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Trent Leyshan Articles

Written by: Trent Leyshan

What's the difference between telling and selling? - Click To Read Article
Telling fails to provide your customer with an opportunity to buy-in to the conversation. Moreover, the salesperson hasn't taken the time to acknowledge who the customer really is and what they need or really want, if anything at all. In essence, the salesperson is only communicating to the customer's stated need, which is usually the tip of the iceberg.

When does no mean no? - Click To Read Article
Many salespeople never get to hear the word, "no" instead they are provided with the ambivalent response of, "maybe". Your job as an elite (or developing) salesperson is to circumvent the murky fog of "maybe" and get to either a "yes" or a "no". Anything in-between suggests you haven't done your job properly.

What is the best way to develop my sales skills? - Click To Read Article
Let me explain. Selling is nothing more than leading customers to win-win outcomes. This is so basic yet so challenging for so many salespeople because they're selling or working for a company they dont believe in.

The Power of NO - Click To Read Article
We all know how important getting a ‘yes' is, but how important is the word ‘no' in sales? For some companies the word ‘no' is just as (if not) more powerful than a ‘yes'. Let me explain myself.

Three types of sales teams cultures - Click To Read Article
When you get a bunch of ‘Type A' personalities together who are driven and outcome focused, two types of team states commonly form: ‘Fabricated Harmony' or ‘Genuine Conflict'.

Tips for selling in hyper competitive markets - Click To Read Article
Who do you think appeals to people more - a person buying or selling something? I can tell you without hesitation the ‘buyer' wins hands down every time. Why? The buyer contributes to our success, credibility and financial well-being.

Stand for something - not just anything, something meaningful - Click To Read Article
Meaning helps you find passion and when you find passion amazing things start to happen. Not only do you start to enjoy what you do which is essential to longevity in any role, it also helps your customers filter through the mass of competitors in your market that are all doing and selling the same thing in the same way - to find you!

The art and science of Down-selling - Click To Read Article
Down-selling is the art of narrowing a customer's expectations and matching them more effectively with a solution that best fulfils their needs or desires.

The difference between a strategy and a solution - Click To Read Article
In sales there is usually confusion between what constitutes a "strategy" and a "solution". However, there should be no ambiguity whatsoever regarding when each should be presented in your sales process.

Social Networking or Social Distraction - Click To Read Article
There is no denying the internet has changed the way we live and conduct business. In a past life I owned one of Australia's largest web marketing companies, so as a communication tool I am well aware of the internet's benefits, but I also know what's not good about the web.

The Art of Chen - Click To Read Article
When I arrived in Sydney, I exited the terminal and quickly felt the humid morning air. I strategically positioned myself in the cab-rank and waited in-line for my ride. After a few minutes, my cabbie pulled-up and then leaped out of his seat and ran around to my side of the car. A small Asian man with a couple of teeth missing and a crooked smile greeted me. He then pushed me out of the way assertively and snatched my suitcase from me and lobbed it into his boot.

The fine line - Click To Read Article
There a fine line between persistence and harassment when sending marketing related emails.

More crazy customers! - Click To Read Article
In a perfect world salespeople will much rather spend their valuable time working with in-bound opportunities as opposed to chasing them. But just because someone has made contact with you doesn't necessarily make them the perfect opportunity. People that seek-you-out are more likely to demonstrate deceptive behaviour regarding your offering. If you have read my new book, The Naked Salesman, or attended one of my sales training programs you would have heard me speak about the damaging effects that "crazy customers" impart on salespeople and businesses.

Miss Congeniality - Click To Read Article
Miss Congeniality This week Aussie model and aspiring social worker, Jesinta Campbell was decorated with the second runners-up sash in the prestigious Miss Universe pageant. She also won the award for ‘Miss Congeniality' for her sense of humour and warm personality. Good on her!

Know your magic numbers - Click To Read Article
The number of calls you make per sale depends on the level of buy-in your customer has. The risk associated with what you are selling. And the approach you apply for each conversation. Salespeople that go for the jugular on every call may get the odd quick win here and there, but more often than not a measured approach is more effective.

Love it and live it! - Click To Read Article
I believe everyone should (and deserves to) follow a career they are passionate about.

Its BIG to be small - Click To Read Article
The bigger you are as company the less nimble and able you are to adapt to incremental shifts and changes in your market. How quick do things change? Lightening fast! If you don't adapt you are out of the game.

My sales team is flat and de-motivated. Got any inspiration? - Click To Read Article
When a sales team is flat this is usually a symptom of flat leadership and lack of support. The team members are not engaged and more than likely not getting the sales results and feeling devalued as a consequence.

