Why one size doesn’t fit all in sales…
In sales one size definitely doesn’t fit all! Every organisation is different. So who you initially target is critical. There are two schools of thought. The first is to target the highest [...]
Leadership: Handling difficult conversations
As a business leader your job is to set the vision and direction for your organisation. Create and support a team which produces results for your clients. Your job as a leader [...]
Overdone Passion
One of the fundamentals in any sales conversation is your own conviction, and your own passion for what you do. Because passion and conviction and enthusiasm are infectious. And while [...]
Shooting the messenger?
If Covid has shown us anything, it’s that every business needs to constantly look to the future and innovate. But you cannot innovate without challenging the status quo. Which starts with your [...]
Inferential thinking…
Thought this quote from James Clear is very apt in today’s world. "When you need to learn quickly, learn from others. When you need to learn deeply, learn from experience." To this [...]
The dark side of empathy
We’re all taught to play to our strengths. However, a strength overdone often becomes a weakness. Take empathy. In sales, empathy is extolled as a strength. “Get into your clients’ shoes” “Understand [...]
Can you let go?
A client recently asked me how long it would take to get “beyond” their business. By which they meant when the business could run without their involvement and provide options. To either [...]
Liked or Respected?
Given a binary choice – be liked or respected, which would you choose? Could choosing one over the other enhance or hinder your professional results – both from a leadership or sales [...]
Will you put your ego aside?
Recently attending a Mahler concert highlighted an important leadership lesson about courage and confidence. Let me set the scene. We were at the newly refurbished concert hall at the Sydney Opera House. [...]
The value of something isn’t…
Recently watched the movie “The current war” about the competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse around the viability of DC and AC current. Westinghouse made a profound observation. “The value of [...]
Simplicity Rules
One of the things that saddens me is seeing great technological innovations fail, mainly due to a lack of marketing and sales. I've seen that happen in many guises from inventors tightly [...]
How to become an “order taker”
Which would you prefer? Having to constantly prospect for new business, have lots of meetings and hopefully win some business. OR Have your ideal clients come to you asking how you can [...]
Standing out…
We all have competition. How do you stand out? Why would someone come to you over everyone else? Research from Harvard Business Review revealed potential clients are 57% of the way through [...]
For Want of a Nail
“For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider [...]
Selling technical solutions?
If you sell technical solutions one of the biggest mistakes is to sell your technology. Huh? But surely that’s what your clients are buying? They’re not! Over 30 years working with technology [...]
Stop doing Demo’s – until…
You sell a SAAS service and have just received a lead asking for a demo. What you do next is crucial to winning the business. One of the biggest mistakes we see [...]
A life lived in fear…
A couple of nights ago, Barbara and I were watching “Strictly Ballroom” – the classic Ugly Duckling story of the young “beginner” dancer convincing a ball room champion to take her on [...]
Project Whitespace
One of the easiest and neglected ways to increase sales is to go back to your current and old clients. Think about it this way. You’ve already built up a relationship and [...]
What drives you?
For many of us - coming into December can be really hectic. There are lots of things you want to get done before taking a break. And while it's really important to [...]
You’re NOT Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali famously spruiked himself – “I am the greatest”. Which is fine if you’re a world-famous boxer trying to intimidate your opponent. But it’s hardly something to emulate in a sales [...]
Is complexity killing your results?
We live in a complex world. And there’s a tendency to think the greater the complexity the greater the value. So we make our products and services increasingly complex and sophisticated thinking [...]
Unleashing your inner Venus
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is a classic book by John Gray. In it he describes how both sexes interact. I’m going to put this into a sales context. [...]
I was an idiot!
Years ago I vividly remember sitting in a conference where the speaker proclaimed he’d never had an original thought. To my (now) shame I thought, “Gee – what an idiot The [...]
Are you combining efficiency and effectiveness?
I have a background in Engineering. Something I’ve observed with my ilk is we’re often lazy. I don’t mean we don’t work hard. I mean we look for the most efficient way [...]
Walk a mile in their shoes…
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 [...]
Controlling the controllable
Right now a lot of businesses are facing challenges. High inflation, high interest rates. Difficulty finding people resources. Buyers avoiding making decisions. A lot of these things are out of our control. [...]
Leadership lessons from Star Trek
I'm a big fan of Star Trek. Both the original and Next Gen series. What strikes me in both are the leadership lessons from both captains, Kirk and Picard. Lessons which apply [...]
Mistakes I’ve made…
Over 20 years running a business consultancy I've made a lot of mistakes. Frankly when we started I had absolutely no idea what it would take. I'd moved out of the corporate [...]
Who’s driving your bus?
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 [...]
Moving up the value chain
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 [...]
Selling authentically…
Last week coaching a technical team moving into sales roles, I stressed their job was to bring insights to clients. Highlight issues clients might not know they have - yet! That they [...]
Who are you listening to?
There's an old saying, "If it's to be, it's up to me". It's applicable in business and life generally. Right now Federal Reserves are putting up interest rates. The media talks about [...]
Aligning your pitch to different stakeholders
Sales 101 teaches the importance of features and benefits. But before you talk about them, you need to identify the value an individual stakeholder is looking for. And they're going to be [...]
What makes for sales effectiveness?
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 [...]
The “Key” in KPIs
KPI’s – Key Performance Indicators are a term bandied around in every organization. What people are responsible and accountable for. Having said that, I think many KPI’s are overthought. We tend to [...]
The 90 day rule
If you provide any form of consulting, one of the most neglected (and arguably easiest) ways to grow is to go back to your previous clients, telling them what else you can [...]
Who’s driving your bus?
Who’s driving your bus? I’ve been thinking about self leadership. What it takes to succeed in business. To be both emotionally and financially rewarded for the risks we take. In transactional analysis, [...]
What constitutes leadership?
It’s probably an understatement to say we live in interesting times. There’s a lot of uncertainty with everything from the pandemic to high inflation, the cost of living going up, the war [...]
Intersecting rapport & credibility in sales
Ultimately sales is a people business. We want to buy from people we like and trust. So most sales training focuses on people skills. How to create rapport, make people comfortable with [...]
How to ensure the right person is in the right role
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 [...]