Hello everyone
I try to catch up on business and personal development reading whenever I can - and I sped through several old business sections of the Sunday Times this weekend. There's always some great snippets and tips amongst the news, stories and profiles. One particular feature always catches my eye, called 'How I Made it', which features business owners and their success stories.
What stands out amongst those profiles is their ability to bounce back, to be patient for success, to learn from the knocks, to learn from anything in fact!
The gentleman featured in one particular week was Ed Reeves, founder of Moneypenny, a telephone answering service that now has an annual turnover of £7m.
I'm going to quote a passage from the article...He returned to Britain at 23 and settled in London. TIS offered to pay him commission if he was able to sell outdated land line phones for £5 each. After finding no takers , he raised his price to £25 - and promptly sold a thousand. He made £20,000.
Now I hear this type of story so many times during my consultancy and keynote speaking engagements. What then do you think of the fees you are charging? Are the prices you're charging down to your 'stuff' around your perception of the value of your work, rather than what the market thinks your worth?
There's a thought.
For those of us charging by the hour or day, remember the fee is not for your time only. Your customers are paying for your specialist knowledge - specialist knowledge you have that they don't have. They are paying for your acumen acquired through the qualifications you gained, the experience you've built up, for your commitment to your chosen craft, for the personal development you have put in.
Remember that when you next tell a client or potential client your fees.
Until next time
Leigh
Monday, 2 August 2010
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Sales is not about Selling
Hi everyone
What does that mean - Selling is not about selling? It means simply the art of selling has moved on from the 'always be closing', 'sell anything to anyone and to hell with the consequences' era.
My thesaurus says selling is about 'persuading someone to buy'. Persuading? Not in my book. No one should be 'persuading' anyone to buy. For me selling is a two way process of questions and answers, information sharing, finding common ground between buyer needs and the product - and the buyer ultimately making a decision based on the match of the product NOT how persuasive the sales person was.
The sales person will ultimately be successful more often that not when they truly understand the client's perspective. When they understand that every buyer is different, they can then drop the standard sales pitch and do some proper selling - where the welfare of the client is paramount.
What does that mean - Selling is not about selling? It means simply the art of selling has moved on from the 'always be closing', 'sell anything to anyone and to hell with the consequences' era.
My thesaurus says selling is about 'persuading someone to buy'. Persuading? Not in my book. No one should be 'persuading' anyone to buy. For me selling is a two way process of questions and answers, information sharing, finding common ground between buyer needs and the product - and the buyer ultimately making a decision based on the match of the product NOT how persuasive the sales person was.
The sales person will ultimately be successful more often that not when they truly understand the client's perspective. When they understand that every buyer is different, they can then drop the standard sales pitch and do some proper selling - where the welfare of the client is paramount.
Consider most car sales people. They have their speech ready and waste no time in delivering it - itemising the spec of the car, its top speed, mpg etc the list goes on. They have no idea about me, my previous experiences, my previous cars, my car buying motivation, where I am in the purchasing cycle, nothing. They're in their own map and assume that if they throw everything and the kitchen sink into their pitch, enough will hit the target and I'll buy the car. Right? Wrong!
The right way would be for the sales person to acknowledge that, though themselves might be speed junkies, they appreciate that only a relatively small proportion of car buyers are. By finding out about someone's car buying map they would quickly ascertain that space is needed for the children, extra body strength for safety and security, superb in car entertainment for the family as they take lots of long journeys together. Oh and what about the son who is 6'4'' tall at 17 years old so needs space in the back. I could go on but the message to all sales people is - please realise everyone of your potential customers will be different in many ways. Just acknowledging that will give you some empathy with the customer you would not have had previously
Sales is a massive subject and what I have touched upon today is a very small although significant area of selling. If you would like regular sales tips then please register for our Tricks of The Trade eshots and we'll send you sales and marketing tips directly to your inbox. Click here to register.
In the meantime enjoy your day and remember - less persuading, more selling please!
Until next time
Leigh
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Are Your Fees High Enough?
Hi everyone
Midweek - Are you half way through your goals for the week? A challenge isn't it?
I try to catch up on business, sales and personal development reading whenever I can - and I sped through several 'Business' sections of The Sunday Times last weekend. There's always some great snippets of tips amongst the news, stories and profiles. One particular feature always catches my eye, called 'How I made It' which features business owners' success stories.
The thing that stands out the most in those profiled is their ability to bounce back, to be patient for success, to learn from the knocks, to learn from anything in fact!
The guy featured in one particualr week was Ed Reeves, founder of Moneypenny, a telephone answering service that has annual turnover of £7m.