Old Gus and his pump - Click To Read Article
How hard is it to find good old fashioned service these days?! I mean the kind of service that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? The type of interaction between two people that creates such a meaningful experience for you - you just have to tell other people about it?

Proving customers wrong only makes them right - Click To Read Article
You better believe it! Does it really matter if you're right? Yes it does, but not at the expense of making your customer wrong. If I had to choose between being right and losing a valued customer and being wrong and helping my customer see the situation as their opportunity - I would be wrong every time.

Is a great product and service enough to succeed? - Click To Read Article
Well that depends on your definition of success. There is a romantic notion in business that if my product and service is good enough, the business will basically take care of itself. This notion is incorrect. If anything a great product and service is just your starting point and ticket into the game.

Find fear before it finds you - Click To Read Article
To project to others that we are always happy, having fun and in a positive frame of mind every day is just pure fantasy. We all feel pain and frustration and all of us most certainly feel fear. In fact, for many of us, fear defines who we are and our corresponding thoughts and behaviours are governed by fear's close relatives: anxiety, procrastination, stress and worry.

Find your Focus - Click To Read Article
In Victor Frankl's disturbing yet fascinating book, Mans Search for Meaning, he tells of his experiences as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp in World War II, namely, how he and some of the other prisoners defied the odds and survived this ordeal mentally and emotionally.

How important is a work ethic? - Click To Read Article
I mentioned in a past blog that I measure my sales team on their work ethic and willingness to contribute to others. I've since received a number of emails wanting to learn more, so this week I'll explore work ethic in more detail and then contribution next week.

How do I find a passionate and purposeful mentor? - Click To Read Article
Working with a mentor is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself in business. Being able to share your fears and frustrations, desires and aspirations with someone you trust and respect, in a safe environment, is invaluable. I only have one rule of thumb when it comes to working with a mentor: choose them wisely!

How to create positive cash to leverage lump sales cycles - Click To Read Article
Many businesses structure their payment terms in a way that reduces not only cash flow but also profit. They have valuable money and resources invested in projects or stock- and then their customers drag their feet and pay months after their product or service has been delivered.

Encouraging competition - Click To Read Article
Before I started running my own companies almost 15 years ago now, I climbed the ranks of every sales team I was involved in. I was fiercely competitive and despised not being numero uno on the leader board. This commitment to winning did serve me in ways. Yet, in hindsight I spent too much energy worrying about losing, and as a result I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I could have.

How to generate referrals - Click To Read Article
Having been a fervent student of ‘selling' for most of my adult life, one thing is for sure, nothing excites me more at the front end of the sales process than a referral. Hot, warm or cold, I dont mind, so long as there's a need or desire I'm qualified to fulfil. And if someone goes to the trouble of recommending me to another, I dont take that lightly, - I celebrate it!

How confident are you, really? - Click To Read Article
I have talked at length in my blogs about the importance of being confident when selling. This week I thought I would shed some light on how you can not only build confidence in your sales role but also create a way of being that will transform your sales performance.

How to deal with problematic salespeople - Click To Read Article
Let me share a story with you to help answer your question. I was once involved with a small but successful advertising agency. This agency had won a lucrative account with one of Australia's big banks and received a lot of recognition. The agency was then purchased by a public communications company in a strategic sale designed to acquire the big bank as a client by default. The communications consortium paid top dollar (shareholders money of course) for control of the agency and the big account.

Cut the dead wood - Click To Read Article
In many sales teams what I observe is a small percentage of sales stars shining and the rest making up the numbers. This conundrum I call, ‘The Law of Lesser Equals'. This law propounds: All women and men are created equal, yet when compared in competitive environments some underperform, not just marginally, but resoundingly. Many team members have the same training, similar backgrounds and experience, but some get the results, while others struggle. Is that a result of luck, experience, or natural talent, or is there a more substantial explanation?

Desperate Dennis - Click To Read Article
Don the management consultant arrived 5 minutes late to a public sales seminar I was conducting. The rest of the participants had arrived early for their 8.45am registration and had been chatting to each other. He apologised for being late and then rushed in and sat down. His body language was stiff and noticeably anxious. Although now behind schedule, for Don's benefit, again, I asked everyone in the training group to quickly introduce themselves and describe what business they were in. All were happy to oblige.

Innovation x No Support = Zero Creation - Click To Read Article
Some say my views on business are fanciful and idealistic, and that may be true. However, I've been in the game long enough to know taking an approach that is anything less-only limits success to a lucky few.

