Topic

grapevine

A collection of 650 issues

Establishing Value Objection Handle

I was in the room when this fascinating conversation took place. Between a S African accountant and his firm’s chosen outside IT helper. It appeared his hourly rate was R285. His client derided this as too low. The fixer then said he deliberately used this rate so that he

Annual Workshopping

Many solution salespeople struggle with the concept of workshops. Specifically, when does a meeting with multiple attendees morph into a workshop? I recently heard one sage note “the more you put in [to a workshop] the more you’ll get out of it”. He should know. He used to organise

Retail Street Pounding

I’ve caught a run of business turnaround reality shows lately. I was struck by one action all the celebrity protagonists at the helm take. They always get out on the streets to confront potential clients. In one particular show, Über Chef Gordon Ramsay in his Kitchen Nightmares show faced

We Absolutely Do

[https://salespodder.com/content/images/wordpress/2013/02/image.jpg] Here’s an exchange I witnessed in a coffee shop. > customer: do you sell that handwash in the bathroom? waitron: I think we do. And I think it might be around $9. customer: okay, it’s very good [awkward

Hearse & Flowers

Closes you should not deploy. Chatting away with some seasoned sellers at a conference recently, we got to discussing wince-inducing closes. One person mentioned a close he’d been told by a life insurance salesman. He apparently called it his “drive the hearse up to the house and let them

Laminate It

I was chatting away with a chief exec about his emergent new business sales process. As the jargon goes, we wanted something simple and snappy to wrap up all the critical success factors and key customer gateways for any bid. As we were in his office, he pulled open a

Hidden Jobs Market

Reading a freesheet article written by acareers advisor [http://www.johnleescareers.com/] on a commuter train the other morning, I wondered how similar job seekers were to solution salespeople. > “Don’t ring people cold – get others to pass you on with an introduction, explaining what you’re trying to

Key Security Indicators

I came across Key Security Indicators (KSIs) from a former client of mine’s training workshops. They sought to develop customer retention policies, during the Winter of 2005. The idea was to identify potential areas of risk in their customer relationships. Could you pinpoint their strength, and then the degree

New Year New Sales Plan

‘Tis now about the time you get to go through that fun-filled activity as a rep of telling your boss what you’ll do over the coming year, and how you’ll do it. I recently came across a firm with a fine bit of tech kit. It’s in

Rip Up Next Year

Here’s something I picked up the other day. Involved chiefly in account management, a chap I know in the knowledge industries is tasked with both keeping revenue streams alive with specific clients, as well as growing them. He feels that intimacy is his greatest competitor lock-out. So, before each