grapevine

Some cheeky little spam sneaked its way through my mail filter to greet me with this delightful opening line: > Something I have kept close to me through 20 years in solutions selling is the rule “if there’s no need, there’s no lead.” If a prospective customer cannot,

Glad to read a portrait of Lloyd Dorfman in the FT [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7949a34-3c79-11dd-b958-0000779fd2ac.html] last week whilst early for an appointment at a client.  He founded Travelex as a single bureau de change 32 years ago, and in 05 sold 57% of his stake

During a review meeting with a customer the other day, I learned that they’d recently had much success changing their approach to ‘appointment making’.  A new way was sought after instituting Calling Days that each rep underook from their home office.  The discovery that on average just 2 appointments

There’s an impressive school of thought that if you’ve a complex point to get across, the winners do so by boiling everything down to terms a 5-yr old can understand.  Sales trainers often compel reps to imagine their dear old Granny.  If you can’t get her to

In my role as humble rep, I’m often left pondering what more I can do to create a sense of urgency.  Something that compels my prospects to act immediately.  The traditional route is to give the shop away.  Discount is usually seen as the key decision-making inducement.  Yet most

How often have you told someone everything you think is great about your product, but all you get in response is disinterested silence with glazed eyes?  How can the prospect be so stupid?! Well, they’re not stupid of course.  In our tunnel-visioned enthusiasm, we’ve forgotten to get across

In the daunting surrounds of a Canary Wharf boardroom, the latest London-based Apprentice won through last night.  One of the post-match analysts was Cobra Beer founderKaran Bilimoria [http://www.startups.co.uk/6678842908113945686/cobra-beer.html].  His is an entrepreneur’s story with a strong message that all too often gets

Caught a decent piece on Newsnight the other day about who wins when economic times get tough.  There were some great hints at how you can nudge your products up a notch when all around are doom and gloom from adapting these: Lipstick Theory Attributed to Leonard Lauder, former top

We all love a good war story.  Here’s one I heard from a customer today related to hitting target at the Eleventh Hour.  With a directory ad sales campaign on its last day, a tarmac and cement company in Retford was cold-called some years ago. The Marketing Director was

Falling over an episode of The Apprentice whilst chillin’ this weekend, I was minded to continue surfing and settle elsewhere for my hour’s entertainment.  This series of the London franchise has had precious little to offer in the way of insights into the world of business, and the calibre