I'm concerned about my sales dropping over the Christmas break. Got any tips? - Click To Read Article
I live by this maxim, "Chance favours the prepared." We all know the festival season and corresponding break is looming, yet I'm staggered by the amount of salespeople I speak with that don't have an end of calendar year strategy.

If you could offer me one great piece of sales advice what would that be? - Click To Read Article
If you could offer me one great piece of sales advice what would that be?

Are you really listening? - Click To Read Article
You may have heard me say, "The best way to be interesting is to be interested. The reason this principle is essential is because it makes your customers feel important. This feeling is so powerful it will help your customers filter through your competitors to find and connect with you.

Chance favours the prepared - Click To Read Article
Chance favours the prepared

Are you prepared to stick? - Click To Read Article
A few days after New Year's Day John went to gym and couldn't find a car park. He approached a gym manager to address his concerns about the gym being so busy. The manager responded in an ironic tone, "Don't worry, there will be plenty of car parks in a couple of weeks, just you wait and see."

Contribution - Click To Read Article
We all know people in life who take, so as we get older and wiser - we dont associate with these people for too long. Perhaps if we are really honest with ourselves, we take more than give sometimes too. And this is easy to do, particularly when we get desperate.

As clear as mud - Click To Read Article
I was recently car shopping for a 4WD for my partner, Kellie. Looking for a good deal we went into two competing dealers situated near each other. The first was a KIA dealer and the second, Holden. With less than a kilometre separating the two yards, my experience between them dealers could not have been further apart.

Buy-in before you Sell-in - Click To Read Article
If you are going to cold-call either over the phone or in person as a way to generate business - first make sure that you're ‘buying-in' and not ‘selling-in!'

Busy is overrated - Click To Read Article
In business I meet plenty of salespeople who seem busy, but only a few who are truly effective. The reality about busy salespeople is that most are unproductive in comparison to their time-to-output ratio, because the amount of actual value they create is limited by their available time spent per customer.

Are you a Star? - Click To Read Article
Can you be a "star" all the time - shining and twinkling high above everyone else, every day? I think a few remarkable people can, but much more attainable for most is being a "star" some of the time.

Are you Hard, Scrambled or Soft? - Click To Read Article
Over the years I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with hundreds of different salespeople in many industries. Although there are literally countless salespeople, there are only a small number of sales approaches. The most common I would like to explore for you in this blog.

Are you selling with ‘inspiration' or ‘desperation'? - Click To Read Article
Let's be honest, we all get desperate from time-to-time in different ways. When times get tough we become more self-focused than normal. We have bills to pay and we need to stay afloat financially. This is the harsh reality, but make sure if you're in this state it's not permanent - or the negative effects will be.

Empower your Sales people with the right Sales Coaching Process! - Click To Read Article
Nearly all elite athletes have a coach. Rarely do you see an individual or team scaling the dizzy heights of success without a well thought-out coaching structure, appropriate motivators, and when needed; soft or firm guidance in the right direction.

How to be an elite Sales-Athlete - Click To Read Article
I call anyone serious about selling a 'sales athlete'. If you look at elite athletes, many if not all, seldom step outside the realms of what they do best. It's very hard to achieve an elite level in life, sport or selling - multi-tasking. In particular if multi tasking requires a completely different or contradictory set of skills.

Nothing Happens until someone Sells something! - Click To Read Article
What does it really mean to sell something? An idea, a dream, our values, an opinion, or ones self interests? Selling is simply: a transfer of enthusiasm and trust in someone or something. With this trust is born a responsibility and commitment to honor that trust, and do so willingly, no matter how challenging.

How can I improve that first cold contact with a potential client? - Click To Read Article
Cold-calling is as much about process, support and leverage as it is about dealing with rejection and maintaining enthusiasm. You have to work to a structured plan and initiative contact as you would a warm referral, i.e. I know who you and your competitors are - and the reason for my call is to help you, just like I have helped others in your space.

Retro-Service - Click To Read Article
Retro Service is achieved via two modes: passionate People and the unique and memorable Experience they create for your customers. Retro Service is the form of service our parents and grandparents experienced back in the day.

The Power of Empathy - Click To Read Article
Empathy-Selling is a compassionate understanding of the thoughts and feelings of your prospects and customers.

What's under your sales-bonnet ( Part 3) - Click To Read Article
I stopped talking and scanned their body langue for a response. Nothing, they all seemed shell-shocked that a young bloke ten-years their junior would address them in such a blunt and cocky manner. I continued. "I tell you what, I'm going to step into the tea room for ten minutes, and let you guys have a frank chat. After this discussion, if you all want to roll over that's ok, better men have failed and sometimes quitting is a good strategy if you're not passionate or energetic enough to see it through.

