The Shift Control Sales Podcast

Most of the time sales people are focused on short term outcomes and look inwardly towards their own needs and wants over those of the customer. There has been a widely accepted move away from features and benefits to outcomes - seeing the world from the perspective of the buyer is the most important thing where the key is to understand the consequences of which to build a cogent argument around.

“Sponsorship is the future of business” Jackie Fast, Pinpoint: How challenging the norm is the only route to success in selling sponsorship. Only someone who has successfully navigated the choppy (and occasionally murky) waters of sports marketing and sponsorship can make that claim with any confidence. As Fast points out in her book, advertising and marketing has changed. Media consumption and ch...

Is "Practice" part of your sales process? How many of you spend time in 'rehearsal' preparing questions, answers, eventualities and outcomes for those big sales presentations? In fact, not just those big presentations but for everything you do? There are examples everywhere of those people who take the time out to prepare hard for the main event. In a previous Podcast with Damien Hughes, he descri...

So, you all set for GDPR? The much talked about but not always understood changes to the 1998 Data Protection Act kick in on 25th May 2018 As the way we store and transfer data changes so too does the legislation protecting customers - non-compliance could be costly. In this podcast, I talk to Orlagh Kelly, Barrister and CEO of Briefed - the go-to GDPR training and compliance consultancy in the No...

Delighted to welcome Damian back - last time we spoke we in May this year and much has happened in the intervening months. Damian has been working with Scotland Rugby Union, English Rugby League and is in the middle of publishing ANOTHER book - this time on Barcelona FC and what we can learn from their "culture" and how those learnings can be applied to sport and business. The previous podcasts wi...

Telephone sales is a much maligned business development tactic yet is undergoing something of a renaissance and when blended with a clearly defined digital strategy, tic an be very powerful. This solocast offers 7 tips on how to up your telephone sales game. For more information visit www.shift-control.co.uk

Over the last few weeks and in collaboration with no less than 4 clients, I have experienced first hand the challenges businesses are facing when recruiting sales personnel. Regardless of sector or position, it's not getting any easier. What are the challenges facing your business and where do you see the answers coming from - millennials AKA "The Trophy Generation:" or the over 50s...too old to t...

SOSTAC® is a marketing planning framework used by business professionals globally and was voted in the Top 3 Business Models worldwide in the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Centenary Poll. The architect and brains behind SOSTAC® is PR Smith, marketing consultant, mentor and coach, public speaker and author of best selling digital marketing books including. Digital Marketing Excellence and SOST...

A pleasure to get to interview Oliver Lennon, current CEO of Syndeo and driving force behind Speechstorm, local start-up success story. In this episode Oliver shares some valuable insights into the world of tech start-up, the importance of self belief and how the world of sport has influenced him in business, through transparent leadership and teamwork - empowering and enabling those who work alon...

According to Dave Trott, everyone is turning into a story teller these day and suggests it maybe a bad thing - check out his brilliant blog (www.davetrott.co.uk). He makes a valid point but I would argue that storytelling has never been more important when it comes to your brand and your business.

Trust is the accepted currency of any relationship - personal or professional. It is critical in building meaningful relationships but there is more to it than simply trying to be-friend someone. This short podcast covers some thinking on how to better create trust in sales and business development.

Powerpoint has been around for a little over 27 years and in that time, little has changed in terms of functionality, usability so Microsoft must be doing something right. This podcast looks at the different ways we absorb information and questions why it is important to at least try to integrate audio, visual, kinaesthetic and digital methods in presentations for maximum effect.

Easily one of the best books I have read on business development and sales in a very long time. Blending cutting-edge research in social psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics, The Science of Selling shows salespeople how to align the way they sell with how our brains naturally form buying decisions, dramatically increasing their ability to earn more sales. The Science of Selling reveal...

Bundoran, a seaside town in Donegal has threatened to reinvent itself over the last number of years. Whilst it has become something of a mecca for surfers, it will need more entrepreneurial spirit from the likes of Laura Hardaker, owner of the beautiful cafe and bakery, the Hardy Baker. In Episode 19 Laura talks about the importance of passion, attention to detail and the provision of quality prod...

The second episode includes more insights and anecdotes from Damian Hughes, author of 5 Steps To A Winning Mindset, where he goes deeper into values in action, behaviours and reconfirms the importance of culture at the heart of any team - either in sport or business. This has been one of the most fascinating conversations I've had during the short time I have been doing the Shift Control podcast -...

There are many obvious crossovers between and business and sport when it comes to high performance - mental toughness, controlling emotions and communication, to name but three. In Part 1 of a 2-part podcast I discuss with Damian Hughes, the core of his latest book: "5 Steps to a Winning Mindset" SIMPLICITY, THINKING, EMOTIONS, PRACTICAL and STORIES all make up the STEPS acronym and Damian shares...

It has never been harder for brands, organisations and businesses to stand out for the right reasons. Right now, everyone is short on time and overwhelmed with interruption and so to connect with any audience, your message needs to be succinct and easily understood. Park Howell, the driving force behind The Business of Story believes that a strong narrative can have an incredible impact on a busin...

Do you see your brand as investment or an expense? Developing a logo or brand identity is a skill. And skill costs. At the gig platform, Fiverr, a logo can be crafted fro as little as $5...let the rant begin... Music intro from www.bensound.com

Delighted to be presenting this episode of the shift control podcast - in discussion with Carlo Pignataro author of the brilliant Sell With Style. Sell with Style: The Ultimate Guide to Luxury Selling is easily one of the best books on sales, branding and value delivery on the market. Carlo gives some great insights into personal branding, offering value and the idea of "perceived value" and share...

ccording to a recently published Neilson Sports report our appetite for fitness health and wellbeing will see the gym sector become the shining star of the post Brexit Economy. Someone who is well prepared to take advantage of that market opportunity is CEO and founder of Belfast-based BLK BOX Fitness, Greg Bradley. For Greg and his team, the business isn’t just about the gym industry in the UK an...

Al and Astra McNIcholl are the co-founders of The Itty Bitty Book Company - this podcast is a conversation with Astra, where she explains what motivated both her and her husband to leave their previous jobs and set up their new company. She talks about the importance of positivity and how a positive mindset can have an incredibly powerful impact on people and in particular young children. For more...

1-in-5 2017 Episode 1, EQ and IQ by Shift Control

In this episode, I speak to Siobhan Doherty, CEO of the only organisation in the North

How important is sales training to your business? how important is training of any kind to your business? If you take it seriously you will get the rewards and if you don't then you will most likely get what you deserve.

In an attempt to overcome bouts of deep depression, Luke Tyburski sees out on a journey to create The Ultimate Triathlon...25km, cycling the equivalent of the length of Ireland twice and running 12 marathons in 6 days....an incredible story on the eve of the screening of the Documentary of The Ultimate Triathlon in Belfast on 27th September 2016