Business ideas for SMEs and Start Ups: Recent Episodes
Shift Control
I think people are generally bad at knowing what they want from work because we've never really been taught to notice what actually gives us pleasure in a career. We chase job titles and status instead of the underlying experience - what pleasure, joy or happiness could be found in work and what does that look like, or what could it look like if we were to take another job somewhere.People in moments of transition or young adults deciding what path to follow need more than the pressure of following in the footsteps of a parent or on the whimsical advice of friends.An interesting model and methodology to try out?Have a listen if you are curious.
There are so many reasons for businesses to integrate regular sales training - for some its a massive shift in behaviour having always held internal tribal programmes, for others it is embedded in their DNA and their culture.Training should be more than an anniversary event or a response to stuttering sales figures. It should be programmed more frequently and it should more than the event itself - in fact I would argue that most of the good work takes place outside of the course itself and goes way beyond any notes, slides or hand outs .In this podcast I discuss a modular approach to sales training success.Let me know what you think
Recent discussions about AI with clients, coaching colleagues and friends has opened up different avenues of thinking. No denying the benefits of AI and the opposing concerns and fears that clearly exist over work displacement. Then there is the threat to human intelligence through over reliance on AI for speed and efficiency for even the most basic of tasks.AI can be a game changer for sales teams but only when the conditons for adoption are optimised.
by Barry Schwartz - “The more options we have, the less satisfied we are with whatever we choose.”I was drawn to it recently when I was getting a coffee and some breakfast in Belfast - the choices we make and what influences them.Location, price, familiarity, curiosity, recommendation - whatever motivates you puts pressure on the business owner to not only get it right first time but to keep getting it right, then changing, then going again all the while watching out for rising costs in produce, energy and the ever-decreasing attention span of humans - both staff and customers.I have watched on as SEED have taken their successful, food-outlet business into the world of high value content, via social media, email and events.If you are not familiar with them, check out their places in Dungannon and Lisburn Road - also their social media content SEED People on instagram and the brilliant content from chef, StevieB.
A first networking event in years - a breakfast event at The Reform Club on Belfast's Royal Avenue in the company of business leaders, listening to journalist Simon Kuper talk about what business can learn from sport.Simon has written books on Barcelona, taking a different approach to Damian Hughes but also writes extensively across other areas than sport. A journalist for the FT he brought a perspective to the topic that has me moderating my own view - that sports teams and business teams are very different my nature - there are clearly some areas of crossover.A very worthwhile event and grateful for the invite as well as the opportunity to meet some very interesting people from different corners of the north. (thanks to Joanne at Clarendon and AAB and MLN.)
Contracting is a concept that that has been applied to the coaching, psychotherapy and counselling industries whereby boundaries are created and clarity given to collaborative work between a coach and a coachee.Is this something that can be applied to our meaningful interpersonal relationships and is there space for it to add value to your sales activities?Many coaching methodologies offer guidance in how to bring the prospect and customer forward in a sales discussion but for me it is the true intention of collaborative selling whereby you establish and agree the protocols of engagement - PURPOSE, PROCESS and mutual EXPECTATIONS.Every good discussion works better when there is clarity, respect and and understanding of why the discussion is being had in the first place.What do you think?
Beginning a new learning journey and I have picked up some valuable insights already - one being the use of the word 'why' in sales and the importance of finding a different way of asking that question without it.This podcast suggests a rethink on your questioning / information gathering techniques. I also talk about the value of learning later in life and starting the journey of getting to know yourself better.
