Topic

grapevine

A collection of 653 issues

Raise prices to win business

May 2007 saw a chap called Jon Hunt earn £388m from selling his estate agency founded in 1981. Most observers paint an unpleasant picture of this chap [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-16617607-details/Foxtons+boss+quits+to+set+up+rival/article.do] , which considering his achievements could be sour

Can You Increase Sales 14-Fold?

I read a summary of a recently released biography on abrasive Ryan Air boss Michael O’Leary last Sunday. I heard not so long ago that the Irish low-fare pioneer was the 3rd biggest airline in the world by market capitalisation. I was hoping the article would give an insight

Using Call-Off Selling

At a number of sales operations recently I’ve come across this great tactic. A “call-off contract” estimates a total amount of spend over a period of time, and gains commitment that an amount of deliverable can be obtained in return. Services that utilise this technique include such diverse items

Offering Credible Discounts

At an internal sales meeting I attended last week at one of my customers, the boss asked why it was that the reps always talk about round figure discounts? Typically in increments of 2½ percent? At the bottom of a quote is often a line something like “less discount – 15%

Ditch Those Old Shoes

One of my customer’s is at present trying to nail an objection that’s preventing some of their guys from prising open the door of potential new clients. When cold-calling, they introduce themselves only to receive the ‘we’ve already got a supplier for that’ flea in the ear.

Can you introduce "Value Innovation"?

This is a subject to which I may well return, as I’m intrigued by this new evolution to strategic and growth initiatives. In markets heading towards commoditisation, wrapping more value into or around the product/service you provide is a must. Yet finding ways to do this are fiendishly

Reaching The Unreachable

Was in a customer near Shakespeare’s birthplace and met a decent chap called Richard now selling the best drinks dispense systems into the pub retail trade for the past seven months. One of the sales teams aim is to talk business issues with senior execs rather than delivery ones

Re-Presentation 30 Times Over

I’m currently helping a ten-strong sales team sell more of a new product, guaranteeing decent run-rate business. Upon launch a few months ago, most of them didn’t manage to sell any to their distributors/resellers, so enthusiasm waned. I just spoke to one of their guys that finally

Are you Siesmic or Geological?

Learned something illuminating the other day, doing some work for one of my customers that sell to the oil industry. I enjoyed a long telephone conversation with a chap called Ceri, a PhD in geology no less. What I learned, is that in the multi-million dollar science that is guestimating

Huskies & Corrosive Buyers

On 18 June 07, reports emerged that Britain’s highest paid civil servant quit his £290k a year post trying to implement the world’s largest non-military IT project. The incredible price tag of £12bn is meant to bring modernisation to the UK’s useless “free” health service. I read