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quirky

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

Link Selling Cobblers

The last time I had a pair of favourite shoes re-soled, it cost me almost as much as a brand new pair would have. Despite my lack of amusement at this, I remain determined to help save the planet in this regard, so went to a local S African chain

Got An Economic Reason For That?

A friend of mine’s a finance cog in a well-oiled corporate megalith. He recounted a tale to me the other night over a couple of cheekies about how he’d managed to get significant spend signed-off for a pet project of his in the face of strict authority limits.

The Problem With Perfectionism

This Monday lunchtime I’m finding customers elusive. It seems that most reps on the road are “working from home” at the moment. I’m sure the ‘home’ part is probably true, as for the ‘working’ bit, well…! Still, if most buyers and sellers alike are making the most of

Toe Dip Time

I’ve read the reporting by the BBC on ten UK small businesses [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7777861.stm] and their travails in the current credit crunch conditions. The problem with the Beeb on matters like this, is that they’re pitifully poor when it comes

The Services Dilemma

Watching the live stand-up show of Frankie Boyle in London the other night was therapeutic in the sense that you allowed yourself to laugh at things that ordinarily society would not permit you to. One (perhaps the only) clean story he told related to cultural differences in reactions to change

Salesrep Created 'Packages'

These thoughts begin with a friend-of-a-friend tale. I was pondering how to add choice to my offerings in these credit crunch, now recessionary times. Although potentially going against the grain (the one that suggests more choice leads to customer confusion and so lesser, not more sales) in my line I’

The Number One Is?

I caught a business reality show on telly which had recently inspired me to blog on an earlier episode [https://salespodder.com/inspiring-the-tired-shopkeeper/]. I was struck by the difference between this installment and the previous one. To encourage soaring sales, each of the three independent retail outlets were in effect

Learning Balance From Media Training

Any lover of the kind of entertainment provided by the peerless Paxo [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Paxman], will have an interest in what media trainers get paid for. Many years ago I worked for a body that sent a few of my colleagues off for a day’s

Got A Trophy Product?

I came across this thought-provoking concept half-reading an article [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3539900/Recession-is-no-menace-for-publisher-Dennis.html] in a coffee shop provided newspaper. The Economist weekly mag is, apparently just such a “trophy product”. Half of its sales go unread. Instead, they’re left in swanky reception

Don't Rely On Email

I found my head nodding along with the sentiments of a recent LA Times article documenting the backlash against email [http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-et-email31-2008jul31,0,6067177.story]. Here’s three (of several eligible) quotes to give you a flavour: * email … stimulates forward motion but doesn’t necessarily mean