to steadfastly avoid were the fabled graveyard shift and early bird slot. Why is it that any attendee will be at such a low ebb immediately after

1:18 Poolside Pres Prep

I delivered a draft presentation the other day. I had a 24 page document to condense into less than ten minutes. Thankfully for the draft run-through, I only needed to talk, not talk along to slides. An aligned point is that I was impressed that we’d managed to gain

After This Meeting

Without going into the scientific detail here, one famous persuasion technique involves asking someone whom you suspect to be disinclined to you and your views for a favour. The psychology is that when they acquiesce, they mysteriously switch to inclination towards you. I was reminded of a sibling of this

3-Part Cold Call Process

I enjoyed the warm glow that came with seeing a non-salesperson successfully make some cold calls the other day. And what a pleasure it was. Admittedly the calls weren’t icily arctic, but work was still needed to get over the line to fix up the requisite face-to-face meets. It

Quick-Pitch Tips From Browser Wars

I was so happy to come across this. A judicial ruling means Microsoft now must alert consumers to a choice of browsers. So BBC’s usually tepid Click team asked the main players to tell us why they should be chosen [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_

Single Meeting Syndrome

Despite how fond reps are of swapping war stories, recounting outrageous one-liners that prompt shaky hands wavering with a dripping pen to finally scrawl on the dotted line, the winners all realise that Closing is a Process. Where lack of appreciation of this can be most starkly highlighted is what

Prepare A Closing Vigil

Your deadline is Friday. It’s the end of the month, quarter, year. Everything is in place. You’ve been promised the deal, signatures, purchase order, deposit. Zero hour looms and Bang. One small thing is amiss. The person who can fix it is back in on Monday. What’s

Reference Visit & Corporate Hospitality

I was judging presentations as part of a sales training exercise for a client when the first team up ended with a close routine suggesting the prospect be flown around the world to visit as a reference an undeniably aspirational location. The three following teams picked up on this and

Mapping The Process

Whenever you first move into the seemingly murky world of solution selling, someone usually takes you to one side and suggests that the fog of war can be lifted by “mapping the process”. With specific regard to sign-off procedures, I had a reminder of this when recently helping out on

What Happens Next

An exchange I was privy to the other day reminded me of how often I’ve cringed when hearing a sales manager talk to one of their charges about a deal. How is it that so often senior people forget how they themselves wanted to be treated when they were