Topic

grapevine

A collection of 653 issues

Six Sorrell Sales Tips

CNBC’s The Leaders often offers fascinating insight into leadership. It can frustratingly be because the CEO interviewed exhibits a bewildering lack of any traits traditionally associated with being a leader. Refreshingly the bouncily talkative CEO of the world’s largest ‘creative’ conglomerate, Sir Martin Sorrell [http://www.cnbc.com/

Calculating Day Rates

I’ve blogged on daily rates for consultants (mainly ‘sales’ ones but equally applicable if you’re trying to sell such services) and noted the 1/100 concept [http://salespodder.com/whats-my-daily-rate/]. In discussions earlier this week (with a consultant in a different field from sales) I came across an

Gauge Political Standings From Feedback

In the storm that is often swirling around a large sales meeting with a prospect, it can be difficult to understand and follow the agenda(s) of each participant. It is usually the case that the salesperson focuses solely on every word, glance and gesture of the person in the

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_

Three Distinct Stages

I found Jill Konrath post a piece of PR for her upcoming book [http://www.sellingtobigcompanies.com/content_display.jsp?top=8494&mid=8546&siteObjectID=110194&pf=t] which suggests that buyers go through three separate mindsets during a deal. What I like about them is that

Commission Gates And Brakes

Sales people the world over are creaking under the strain of corporate cost cutting. Those departing of self accord go with no replacement, basics are frozen, bonus plans squeezed. I came across a number of specific measures from Big Blue that, the sales team suspects, feature the further erosion of

Spotting Sunrisers and Sunsetters

The in-flight magazine. Seldom can a genre of publications be more instructive in how not to construct a good read than these. So it was with delight that I happened across the blue-skied, still winter’s day of a decent article. Advertising colossus TBWA’s worldwide create director, JoBurger John

Funder Project Success

A delightful morning had me facilitating a workshop aimed at understanding different potential funding agencies’ viewpoints. The venture support varied among the six participants, from a few hundred thousand dollars, right through to multi-millions. One session looked at what business plans must exhibit for them to feel comfortable that success

Understanding

Surfing through the largely irrelevant sales section of the Entrepreneur [http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/leadership/leadershipcolumnistraysilverstein/article178590.html] site the other day served up one of the best one-liners I’d heard in a while; > ‘people buy from people that understand them’ How do you test that your

Project Implementation Memorandum

This grandiose title relates to a doc appreciated by a particular business funder. I get the impression it is for endeavours that have gone past the ‘prototype’ stage, yet are still to fully understand a comprehensive business plan. After a meeting with them recently, they kindly provided a checklist of