Sales Articles

Conquer the change of suppliers transition by managing the divorce

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

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Is Jimi Wanjigi the Uber of Kenyan politics—or headed for a fintech flop?

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

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How users can undermine your sale—and what you can do about it

“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

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Equip your salespeople for smarter B2B negotiations. Here’s how.

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

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Annnd Action! Test sales ideas in the field, not in your head

“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.”

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Sales and Marketing conflict – problems Sales gets blamed for

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

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Stop motivating comfortable salespeople. Scare them

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

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Your sales leadership blind spot is costing you-here’s how to fix it

You may not realize it, but your personality type could be influencing your focus as a sales professional in leadership—and not always in ways that help your team hit target. We all come into sales leadership with strengths. But those strengths have blind spots. And blind spots in sales management cost money, morale, and momentum.

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