I going to quote a passage from the article now... 'He returned to Britain at 23 and settled in London. TIS offered to pay him commission if he was able to sell outdated land line phones for £5 each. After finding no takers, he raised the price to £25 - and promptly sold a thousand. He made £20,000'
I hear this type of thing so many times. So - are the prices you are charging down to your 'stuff' rather than what the market thinks you're worth?. Now there's a thought.
Until next time.
Leigh
Midweek - Are you half way through your goals for the week? A challenge isn't it?
I try to catch up on business, sales and personal development reading whenever I can - and I sped through several 'Business' sections of The Sunday Times last weekend. There's always some great snippets of tips amongst the news, stories and profiles. One particular feature always catches my eye, called 'How I made It' which features business owners' success stories.
The thing that stands out the most in those profiled is their ability to bounce back, to be patient for success, to learn from the knocks, to learn from anything in fact!
The guy featured in one particualr week was Ed Reeves, founder of Moneypenny, a telephone answering service that has annual turnover of £7m.
I going to quote a passage from the article now... 'He returned to Britain at 23 and settled in London. TIS offered to pay him commission if he was able to sell outdated land line phones for £5 each. After finding no takers, he raised the price to £25 - and promptly sold a thousand. He made £20,000'
I hear this type of thing so many times. So - are the prices you are charging down to your 'stuff' rather than what the market thinks you're worth?. Now there's a thought.
Until next time.
Leigh
Monday, 19 July 2010
Have you got your Red Dot?
Good morning sales team
Well well well. All morning I keep hearing on the radio about the golfer Louis Oosthuizen and his wonderful winning weekend at the British Open Golf Championship. This morning he, and others, have been talking non stop about the little red dot on his glove. He presses the dot at the precise moment he needs to garner maximum resources and get maximum concentration.
This of course is the classic NLP technique called 'Anchoring' - where one can lock in a required state and instantly recall that state by 'setting off' their anchor.
Anchoring can be an extremely powerful technique in sales. Whether you're doing a presentation, sales pitch, cold calling, the list is endless, setting up an anchor and recalling it on cue could be the missing link in your tool kit.
If you want to know more about NLP and Anchoring, click the link or get in touch and I'll be happy to talk about this more.
Well well well. All morning I keep hearing on the radio about the golfer Louis Oosthuizen and his wonderful winning weekend at the British Open Golf Championship. This morning he, and others, have been talking non stop about the little red dot on his glove. He presses the dot at the precise moment he needs to garner maximum resources and get maximum concentration.
This of course is the classic NLP technique called 'Anchoring' - where one can lock in a required state and instantly recall that state by 'setting off' their anchor.
Anchoring can be an extremely powerful technique in sales. Whether you're doing a presentation, sales pitch, cold calling, the list is endless, setting up an anchor and recalling it on cue could be the missing link in your tool kit.
If you want to know more about NLP and Anchoring, click the link or get in touch and I'll be happy to talk about this more.
Friday, 16 July 2010
Passion and Perspective!
Hello Everyone and welcome to what I hope is going to be a fabulous Friday.
I watched Question Time last night. It was so fascinating to see passions running high. Passion is a pre-requisite for sales success. If you don't have passion in your job right now, you need to get it - or get out! Winners are passionate. You can get by without passion. With it you can do anything!
Listening to audience and panellist comments also made me realise the differing perspectives available on a given subject. At The Sales Consultancy we had an 'off-site' meeting yesterday to look for new perspectives on how to prosper in challenging economic times. We came away with about twenty ideas to follow up on. So think how you can look at your sales challenges from a different perspective.
Finally thanks to all those who came to our Social Media Workshop on Wednesday morning. It was great to hear everyone's perspective (that word again) and help them understand the potential of these fabulous social media opportunities.
Leigh
I watched Question Time last night. It was so fascinating to see passions running high. Passion is a pre-requisite for sales success. If you don't have passion in your job right now, you need to get it - or get out! Winners are passionate. You can get by without passion. With it you can do anything!
Listening to audience and panellist comments also made me realise the differing perspectives available on a given subject. At The Sales Consultancy we had an 'off-site' meeting yesterday to look for new perspectives on how to prosper in challenging economic times. We came away with about twenty ideas to follow up on. So think how you can look at your sales challenges from a different perspective.
Finally thanks to all those who came to our Social Media Workshop on Wednesday morning. It was great to hear everyone's perspective (that word again) and help them understand the potential of these fabulous social media opportunities.
Leigh
Monday, 12 July 2010
Spreading the word
Well Happy Mondays to you all!! Now there's a band from the past.
