The art of selling is about making things happen; gaining agreement to move ahead with a deal or a commitment. Negotiation – even if it is subtle – is an inherent part of most sales environments. Earlier this month the 11th annual ‘Olympics’ for hagglebots was held. This is a competition for artificial intelligence software […]
How to say ‘No’ to clients and still have them buy
Have you ever heard the saying, “The customer is always right”? It makes sense, doesn’t it. The customer is the person who ultimately pays your bills. Without customers any business will grind to a stop. Even the world famous management consultant Peter Drucker has said: The purpose of a business is to create a customer […]
Recruiting a sales person? Stop, until you have done these three things
Hiring a sales person can often be one of the most challenging recruitment tasks for a business owner. After all, a good sales person will be skilled at presenting themselves well and (possibly) telling you what you need to hear to hire them. As a business owner you can be tempted to rush the whole […]
Understanding the emotional experience of clients
It’s often the case that customer satisfaction is measured by a survey that gives the level of satisfaction a numerical rating, like between 1 and 10. But emotions are not linear, so this form of measurement may be entirely misleading. Do you really know how to understand what your client is feeling? In a thought-provoking […]
What does your sales team really need to learn?
Does your sales team need to improve their results? In many cases the answer is Yes! But do you know which part of their sales efforts actually needs attention in order to achieve better outcomes? It’s not always any easy question to answer. Ask your sales team Ask your sales team what needs to be […]
Resilience for sales people: How to help your sales team be more resilient
Selling can be a solitary occupation Many people in sales or business development roles, whether they be full-time selling or split function sales roles, or field-based or internal office-bound sales roles, largely work autonomously. Their job is to be communicating with clients directly, often spending more time with clients (in person, over the phone, or […]
How your phone could ruin your client meetings
Everyone has a smart phone. It’s hard to do your work outside the office these days if you don’t have one. It’s like a second brain isn’t it? Everyone is so used to carrying their phone around that often they don’t think twice about what to do with their phone when meeting with other people. […]