“Weak people in business are a waste of space.” “I’m cold, hard and unstoppable.” When I saw the latest trailers on the BBC for The Apprentice, with these macho, posturing quotes, I found my skin growing clammy. I know it’s popular and makes good television, with its sharp-dressed contestants and all their dramas and rivalry, [...]

May 6, 2011 by Helen Blake

What is a sales person’s value proposition? This very interesting question was posed recently on LinkedIn.  The questioner asked: Is it Product Knowledge? Is It Customer Relationship? Is it Negotiation or Communications Skills? In this era of Web 2.0 – where buyers are better informed and demanding and have direct access to vendors and in [...]

January 17, 2010 by Cindy Barnes

Waiting in my local florist last week I was struck by the increasing polarisation between sales styles. Being served was a young girl about to get married who was very emotional and wanted her wedding flowers to be ‘just perfect’ but she didn’t really know what she wanted. I listened as the very patient sales [...]

December 2, 2009 by Cindy Barnes

A travel industry client of a colleague recently reduced its offerings down to a narrow niche of cruises and then focused its marketing effort and management time on ensuring these were profitable and generated cash quickly. While there was a temporary fall in sales, the company returned to positive cash flow and profit within a [...]

March 23, 2009 by Cindy Barnes