I used to work with a business man who was as good at coaching as he was at growing a multi-million pound business.“I really pity the man that doesn’t know he doesn’t know.” He said to me one day, almost 20 years ago. It took a while to land but he was talking about that thing everyone is afflicted with – a blind spot.The phrase ‘blind spot’ comes from the Johari Window, a psychological model developed in 1955 by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham — the name “Johari,” comes from a blend of their first names.It was originally created as a framework for understanding and improving interpersonal communication, particularly within group dynamics and team settings.As a coach, a manager to as a sales person intent on improving, it's important to spend some time looking for that which is harder to see - or those characteristics that you have been spending a lifetime trying to avoid
Having invited guests over last week, I found myself without some key ingredients for a vegetarian dish I had planned to make. Taking the list of ingredients I challenged CHAT GPT to create a recipe for a similar meal - and it did.At no point did I question the recipe and it made me realise how much trust I have placed in this technology in such a short space of time.Research suggests that almost 60% of people in sales believe that AI tools sometimes provide inaccurate or misleading information.The big question to sales leaders becomes are you constantly regulating the veracity and quality of the information used by your sales people (and lets face it, yourselves)? If not giving you a competitive edge just yet, AI has given you the chance to reclaim some of your time each day - if you are not integrating AI in your sales function you are missing out. If you haven't given your team the authority to use AI, work on the basis that they are already taking some short cuts - you need to make sure if those short cuts aren't going to case long term damage.
Plenty of the recent episodes focus on the importance of process, from pipeline management to presentation formats. We can get caught up with the lure of CRM, believing that data and data management is everything.It gets tiring, sat in another sales meeting, discussing pipeline and nothing has moved from the previous meeting. A slow agonising death. Data is important, process is important but when it comes to influencing sales decisions, awareness and emotional intelligence matter most.In this episode I talk about the importance of awareness and being present when it comes to closing out on deals in your pipeline.
I was making plans for this coming weekend - Tyrone V Kerry in Dublin. Should I or shouldn't I?Weather isn't all that relevant but I looked at the forecast and found another reason to go.The importance of being able to predict something accurately. (It was in 2008 that Croke park was flooded after one of the quarter finals - so accurate is the operative word.)And so to sales forecasting - the devils business. So critical to all other parts of the business, planning, buying, HR, logistics and so difficult for sales people to get it right every time - because it matters every time.Some thoughts on forecasting from the world of the sales person and the sales manager.
I came across the following quote from a post on Instagram:“It doesn’t make sense to continue wanting something if you’re not willing to do what it takes to get it.If you don’t want to live the lifestyle then release yourself from the desire.To crave the result but not the process is to guarantee disappointment.”The journy of 1,000 miles doesnt begin with the first step - it begins with awareness. In sales performance that 'awareness" is critical - it is a level of self awarenes that might be beyond many - it certainly was beyond me for a long time.A line from their most famous song, David Byrne in Talking Heads asks YOU to ask the question: "you may ask yourself, how did i get here?"In trying to improve your sales performance you need to understand where you are, how you got there, where you wnat to go and more importantly are youy aware of what changing for success looks like?I have included a little clip at the end from Eric Thomas - the bane of every young sportstar's life....I hope you enjoy
A different episode to the usual - about going to a fundraiser for Palestine at the Dockers Club in Belfast, music supplied by Irish DJ, David Holmes, Roisin El Sherif and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey. At the age of 78, Bernadette can hold court now just as well as she did in 1969, on her maiden speech in Westminster.She read out some poetry on the evening from an Irish Poet, Dorothy Cullen from her book of poems "300 days and counting" - available on Amazon.I have posted a copy of her maiden HOC speech on my website here: https://www.shift-control.co.uk/words-maiden-speech-bernadette-devlin/
According to Gartner research, only 17% of the buying process is spent with suppliers — that’s not much more than one-sixth of the journey. So if you're waiting for that 17% to come to you, you’re missing the 83% where the buyer is actually shaping the deal. That’s why proactive prospecting isn’t just good practice — it’s survival.In this episode there are some intended and unintended points for discussion - what started out as a piece on rewarding self-contained sales prospecting, ended up shining a light on the importance of having your marketing game on point, to ensure that buyers are able to access you WHEN THEY want to and also why prospecting still has a value when the world thinks that digital channels provide the only real meaningful solution to business development and lead generation.
I found myself a little hypocritical in the previous episode - trying to maybe make everything sound so easy when in truth getting into good habits in any part of your life can be anything but easy.I felt it important to reframe a few things - it is a struggle for me in loads of areas and I try hard to inject some stability and form rituals where i can in order to improve myself, in the margins.Small, steady improvements might make big differences over the longer term but they 100% have greater impact over doing nothing.For me, Im cutting out media for a few days - I find watching anything about Palestine now a torture and something that Impacts my own well being. On the up side, I am happy to recommend a few apps - one is Merlin, the other Picture this - but handy for the immersion in nature experience.The other is NO THANKS - an app that tells you which companies are directly linked in supporting countries whose ethics you might find somewhat despicable.
