Sales Today

What is holding you back?   There are some common mistakes Shane Ray Martin sees on sales and negotiation.    When we move too fast, we not only miss things but remove the opportunity to 'out care' the competition.   Also, by failing to take time to help customers understand where they are today and want to be in the future we might not create the tension required for a decision to be made.   We d...

Are you scared for your job?   Today salespeople are needed for various types of selling.   Anton Dobrzhanskiy and Miro Putkonen explain how while some types of selling, like transactional, could become obsolete due to AI-driven automation, other types like consultative, solution, and provocative selling might still require human salespeople to understand customer needs, solve unique problems, and...

Is your cold call structure fit for purpose?   If you are trying to call senior executives it might not be.   Martin Stevens shares both why and how he goes for the top. Based on a playbook that determines whether offering/adding/creating value the structure he uses focuses on outcomes and problems.   Specifically framed in that order after a pattern interrupt and upfront contract this allows iden...

How does a professionally trained actor apply their craft in the world of sales?   Scott Purves shares how he uses skills developed in one profession help those develop in another.   Some of the techniques might be predictable but others are surprising.   He explains how actors study human behaviour and in doing so also develop increased self-awareness.   We talk about whether a seller learning so...

Why does money have such an emotional effect?   Jason Graystone explains how it is fundamentally linked to survival and how mismanagement can cause our brain to act in a way that is not conducive to good selling.   Being needy unattractive to customers and hampers the ability to foster real connection.   The physiological effect also means we will be unable to think clearly which is a painful iron...

Customers are weird.   They don't do what they say they will do and don't act how we think they 'should'.   Melina Palmer is a sales conversion expert with a personal mission to make business more effective and brain friendly.   In this episode she translates a few key concepts of behavioural economics (the study and science of why people buy - or not) and provides simple, actionable tips that can...

The good news is corporate buyers are human!   They want to avoid potential pain which may include loss of control, loss of approval, loss of status or even losing their job.    Getting it wrong could result in these consequences but if they get it right they move towards potential status, money and success.   But the brain is not as linear or logical as we think and a large proportion of decision...

What a time to be an AI enthusiast!   Denise has been this for over 15 years and is watching with interest the explosion of attention that artificial intellience has received since ChatGPT hit the world.   We talk about some of the tasks that AI can make more effective including forecasting and lead nurturing and our attention then turns to where we need to proceed with caution.   Will an overuse...

Use it or lose out!   There is massive excitement about the effect of AI in sales though not so many people are talking about how to actually use it.   Plenty of hype but no real applications unless you buy something with an integration.   I'm interested in how anyone can use the most common free tool available - ChatGPT - to make immediate impact.   Here I share how to 'get inside the customers h...

Is selling to senior executives different?   Steve talks through how and why plus what to do.   It is worth paying attention as research shows that salespeople are not very good at it (according to the execs and its their opinion that matters).   We discuss some of the common mistakes and how to avoid them.   Many of these are made when trying to operate 'at scale' but that doesn't mean that the w...

What if there was a better way to present information to customers?   Imagine sharing things that they needed to know as they make their way on increasingly difficult buying journeys?   Rory discusses how microsites can be used to do this to supply the right information at the right time.   In doing so salespeople can help the customer make sense of the things that are important to them.   Using i...

Why are the skills associated with sales so important in everyday life?   In this special episode Javi and Fatima, two students on an internship, share their learning on how the skills sales professionals train to perfect are useful for everyone.   They talk about their own experiences where they have had to use some of the skills and how they feel more prepared to use them more deliberately as th...

Get the party started.   Rebecca shares how being from a family of clowns has equipped her for a role today in creating and building communities.   We discuss how humans are wired to gather in tribes and how communities today present a massive opportunity for sharing and problem solving.   Now this can be on a global scale so the power of community is stronger than ever.   Good groups will provide...

Dr Howard Dover is a seriously busy guy.    A sales professional, sales coach, database analyst, systems analyst, marketing modeler and university professor all in one.   But as he explains there is work to be done.   We discuss the state of sales and why buying is such a horrible experience for many and where the sales innovation paradox comes from.   Is modern technology ruining us as salespeopl...

But I have my own special way.   A classic objection poor salespeople make about using process.   Aviv explains that it is not something to be afraid of.   Indeed it should be embraced.   Much about sales process is overcomplicated but really it is pretty simple.   It's about getting results by aligning buyers and sellers.   When we start thinking about outcomes rather than techniques the magic st...

What makes you 'swipe right' on sales outreach?   Nadia shares her approach that is proving successful for her.   It is based on taking time to understand the individual and crafting a message that demostrates this and that she is not a robot.   She explains that the human side is important as the message is the beginning for the relationship which is why it's worth injecting a little bit of perso...

Matthew fell into sales and before long he was a top performer at Zoom.   It clicked when he realised that the harder he worked the more money he could earn.   He puts his success down to being able to undertake the same repetitive motions whilst working out how to do more and make it more refined.   Perhaps being a champion latte artist had something to do with this and certainly where he draws h...

Stuart wrote the book he would have liked to have had in his early years as a salesperson.   Having seen (and made) the mistakes that make the role more difficult he was driven to provide a 'go-to' resource for sales professionals.   The step by step framework is predicated on understanding the challenges a customer has and communicating this and a way to think about addressing it.   Personalising...

Louis is pretty straight up with his dislike for boring marketing.   Getting new customers is probably THE most important thing for any business.   But it's not always easy and can be incredibly frustrating.   Every business has wasted time, effort, and money on marketing strategies that get no results.   But some businesses, are doing things differently.   They are getting response rates as high...

Richard wears many hats which is indicative that he cares deeply about sales and that it is done well.   In this episode we look at the elements of PQ - partnering intelligence - and discuss how it can be used to guide a modern sales approach.   He brings his unique spin to this and shares a number of powerful maxims and NEAT structure.   We talk about language patterns and the mindset of being un...

David's favourite title is actually 'Values Activist' and when you hear him talk this makes sense.   He focuses on values because we are all values-driven.   It's what makes us human.   Understanding human values will absolutely change the way we look at ourselves, the people around us, and those we hope to engage with our work.   We are all driven by what we value.   Think of your values as the G...

'Muddled Mindset'.   This is being misaligned. It can happen at organisation, management and individual level and means that the confusion leads to frustration and wasted effort.   We can counter this by creating better alignment through ensuring clarity within the organisation which allows management to provide better coaching.   This in turn confirms for individuals that their approach is consis...

'Olde Worlde'. This is being old fashioned.   It is when salespeople are too self-centred rather than customer focused, too technical in their approach or use bad techniques better suited to a bygone era of selling.   We can counter this by getting up to date.   Flip attention to the world of the customer.   Follow an approach that identifies issues rather than forces a solution.   Focus on things...

'Busy Busy Busy' . This is being ineffective. It results in wasted opportunities, is tiring and stressful and means the focus is on the wrong activities to deliver results.   We can counter this by preparing to make the most of opportunities, planning to balance work to reduce stress and using process to focus on the right activity.   The top salespeople will also work on their mindset and approac...

Imagine being 15% better at selling. Or even just 2%.   Georgia explains how the Sales Enablement function pulls together training, tools, process and culture to help make this happen.   The key is to focus on what really matters rather than doing different for different sake.   The focus should always be on the effect any initiative has and how to make the most of this.   When 'skills are our cur...