Topic

quirky

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

The Customer In The Right Story

Over a coffee this afternoon, I decided to read the emailed newsletter from one of my suppliers for a change. Y’know the thing? You get sent them regularly, but never bother reading them. I s’pose the difference with this one was that it came this time from their

Questioning Conundrums

Had an enjoyable cheeky pint or three with a pal of mine last night who I’m happy to say is a youthful, successful software salesman for IBM. On two occasions he reminded me of a wonderful technique to use when confronted with an intransigent or provocative question. To have

Happy Sales Reps?

I’ve spent far too much time lately hanging around at the behest of the world’s most inefficient organisation, the NHS. Every British politician you hear talk about our health service says all the staff are wonderful and it’s the envy of the world. What a load of

What's The Return, Again?

With a decent glass of Piemonte vini rossi, I was happily snug in a Torino bar around midnight and glanced over to see a copy of the International Herald Tribune. Make no mistake about it, this paper is useless. So many have tried to make an ‘international newspaper’ and failed

Stand Up, Think On Yer Feet

Waiting around for the Ashes coverage to kick-in on the radio (Sunday 26 Nov 06) I happened across Off The Page [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/offthepage/]. They spent most of the time talking about the paradox between the uselessness of mobile phones and their inevitable ubiquity. New York

Overcoming Voice Mail Barriers

Here’s a frightening quote I picked up just now; “statistically, about 87% of sales reps give up after a single half-hearted attempt, about 95% give up after a second message.” People that hide behind their voicemail are becoming ever more prevalent. How do you get around it? It’s

Bigger Bullies Crash Louder

Waiting in reception of a potential supplier (those guys trying to persuade me to go with raw grads for new sales positions that I thought were a touch too pricey) I flicked through a mag called Director [http://www.director-magazine.co.uk/October06/lions.den.html]and an article about

Approaching A New Prospect Pool

I’ve just had to let one of my boiler-roomers go. No need to feel too sympathetic, the hit-rate for young bucks isn’t great I know, although no-one likes a mercy-killing. It’s always surprised me how initial enthusiasm can wane when another idea enters someone’s head. And

Quick Win Enabled

I often come across a nasty objection, which is basically “I’m new in the role, call me in six months”. Talking with a pal of mine last night over a cheeky pint, he’d encountered something similar. He works for HP, who have a £30m a year customer in

Is Cold Calling Beneath You?

I’ve done a couple of meetings with a 3-rep business recently that’ll never buy from us, eventhough they’d really benefit from my services. They were the first entrant into the English search engine optimisation arena a decade ago. Last time out I met the MD, fresh from