Sales Articles

The season to be jolly, is the reason to be jolly

Christmas is here. It’s not only the season to be jolly, it’s also the reason to be jolly. It’s the season for buyers to be jolly and the reason for sellers to be jolly. Yes. We lost the Christmas spiritual plot years ago. I think this is possibly the reason why Christmas has different meaning

Read More

Stupidity Gets You Places In Selling

“Displaying your intelligence to the buyer is displaying stupidity” Remain Dumb. Stupidity gets you places in selling. Yes, I know. You’ve been told that speaking intelligently and looking intelligent gets you places. True. And in this taking selfies, peer driven, Keeping Up With the Kardashians world, it will. But not in selling. To thrive in

Read More

A salesperson’s job doesn’t end with the order

In selling, practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes better. The sales ecosystem being imperfect is something to think about, not dwell upon Dear salesperson, constantly complaining that the system (process or product) is imperfect will only get you sounding like a dripping tap. Repeatedly lumping your entire dismal performance on “the inadequate system” may be

Read More

Three lessons on risk taking from the Papal visit

Risk-taking comes with the sales territory; it is inevitable if the seller is to grow The Pope was in town several years ago. The Catholic faithful brought Nairobi to a standstill. The last time a religious event experienced that much hype was the beatification (first time I ever heard that word) of Sr. Irene Stefani

Read More

Why salespeople struggle in business: 4 traps and how to escape them

If business unfolded in real life as it does on Microsift Excel, everyone would be a businessman…and if selling were the only skill necessary for the business to thrive, the salesperson would have it easy. What irony! Many employees shun sales, yet all who start a side hustle—or outright business—crave it. All the same, the

Read More

Keep the sales momentum going by showing continual value to the buyer

Buyers are like patients. Assuming they know the root cause of their problems leads to a misdiagnosis; a hit-and-run One of the most self-defeating assumptions sellers make is that the buyer has all the answers about his business. Well, breaking news: he doesn’t. It is because of this assumption that many sellers simply hit-and-run. They

Read More

What roadside sellers can teach you about selling

Anyone interacting with a customer should borrow a leaf from what we commonly refer to as roadside sellers. Again and again I tend to see informal sellers (street vendors or road side sellers) thriving more in selling than formal ones. What is it that I see us learning from them? Stall owners Wealthy or poor,

Read More

Selling is service and service is selling

Selling is giving a service. You want a plumber with some basic understanding of electrical work. We want elastic skills as employers but shun them as employees. Strange. Selling is giving a service and giving a service is selling. It is the perception that selling and service are mutually exclusive that is the bane of

Read More

Make it a marriage not a fling: Build long-term customer relationships

Information used to flow one way, from seller to buyer. Today, the buyer is flooded with data, opinions, and reviews—they often know more about your product than you do. Building relationships over chasing transactions is more relevant today than ever. A decade ago, the internet was just beginning to shift the balance of power. Now,

Read More

Front office staff can boost sales and grow their careers

Selling is giving a service. And service is given by any one. The extra sale is merely a by-product of this; so is accelerating your profile to 3D status. Far too many sales are lost by front line (customer facing) staff. Front office sales are lost largely because of a poor attitude and, sometimes, lack

Read More
Stay ahead in a rapidly changing world with Lend Me Your Ears. It’s Free! Most sales newsletters offer tips on “What” to do. But, rarely do they provide insight on exactly “How” to do it. Without the “How” newsletters are a waste of time.