What's under your sales-bonnet ( Part 1) - Click To Read Article
All performance vehicles have an engine, including businesses, and the faster the vehicle the more powerful the engine. In most successful businesses I see one common denominator: the ability to proactively generate new business. Many businesses, however, lack skills and processes when it comes down to getting out into the market and stimulating interest and engaging new business. The key to a powerful business is a powerful sales-engine. When cash-flow is positive and business is profitable-innovation is encouraged, the teams' spirits are high and almost anything seems possible. Conversely when there is no engine, business becomes about cutting costs, zero innovation and delivering the bare minimum. It's hard to build long success on those fundamentals, though not impossible. But there are faster and more exciting roads to explore.

What's under your sales-bonnet ( Part 2) - Click To Read Article
I thanked Big Red for his words-of-wisdom with and flashed him an ironical smile. I then stood up and said in a resigned tone, "Gents I've heard enough, I can't help you.

What's under your sales-bonnet ( Final) - Click To Read Article
Graham, cut-in abruptly, "OK, ok, let's let sleeping dogs lie, Johno's gone, and good luck to him, we will also see him at the pub on Friday, he's not going too far. He's a good mate, just tired and over-it and that's fair enough, it hasn't exactly been a party around here for a while. Let's move on to the present." I was impressed with Graham, he was a big man, and I felt his big heart, and from what I could tell he was the leader although the Greek wore the title of Managing Director.

What should you do with your poor sales performers? - Click To Read Article
One of the most frequent areas that I get asked to consult on is sales team 'performance', or lack thereof. In many sales teams what I observe is a small percentage of sales stars shining and the rest making up the numbers. This conundrum I call, 'The Law of Lesser Equals'. This law propounds: All women and men are created equal, yet when compared in competitive environments some underperform, not just marginally, but resoundingly. Many team members have the same training, similar backgrounds and experience, but some get the results, while others struggle. Is that a result of luck, experience, or natural talent, or is there a more substantial explanation?

The difference between selling with 'desperation' and 'inspiration'? - Click To Read Article
Being desperate is not pleasant and it's an exhausting place to be in all the time. To achieve and sustain long term sales success you need to sell with inspiration! If you can't get up every morning motivated by 'what' and 'how' you sell; you're in real trouble because no one else is going to do it for you. One of the biggest tests for any salesperson is how they perform under immense pressure - yet if you're resilient and made of the right stuff you may even thrive in it. Many salespeople crack under pressure. They have a couple of poor months and then get desperate. They start cutting corners and looking for quick-wins. This is the beginning of the end. The quick wins seldom come, particularly when you're desperate.

The little agency that lost its soul - Click To Read Article
I was once involved with a small but successful advertising agency. This agency had won a lucrative account with one of Australia's big banks and received a lot of recognition. The agency was then purchased by a public communications company in a strategic sale designed to acquire the big bank as a client by default. The communications consortium paid top dollar (shareholders money of course) for control of the agency and the big account.

My Sales team arent getting along, am I doing anything wrong? - Click To Read Article
'Genuine Conflict' is when team members don't get along but willingly live with their differences in exchange for a pay packet. There are no team values or value in the team. Sometimes team members align but it's usually short lived as the competitive forces and jostling for rewards and recognition takes priority. Attrition is high, but players' dont seem to mind, as it means one less internal competitor and is part of the game. Managers reward sales success above all else, even at the detriment of other team members and even some clients.

How confident are you at selling, really? - Click To Read Article
As a (willing) potential customer I want to trust you and believe in what you are saying and that you will deliver on your promise. You can make the odd mistake here-and-there, because if I trust you it's not a deal breaker-I know you will be the first person to bring it to my attention. You can sell the best product or service in town, but if your salespeople fail to install belief, build trust and deliver on their promises, the success of your business is limited, if not ultimately removed.

Addicted to leads - Click To Read Article
Donald the management-consultant arrived late to a public sales-seminar I was conducting. The rest of the participants arrived early for their 8.45am registration and had been chatting amongst each other. He apologised for being late and then rushed in and sat down. His body language was stiff and noticeably anxious. Although now behind schedule, for Don's benefit, I asked everyone to again quickly introduce themselves and describe what business they were in. All were happy to oblige.

