Author: Sue Barrett on
8 March 2010
Understandably everyone wants to save money, especially in these times, however we need to be aware of falling victim to false economy. False economy is an expression that refers to an action which saves money at the beginning but which, over a longer period of time, results in more money being wasted than being saved.
Author: Sue Barrett on
1 March 2010
After thousands of hours of study and many years honing technical skills to be a competent professional in your chosen field, it can come as a rude shock that you now need to sell your services and capabilities as well. In today's busy market, a competent selling capability isn't a "nice-to-have" it is an essential business and life skill.
Author: Sue Barrett on
22 February 2010
'Everybody lives by selling something' was the trend in our
12 Sales Trends for 2010, voted as second most important for businesses in 2010. It is a very significant trend on many levels as it involves everyone, not just the people who are labelled as 'sales'.
Author: Sue Barrett on
15 February 2010
Everything lines up: your solution is a very good match for the client company, you have ticked all the boxes, but the deal is rejected. You are perplexed and confused. "It's a great solution! It's what they wanted and needed. Why are they saying no?"
Author: Sue Barrett on
8 February 2010
Many sales people will tell you one of the biggest worries in sales, besides prospecting, is dealing with customer objections. It's true many people do not like dealing with objections or conflict, however, it is also true that many people unintentionally create objections and conflict by not understanding a customer's real needs or priorities and failing to find common ground.
Author: Sue Barrett on
1 February 2010
In December 2009 we published
The 12 Sales Trends of 2010 and invited readers to vote on what they thought are the most important trends in sales. Thank you to everyone who shared their views and voted. Each month we will explore one of the trends in more detail, starting with the trend voted as most important – Lead the Way. As voted by you, here are the sales trends for 2010 in order of importance:
Author: Sue Barrett on
25 January 2010
Building on my article
'Where is my inner six year old when I need them?', using effective questioning techniques is one of the most significant key differentiators between a person with good sales skills and a person with outstanding sales skills. However, many sales people find this the most challenging aspect of the sales process.
Author: Sue Barrett on
18 January 2010
What's happened to having a pleasant, hassle free customer experience in this country? We are hearing more and more war stories from customers. Some go to buy something and are met with whinging, whiny staff or others return to a supplier (retailer or B2B) with a query, return or problem to be resolved to be met by resistance, apathy, excuses, and, worst of all, customers being informed of their lack of understanding about how the company in question works.
Author: Sue Barrett on
11 January 2010
The virtue of fidelity is often associated with personal relationships, in particular, marriage. However, I would like to propose that we consciously extend this virtue to all aspects of our lives, including the functions of sales and service.
Author: Sue Barrett on
4 January 2010
A few weeks ago I ran a webinar for SmartCompany on 'How to clearly manage and measure your sales team'. During the webinar I was asked many questions, one of which came from a senior sales leader. They asked: "With some time to reflect over the summer break, what is the one thing I should focus on getting right for my business?"
