Influencing customers without pitching

Influencing customers

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

The 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 More

What is Value-based selling?

value-based selling the shop window

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 More

How to get sales recruitment right

butterfly of sales recruitment

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 More

How 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 More

How to buy the right sales training for your business

sales training - pondering while looking out over a lake

Choosing the right sales training for your business is a real challenge. Search for ‘Presenting Skills’ in Google and the pages of offers and companies go on and on and on. We did, and Google reported is has 246 Million results for you to choose from! How are you finding sales training options for your…

Read More

Driving growth with an effective sales funnel

growth - Waterfall funnels water

Using the sales funnel to ensure your sales activity delivers your sales growth It’s one thing to have an aspirational target for the turnover of your business. It’s quite another to understand and execute the sales activity required to achieve that. What is your sales funnel? This is where a sales funnel comes in. This…

Read More

External sales support, do you need it?

SME sales support choices

How do you choose what kind of sales support you need? Sales support varies widely – from sales training programmes via coaching and mentoring, to tailored consulting and beyond. There are pros and cons for business owners, and it’s a puzzle where to begin and who to speak with.  One consideration when selecting sales support…

Read More

Client case study: Sales process improvement for IT service businesses

Customer journey case study how we helped improve sales process

The Customer Journey a good place to start a case study Sometimes customers are so picky. You think their “journey” through your sales process is simple and predictable. Yet it turns out understanding what they do and when is akin to herding cats. This client asked us in to help improve sales process more because…

Read More