A lot of a littles make a lot - Click To Read Article
Selling is really nothing more than the art of meeting, listening, engaging, and leading the right people to a win-win outcome. Which isn't too tough to achieve, yet many salespeople are obsessed with the pursuit of the so called 'silver sales bullet' that will magically cut-corners and transform their sales performance and life accordingly. I'm here to inform you there is no so such thing or external force to you that will determine your ultimate success - it's all up to you!

Innovation minus Support = Zero Creation - Click To Read Article
There is an abundance of creativity in our world. Humanity is replete with inspirational people who have enormous value to contribute in their own ways - yet most are never seen or heard. As a collective society, we seldom encourage others to take a path of innovation because it's untested, risky, and breaks convention and related reputations.

What approach should I take when cold calling? - Click To Read Article
I encourage people to cold-call by coming from a place of 'contribution' first; I call this approach 'buying-in'. In highly resistant sales executions, like cold-calling, you have to buy-in before you can successfully sell-in because the mass of cold-callers that have gone before you, have trained your customers to ignore you.

Has cold-calling ever worked for you? - Click To Read Article
Many salespeople make the mistake of treating in-bound calls as easy wins or a guaranteed sale. However, my experience suggests you need to engage customers in the same way, don't skip steps in y0ur sales-process, and never assume they have buy-in just because they called you, as they may also have called three of your competitors.

Are you believable? - Click To Read Article
Being believable is not just getting people to follow you - it's also their willingness and peace of mind during the process. Being believable is easier to achieve when you truly believe in what you are selling - so sell something or be a part of a business that you truly believe in.

Are you interesting enough? - Click To Read Article
You don't demonstrate that you are genuinely interested in others by being totally self-focused. The mistake many businesses make is -everything they do and say is all about me, me, and me!

Marketing is complex - Sales is much easier! - Click To Read Article
What are you goals and aspirations? And how do you see me helping you get there? What do you think I need to start, stop and continue doing? If I could wave a magic wand over your busienss and grant you one with what would that be?

Are the only people that CALL YOU Telemarketers? - Click To Read Article
How frustrating is it when the phone rings, (RING, RING!) and you say to yourself; “great an opportunity I don’t have to chase!” Then the person on the other end of the phone opens the conversation with; “Am I speaking with the business owner?” and you realise, quickly, that it’s yet another (bloody) telemarketer! “Damn you telemarketer!” you say under your breath, as you politely tell them you’re not interested and promptly hang up.

Death by Marketing & The Emergence of Retro Service - Click To Read Article
If you want to succeed, simply do the opposite of what unsuccessful people do! I’ve always liked this maxim, as it makes perfect sense when you think about it. So to learn how to be successful in business we must first establish how to be unsuccessful. To experience a fast but painful business death, there are many roads one can explore. However one of the quickest and surest routes is to engage 'Traditional Marketing' and a Balance Sheet Business strategy.

Are your Customers Crazy? - Click To Read Article
Do your sales people sit back at drink o’clock on a Friday afternoon and share war stories of prospects and customers doing strange and unpredictable things? Are your sales people, more times than your Sales Mangers cares to admit, left scratching their heads as prospects seemingly operate by their own sets of rules, making it up as they go, with a complete disregard for the sales person’s best interests and good intentions? That being the case this next section is written for you, in an attempt to help you or your sales people demystify your customers and indeed potential buyers.

Creating the right ‘Value Perception’ for your Customers - Click To Read Article
Value Perception (VP) is the opinion your potential and current customers have of your product or service. This perception determines the value it adds to them in line with the problems it needs to solve or aspirations they want it to fulfill. Also evaluated is your offering’s relevance and importance, over and above that of your competitors.

What should my sales team expect from a successful Sales Coach? - Click To Read Article
Successful sales coaching requires patience, a good ear, curiosity and of course the ability to provide individual sales people or sales teams with the right information at the right time. These relationships empower the recipients with knowledge and the confidence to maneuver themselves toward the right outcomes. Wisdom is knowledge applied. Therefore the sales coach prefers not to impart his wisdom directly, instead coaching the sales people or sales team to find their wisdom through their own questioning, answering and experiences.

Why hire a Sales Coach when I already have a Sales Manager? - Click To Read Article
Most companies already have a sales manager or person in charge of sales in some capacity, so why hire a sales coach? Many sales mangers are not trained in the subtleties of effective sales coaching nor have they developed the necessary skills and tools to be effective sales leaders. The most common way to hire a sales manager is to simply promote your best sales person. This logic suggests this person is the most qualified to lead the sales team based on their past sales achievements. This type of ‘promotion by necessity’ is common, but not commonly successful. In the process you may even lose your top sales performer when their leadership abilities fail to match their sales ability.

