Years ago, I came across a story about how dolphins are trained, and I’ve never forgotten it — mainly because it’s exactly what so many salespeople do to their customers. Here’s how it works. You start with a dolphin in a pool.At the bottom of the pool, you stretch a rope.Every time the dolphin swims over the rope, it gets …
A Sherlock Holmes Sales Mystery By Dr. John H. Watson Holmes was standing at the window, watching the rain carve rivulets down the glass, when the call came. “A most troubling disappearance, Watson,” he murmured, not turning. “A person?” I asked. “A practice.” Moments later, we were in a cab bound for the offices of a firm recently restructured by …
A short handbook for aspiring sales disasters Here’s a quick list of Ten Things you can do to make sure that when it comes to selling you are successfully on track to be a complete and utter failure. This is a well trodden path so these are proven tips to successfully make you unsuccessful. Who knows, you may already be …
AI has made average look acceptable. The best sellers will be the ones who use it to enhance and share their thinking, not replace it. AI has changed the sales landscape, but not always in the way we expected. It’s made the average seller look better, faster, and more professional. Emails are smoother, proposals look sharper, and presentations are neatly …
Following on from my post about buyers, now it’s the sellers turn. How is AI going to impact sales and are we ready for the challenge? We’ve already seen that buyers are using AI to do the research, compare suppliers, analyse ROI, and even challenge what sellers tell them. So how can sellers respond? Here are just some of the …
I was having exactly this conversation a few days ago with a colleague and I thought it was worth sharing our thoughts. The short answer is, a lot. AI is already reshaping B2B buying, but the next couple of years are going to accelerate those changes. Buyers aren’t waiting for salespeople to educate them anymore. They’re using AI to scan …
Last time, I wrote about curiosity as one of the most underrated skills in sales. But it’s not enough to say be curious and expect something to change. Curiosity isn’t just a mindset, it’s a behaviour. And that behaviour shows up in two places: your questions, and your listening. You can’t be genuinely curious if all you do is ask …
We’ve all heard the phrase: “People do business with people they know, like and trust.” It’s been a sales mantra for decades. But lately I’ve been wondering if it still captures the full picture of how buying decisions are made. A colleague and I were talking about trust in the relationship between buyer and seller. He challenged whether trust is …
Under Pressure: Why Price Pushback Isn’t Just a Procurement Problem Buyers are under pressure. From tariff uncertainty through supply chain volatility and budget freezes. And then there’s procurement stepping in earlier, pushing harder, and asking tougher questions. And the pressure the buyer is under doesn’t stay on their side of the table – it lands squarely on yours! Your sales …
Salespeople don’t lose margin because they lack motivation. They lose it because they’re stuck on the wrong side of the Value Challenge. It’s a phrase I’ve used for years — and it sits at the heart of the Value Challenge Framework™. But the value challenge isn’t one single issue. It’s really two challenges, layered together: 🧠 The Strategic Value Challenge …