Prayer and purposeful action

I awoke early this morning to the sound of gentle rain falling and found myself immediately praying for more. This prayer came automatically during one of the most tragic weeks in Victoria’s history with the tragedy of the bush fires in many parts of our state.

As a Victorian I have found myself upping my prayer quotient for rain for some time now, not just for the bush fires but for the many people whose lives are affected by the drought here and elsewhere. In addition to my prayers, like many families, my family and I have been doing our best …

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What’s in a relationship?

 

 

The term ‘Relationship Selling’ is often bandied about by sales managers and sales people without properly defining what it really means.I often hear “We are in relationship selling” or “We need relationship sales people” however what I do not hear being asked is:

  • What type of relationship are we talking about?
  • What type of relationship are we looking for?
  • What do we mean by relationship selling anyway?

Relationship selling happens in any place where relationships are important. Thus when a husband and wife are negotiating about something, they will be more successful if they both consider the relationship as well as whatever it is …

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Leadership, Sales and a Clear Message

Welcome to 2009.

Over the summer break I was talking with a number of friends about what 2009 will hold for us, our families, our communities and our businesses. Without exception, we discussed the current and possible effects of the GFC (global financial crisis) on our markets and especially on our thinking and our actions moving forward. We discussed the importance of open, clear and honest communication and decisive leadership, clear goals and defining what we stand for.

We discussed the fact that it would be very hard for people to make ‘easy’ money this year i.e. playing the stock market, etc. …

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Seeing the world from your client’s perspective can make for easier sales

Each week we meet and speak with a variety of prospective and/or existing clients who have problems they need solving in our area of expertise. It is more than likely we will deal with a mix of clients: some with little or no understanding about what we really do and those with previous experience, knowledge and opinions in our area of expertise. And then there are those clients who are in between. Whatever their level of sophistication, how well we understand and identify our clients’ key priorities and problems, and what they value about working with a credible business partner …

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Practice, Practice, Practice then Play

In the sporting world it is expected that athletes make the time to practice, practice, practice and then go and compete or play the game. Through regular practice they hone their skills, behaviours and attitudes to ensure they are ‘match fit’ and ready to compete at the highest standards.

A sports team needs to make sure that when they are in the thick of the game they can draw upon those skill drills and practice sessions to perform well as a team and perform well under pressure.

When an individual athlete is neck and neck with a competitor racing for the finish …

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A Test of Character

I can honestly say I did not enjoy the early years of my sales career. I initially found it hard, relentless and sometimes really distressing. I was asked to do things I didn’t always understand that significance of. I often felt overly scrutinised by the constant monitoring of activity and performance by my managers. I worked in tough markets in tough times and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. I felt under pressure and sometimes wished I didn’t have to sell at all, however I came to realise that this tough introduction to …

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Common Sales Mistakes Part 3

As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman’ research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do’ in sales. Here is the 3rd part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

1. Thinking small

My worst mistake early in sales was to think small about what we can achieve. If I had realised three years ago what sales we could achieve, we would have …

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Common Sales Mistakes Part 2

As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman’ research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do’ in sales. Here is the 2nd part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

1. Not listening

Going in too fast! Jumping ahead before clarifying the whole picture. I had to learn more about people. Recognising that not everyone moves and thinks as fast …

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Common Sales Mistakes Part 1

As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman’ research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do’ in sales. Here is the 1st part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

1. Arrogance and hubris

Sometimes when you are on a roll with a product or brand (or even with your own success as a sales person), it’s way too easy to …

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