Dear Business Owner, all leads are created equal, but some are more equal than others. Well, not quite. More accurately, not all leads are equal. Some leads are hot, others cold. Others are suspects, and yet others, prospects. And some leads derive value from their sheer volume, while others, sheer quality. Indeed, not all leads
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If you are in charge of a key account, do you have a strategic plan for it or do you just manage it? I’m not talking here about those in charge of a portfolio. That we handled here. I’m talking about strategic account managers, business development managers and bank corporate relationship managers. Those that manage
It’s highly unlikely that the hotel will dismantle its reticulated (piped) gas system to install yours because you said so. In fact, even if it’s not reticulated but just LPG (gas) cylinders in, say, a school, they won’t exchange brands (to yours) on a whim. Even when it’s evident they should, don’t assume the decision
#changeofsuppliersexample, #changeofsuppliersinsupplychain, #howtoensureasmoothsuppliertransition, #typesofchangeofsuppliers
“Sell me this pen.” No. Ask me what I do with pens then sell me that. “I’m looking to buy a car. Which one is good?” This one. No. Ask, me why I want to buy a car, then sell me that. “Sell me this drill.” No. Ask me why I need the drill, then
Jimi Wanjigi is pitching a car to restless Kenyans still asking for a faster horse. His message isn’t about tinkering with the system; it’s about disrupting it. Could he and his Safina Party be to Kenya’s politics what Uber was to taxis—or Airbnb to hotels? An unexpected disruptor slipping through cracks the establishment never thought
#economicliberation, #legacypoliticians, #odiousdebt, #safinafistagenda, #safinapartyndc, #whatnextafterruto
“How does this sound to the people who will use it daily?” should form part of your pitching ammunition. Users can undermine your sale. So, be careful how you pitch to them – especially lay staff. This isn’t so much about dropping your pride and selling to the ‘’irrelevant’ too, but about naivete. When management
B2B negotiations are complex. The more if you’re selling high ticket items like software (say a core banking system) or industrial fuel. For this reason, business owners should arm their salespeople adequately. Across the 7Ps as we shared, yes, but beyond that, prep together as a business not as Sales only. B2B negotiations are a
“Test your ideas in the field, not in your head.” This is the mantra salespeople—and by extension, potential business owners—must tattoo on their minds. You don’t have a monopoly on ideas. Customers reward the sales person they connect with first, not the one who later laments, “That was my idea, he stole it from me.”
Dear Business Owner, some problems in sales get blamed on marketing—and some problems in marketing get blamed on sales. Few internal battles drain more energy, money, and morale as much as the sales and marketing conflict. Here are 3 common examples—and what you can do about them. (And, by the way, for the uninitiated, marketing
#endingthewarbetweensalesandmarketing, #relationshipbetweensalesandmarketing, #salesandmarketingdifference
A comfortable salesperson is a dangerous thing—dangerous to the business, to their own growth, and to the team’s overall productivity. Motivating him doesn’t work-scaring him does. Comfort is dangerous to selling. Your ‘pep talks’, contests, trainings, even repeated “Believe in yourself!” quotes, don’t break comfort in sales. If anything, they reinforce the comfort. That salesperson