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grapevine

A collection of 657 issues

Proposal Review Chuckle

I’ve always considered the proposal review meeting an essential part of decent-ticket solution sales. Getting key execs on board and putting yourself ahead of the pack is a must, and showing your in-depth understanding of where they want to go and how your usps alone can take them there

Contrary Training Impression

I just had a thoroughly enjoyable chat on the phone with a new rep at one of my customers. After several years selling internet services in both America and England, followed by a two-year stint selling art with his wife, he’s back in the corporate saddle and loving every

Ensuring Renewal Tactics

I spoke to client of mine the other day who was frustrated. They felt (in England at any rate) the irrepsonsbile media were stoking the fires to talk ourselves into recession. He felt that this was encouraging his customers to say to him, at ‘renewal’ time, ‘yes, we’d like

Remember The Business Case

Here’s a great line I got in an email from a customer. We were talking about how to create a better style of Proposal generation for a breakthrough new product of theirs. “…we can often win without a perfect [business] case. That said, a good case never lost a

What Makes A Good Proposal?

One of my clients is having an overhaul of how they present Proposals to prospects. They’re conscious that attempts at making production of such compelling sales collateral easy for reps have failed beforehand. A previous English regime spent many long hours creating a standard document, from which a 71-page

Let's See What Happens If…

On my mini-project to sell the first batch of a new product beyond my current client community, I’m trying all sorts of things. I’m partly inspired by the words I remember from Brian Thomas at a direct marketing seminar in the mid-90s; “always be testing”. It was a

Saville Row Touch

Well, actually Jermyn St, but a similar gig. Albeit not as well established for bespoke as the world famous tailoring mecca Saville Row, the other side of Piccadilly in London’s West End, Jermyn St has become a fella’s smart-casual paradise. I’m lovin’ as always Mary Portas [http:

How Google Pitch

A pal of mine runs an accountancy practice in England’s Second City. I was explaining that I was doing a bit of cold-calling lately, and he told me of a similar approach he recently received. It was from someone at Google. He couldn’t recollect receving any communication signalling

More Solution Sales Experience

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,

Billionaire's Quartet Of Business Bullets

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