Creativity Creativity is concerned not only with new ideas, but also with escaping old ones. Many old ideas survive through habit or routine, and not – as they should – as a result of a continuous re-assessment of their value and validity. Our usual method of thinking is referred to as VERTICAL THINKING, in which we… Read More »
Letters are our ambassadors and provide a permanent record. Excellent relationships created face-to-face can be ruined by one poorly written letter. Overview Letters, e-mails and memos are a vital element in customer communication and internal communication. Problems in relationships and costly errors are common. Written communication also provides a permanent record and may ‘haunt’ the… Read More »
Detecting Poor Performance Detecting poor performance in an employee is not always as easy as it seems, but any check list should cover the following: Aggression: Appears to provoke a lot of conflict? Others seem reluctant to work with them? Customers sometimes complain about behaviour? Childishness: Practical jokes? Silly comments? Keeps colleagues up late at… Read More »
We must increasingly deal with a wide range of behaviour types amongst the customer group. Our success will be increased if our versatility increases. Overview Increasingly the salesperson must be able to persuade and work with a wide variety of people. This means the salesperson must develop a ‘chameleon’ quality to quickly change behavioural style… Read More »
Core Consultancy Behaviours Effective consultants need: Profound understanding of customer needs Systematic analysis of the true priorities and problems within these generic needs Ability to position products/services against these customer priorities To multiple levels of the customer organisation To all relevant members of the “decision making unit” Understanding of: the customer’s experience level their attitude… Read More »
Any account that gives you a good share of their business is a target for your competitors. A classic error is only to focus on obtaining market share from those that are not yet giving a significant market share. There are a number of other classic errors in defending market share. We must develop effective… Read More »
Having tried ‘normal’ sales approaches there are often people/accounts who fail to respond. Displacement Selling explores other reasons and approaches to increase market share or penetrate a new market. Participants are asked to bring problem accounts with them. Overview We must fight for market share. This means we must use excellent selling skills and effective… Read More »
Being competent in the ‘technical’ skills of the job is no longer enough. If we do not have appropriate skills – we cannot communicate effectively with internal and external customers. Your participants will learn the key skills. Overview Administration roles today require a variety of skills to help develop and build relations with internal and… Read More »
There’s a lot of talk about net neutrality, and with US legislators voting to abandon net neutrality, with few people understanding why, what it means and who will benefit (and who will lose out) Burger King made a fun ad to help its customers understand what burger neutrality gives them: If you want the… Read More »
As many market-places commoditise selling organisations attempt to move up their value chain to escape the deathly grip of diminishing competitive advantage. Two common (and often interconnected) approaches to this problem are; adding services to an organisation’s offer and selling solutions. The Move To Services This has several advantages: Stand alone services tend to deliver… Read More »
The demonstration may be to keep customers informed, find needs, or to prove that a solution is the best. These varying aims and stages in the sales process mean that our approach must be appropriate. Common errors include inflexible standard demonstrations and demonstrating our ‘flavour of the month’ instead of responding to the customer. Overview… Read More »
Coaching is used to support individuals in achieving results beyond what they believe is currently possible. It is about ‘people’ with the focus on the coachee. It is driven by their goals. In sport, we are constantly breaking new records. Someone wanting to run a certain distance in a particular time will often have a… Read More »
Being competent in selling is no longer enough. If we do not have ability to build relationships and handle the difficult situations, then long-term sales, repeat sales and cash collection is affected. Overview Problems may occur in both pre and post-sales. As products/services become more advanced and customers become more demanding, the type of problem… Read More »
A business that is serious about maximising the business from its existing customer base will need to have a key account specialism. Below we have outlined a list of the criteria that will deliver an effective Key Account Capability. Take a look at the list, how are you doing against it, how is your team… Read More »
We must increasingly deal with a wide range of behaviour types amongst the customer group. Our success will be increased if our versatility increases. Overview Increasingly the salesperson must be able to persuade and work with a wide variety of people. This means the salesperson must develop a ‘chameleon’ quality to quickly change behavioural style… Read More »