I believe one of the most important attributes we can have is empathy and compassion. Especially in sales dealing with prospective clients. We all want to feel accepted and understood. Your ability [...]
As a business leader, one of your most important tasks is to be strategic and lead. You are the one that sets direction. You are the one that is ultimately responsible for [...]
Why do your clients work with you? When was the last time you asked yourself how you create value for them? When I coach partners and consultants in professional services firms in [...]
What do you believe makes a really effective salesperson? On a continuum, is it someone with deep product knowledge at one end or someone with the gift of the gab [...]
This video is part of a business advice series focusing on leadership and strategy. It comes out of recent conversations I've had with business leaders regarding staff not working out for various [...]
I'd like to talk about the relationship between security opportunity and prosperity and the chasm of possibilities this opens up.
One of the biggest traps in B2B sales is not taking into account the personal agendas of every stakeholder involved in the decision. We’re all driven by WIIFM what’s in [...]
Ever had a salesperson obviously lose interest if they believe you’re not ready to buy? That’s incredibly short term thinking on their part as your prospect may never come back. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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? [...]
To chase or not to chase, that is the question! As a young man trying to attract interest from the opposite sex, I made a lot of mistakes. The biggest [...]
What do you do when a prospect calls you out of the blue and one of the first things they ask you about is what you can do for [...]
I grew up watching Lost in Space. Just about every episode had Dr Smith getting up to no good and the Robot waving his arms with Danger, Danger, Danger. Which [...]
Who would have believed the Lion King is a great metaphor for business. Particularly the lyrics of the circle of life. I’ve taken the liberty of modifying it slightly so [...]
Have you ever sent a proposal only to never hear from the prospect ever again? Crickets. Your prospect ghosts you. If so, listen up. Let me paint a common picture [...]
I have a couple of questions for you. What do you know and is it what you are actually known for in your market place? Most of us have a [...]
Camels. I think they’re pretty ugly and they spit. But that aside they’re one of the most resilient creatures on the planet. They survive in stinking hot deserts all [...]
It's almost the end of the year. What you do now will set you up for a great 2021. You either relax and take a break after all your hard [...]
Look around you. Unless you have a completely unique product or service which is highly unlikely, you’ll have myriad competitors. So what distinguishes you from all of them? The answer [...]
As business owners, life is too short to work with people we don’t like, don’t appreciate the value we provide and are just painful to deal with. One of [...]
Every crisis and period of disruption such as Covid-19 has seeds of opportunity within it. As a leader you can either curl up or you can double down and figure [...]
Commercially smart business owners understand the concept of leverage and the 80/20 rule. Concentrating 20% of your effort to give you 80% of your results. In sales this translates to [...]
In sales I’m sure you realise the importance of qualification. Whether a prospect has a need or not. Which starts with prospecting, a number’s game. You have to sift through [...]
There are very few professional consultants who like cold calling. In fact, I’d say 99.9 percent hate it and would do anything to avoid it. But the reality is unless [...]
It’s an understatement to say we live in uncertain times. The pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works for a huge number of people. We have no idea what [...]
Are you familiar with the drama triangle? It’s a social model of human interaction developed by Stephen Karpman in 1968. And it has a lot of applicability in sales situations. [...]
I have a direct challenge for you. I want you to raise your prices. And keep doing so until you find major resistance from your prospects. And yes, I can [...]
What do you do when a prospect expresses interest in your product or service? How do you handle the conversation? Could you be inadvertently be making two major mistakes which [...]
In business it's not who you know but who knows you. If you're well known as an expert in your market, potential clients will seek you out and ask if [...]
