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Lost sales revenue? – Start fixing it now

Many SMEs have, at the moment, a sales revenue problem mostly due to the challenges that have been brought about by the pandemic.

The brutal fact is that we will have to reset and redouble our sales efforts. This doesn’t mean doing more of what we have been doing, it means re-thinking what we are selling, how we are selling, and to whom. That is the only way to find and realise opportunities in the current conditions.

Waiting for the phone to ring or a lead to come in and not knowing how to look at other markets for revenue opportunities is …

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What are we selling now in a post-consumerism world?

Sales Trend 6 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2020 explores the issues around consumerism, waste, and the role of sales in a post-consumerism world.

This is a condensed version of Sales Trend 6, to read the original version you can download the report for free.

What are we selling now?

Consumerism has been the main driver of economic growth and business performance, lifting people out of poverty since the late 1940s which saw many millions of people get access to amazing innovations in products and services that make their lives much more …

What are we selling now in a post-consumerism world? Read Post »

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Using assessments when recruiting salespeople

Your sales teams are the primary human face of your organisation and – still – identifying and retaining high performing sales talent continues to elude many businesses. 

A successful salesperson will not only enable your organisation to ride out the economic uncertainty but will also ensure you are ready to seize the opportunities that present during the recovery.

Effectively predicting sales performance is critical to the success of any business, and using well designed, rigorous psychometric assessments as part of a sales selection process can really boost our chances of finding and retaining the …

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Will ‘Selling Remotely’ become the norm for field sales teams post COVID-19?

Will selling remotely become the norm post COVID-19 for B2B and Complex B2C field sales teams?

The early signs say ‘yes’, but let’s take a closer look at what’s happening.

Many things have been tossed up in the air with the advent of the COVID-19 crisis.

Take, for instance, the boom in Zoom meetings on every level – keeping people in touch with each other across the street, suburb, state and international boundaries. It’s something many of us are getting used to.

Whether it’s Zoom, MS Teams, Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp or even the humble telephone, staying in touch and communicating with people is vital …

Will ‘Selling Remotely’ become the norm for field sales teams post COVID-19? Read Post »

We change, or we burn

Sales Trend 5 from Barrett’s 12 Sales Trends Report for 2020 delves into the role of procurement in generating change towards sustainability within an organisation.

By guest author Ben Shute, CEO – Comprara & Purchasing Index

Proverbs and anecdotes

When I was asked to contribute to the Barrett 2020 Sales Trends Report, the invitation posed a question: “With everything we need for positive change and progress available to us now, why wait for a crisis to secure our future?” Immediately, all the proverbs warning against change jumped to mind. “If it …

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25 years of helping people and businesses sell better for a sustainable future

This year we are celebrating 25 years in business.

Barrett opened on January 9th, 1995 with $3,000 and a purpose of helping people & businesses sell better now and for a sustainable future. Here’s our story in a just-over-4 minutes video about our journey so far.

Or if you prefer to read about it, here’s the transcript:

“Two years ago, I asked the Executive GM of a listed company to go out on a limb.

His business was in flux and sales falling. Like many leaders, he thought sales training was THE solution.

Training would happen, I said, but not yet.

Instead, I asked him to, …

25 years of helping people and businesses sell better for a sustainable future Read Post »

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Human-centred sales operations – Being Businessworthy

Sales trend 4 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2020 is about what being human-centred means for businesses.

All business people know the concept of being creditworthy. That’s about not losing other people’s money.

Enter the Business for Peace Foundation[1], established in 2007 in Oslo, Norway, which has developed the concept of Being Businessworthy.

Being Businessworthy means being human-centred and purpose-led.

This shift to a more holistic approach to doing business is having a profound effect on how businesses operate, including how they set up their sales teams, sales operations and value chains.

The latest research in …

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The Time is NOW for Purposeful Optimism

I get the feeling, at this stage of the COVID-19 crisis, that many of us feel like we are living in a kind of ‘Twilight Zone*’ – an ambiguous area between the boundaries of two concepts, conditions – a grey zone; or a state of surrealism, where things that should not make sense seem to do so; or an indefinite or transitional condition. Take your pick.

For many of us, everything we have taken for granted or accepted as standard has been thrown into question. If you’re like me, you’re likely asking yourself, your family, your team, your clients and suppliers, …

The Time is NOW for Purposeful Optimism Read Post »

The Unsung Heroes of Brand Success

The Unsung Heroes of Brand Success

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the greatest of them all?”

The majority would cry Brand of course – brand maketh the company. This includes brand aesthetics, logos and messaging (branding and promises), product design, marketing activities (advertising, social media, etc.), brand recognition, and so on.

When we talk about famous successful brands such as Apple, we know that they have big – read huge – marketing budgets. They have invested heavily to make it just right. Those most successful, like Apple, have also managed to create a large loyal following base which makes them the greatest of them all.

The power …

The Unsung Heroes of Brand Success Read Post »

No, but actually… the time is now

Sales trend 3 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2020 discusses why climate action now makes good (business) sense and why it’s important to focus on achieving desirable outcomes and not just avoiding negative impacts.  

The following text has been slightly modified to cater for the changes that have taken place since it was first published. You can read the full version here.

By guest author TOBY KENT // Chief Resilience Officer, Melbourne

It is 2020, the year for which countries and businesses were all frantically setting climate change reduction targets less …

No, but actually… the time is now Read Post »

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