Would you benefit from someone really being there for you? - Click To Read Article
A person you can trust to lend a thoughtful ear when times are tough - or perhaps, ground you when things are going crazily well. A confidant, that inspires you to be more of who you really are to help you achieve your purpose. How powerful would this be?

EMPATHY SELLING - Click To Read Article
Being versatile in sales is essentially having the capacity and skill as a sales person to connect with more people. By being versatile you understand how your customers feel and you also know how they prefer to be communicated with, so you adapt your sales approach and communication style to them. You don’t contrive to be someone or something you’re not. On the contrary, you give them more of you, based on what you hear, see, feel and understand about them. This is a big part of getting Naked as it demonstrates you are genuinely interested in getting to know them, the real them. The Naked them.

HOW TO BE A TRUSTED ADVISOR - Click To Read Article
Imagine going to a heart surgeon and leading with “give me your best price on a triple bypass?” Madness! You just wouldn’t do it. Why? Because you want the best person for the job and you’ve probably gone to great lengths to research and speak with friends or associates who have been through a similar process or know others who have – in order to find the right information you need to make the right decision. The right decision is always - what’s best for you. The price is the last thing on your mind if you want the best result.

CASE STUDY: BIG KEV - Click To Read Article
Another crazy, was an old mentor, employer and friend of mine, Kevin McQuay (AKA) BIG KEV! Big Kev was a naked salesman and one of the best I have ever seen. He was bold, most certainly unique, memorable and very real! Big Kev was a larger than life character and Australia’s most famous celebrity television salesman. I spent many years with Kev and he taught me a hell of a lot about sales and business. It would be remiss of me not to add, Kev has been the most influential person in my business life to date. He believed in me when no one else did, and for that I will always be eternally grateful.

Customers don’t care about you unless you’re naked. They just don’t. - Click To Read Article
Why should they? You’re not that interesting to them fully clothed. Appropriately decorated in the same suit and tie, or tight black jeans and teased hair, as everyone else in your industry.

No one sees a Naked Telemarketer - Click To Read Article
In my humble opinion, cold calling is a waste of time. When was the last time you purchase something from a cold call telemarketer?

Are Telemarketers the only people that CALL YOU? - Click To Read Article
Picture this: You are sitting at your desk going through your To Do list and suddenly the phone rings, ¡§RING, RING!¡¨ Given you know how challenging lead generation can be, you say to yourself, ¡§Great this could be an opportunity I don¡¦t have to chase!¡¨

People rarely buy what they need if you can sell them what they really want - Click To Read Article
In parts of poverty stricken African it's a very different story; people buy and barter in exchange for what they need to survive on a daily basis.

How do I create a radical ‘Call to Action?’ - Click To Read Article
Step 1: Find out what your competitors' are all doing and do something radically different, or radically better. Remember, in competitive markets with everyone selling the same thing in the same way 'radical differentiation' can mean as little as a 10% margin in value proposition.

Selling in Tough times - Click To Read Article
If you speak to enough small to medium business owners you will find most if not all are seeking to grow their businesses by reaching and engaging with more customers.

Customers are begging for discounts but we don't want to drop our prices. What selling strategies should I use? - Click To Read Article
If a significant number or customers are begging for discounts, I would be inclined to explore the reasons behind the requests to understand what is actually motivating your customers.

What would your sales-role and business be like with less fear? - Click To Read Article
If you remove fear from your sales-role and your customers experience your business will transform magically and only limited by your vision. Furthermore, if you can help your customers find or apply a sense of meaning to their lives the same magic applies.

The Art of Heart-Listening - Click To Read Article
Often when a person believes they are listening to another they are actually listening to the sound of their own internal dialogue, and waiting for their own opportunity to speak next. Even when a person is actively listening to another, they are usually just hearing and responding to the words that are being spoken.

Should incentives for my salespeople be aimed at quick cash in the door or long-term growth? - Click To Read Article
In the current economic climate, there is little difference between short term and long term. No one can confidently predict what's going to happen next month - let alone next year. Front-end sales incentives designed to stimulate action are a good idea. Sales people should always be rewarded for success, but (and it's a big BUT) not at the expense and integrity of your company's value proposition and reputation.

Are you in a 'BS' Business? - Click To Read Article
A Balance Sheet Business, or 'BS Business', is a business set up solely for the purposes of generating money and extracting shareholder returns. In a BS Business the customer's are essentially a means of which to generate a profit, instead of being the true nature and purpose of the business. This money making psychology takes precedence over all else, even at the detriment of team members and customers. When a business and its

Business Friendships - Click To Read Article
A Business Friendship is another term I use for a customer. A Business Friendship is no dissimilar to a social or personal friendship, the same rules apply, such as; commonality and camaraderie, adding value, listening and understanding, trust and integrity and let's not forget good old fashioned manners.

