Let’s Get Real, or Let’s Not Play – transforming the buyer-seller relationship
Relationships between buyers and sellers are often dysfunctional, often being motivated by fear. For the buyer that is the fear of being talked into buying the wrong solution. For the salesperson it is the fear of missing target. Rather than working together for a win-win outcome, both sides are often pulling against each other. However, […]
Buyers Cringe As Telemarketing Numbers Rise
I talked to a manager in one of the leading telemarketing agencies today. He told me of new offices opening worldwide and the addition of hundreds of new telemarketers. Needless I wished him and his team well. It was the only polite thing to do. However, privately I shuddered. Here is what I was really […]
Public Spending Goes Under The Microscope
The new UK Government has implemented a policy of openness regarding how the tax payer’s money is spent. But, what are the implications for sellers?
How Are You Going to Pay The Buyer For His, or Her Time?
The reality is the most buyers are poorly rewarded for the time they spend with sales people, listening to sales pitches, or viewing sales presentations. With that in mind how are you going to pay the buyer for his or her time in meeting with you? Just what will the reward be? What is Your […]
Think Business Case Not Sales Proposal
Would you be surprised to know that many large organizations require a business case for purchases of as little as €20,000? Probably not. As one salesperson told us recently; ‘I have seen more business cases in the past year than I have in the previous 19 years’. With budgets being squeezed in response to the […]
Selling Is Only Half The Solution!
As a profession we are continually focused on selling, new sales strategies and techniques, pre-qualifying the sale, accelerating the sale and even closing the sale. But, selling is only half the solution! As a profession we are discovering there is a whole lot more…
Is Sales The Engine Of Your Business?
Many companies are facing an uphill struggle to regain lost ground in respect of sales and profits as world markets slowly return to growth. But, which companies are best positioned to return to accelerate out of the recession? Not an easy matter to predict you would imagine, or maybe the answer is the extent to […]
Selling Higher – Are You Ready to Climb?
The fact that decisions are being made at a higher level requires a totally different approach to selling. It can present many challenges for the salesperson, including access. Indeed, our experience of dozens of United Kingdom sales campaigns suggests it is 50% more difficult to access C level (CEO, CFO, or CTO) executives in major […]
Buying Is Now A Team Sport
Buying Decisions Are Being Wider Buying decisions are being made wider, as well as higher in most organizations. Indeed, those buyers and sellers we talk to suggest that the numbers involved in major buying decisions has doubled in a decade. This has major implications for buyer and seller alike. Multifunctional buying teams are the order […]
Buyers Are In ‘Play It Safe!’ Mode
(a) ‘Playing it Safe’ For buyers this is the era of ‘playing it safe’. The cost – benefits equation calculated in respect of each major purchase decision has a vital new dimension – that of risk. This is having a major impact on the nature of decision making. The appetite for risk has diminished greatly. […]
Sellers Look Out for Buyer Cold Feet
Sales people are increasingly learning that there is no such thing as a ‘sure thing’ sale. That is because as the sale approaches the buyer can get ‘cold feet’ and the salesperson may be the last person to know about it. For example, the salesperson’s proposal, presentation and price beats the competition, but somebody on the […]
Will You Be Short-listed? How Buyer Screening Criteria Reduces Risk
There is increasing evidence that buyers are addressing risk up front in short-listing suppliers based on criteria, such as; Have you successfully completed projects of this scale and complexity before? How recently? Have you strong reference sites presently ’live’? Have you worked with companies of our size and in our industry before? How recently? What […]
Peter Viljoen: 
StartupSandy: 
the Senator: 
Martin Lindeskog: 