The second part of the podcast devoted to the importance of Process is itself broken down into 2 parts - the practical part of the process that impacts the physical work you do and the prices you have (or don't have) that helps you emotionally and mentally prepare for the work that you need to do.Sales is not an easy job and you can find yourself under pressure from a number of different angles day in day out.Having a process in place or putting some order into your work means that you are able to build up momentum in your work and to create a particular rhythm' to your selling.Having a clear objective within allows you to focus on progressing in a particular way but also gives you more certainty that you are in the right place, the right job with the right opportunities beckoning.Giving yourself the best chance you can is all you can do - how you start your day, your mindset, the structure you out to your work and how you deal with the challenges are all very much within your control.Once you find the right process that works for you.
Episode 1 of 2, were I talk about the importance of disciplined process in sales management and leadership. It's all pretty straightforward and common sense and yet many sales leaders are fixated to the outcome - the revenue target for the month, quarter or year instead of having a clearly defined sales management process that offers you every qualitative and qualitative measurement to ensure that you can respond quickly to any warning signs or potential areas of concern, in real time.It can be a tough call for business owners who have usually taken the journey of hunter, gatherer to business leader and might want everything done in the 'old way' just because it has worked in the past. Today with so much technology and software to support the sales and marketing function, the sales management role has become easier but only when built around a solid process and implemented by a highly disciplined sales, marketing and admin team.Episode 2 will focus on those processes that can help sales people navigate challenging economic times as well as the emotional highs and lows of sales.
Following hot on the heals of the last podcast - can a great sales person become a great sales manager - I had some feedback from listeners who had shared some of their own experiences and so I thought I would record this episode to focus on some tangible stuff that can be implemented quickly or at least can influence your thinking as you begin to consider recruiting from within.I have always followed the Rx3 model - recruit, retain for revenue - and so the importance of getting this appointment right is so obvious and yet people will still go for speed over quality, the path of least resistance.A sales person is driven by closing and a sales manager by coaching. Individual player v a team enabler.It's worth taking time to consider all of the options rather than appease a sales person who thinks they deserve a promotion.
In life, some things can be both "good" and "bad" and in the middle of the drama to get things attended to we often only see them as simply 'bad' or 'good.' It's hard to find the time to work towards a balanced opinion and so we go for the position that seems the most logical at the time and with the evidence we have.Social media and smart phones are a decent example - they can be both a curse and at the same time extremely beneficial. (Try finding a dumb alternative your smart phone and see where big tech - and clearly customers - both sit in this discussion.)A constant theme in sales teams is the failed promotion from within - the high-performing sales person, promoted to sales manager because of exceptional sales performance, only to not cut it at management level. It happens a lot. Not a great result for the new sales manager, the existing sales team and it can have a serious impact on sales performance in the short term.In sport, great footballers don't make great managers within the same season - it's just not possible and yet the burden of expectation on sales person to make that transformation quickly can kill off any ambition or possibility of success.How can this transition be made easier for everyone concerned - how can you move a mindset from 'closer' to 'coach'??
It hits everyone at some point along the sales journey - overthinking or self sabotage. Sales is hard enough due to market forces, economic turbulence and the competition without the added pressure of the inner critic giving you a kicking at the same time.It can be a problem but it can also be tackled relatively easily and quickly - as long as you put some work into it.Again the driver for success is about being able to focus on the process rather than the outcome - have a read of the Chimp Paradox if you can (or give Chat GPT a rattle and see if it can condense the work of Dr Steve Peters better than I can...its a great book to help you deal with the inner critic and self sabotage.)
