Agility, resilience, resourcefulness. Courage, confidence and conviction. Are all attributes which I believe have a direct correlation with success in life. Agility means you rapidly respond to opportunities and adapt to different [...]
There’s a common trap I see lots of technically based organisations fall into. They believe their technology is the be all and end all and the reason people Hand trying catch [...]
Vigilance, diligence, agility and vulnerability. As a business leader, what do these words conjure up for you emotionally? For many of us the last couple of years have been anything but stable. [...]
How often do you review why you're in business? Why you got started in the first place? If you're like many of us, you may well have fallen into business at some [...]
I’m Rashid Kotwal. In almost two decades consulting to business owners I’ve come to realise all successful business owners and leaders exhibit certain traits that lead them to success. Now [...]
Every gardener knows there’s a lag between planting and harvest. Which is exactly the same in sales. Your activity today will reap clients in the future. Do nothing today and your future [...]
I’m sure you’ve heard of the “Golden Rule” Treat people the way you want to be treated. It’s a great rule for life in general, but in my opinion it’s not the [...]
I speak with a lot of business owners who tell me they have a booming business. Turnover between $1M to $5M+ per year. While this looks great on paper, when I ask [...]
Ever been in a meeting where the salesperson whipped out their laptop and insisted in going through a long presentation? Slide after slide of boring detail of how their solution worked. While [...]
If you sell highly complex, technical products or services, should you hire a salesperson with relevant technical and industry experience and train them in sales, or hire someone with sales aptitude and [...]
Sales is the lifeblood of business. Your goal as a leader is to take charge, Lead Your Business to maximise sales revenue while reducing the time it takes for prospects [...]
I speak with a lot of business owners about growth. A surprising number say, “We’re doing really well – got lots of big projects in the pipeline. Don’t need to worry about [...]
A huge risk to growth in business is the number “one”. Dependency on one major client. One key employee. One product. One major supplier. A client is facing this with a supplier. [...]
There’s a major misnomer about sales. Sales is not something you “do to someone”. Sales is about helping someone make a decision to buy from you. So here are 7 rules which [...]
What do you do when a prospect says, “I’d like you to present your solution and you have 30 minutes”? Do you immediately jump in, create a 50 slide PowerPoint presentation and [...]
There’s only one commodity you can’t get more of – time! You can always make more money – but you can never get wasted time back. So spend your time wisely. Start [...]
I love this description of sales from Col Fink. “Sales is the process of coaching someone through a buying decision.” I would add that “all sales is leadership”. Our job in sales [...]
“Could you send me some information?” How many times have you heard this from a prospect you’ve just contacted? And how do you answer this? Do you say, “Sure – where would [...]
One of the biggest impediments to sales success is buying into the “tall poppy” story. Where we either don’t believe in our own value or just underplay it thinking we’ll come across [...]
Ever met a truly great persuader? The quintessential, “Could sell ice to Eskimos”. They all tell stories knowing we primarily make emotionally based buying decisions. They take you on a [...]
Want to attract more of your ideal clients? Position yourself as a specialist! Plumbers can unblock drains, install gas, hot water systems and even roof tiles. Accountants do tax returns, book keeping, [...]
Successful businesses all undertake three distinct, intermeshed activities for consistently acquiring clients. Marketing, prospecting and selling. Let’s start with marketing. Marketing has two roles. One is to attract, inform [...]
What’s a client really worth to your business? It depends on whether you take a transactional or long term view. Every new client costs you time, money and effort to bring in. [...]
Does bedside manner matter in sales? This might seem like a question more suited to your doctor, so bear with me. In any sales situation there is natural tension between [...]
Let’s talk about the elephant in every sales situation. It’s something felt by every one of us to some degree. And if which if left unaddressed can kill the sale. [...]
I’ve been thinking a lot about the natural tension between buyers and sellers. Buyers are worried about and thinking “What problems can you solve for me? What’s unique about [...]
Have you ever been talked out of a sale? Or even worse talked a prospect out of one? This story was related by a colleague, whom we’ll call Fred. He [...]
Do you intimately understand the problems your clients actually care about? The ones they would happily pay money to solve and make the required effort to do so. [...]
Meet Carl. He’s a wonderful relationship builder who enjoys talking to prospects and clients. People are always willing to chew the fat with him and enjoy his calls. Carl’s great when it comes [...]
Are your sales people playing to their strengths? Or have you shoehorned people into roles they’re really not suited for? When working with sales teams one of my first [...]
Would you "hire" yourself based on the value proposition you communicate to your prospects? Just how clear are you? Could a prospect immediately recognise themselves having the problems you can solve? We [...]
It’s 6 months into 2021. Hopefully Covid is on the retreat with the vaccine rollout. Business will open up. Which is why you should adapt your sales and business strategy so that [...]
“Winter is coming” – has become part of the vernacular. Business goes in seasons and cycles. There are times when you’ll be consumed by delivery, wondering how you’ll get everything done. But as sure [...]
I’m sure you’ve heard the proverb, “For the want of a nail the kingdom was lost”. I’m going to use it to describe a sales context where an act of [...]
I’m sure you’ve heard the cliché “No one wants a Drill. What they want is a hole”. But really, who the heck wants a hole for the sake of it? [...]
Do you always go for the cheapest price? Or do you look for value for money – knowing buying the cheapest now may cost you dearly in the long run? I often [...]
We live in the information age where you can get educated on just about any topic – free! Just Google it. Back pre-internet, the meme was “Knowledge is power”. But given that [...]
Selling to senior executives? Ask thought provoking questions which help them evaluate their challenges and opportunities in a new light. The “old” sales model of “What keeps you awake at night” suggests [...]
There are only 2 categories of people in your world. Those you know and those you don’t. And guess which is the bigger one! This translates directly to sales people. There are [...]
All sales and marketing is based on effective communication. Effective means the other person easily understands what you’re saying. Which means keeping it at an 8th grade level or that of the [...]