I do hope you had a fabulous weekend. There's no point in working hard if you can't play hard!. And many congratulations to Spain, world cup winners. This proves that a combination of team work and high skill levels can get you anywhere!
Flexibility too. A group of football players able to adapt to the situation. There are definite parallels with business here. I noticed from the Sunday Times that The Body Shop, founded by one of my heroines Anita Roddick of course, is to greatly expand its Body Shop at Home division. It will be adding a further 3500 consultants to the current 4000. The rumours are that it's reducing its high street presence. Either way, for me this shows an ability to read the market and adjust direction in order to thrive. We can all learn from that.
Don't forget we have our Getting Started in Social Media Workshop this coming Wednesday. Maria has sent reminders out this morning as we have a couple of slots available. Click below for details and to book.
In the meantime have a great week.
Leigh
http://http://www.eventelephant.com/gettingstartedwithsocialmedia
I do hope you had a fabulous weekend. There's no point in working hard if you can't play hard!. And many congratulations to Spain, world cup winners. This proves that a combination of team work and high skill levels can get you anywhere!
Flexibility too. A group of football players able to adapt to the situation. There are definite parallels with business here. I noticed from the Sunday Times that The Body Shop, founded by one of my heroines Anita Roddick of course, is to greatly expand its Body Shop at Home division. It will be adding a further 3500 consultants to the current 4000. The rumours are that it's reducing its high street presence. Either way, for me this shows an ability to read the market and adjust direction in order to thrive. We can all learn from that.
Don't forget we have our Getting Started in Social Media Workshop this coming Wednesday. Maria has sent reminders out this morning as we have a couple of slots available. Click below for details and to book.
In the meantime have a great week.
Leigh
http://http://www.eventelephant.com/gettingstartedwithsocialmedia
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Facebook - Why bother?
Good morning...
Occasionally I detect a divide in the country over social media in general and Facebook/Twitter in particular. It seems half the nation has embraced it, love it, use it, for pleasure and in their business environments.
The other half won't go near it! And, when the conversation gets round to it, as it inevitable does, they dismiss it and profess never to use it.
As someone who has full embraced many social media platforms over the past few years I am intrigued by why people dismiss it. Is it a technology phobia? Is it the occasional bad publicity that arises from these rare cases of misuse? Who knows.
One thing I'm convinced of - as a business tool social media should be a vital cog in your marketing wheel. Your business type will dictate the precise role social media plays in getting you new contacts and business, but for me, you need a social media presence at some level, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy, LinkedIn etc.
In response to requests amongst my customers and contacts we are holding a morning workshop 'Getting Started with Social Media' next Wednesday 14th July. It's all about taking those first steps to having social media contribute to your marketing efforts and ultimately your profits. It would be great to see you there and we have a few slots left - call 020 7903 5426 for more details or to reserve your space.
In the meantime have a great day!
Leigh
Occasionally I detect a divide in the country over social media in general and Facebook/Twitter in particular. It seems half the nation has embraced it, love it, use it, for pleasure and in their business environments.
The other half won't go near it! And, when the conversation gets round to it, as it inevitable does, they dismiss it and profess never to use it.
As someone who has full embraced many social media platforms over the past few years I am intrigued by why people dismiss it. Is it a technology phobia? Is it the occasional bad publicity that arises from these rare cases of misuse? Who knows.
One thing I'm convinced of - as a business tool social media should be a vital cog in your marketing wheel. Your business type will dictate the precise role social media plays in getting you new contacts and business, but for me, you need a social media presence at some level, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy, LinkedIn etc.
In response to requests amongst my customers and contacts we are holding a morning workshop 'Getting Started with Social Media' next Wednesday 14th July. It's all about taking those first steps to having social media contribute to your marketing efforts and ultimately your profits. It would be great to see you there and we have a few slots left - call 020 7903 5426 for more details or to reserve your space.
In the meantime have a great day!
Leigh
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Hold your nerve - There's loads of business out there
Hi everyone.
Well we're mid way through the week so I hope you are halfway to the goals you set for the week!
There's lots of talk at the moment about 'the cuts'. It reminds me of the 80's. True, public spending is going to fall and private households are looking more closely at their budgets BUT please, can we put this into perspective?
If you take into account the actual economic figures, rather than the emotional newspaper headlines, you'll find that, for every £100 spent within the economy at the peak of September 2007, there's £95 being spent now. For me that's still a heck of a lot of business to be grabbed.
So - rather than curl up and wait for this recession to end, get out there and start grabbing some of those batches of £95!! If you don't, plenty of others will.
