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quirky

ideas and experiences with a selling angle that come from left-field

Get To The Point

Had an enjoyable chat with a pal of mine that “creates new space” for retailers where we joked about how one main project manager would frequently interrupt people and bark: “True, False or Don’t Know?” If waffling ensued (and it invariably does apparently) he’d merely repeat his order.

Welcome Pack

During an informal discussion with one of my customers, the often thorny issue cropped up of how goodwill and momentum can sometimes ebb, despite the best intentions, slipping through the cracks between salesperson and deliverer. I mentioned Welcome Packs as one way of lengthening any honeymoon period. I instantly recalled

How Much Of Your Time Is Truly Selling?

I’ve just come across a current piece of research (I believe attributed to CSO Insights) that suggests reps today only get to sell for 37% of their time. A little over a third of your day seems so counter-productive, doesn’t it? (What manufacturing business would tolerate a key

Accomplishment Comes First

Always a fan of the peerless globetrotting people-explorer Alan Whicker [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5012349/Feature-Alan-Whickers-career-highlights.html] , in downtime I watched his personal career reprise. It was stunning to see his first 1963 ground-breaking film, The Solitary Billionaire. (Jean) Paul Getty [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.

Self-Fulfilling Recession Prophecy

Even when we were merely suffering a credit crunch, I heard chatters of salesreps, all doom and gloom. Now we’re officially at the start of a ‘big slump’, disheartened shrugs have turned to despairing wails in some such quarters. Maybe it is after all, the ‘British disease’ of pessimism,

A 2-Minute Talk

I was in a prospect’s reception yesterday suitably early and whilst waiting for my allotted hour, glanced through a paper on hand. I discovered a tale of how an author was put off performance for life after an unsavoury childhood experience. At school, he flunked a public speaking style

Double Decker Sandwich

There’s a local coffee shop I occasionally use. I do wonder how it makes money. It reminds me of the ending scene in Midnight Run, where accountant Grodin advises bounty-hunter De Niro he should move on from his dream of opening a restaurant as they never make any money.

Who’s The Enemy?

Listening to all these doom-merchants about the perilous state of the global economy can really get a positive fella down. I’m getting beyond sick of it, actually. These guys need to pick a new enemy. It is not the recession. Absolutely not. I blogged a few years back about

Incumbent Pitch Focus

Psephology may be a word only used in secret by fans of Newsnight, yet its pursuit may have thrown out an essential tip for those of us whom, as incumbent suppliers, are forced to enter into a beauty pageant to secure the next contract. Clients will hold these for a

Reduce To Produce

This is the title of a live initiative I’ve come across within engineering giant BAe. They’ve apparently realised that they can save money bycannibalising the unused output, stores and resource of slow-moving or semi-hidden projects to make huge savings elsewhere. One such example of which I learned included