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The Top Five of Q1

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Blog, Business Growth, Collaboration, Communication, Competition, Everybody Lives By Selling Something, Human-centred, Leadership, Procurement, Sales Leadership, Sales Skills

It’s the end of Q1 here in Australia and these have been the five most read blogs this quarter.

1) In a fast-paced sales environment, reflection is often overlooked. However, taking time to analyse experiences is crucial for growth.

The Power of Reflection for Sales Success

2) Excellence in sales team performance relies on a balance between well-established processes and individual agency.

Trend 5 – Process AND Agency

3) The revelations of corruption in the building industry highlight longstanding issues such as kickbacks and bribery, which erode public trust and fair competition. A corruption-free industry …

The Top Five of Q1 Read Post »

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Cultivating Positive & Productive Sales Teams & Cultures

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Blog, Collaboration, Competition, Human-centred, Leadership, Sales Culture, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales performance, Sales Results

I want you to imagine a field sales team of 20 B2B salespeople, each of whom has their own well-defined sales territory (it could be industry-based or geographical, doesn’t matter) and sales targets. They have access to sales support and customer service. Every month this sales team, including sales support, meets (virtually and occasionally in person) to workshop their territory plans looking at what’s working and what’s not.

These meetings are focused on moving forward and how to get better sales traction and deliver on results. Sure, each salesperson is required to enter their activities and deal progress in the CRM …

Cultivating Positive & Productive Sales Teams & Cultures Read Post »

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Win³ – tendering for you, your client and for the benefit of others

By / / Blog, Competition, Environment & Sustainability, Procurement, Tendering

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Sales Trend 10 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2020 is about succeeding in tendering while remaining socially responsible.

This is a condensed version of Sales Trend 10, to read the original version you can download the report for free.

By guest authors Bidwrite

Can sustainable procurement really be delivered through competitive tendering?

To succeed in …

Win³ – tendering for you, your client and for the benefit of others Read Post »

7 things you can do better

Why Collaboration, not Competition, leads to better sales results

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Blog, Collaboration, Common Ground, Competition, Ethics & Values, Sales Management, Sales performance, Sales Research, Sales Results, Selling Better, Success, Teamwork

Traditionally, the trope of the solo sales superstar or rainmaker has ruled the hearts and minds of many. Lauded for ‘single-handedly’ winning major accounts, bringing in the most amount of deals, or some other super human sales feat, what might surprise those not as familiar with sales and how selling works, is that none of these sales superstars could have achieved their results without the help of others, because no one lives or works in isolation.

Despite the popular myths, it has been known for nearly 20 years that the most successful salespeople are collaborators and team players, not individual sales …

Why Collaboration, not Competition, leads to better sales results Read Post »

6 Tips on How to Sell Value and Reposition Price – Take 2

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Competition, Education in Sales, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Selling Better

Another week goes by and another dozen stories of businesses discounting prices (or being asked to do so by their prospects or clients) appear. This week we heard about a few examples:

  • a business being asked by a prospect to ‘give us a better price because you are doing a few things with us’,
  • a business being told by a client, midway through a project, that ‘they would love to keep on working with them but competitor XYZ can now do it for 25% less because they can bring in cheaper consultants from overseas ’, and
  • another business being asked to give a …

    • 6 Tips on How to Sell Value and Reposition Price – Take 2 Read Post »

    Unethical Selling, not Selling, should be on trial at the Banking Royal Commission

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Competition, Education in Sales, Ethics & Values, Selling Better

    With the handing down of the Interim Report from the Banking Royal Commission, Commissioner Hayne was scathing in his assessment of the banking finance sector, especially the big 4 banks and large insurance and investment firms, such as AMP, for enabling their cultures of greed to flourish at the expense of customers’ wellbeing, principled and ethical business practice.

    Commissioner Hayne said the key questions the commission had to answer were why such poor conduct had occurred and how to stop it happening again.

    He added that, in many cases, the answer to the first question was obvious.

    “Too often, the answer seems to …

    Unethical Selling, not Selling, should be on trial at the Banking Royal Commission Read Post »

    Trust is the heartbeat of business, sales and society

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Communication, Competition, Ethics & Values, Sales Culture, Sales Relationships

    I have been writing about Trust in sales and business for many years; however, this year has seen a rise in my output on this topic, especially with the fallout from the Banking Royal Commission with posts such as:

    The Flight to Ethical Selling – how the banks can avoid a royal commission

    What does Selling Better mean for customers and shareholder return?

    What are the biggest issues facing CEOs and sales leaders today?

    Yet, trust is the heartbeat of business, sales and society.

    Without this life force pumping vitality through our collective systems every day …

    Trust is the heartbeat of business, sales and society Read Post »

    Want to find & own uncontested markets? Try Blue Ocean Strategy

    By / / Business Acumen, Competition, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Opportunity, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Results, Sales Strategy, Strategy, Success

    In today’s cluttered business landscape and global marketplace, finding uncontested markets to sell into and own, free of competition, at least for the foreseeable future, is getting harder, and harder and harder.

    Developing innovative ideas that turn into something new, unique and viable, are not easy to copy, and deliver revenue and healthy margins is equally tough.

    Rethinking our marketplaces, our traditional customers and non-customers, and how we sell and deliver real value to them, that they are prepared to pay for, well that’s another difficult challenge too.

    Most businesses these days find that they are increasingly competing head to …

    Want to find & own uncontested markets? Try Blue Ocean Strategy Read Post »

    Lessons for sales teams from an elite sportsman

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Coaching, Competition, Education in Sales, Networking, Sales Leadership, Success

    As part of our team’s regular coaching and development, a couple of weeks ago  Franco Crismann, one of Barrett’s BDMs went to a senior management business event at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) where Brian Lake, former Hawthorn/Western Bulldogs AFL footballer, spoke about maintaining a winning culture at work. Here is Franco’s report and reflections on the session:

    “We had a room filled with C Level managers who were listening to a sports star talking about business and maintaining a winning culture at work, and I noticed them nodding in agreement. This, to be honest, surprised me.

    What I …

    Lessons for sales teams from an elite sportsman Read Post »

    12 Sales Trends for 2016: Sales Trend 2 – Beware Competitor Zero

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Competition, Sales Trends

    Sales Trend 2 of Barrett 12 Sales Trends for 2016 is “Beware Competitor Zero”.

    Competition comes in all shapes and sizes today; direct, indirect, and disruptive; however, there is another competitor in our midst – indecision or no decision.

    This sales trend is about Competitor Zero – indecision leading to procrastination and no decision.

    Here and around the world we are seeing buying decisions taking a lot longer than they used to. In medium to large businesses there are also more people involved in making the buying decision, about 5.4 on average, so we are seeing decision by committee which …

    12 Sales Trends for 2016: Sales Trend 2 – Beware Competitor Zero Read Post »

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