Making emotive connections - Click To Read Article
Many believe humans beings are rationally motivated creatures, and by virtue of the decisions we make, we are more often that not, logical and considered by nature.

The curse of the BDM - Click To Read Article
The traditional Business Development Manager (BDM) role inherent in many sales models often turns out as a 'Bad Decision by Management'.

Are Customers begging you for discounts? - Click To Read Article
When a customer begs you for a discount you can simply reply with yes or no, or you can employ a strategy to address the request and reposition your offering in a more valuable light.

Razor cut-through! - Click To Read Article
How do you cut-through the mass of competitors in your market and get to your truly great customers?

The Law of being left behind - Click To Read Article
The Law of being left behind, suggests that if someone else buys a products or service, it must be valuable enough to buy for ourselves. This belief transforms into a subconscious need to acquire the product or service, simply because someone else has it. And when you get a group of likeminded people together in a buying environment, all it ever takes is one person to buy to set 'The Law of being left behind' in motion. The converse is also true, if not one person puts their hand up to buy - no one else in the group will buy. Why? There is no leader, the pack isn't moving in any particular direction, therefore there is no need to move - the safest move is no move at all.

What should I look for when I hire a salesperson? - Click To Read Article
Over the years, I have personally hired and developed many talented salespeople across multiple industries, and for me it's always about finding and developing salespeople who possess the 6P's for Sales Success:

No Cost Value - Click To Read Article
No Cost Value (NCV) is the value your salespeople create for your customers' that requires little, if any, investment, other than - time, some creative thought, and a willingness to demonstrate a positive attitude.

How much are your salespeople really worth? - Click To Read Article
Commission only salespeople can be effective - however one of the major problems with a comm-only sales strategy is that salespeople in these roles, more often than not, become all about 'the sell' for obvious reasons: no sale -no pay -no eat!

How do I spot prospects that are actually time wasters? - Click To Read Article
Spotting time wasters is a critical initial step in your sales-process. It's in the knowing how to weed out and manage non-relevant customers, that frees up your time to focus on real customers!

It’s been a month with no sales! Do I sack my sales manager? - Click To Read Article
A sales manager, or more appropriately, 'sales leader' is a key leadership role in any sales driven organisation. That means sacking your sales leader, more often than not, also means bleeding intellectual property (IP) to your key competitors. Moreover, an emotionally charged ex-sales leader may even take some of your sales team and clients with them. Ouch!

The C Factor! - Click To Read Article
Assembling a 'dream team' sales force is not as difficult as you may first think. I've known of businesses reaching great heights through the salesmanship of only a few sales-guns! Before creating a 'dream team' you need to have at least one exceptional salesperson you can model. Someone has to go there first! Whether this person is the company founder, (if sales savvy,) or a senior leader, there must be a working best-practice sales-process you can model and replicate. Once you have a high performing salesperson to model; their core characteristics, behaviours, and activities, then form the blueprint (DNA) of your 'dream team'. Keeping in-mind, that it's ok to have varying personalities in the same team, this enables your team to demonstrate versatility and engage a diverse customer base. You don't need to 'literally' clone sales

Cold calling is daunting. Got any tips? - Click To Read Article
Yes I do, in fact - Don't cold call! Not unless you are selling in a way that is radically different or fundamentally better than everyone else. Then maybe you stand a chance, but the odds are stacked heavily against you. I couldn't tell you the last time a cold caller cut-through and engaged me emotionally over the phone. In fact, I dare say I have never purchased something from a cold caller.

How to be a high performance leader - Click To Read Article
The subject of leadership is the quintessential conversation of our generation, particularly at this time of great social change, commercial and political unrest. I believe leadership, [being a leader] to be a character trait, not simply a title you bestow upon a person or entity, without significant reason and evidence over an extended period of time. True 'leadership' is the ability to inspire action through ones own actions. This feat is not as easy to achieve as the definition suggests. Easy in theory - but ever challenging in practice.

The economy seems to be recovering - how do I adjust my sales strategy? - Click To Read Article
The short answer is - go back to basics. Treat your company like a start-up business by getting hungry and enthusiastic and don't think yesterdays successes always guarantee today's.

Are your sales people living in false hope? - Click To Read Article
Salespeople that spend large chunks of valuable time and energy attending multiple pre-sales meetings, conducting 'needless' needs analysis's and writing proposals at the customer's request, are more often than not left scratching their heads in a state of ambiguity and confusion.

