Topic

grapevine

A collection of 648 issues

Carpet Bomb Email Shows Glimmer Of Promise

This little treasure had the temerity to sneak through my spam filters the other day. How’s this for a blind, cold mail. Straight to the point; > [firstname] Can we schedule a few minutes to discuss our video production work and pricing structure? We work with hundreds of technology companies

Are Prospects Feeling Values Love The Linkedin Way

[https://salespodder.com/content/images/wordpress/2015/01/bloomberglinkedin.jpg] A screenshot from Bloomberg tv’s Studio 1.0. Proof that the most lame sounding pitch can turn an (eventual) profit. “Friendster for business” LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman doesn’t seem to like that tag, nor “the startup whisperer”. I

Don't Hide Behind Two-Point-Zero

Over brekkie this morning I caught the promotion of ‘soft skills’ in schools. One time UK telly Dragon’s Den investor, James Caan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Caan_%28entrepreneur%29], is the drive’s figurehead. On that show his performances were largely underwhelming. Yet he made a mint

Detangle Your Benefit Statement Like Hairbrush Inventor

The Tangle Teezer [http://www.tangleteezer.com/]. I was blissfully unaware of this product. Until I heard a one-time hairdresser describe his rise. For ten years he’d battled with how to untangle young ladies’ knotted hair in his salon. Gradually, his preferred method of combining comb and brush morphed

Are Your Intro Emails As Bad As From Webfarms?

Here’s a not un-typical format for an initial email. I was shown it on a real-world printout in a live sales office. > I work with [company x] and would like to set up a meeting on how you manage [ whatever relevant buzzword] Here’s what we do, who rates

The Battle Against Being Shanghaied By Buyer Crimps

[https://salespodder.com/content/images/wordpress/2013/07/pepperpot.jpg] In a lunchspot the other day, I was on a communal table where an artist was chatting to an anti-nuclear power campaigner. The annoyance of being expected to do ‘free’ work in return simply for exposure was quick to surface.

STAR Moments

I chuckled to discover another ‘star’ acronym. I now use (and teach [http://salespodder.com/star-pitch]) a differentone [http://salespodder.com/star-interview-method/] regularly that helps both focus client stories and provide the usually missing punch. This one is short for, > Something They’ll Always Remember The idea is that whenever

The Importance Of Seeing The Whites Of Their Eyes

[http://www.inc.com] If I were the twitterer, there’s an obvious headline to grab here… > @sellers OMG half of all vendors have lost a customer recently simply because they’ve not sat down with them enough Are you Up or Down on that measure? Makes a welcome change

3 Sales Office Ideas From Music Streamer Spotify

[http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/13/-sp-lets-stick-together-the-teams-behind-kylie-coronation-street-spotify-today-and-house-of-holland] In general scrolling downtime, I was glad to come across thisGuardian investigation [http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/13/-sp-lets-stick-together-the-teams-behind-kylie-coronation-street-spotify-today-and-house-of-holland] into how various cultural successes tick. Stockholm’s Spotify story revealed a trio of takeaways for as

Have Loads On The Go Like Joan Rivers

I only knew her through the awesomeness that often was Fashion Police. I’m happy to be a Joan Ranger. After her death at 81 this week, I heard a clip the workaholic comic confided during a documentary following her around just a couple of years ago. She revealed her