Are you easy to buy from?
“Please take my money, I really want to spend it with you. Honestly I do…despite how difficult you’re making this” Our on-going game of Snakes and Ladders in trying to get fibre optic installed, highlights the stark contrast between a business that’s able to expensively and constantly market and sell to customers; and those that…
Read MoreThe danger of absorbing inflation into price
Last week that dreaded message popped up on my dashboard: Warning! Tyre pressure alert! Just a few days earlier I’d topped up the air so this one looked like being a slow puncture. Yes, there was enough air to get home, but the diary was packed for the next 48 hours with little chance of…
Read MoreClient success story – Care Homes
Our client ran a group of care homes in the midlands and southeast. The business was well-established, but Covid had impacted occupancy rates and staff patterns had been disrupted. They had completed some mystery sales calls and had concerns about how their homes were represented to potential clients: Enquiries were handled in an inconsistent way,…
Read MoreThe Face Race. Where next for hybrid sales?
Have you played the new etiquette game yet? You’re meeting someone for the first time in a while and handshaking seems a bit uncertain whilst bumping elbows all feels a bit artificial. Then you meet a friend in a pub and before you know it you’re in a good old-fashioned hug. Weird eh? It’s easy…
Read MoreWhat is Value-based selling?
You’ll probably have a very accurate idea about what your business costs you. The bricks and mortar (or your desk, laptop, printer and supply of chocolate Hob Nobs) Your people – either on your payroll or as associates or suppliers. Your manufacturing, purchasing or tech development costs. What you spend on marketing your business and…
Read MoreHow to use questions to improve the skills of your sales team
You’re busy, it’s been a long day and another sales-person is asking for guidance or help. Is answering your sales team’s questions a good thing to do or not? And what’s the alternative? Does it save you time to jump straight to the answer? Undoubtedly in that moment it does – and if you’ve been around…
Read MoreHow to get sales recruitment right
How to create an effective sales recruitment process to bring a new salesperson into your business. Be certain what kind of salesperson you want. There are different types, and they require a different mix of skills and attributes. You can read more about this in our March blog – ‘How do I recruit the right…
Read MoreHow to be an effective sales manager
Being a sales manager requires effort. It means joining the dots between your business strategy, sales plan and sales activity. It means knowing which sales goals to aim for, and which sales people to recruit. It means keeping a number of plates spinning at the same time. You’re the owner, the founder, the mender-in-chief. The…
Read MoreAcquiring new business
Two key measures that relate to customers are cost of acquisition and customer lifetime value. The first a measure of the total cost of attracting and converting new business. The second a measure of how well and for how long you retain them. And as a result, the value of the total business they afford…
Read MoreOvercoming sales objections
Sales objections aren’t always what they seem. A lack of immediate agreement to buy does not automatically mean “No”. It might mean “I have another question you’ve not answered yet” Learning to embrace sales objections rather than fear them can make all the difference to whether you win a sale or let an opportunity slip…
Read MoreHow do I develop the sales skills of my team?
The shape of your sales team and the mix of sales skills needed must reflect your business and the clients you serve. Where and how you invest in developing your salespeople will also be unique to you. Making the wrong choice offers a plethora of bespoke ways of wasting your time and money on the…
Read MoreHow do I recruit the right salesperson?
There are lots of people in sales roles, but not all will or should be the salesperson you recruit. Recruitment takes your time, effort and money. So how do you ensure that the right salesperson joins your business? ‘Sales’ is an all encompassing generalised term, but look closer and the distinctions between sales roles are…
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