2019 Sales Trends Event  – Trust me, I’m in Sales

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Business Acumen, Collaboration, Environment & Sustainability, Ethics & Values, Gratitude, Innovation, Opportunity, Optimism, Procurement, Sales Consulting, Sales Leadership, Sales Pioneer, Sales Research, Sales Trends, Selling Better, Strategy, Success, Sustainability & Environment

On 27 March 2019 we hosted our 7th Sales Trends Business Breakfast celebrating the 10th edition of the Barrett Annual 12 Sales Trends Report with Trust as our central theme.

Over 120 people attended the event, mostly business people but we also had the Year 11 International Baccalaureate Student Representatives of the Melbourne Montessori School attend to further their knowledge and education as they study Business Management.

The attendees heard from our special guest speakers, Suzanne Paynter, Strategy and Policy Advisor for the Future Business Council, and Andrew Smith, Head of Business Customer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and myself, where we …

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Is Consumerism past its use-by-date?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Collaboration, Environment & Sustainability, Ethics & Values, Innovation, Optimism, Selling Better, Sustainability & Environment

This is a very interesting, perplexing and vexing question which is now being discussed at all levels of society.

This question is not only an economic and business question but, increasingly, a moral question challenging the very nature of how we make a living, how we make money and how we function as communities, economies and societies.

At this very point in our existence when anyone can reach almost everyone, everywhere, selling our wares and enticing people to buy, we, in the West at least, are confronted by the spectre of overconsumption, excessive waste with its environmental impacts and the ignominy of …

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Sales Tips for everyday life situations

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Life Skills, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Selling Better, Sustainability & Environment

Whether we are a salesperson or not, there are times in our daily lives when knowing how to sell well turns often awkward situations into positive outcomes for everyone.

We are social animals. We rely on others for our existence which means we need to engage with others in some way to be able to live effectively and have a meaningful existence.

Let’s look at the new school year as an example: there are often many new faces, new people to meet and people to interact with across the year whether you want to or not.

This means that people find …

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Sales Trend 2 – The case for long-term focus

By / / 12 Sales Trends Pages Category, Attitudes & Behaviours, Environment & Sustainability, Ethics & Values, Sales Results, Sales Strategy, Strategy, Success, Sustainability & Environment, Vision, Mission & Purpose

Sales Trend 2 of the Barrett 12 Sales Trends for 2018 Report is the case for long-term focus and strategy.

It’s no news that most businesses are focused on the short-term, living from quarter to quarter, and that although there’s ongoing argument about whether there’s enough evidence or not to say that long-term businesses perform better, most of the arguments against it (pro short-term) focus only on profits.

However, this sales trend reports that there are increasingly louder calls for businesses to be more long-term focused in their planning and strategies. The power of long term planning can be found in …

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Rethinking our economy… How do we sell in a Circular Economy with Doughnut Economics?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Environment & Sustainability, Ethics & Values, Innovation, Strategy, Sustainability & Environment, Wellbeing

Go out on a limb

It’s hard not to notice that we all have quite a bit on our agendas; lots of things competing for our time and attention; too many things that are likely to leave us feeling overwhelmed, overloaded and often confused.

People are asking lots of questions, e.g.:  Which way to turn? Which way to look? What to do? What is right? What is wrong? Who should we believe? Where do we go?

But, as we always say ‘It all starts with OPPORTUNITY’. So I invite you to go out on a limb with this article. I need you to …

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Sales Trend 9 – Back to the Village

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Environment & Sustainability, Sales Trends, Sustainability & Environment

Barrett’s Sales Trend 9 for 2015 is ‘Back to the village’.

As globalisation became more and more prominent, Australian consumers in turn, became excited about being able to purchase items from all over the world. Suddenly they were exposed to a wider variety and range of products than ever before, and could boast about owning items from across the globe. As the novelty of “worldly” products began to wane, and the economic impact of the import/export markets were felt more locally, people started to shift back to purchasing Australian made products.

In recognition of this, the Australian government launched …

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Insights into why I started my own business – Part 2

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Environment & Sustainability, Ethics & Values, Life Skills, Success, Sustainability & Environment

As mentioned in the article from last week I was invited to be part of the judging panel of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Victoria Young Business Hustler competition 2015. The programme is designed to give young business entrepreneurs the chance to further develop their capabilities and their businesses.

Here is Part 2 of my interview about how I started my own business and what continues to drive and inspire me today.

Interviewer: What do you believe is your greatest achievement in life so far?

Sue: I cannot point to any one achievement as being the greatest because …

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Sales Trend 4 – Doing Meaningful Business

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Environment & Sustainability, Sales Trends, Strategy, Sustainability & Environment

The Sales Trend # 4 of the 12 Sales Trends for 2015 is ‘Doing Meaningful Business’. Here’s a summary of the trend.

Over the years companies have become very focused on only creating value for their shareholders (and by value we mean dividends). This extreme focus has meant that making a profit, too often took priority over the well-being of employees, communities, and the environment; however, this model has proven to be unsustainable and in some cases brought about a backlash of undesired …

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Sales Trend #3 – Are you ready for the Share Economy?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Collaboration, Sales Trends, Sustainability & Environment

Our Sales Trend #3 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends for 2015 report is about the Share Economy. Here’s a snapshot of this trend.

One of the worst consequences of over-consumerism has been the exponential growth in the amount of goods that end up in landfills. This is the result of a combination of many factors such as consumers buying things that they don’t need for long—or even at all—and the manufacturing of cheap goods that break easily and are un-repairable, amongst others. On the other hand, consumerism has also meant that the …

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What if we sell better instead of only selling more?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Environment & Sustainability, Sales Results, Success, Sustainability & Environment

What if we aimed to sell better instead of focusing on only selling more?

At risk of giving every sales manager and business leader a coronary with this question, especially if we are running behind on our sales targets, I would like us to consider the following proposition.

‘Strive not to be the best company in the world, but the best company FOR the world’

What if we took this approach to business?

This is the philosophy of BCorps which is encouraging the proliferation of a new type of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. They …

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