Until next time
Leigh
Well we're mid way through the week so I hope you are halfway to the goals you set for the week!
There's lots of talk at the moment about 'the cuts'. It reminds me of the 80's. True, public spending is going to fall and private households are looking more closely at their budgets BUT please, can we put this into perspective?
If you take into account the actual economic figures, rather than the emotional newspaper headlines, you'll find that, for every £100 spent within the economy at the peak of September 2007, there's £95 being spent now. For me that's still a heck of a lot of business to be grabbed.
So - rather than curl up and wait for this recession to end, get out there and start grabbing some of those batches of £95!! If you don't, plenty of others will.
Until next time
Leigh
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
My Goodness - it's been a long time....
Sorry If you've been checking our blog and seen nothing new for a while! So much has been going on since we were last here!!
Leigh is involved in so many more things now - so of you want to find out more about social media or you need a Keynote speaker then give us a call on 020 7903 5426.
Enjoy the sunshine!
See you soon - promise!
Maria
Leigh is involved in so many more things now - so of you want to find out more about social media or you need a Keynote speaker then give us a call on 020 7903 5426.
Enjoy the sunshine!
See you soon - promise!
Maria
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy
Hello to you all
Is everyone in the Christmas spirit yet? Or have you just got the Christmas spirit in you ;o)
Well - I rightly predicted that I would be running around like a lunatic in my last blog. Last night I was wrapping presents for teachers at 10pm - though I did have a glass or two of port at the same time!!!!
Roll on Friday - it's our last day at the office!!! And the children will be off school so at least our routine can slow down a little.
Hope you have had time to look back at 2009 and be grateful for the good things - I've already started some of my resolutions for next year - just like getting into training for a big event.
Enjoy the festivities!
Maria
Is everyone in the Christmas spirit yet? Or have you just got the Christmas spirit in you ;o)
Well - I rightly predicted that I would be running around like a lunatic in my last blog. Last night I was wrapping presents for teachers at 10pm - though I did have a glass or two of port at the same time!!!!
Roll on Friday - it's our last day at the office!!! And the children will be off school so at least our routine can slow down a little.
Hope you have had time to look back at 2009 and be grateful for the good things - I've already started some of my resolutions for next year - just like getting into training for a big event.
Enjoy the festivities!
Maria
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
The countdown has started.....
Hello
Well - advent has started - the countdown to Christmas.
Are you all excited???
I always use this time to reflect over the year, to think about what I want to achieve next year and be grateful for the good things in my life.
I also use this time to RUN ABOUT LIKE A LUNATIC GETTING ORGANISED FOR THE BIG DAY!!!!
So whatever you use Advent for...Enjoy!
Maria x
Well - advent has started - the countdown to Christmas.
Are you all excited???
I always use this time to reflect over the year, to think about what I want to achieve next year and be grateful for the good things in my life.
I also use this time to RUN ABOUT LIKE A LUNATIC GETTING ORGANISED FOR THE BIG DAY!!!!
So whatever you use Advent for...Enjoy!
Maria x
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Well hello to you on this glorious November day (well it is a bit windy though at least the sun is shining!!!)
Have you seen Leigh's new You Tube Video - you can check it out here
Until next time
Maria x
Have you seen Leigh's new You Tube Video - you can check it out here
Until next time
Maria x
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Busy, busy, busy
Well our resident expert, Leigh Ashton, has been busy, busy, busy....so that means we've all been busy!!!!!
Check out what we've been up to on you tube, twitter, facebook and slideshare to name but a few.
Enjoy!
Maria
Check out what we've been up to on you tube, twitter, facebook and slideshare to name but a few.
Enjoy!
Maria
Friday, 30 October 2009
what's new??
Hello there
Things have been very hectic here...delivering lots of training and creating online media stuff.
Have got 2 video's on You Tube, 2 presentations on Slide Share, a fan page on Facebook...it's been loads of fun and a huge amount of learning.
If you want to check out our new activity go to our website and all the links are at the top of each page.
You'll find it here.
Wishing you all a great weekend.
Leigh x
Things have been very hectic here...delivering lots of training and creating online media stuff.
Have got 2 video's on You Tube, 2 presentations on Slide Share, a fan page on Facebook...it's been loads of fun and a huge amount of learning.
If you want to check out our new activity go to our website and all the links are at the top of each page.
You'll find it here.
Wishing you all a great weekend.
Leigh x
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
catch up
Hello there
So sorry...it's been ages since I wrote.
Things have been a little crazy here...and very exciting with lot's of new stuff going on.
What recession I say.
Mind you...we have changed lots of our strategies this year to keep in line with what people want.
