quirky

The labyrinthine machinations of buyers’ systems can scupper many a well-meaning salesperson’s ambitions. I have been reminded recently that there are typically two major times when they can obstruct selling plans; at the very beginning and the very end of a campaign. Almost before you start, lurking in the

I was party to a fascinating exchange yesterday. At the end of a meeting a company had delivered all that was required of it to signal the end of one phase of a project, allowing a pause before possible authority to embark on the next stage. This accepted delivery would

After blogging the other day someone’s observation that determination trumps all [http://salespodder.com/determination-trumps-all/], I came across a study of teacher effectiveness [http://heathbrothers.com/2010/01/what-makes-a-great-teacher/] on the thoroughly engaging Heath Brothers blog (the guys that wrote Made To Stick). Whilst teachers are of course hardly

How long should a salesperson stay in a role? It’s an issue which can vex the best of us. I remember blogging [http://salespodder.com/optimum-length-of-tenure/] about this very thing over three years ago. Whether sales rep, manager or overall boss, one commonplace argument is that three years is

I came across this fascinating statement from the website of a chap [www.paulgraham.com] that in part funds businesses: > “Two startups want to hire me. Which should I choose? The one with the most determined and smartest founders (in that order) is the more likely to succeed.” Yes!

In downtime I recently watched the ever-entertaining super-survivor Ray Mears [http://www.raymears.com/]. In Wild Foods, he fed himself the way our Mesolithic ancestors ate. He was particularly keen to try an usual fruit [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-buckthorn] juice, where it’s prickly bush and delicate berry

A well-known truism, of course and one I was reminded of after a meeting I attended the other day. I began the forum with a simple sentence. One that put myself in the shoes of those on whom’s behalf we were outlining change and the impacts thereof. It was

Being English, I’ve really only ever known majority government. Throughout my life it’s swung left and right, red or blue. Yet now as practically every tv station on the planet has covered, times they are a changing. Knock-knock hung parliament, hello coalition. It has been fascinating to watch