Ok, not everyone is cut out for a career working in sales but why is there still a huge lack of understanding that learning sales skills can help achieve success in many other careers? I recently met a careers leader from a local school and asked her if she ever suggests working in sales to her students. She was honest enough to say no which was frustrating to hear yet
Vilfredo Pareto – born in Paris just like I was and that’s where our similarities end. Amongst many other achievements during his career, his observation that, in Italy, 80% of the property was owned by 20% of the population became the foundation for the Pareto Principle which states that, for many outcomes, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. When I first heard of this, I set
When prospecting for new customers in B2B sales, every interaction counts and the art of the follow-up will make all the difference between winning or burning an opportunity! Whilst the initial contact is obviously important (can’t get to the end without starting), it’s the strategic follow-up that determines the outcome – these are the specific reasons as to why tactically following up with prospects is a critical element of any
A beautiful contradiction in the life of a salesperson. Whether you’re doing outbound yourself or someone else is on your behalf (be that employees, freelancers or agencies), this principal remains key to building connections with potential clients. Think back to the last purchase you made…. Before you even checked the cost, did you picture the outcome of you making the purchase? How did that make you feel? Happy? Excited? Relieved
Whether or not you’re asked this by the other person – this should be at the forefront of your mind with all sales communication; what is the beneficial outcome to the other person in what you’re communicating to them. You’re on a mission to find some new clients and sell them your services/products. You know what your service/product is, you believe wholeheartedly in it (if you don’t BTW, don’t expect
Back in the summer of 2022, I saw a post that Owain shared on Facebook highlighting the benefits of a career in sales. The post really caught my eye as I have always had an interest in exploring opportunities in sales but had very limited knowledge of the industry. Fast approaching my 40s with no sales experience, a background in the building industry and 12 year’s in the Fire &
The argument rages on in the sales world but maybe the time when ‘cold calling’ is dead isn’t that far off. For the purposes of this blog, the definition of ‘cold calling’ is using the telephone to call strangers without a pre-arranged appointment and initiating a sales conversation with the ultimate aim of that stranger becoming a customer of yours. Since 1998 when I got my 1st sales job booking
A noun supposedly coined by a professional football manager in 2004 but, according to the Wiki bible, it was apparently 1st uttered way back in 1972. The ability to bounce back or recover from bad circumstances Life, at home and at work, is never plain sailing and problem free. Don’t buy into the BS hype you may see on social media – EVERYONE has issues to overcome and, more often
It doesn’t matter how competitive you are or how great you believe you are at sales – you can’t win them all! Salespeople will hear ‘no’ far more than they hear ‘yes’ and it’s a common teaching that ‘no’ actually often translates as ‘not right now’. It doesn’t matter how great your product/service is, how slick you are with words or how unattached you are from the outcome – the
Sport is a great way to make friends, build discipline, raise standards and develop a competitive streak which will help achieve results not just in sport but life in general! Having played football since the early 90s, I know exactly how being part of a team has created the adult I am and I’m a huge advocate of the various benefits of competing in sport. Up until I found football