I've found that the companies experiencing a drop in sales are still using the same techniques as they were 18 months ago.
Things are changing so fast that it's so unlikely that these techniques would work in this current climate.
If you want to chat about how you can change to get more results then do get in touch or visit our website here.
On a more personal note...WE GOT OUR TICKETS TO GLASTO 2010!!!!!!!!!!
You can follow our Glasto journey here.
Take care.
Leigh x
So sorry...it's been ages since I wrote.
Things have been a little crazy here...and very exciting with lot's of new stuff going on.
What recession I say.
Mind you...we have changed lots of our strategies this year to keep in line with what people want.
I've found that the companies experiencing a drop in sales are still using the same techniques as they were 18 months ago.
Things are changing so fast that it's so unlikely that these techniques would work in this current climate.
If you want to chat about how you can change to get more results then do get in touch or visit our website here.
On a more personal note...WE GOT OUR TICKETS TO GLASTO 2010!!!!!!!!!!
You can follow our Glasto journey here.
Take care.
Leigh x
Friday, 11 September 2009
Do what you love!
Hello there
Met the most amazing people yesterday at my training session 'Healing your Sales with NLP'. I'm so blessed to be doing what I love and to meet such great people in the process. If you're not in a job that you love...check this out
Wouldn't it be brilliant if everybody could wake up thinking...yeehah another exciting day at work!!!!
Till next time.Leigh x
Friday, 4 September 2009
Enjoying the Good Stuff
Hello there
Hope you all had a great Bank Holiday weekend.
Things seem to be back to normal now...traffic back to it's usual crawl and cold winds making it chilly..not to mention the rain!!!!
I went to the Edinburgh Fringe last week and had an excellent time.
Saw some stand up, theatre, music and dance...and I thought Edinburgh was beautiful. The architecture is amazing and the people are lovely.
Hope you're all doing stuff that brings you joy.
If you want more joy check out my other website here for ideas on how to get more of what you want.
Take care
Leigh
Hope you all had a great Bank Holiday weekend.
Things seem to be back to normal now...traffic back to it's usual crawl and cold winds making it chilly..not to mention the rain!!!!
I went to the Edinburgh Fringe last week and had an excellent time.
Saw some stand up, theatre, music and dance...and I thought Edinburgh was beautiful. The architecture is amazing and the people are lovely.
Hope you're all doing stuff that brings you joy.
If you want more joy check out my other website here for ideas on how to get more of what you want.
Take care
Leigh
Monday, 24 August 2009
Sunshine
Hello there
Hope you're all well.
Isn't it great to have had a hot and sunny weekend.
I noticed people walking around being more cheerful and definitely more smiley.
Makes me wonder how we can capture it somehow to use when it's cold, wet and grey.
I've got my own ways...get in touch if you're interested.
Be great to hear yours too.
Keep smiling.
Leigh x
Hope you're all well.
Isn't it great to have had a hot and sunny weekend.
I noticed people walking around being more cheerful and definitely more smiley.
Makes me wonder how we can capture it somehow to use when it's cold, wet and grey.
I've got my own ways...get in touch if you're interested.
Be great to hear yours too.
Keep smiling.
Leigh x
Monday, 17 August 2009
If you need some help with your sales...
Hi all
Want to let you know about a great half day sales workshop I'm running especially for business owners and sales professionals.
Avoid the Top Ten Biggest Sales Mistakes will give you an introduction to how NLP can transform your sales.
There's a networking lunch to follow so you can try out your new skills...and all for £149 + VAT.
Nearly forgot...it's on the 30th September.
Hope you can make it.
Leigh x
Want to let you know about a great half day sales workshop I'm running especially for business owners and sales professionals.
Avoid the Top Ten Biggest Sales Mistakes will give you an introduction to how NLP can transform your sales.
There's a networking lunch to follow so you can try out your new skills...and all for £149 + VAT.
Nearly forgot...it's on the 30th September.
Hope you can make it.
Leigh x
Monday, 10 August 2009
Happy Weekends
Hello there
What a fab weekend. The sun shone, the music played, the pimms flowed and fun was had by all.
Went to a lovely Summer Ball in a vanue on the River Thames...what a great way to spend a hot summer evening.
What with some retail therapy yesterday...I guess I had the perfect weekend.
Hope you did too.
Leigh x
What a fab weekend. The sun shone, the music played, the pimms flowed and fun was had by all.
Went to a lovely Summer Ball in a vanue on the River Thames...what a great way to spend a hot summer evening.
What with some retail therapy yesterday...I guess I had the perfect weekend.
Hope you did too.
Leigh x
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