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quirky

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

New Sales Manager Turnaround, Blair-stylee

So Tony B-Liar finally ended his tenure of Number Ten. Paxo hosted a Newsnight Blairathon to assess his ‘legacy’. Unfortunately it included Alistair Campbell, which made me wonder how many of Newsnight’s 1½m loyal devotees view him as one of Britain’s most odious men, but at least

The Dignity Of Labour

Surprisingly not a reference to experimental Human League 1980ish singles pre-Dare, rather seeing how the libertarian inspiration of Charles Murray [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Murray_(author)] should enthuse sales people that don’t want to pick up the phone to take action. I saw an interview with former

Finding People That Will Buy 'New'

Came across the Global Entrepreneurial Monitor [http://www.gemconsortium.org/] through Newsnight [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm], with a researcher pointing out why UK had some way to go in fostering dynamism in this sector. A couple of the stats made me think about

Sales Team Schoolyards

Can’t kids be incredibly cruel? The kinds of abuse and torment metered out in playgrounds by people under three feet high can be astounding. Usually, the nightmare stops before long trousers become the order of the day. Monday was another crazily hot day in London; it’s August in

Failings of hardwork & effort

Yes, yes, I know this is jokespam, but what the hell. One of my muppet pals sent me this, despite my telling him not to include me in such nonsense emails. It reminded me that fairly regularly customers of mine (all sales people) send me right dodgy stuff. It’s

Nothing better to do?

If you’re thinking of buying Leach Lewis Plant wares, consider this carefully. In clearing out a load of old files, I came across this amazing letter, in response to a pre-cold-call mailer. Their then top man, a certain J P Leach, deigned to pass on the pearls of his

Picking Up The Phone, part 712, a

How many times in my career have I had to grapple with the lack of telephone activity from a rep? Like just about everyone of us, the answer must be loads. Even to the extent of having days when you yourself just can’t seem to get motivated to have

Sports Psychology Lessons

Businessmen have long sought the wisdom of successful sporting greats, yet I just came across a fella that advises sports teams through business principles [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/6222777.stm] called Humphrey Walters [http://www.humphreywalters.com/]. What grabbed my attention was his attachment

Gandhi the Sales Guru

Battling against 70 mile-an-hour gusts in London the other day was a bit like walking at 45° when Cape Town’s Doctor visits, in that it wasn’t at all cold. But I thought I’d treat my self to a proper coffee at a place called Madiera Cafe near

Seeking Authenticity

Another day, another flight, this time suffering S African Airways. (It’s amazing isn’t it, when you complain in writing, all they do is send you a letter saying ‘sorry, hope you will use us in future’ – idiots, the answer is an emphatic “no”) In my seat pocket was