Trust me, I’m a salesperson

By / / 12 Sales Trends Pages Category, Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Opportunity, Sales Relationships, Sales Results, Sales Trends, Trust

Sales Trend 6 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2019 is about how successful salespeople are rising to the challenge of rebuilding trust at a time when trust in business is particularly low.

When trust in business and organisations in general is low, no one is more affected by it than salespeople. Salespeople are at the frontline of the business. They are the visible face. So when things go pear-shaped, the ones who lose credibility and trust are salespeople themselves. The famous Edelman report and a study conducted by Roy Morgan reveal that trust in businesses is at …

Trust me, I’m a salesperson Read Post »

The Sales Juggling Act: how to keep your eye on the sales prize

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Case study, Education in Sales, Sales Culture, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Results, Sales Strategy, Selling Better

Sales is integral to business. Without sales we don’t have a business.

But running a sales operation, leading the sales effort and guiding and directing a sales team can be a constant juggling act. Sales operations have many moving parts and they all require constant vigilance and effective decision making. The execution risk is always high.

Sales operations and teams are also fragile ecosystems. Set up well to perform to a standard, they require constant hands-on leadership and stewardship; it’s like keeping a set of spinning plates spinning. Take your eyes off those sales plates for a second and everything can come …

The Sales Juggling Act: how to keep your eye on the sales prize Read Post »

Avoiding a Kodak Moment: A positive Case Study on managing change for better sales & business

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Case study, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Leadership, Sales Results, Sales Strategy, Selling Better, Success

A positive Case Study on managing change, pain and quick wins in line with a Long Term Strategy

Human beings, by and large, are notorious for staying with what is familiar to them and not wanting to ‘rock the boat’, instead chasing the familiar quick fix, the easy option, that which feels safe and comfortable.

‘Why not get as much out of today as I can and to hell with the future’. Boom and bust mentality.

‘We’ve always done it this way, no need to change’. Staying in our comfort zone mentality.

‘If it’s not broken, why fix it?’ Not keeping an open mind …

Avoiding a Kodak Moment: A positive Case Study on managing change for better sales & business Read Post »

Sales trend 5 – Using sales enablement technology to build trust

By / / 12 Sales Trends Pages Category, Brand & Reputation, Sales Culture, Sales Results, Sales Tips, Sales Trends

Guest author: Steve Hall

Sales Trend 5 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2019 is about why ‘more’ isn’t ‘better’ when it comes to sales enablement technology.

Sales enablement technology is becoming more and more sophisticated. Artificial intelligence, Account Based Marketing (ABM) platforms, email tracking, autodiallers and so on are enabling more salespeople to reach out more often to more prospects.

But the search for newer, better, faster sales enablement technology is seeing a counter-trend emerge – one that focuses on creating better understanding of the people who really matter – the prospects.  And this includes you, because you’re …

Sales trend 5 – Using sales enablement technology to build trust Read Post »

Someone has to sell, or you don’t have a business

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Education in Sales, Entrepreneurship, Life Skills, Opportunity, Sales Essentials, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Sales Training

Someone has to do the selling or you don’t have a business.

I have met many people over the years who have great ideas, skills, processes or inventions but hate the thought of selling.

They usually come from two camps:

Camp 1: Those people who understand they have to sell in order to have a business but just do not know how to do it. They often harbour some fears and anxieties about selling because of its bad public reputation and can feel overwhelmed about what they have to do. However, I find these people are willing to have a go.

I will gladly …

Someone has to sell, or you don’t have a business Read Post »

Using ‘Intelligent Practice’ to enhance Sales Mastery & Results

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Coaching, Education in Sales, Sales Coaching, Sales performance, Sales Process Maps, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Sales Training

In a time poor world, many people including sales leaders and salespeople often bemoan the fact that they cannot seem to make time for important things like continued professional development, coaching, and thorough planning thus leaving their evolution and sales results to chance.

Rushing through the day, responding to ‘urgent’ matters and deadlines, getting in and out of sales meetings as quickly as possible, doing the bare minimum with CRM and reporting, with little or no time for reflection or developing mastery in their core capabilities seems to be the lot of many sales teams today.

When we rush through tasks, client …

Using ‘Intelligent Practice’ to enhance Sales Mastery & Results Read Post »

12 things we’ve learned so far about Selling Better in a 21st Century world

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Ethics & Values, Life Skills, Opportunity, Optimism, Sales Culture, Sales Results, Selling Better, Success

My team and I have been studying sales teams, salespeople, sales operating systems, sales strategies, sales processes, and sales cultures across a wide variety of industries in the public and private sectors, N4P and government since 1995 and we have seen and learned a lot of things.

Here is some of what we have learned:

  • Selling is everybody’s business and everybody lives by selling something
  • Selling starts with opportunity and purposeful optimism
  • Selling is the vehicle that allows opportunity to flourish and people to prosper; nothing happens until something gets sold
  • Selling at its best is when humans solve …

    • 12 things we’ve learned so far about Selling Better in a 21st Century world Read Post »

    Less IS More when it comes to Sales Planning & Market Segmentation

    By / / Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Market Segmentation, Sales Planning, Sales Results, Sales Strategy, Selling Better, Strategy, Success

    Less Is More when it comes to doing good strategy, sales planning and market segmentation.

    As Michael Porter, Professor and ‘Father’ of Competitive Strategy (Harvard Business School), says:

    • The essence of good strategy is choosing what not to do;
    • The essence of strategy is that you must set limits on what you are trying to accomplish; and
    • Strategy 101 is about choices. You cannot be all things to all people. It’s about making choices, trade-offs. It’s about being deliberately different

    This is the essence of good strategy, yet time and time again we see many sales teams experiencing …

    Less IS More when it comes to Sales Planning & Market Segmentation Read Post »

    Sales Trend 6: Moving CX & HX – really it’s all about people now

    By / / 12 Sales Trends Pages Category, Customer Service, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Results, Sales Strategy, Selling Better, Strategy

    Sales Trend 6 of Barrett’s 12 Sales Trends for 2018 is about the ‘human experience’ in businesses and sales.

    The terms Customer Experience and Customer Centric have been around for some time. These terms are now referred to in shorthand as CX. Now a new term is emerging – HX, the Human Experience.

    What does all this mean? Aren’t they the same thing?

    This sales trend explores the terms CX and HX and helps put into perspective the old and the new when it comes to creating a competitive winning edge in sales and business.

    Let’s look at some definitions first:

    In commerce, customer …

    Sales Trend 6: Moving CX & HX – really it’s all about people now Read Post »

    Scroll to Top