Topic

grapevine

A collection of 633 issues

Two Envelope System

I could hardly believe it. I was dismayed to just hear that the ridiculed 2 Envelopes System was still around. Even when I took my Enterprise Sales baby steps three decades back, it was mauled by many encountering it as a method of madness. Procurement Departments would insist on a

Have You An Off-The-Wall Plasma Objection Handle?

Heard an interesting response to the price objection just now. The solar panel sector – who call their wares PVs after the photovoltaic cells that drive them – often get the-sharp-intake-of-breath treatment from corporate building managers when first providing costs. As you might imagine, such a beast gets obsessed with unit prices.

Soaring Annual Switchover

Looking for inspiration for your annual bookend get-together? Then here’s another idea from the field. Huge engineering conglomerate BAE Systems. With their paws across everything from the biggest of aerospace tickets, through mega-defence spend to software. One division created a name for their end-of-year meeting; SOAR. To link with

Sales Tips Re-Shared As Atomic Habits

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23285438] This is gleaned via the Atomic Habits author James Clear newsletter passing on a Sales angle [https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/july-16-2020] in 2020. From the original source as shown above [image links to y-combinator posting of (Texan ?) Colin Dowling from sales consultants, Raincloud]

Concrete Magic Dust

Here’s an interesting piece of framing, picked up from the construction world. The often fraught B2B of solution selling through third parties without true skin in the game. Influencers, especially those pesky architects, consultants and contractors. The age-old blindspot emerged. Someone knew the cost of everything, yet value of

Investor Phone Scammers Control Tell

> “those who won’t be controlled won’t be sold” One of the frequent, shouted phrases of an American boiler-room investment manager. Who kept changing his name as each new dodgy operation opened. Scamming people over the phone here with supposed telecoms company shares and ghost Floridian property lots in

How To Say No Like Embattled But Still Fighting Restaurateur

From a sector similarly smashed myself, it’s fascinating to read the efforts of indomitable chef Mark Hix. The hospitality trade has had a hammering. As frequent tales of pivoting online, takeaways and food trucks attests, there’s only so much you can do to substitute for both an inability

1957 Sony Salesrep Pocket Trick

[https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/sonyhistory-b.html] The greatest contributor, enabler even, to the ‘glory’ of The Information Age? Many make the case for the transistor. Its first application was to replace the huge, cumbersome and over-heating valves that powered early radios. Here’s an excerpt from

LACMAC Mutual Way Forward Discovery

I’m indebted to an English recruiter of HR pros who kindly commented on my 2015 LACMAC post. They felt the emphasis demonstrated to me misrepresentative of how they themselves view the mnemonic. Their slant preference rather being; "The most important part of the ʟᴀᴄᴍᴀᴄ process, and the bit that

Crypto Crevasse

Investment boiler-room scammers appear to have a new guise. I sadly hear tales of similar such thievery driven by the current crypto craziness. Investing ‘experts’ keen to call you ASAP from an online enquiry. Promising arms length yet safe involvement. Super-returns guaranteed to come your way. Even if the contract