Because they talk about their products and services from the wrong perspective. Inexperienced ‘sales’ people have an unfortunate tendency to talk from ‘inside to out’, rather than from the customer’s perspective in. Often the pitcher will start by describing their product and how it works before they get on to what it will do for…
Sometimes it’s much easier to pitch with almost no hope of actually winning because you can be. Er… honest. I was involved in a pitch a couple of years ago, right at the hard start of the bad times, where we were asked to take part in the process as an afterthought, to make up…
I’d always be very nervous when one of your team bounces into your office at the gloomiest of times and says, ‘There’s a £4 million opportunity at Lapsang Souchong Ltd, we ought to go for it…’
He’s a great guy, Rodrigo. He’s a senior exec in a very successful European company. We’ve worked with him for a couple of years and done some good stuff, we’ve earned a place at his table, if you like. Rod’s a demanding, reliable and honest business contact and friend. So we were over in his city…
Dinosaurs died out a few million years ago didn’t they? Why? Because they didn’t know what was coming and had no defence against the cold. How many dinosaurs in our business are dying from the cold right now? Millions I’d guess. Leviathans with fancy offices in London, New York, Paris Munich… (everybody’s talking ’bout….),…
While every business development professional dreams of out of the blue phone calls from potential customers, they seldom happen.It’s really important to remind ourselves that most new business opportunities come from following up on referrals and tips from your own network of friends, clients and contacts. We all know the old saw about it being…
Yes it is, it really is…. Selling professional services is different to selling ‘stuff’. You are selling an intangible, a relationship, trust. I’ve seen the greatest salesman in the world reduced to blubbering wrecks as they try to close a consulting sale whereas some of the most introverted analysts within my organisation make great salesmen;…
(Updated 17 October 2009) Selling anything requires trust, you need to trust the brand, the salesman or (preferably) both. Why do you buy stuff? This is a digression from the focus of selling professional service but bear with me, when did you last buy a car? Who did you trust, the brand or the car…
When you’re trying to explain what you do to other people whether in conversation, through the written word or as part of a proposal, remember that ‘concrete is always good’. I’m not talking about the noxious mix of cement, sand and lime used in building, obviously, but it’s a useful metaphor as it’s an almost…