What’s the difference between a Lead and a Suspect?

Sometimes enthusiasm gets the better of business leaders and they suspect everyone could become a customer. That’s why it’s important to be able to differentiate between a Lead and a Suspect. Imagine you sell yoga classes in Manchester. Potentially any business in Manchester could buy from you, they all have staff don’t they? And if…

5 tips on how to deal with ghosting in sales

There’s something strange in the neighbourhood. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! What’s causing the epidemic of ghosting in sales? There was a time when No just meant No. But now No is often replaced with interminable silence. Business owners are increasingly reporting this to us as one of their biggest frustrations in selling. You’re a…

How do I find the time for a Sales Mentor?

When it comes to working with a Sales Mentor, you might have many unanswered questions such as will they make me more efficient? What service do they actually offer? And what will I need to do when working with one? That’s why in this post we’re diving into all things Sales Mentors to explore how…

Should you be using AI in sales?

When it comes to deciding whether AI in sales can positively impact a business, there are many factors that must be considered. We’ve said many times that sales is all about people: It’s about the talent you recruit into your team and about the way you train and lead them. It’s also about the quirky…

Is a Sales Mentor strategic or tactical?

How do people react when you explain what you do? It’s always interesting to see whether the response is enthusiastic or politely passive. But more than this, do people actually get it? You know in detail what you do – and in the context of your industry it makes complete sense. But most conversations are…

What are the benefits of a part-time Sales Director?

Many growing businesses don’t consider the advantages of hiring a part-time Sales Director. Business owners think of employing a Sales Director as a binary decision: when we’re big enough I can employ a Sales Director. Until then I’ll manage without. The problem is, this is not how your customers behave. As your business grows there’ll…

Three steps guaranteed to boost sales team effectiveness

If you’re really short on time, the ways to boost sales team effectiveness can probably be summarised in three words: Direction, leadership and skills. Business owners often stress about recruiting the right sales person – then spend more time worrying about whether they’ve done the right thing. Yet in our experience the biggest determining factor…

The importance of sales funnel metrics

Sales is all about the numbers, right? If you’re in a sales job and you’re falling short of budget then you’ll have questions to answer. In some organisations if you miss target for three months in a row you’ll be out of the door. It’s a target-driven environment and results count. But this is all…

Influencing customers without pitching

Why? You might ask ? When it comes to influencing customers without pitching, just think – how many times have you met someone at a networking or business event and been forced to listen to them drone on about how important they are? At what point did you mentally switch off and start looking for…

Does My Business Need A CRM System?

Whether you’re already using one or you’ve been putting it off for a while now, at some point most business owners are going to ask: does my business need a CRM system? They can seem like more trouble than they’re worth, but the key is to remember that they’re only as good as the information…

What’s Customer Lifetime Value and why is it important?

Sometimes, companies will be all over you when you’re making your initial purchase but will disappear as soon as you’ve made your decision to buy. This may be because they don’t understand the importance of customer lifetime value.

When’s the best time to start selling?

when is the best time to start selling? Sales start now

Short answer: The best time was yesterday, so if you’re too late then start today. This is a discussion we’ve heard a few times recently. It’s often asked in the context of a new product or service. Maybe it’s not fully formed or there’s more work required to perfect the offering. Quite naturally this might…