My sales director wants equity - should I give it to them? - Click To Read Article
The best sales directors that I know are entrepreneurial by nature. They thrive on risk and strive to create a substantial upside. Personally, I would never take on a sales director role without the potential for ownership, but that's just me. I know the value I am capable of creating and I habitually work towards a long-term plan - I believe this far outweighs most salary and bonus only roles.

My Pipeline is full, but the deals aren't closing! - Click To Read Article
Salespeople that spend large chunks of valuable time and energy attending multiple pre-sales meetings, conducting 'needless' needs analysis and writing proposals at the customer's request, are more often than not left scratching their heads in a state of ambiguity and confusion.

Yelling is exhausting - Click To Read Article
The only way your business is going to be heard (by anyone) is to communicate in a way that only you can. This is not achieved by following the hoarse voices of others, who are only imitating the herd that went before them. It's created by having the courage to stand-up and shout about something you truly believe in.

The Internet killed the Telemarketing star - Click To Read Article
How many times have you picked up the phone expecting to speak with a potential buyer - to only hear the desperate words of a seller introducing themselves and asking for the owner of the business? Yet another selfish salesman hell-bent on taking your valuable time and energy to try and sell you something you don't need or ever want.

Is the customer always right? - Click To Read Article
There is a power in being wrong, it demonstrates you're endowed with substance and character, certainly enough, to not indulge in the delusion of being perfect. Let's be honest, we all make mistakes, of course we do, some big and some small, but still all.

You're not that interesting! - Click To Read Article
Truth: You're not exciting or interesting enough for your customers go to the trouble of seeking you out. Why should they? You're predictable, measurable and safe - just like all your competitors. Your insights are second hand and you don't bring any WOW factor to the table. In fact, you're at the dinner table but you have nothing of any value to say.

How can I find an independant sales rep? - Click To Read Article
In my opinion, a business owner should only engage a salesperson, either independent or otherwise, when there is a proven sales process and structure in place. This will enable a new person to integrate quickly and successfully to develop their own unique selling style and be guided by the support of an established sales model.

FREE isnt what it used to be - Click To Read Article
Email, is indeed free but free isn't what it used to be! No Sir, in the past, getting something for free was exciting, like winning, even though you didn't have to compete for it. "You can have this for free", usually meant, I like you and want you to feel special.

My boss wants me to cold call, but I have call reluctance, because I'm not very good at it, any ideas? Help? - Click To Read Article
Words are meaningless without emotion and emotions are very hard to experience over the phone. In fact, over 50% of communication is achieved via non verbal cues, such as facial expression, gesture and posture. That means most cold-callers, even the really good ones, are still limited by these phone related challenges. So be mindful, if you are choosing the telephone as your initial point of contact and introduction with a potential customer, you are already on the back foot, which means you need to work smarter.

"Our salespeople aren't asking for the business!" - Click To Read Article
Some may find the concept of salespeople not asking for the business, strange even ridiculous given 'the close' has traditionally been a salesperson's end-game. This is analogous to a football player running down the sideline, struggling to avoid the clutches of would-be tacklers - to just sit down on their bum and scratch their head an inch before the goal line. It's just doesn't make sense, yet in sales, this type of conducts is surprisingly common.

My boss wants me to cold call, but I have call reluctance! - Click To Read Article
Words are meaningless without emotion and emotions are very hard to experience over the phone. In fact, over 50% of communication is achieved via non-verbal cues, such as facial expression, gesture and posture. That means most cold-callers, even the really good ones, are still limited by these phone related challenges. So be mindful, if you are choosing the telephone as your initial point of contact and introduction with a potential customer, you are already on the back foot, which means you need to work smarter.

Is your website offering a wet and limp handshake? - Click To Read Article
Don't make the mistake of creating a website that is purely designed to lead people through a preconceived process. Having a process is essential, but not before your customers have 'buy-in'. To extract customer information before there is an established relationships or some form of emotive connection is only going to put people off. Sure, the internet is vast source of information and contains unlimited realms off opportunity. But don't abuse it simply because can or just because others are - you're better than that!

How to create Buy-in when cold calling - Click To Read Article
How to create Buy-in when cold calling

How to be interesting - Click To Read Article
When you get the opportunity to speak with and meet a new customer, don't make the conversation all about you, make it about them. What makes you more interesting in business than your competitors is your capacity and willingness to be genuinely interested in customers. Furthermore, this interest should always transcend into a valuable relationship that benefits them in a unique or compelling way.





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