The previous episode (Nature of Man with Diarmuid Lyng) had generated more discussion and feedback than most other episodes. The feedback had been mixed in the sense that many people related to the content but as many were of the opinion that the retreat or the idea of a retreat 'wasn't for them.'The best way to continue the discussion is to literally do just that. This episode is with Michael Ryan, co-founder and facilitator of Nature of Man. A wellness and meditation expert, Michael gives his perspective on the condition of the Modern (Irish) Man and we discuss holistic benefits of the Nature of Man retreat and the value it can offer anyone and everyone.The next retreat takes place in Donegal from 6th-9th June. Details can be found at natureofman.ieWe reference a number of writers / poets in this episode - David Whyte and John Moriarty. Two deadly men well able to put into words the thoughts of everyone of us (and indeed none of us)
In March, I found myself at a retreat in the Wicklow mountains, facilitated by Diarmuid Lyng and Michael Ryan. An entirely transformative experience and one that I felt the need to share through a discussion with Diarmuid - Wexford County Hurler, TG4 Commentator, retreat facilitator, husband, father and builder of a cultural facility in south Kilkenny.The podcast covers alot of ground but is centred around the Summer Nature of Man retreat in Donegal 6th to 9th June 2025 - and the myriad reasons why some of you should attend.www.diarmuidlyng.ie will offer more detailed information on the retreat and the other projects that Diarmuid is involved in.The poet mentioned (I know) is David Whyte, the poem Self Portrait. I hope you enjoy - and if you do please feel free to share with those who might benefit from the retreat.Thanks for reading.
In a number of conversations this last few weeks - on a personal and professional level - a common theme was the importance of taking time...time 'out', time to prepare, time to think and the benefits of not rushing. The control of our subconscious / unconscious in what we do and how we do things is evident but only when we stop to think.Take a breath, a moment too get some clarity and perspective.How often do you stop and think - about the unimportant stuff? about the important stuff? About the critical stuff?
A recent walk through Belfast city centre reminds me of a time when I lived in the city and encountered the homeless problem first hand. In 2013 there were a number of deaths on the streets in quick succession that should have sparked some deliberate action from local politicians and government.9 years on and a new Rolex store will open up soon, directly opposite where Catherine Kenny died in March 2013.If there is room in our world for luxury watches then surely there is space too for the disenfranchised lost souls of this country
The shouts from the sidelines - and the media - at Ange Postecogolou over the last few months have been pretty clear. A coach sticking to his principles, lacking as many as 8 first team players is now deemed not good enough.Unless you've played or coached at that level, then it's hard to fully appreciate what is going on. A journalist only has a perception of what is going on, not the full picture.Never the full picture - and as a result criticism can be overly harsh, directed at the wrong person, or just wide of the mark.On a personal level, I've come to learn the difference between perception and perspective and the importance of loosing the ideal that 'perception is reality'
The only thing that matters is making yourself understood. Good communication is critical to any aspect of our lives and despite the dominance of moving image, writing is an important aspect of good sellingTake away exaggeration, superlatives, adverbs and adjectives you start to get close to the heart of good writing. Truth.Ernest Hemmingway said that it takes great discipline to write truthfully.And so to this podcast - memories of Sunday afternoon's Big Movie a few decades ago...the Iceberg Theory and the economy of good writing.And the importance of truth.
Two weekends spent at GAA matches - football and hurling - and guess which one didn't need the rule changes.
Something ive wanted to talk about for a long time - my love of music. Trying to make it relevant to the theme of the Shift Control Podcast isnt easy - so for this one time - I'd like to talk about Roru Gallagher, in a week where his immortalised Fender Strat was sold to a lucky buyer and gifted back to the State.
How many of you are actively and knowingly integrating AI into your business development process? I think at this point everyone has gotten over themselves - even copywriters - and begrudgingly admitted that generative AI can be a great thing for creating content both in the arena of sales and marketing.But beyond that, what else can it do...?A first discussion episode for me in quite some time with Rory Kelly - ex-Hubspot guru who has been recently shining a light on AI in his on line commentary.He is a genuine sales expert who has worked with organisations globally guiding them through the HubSpot platform.Find him on Linkedin, connect with him and enjoy his perspective on AI
The boys are back in town - the bad ones.As Ireland continues to punch above it's weight in global sport - like it does in the arts, music and film - 2 opposing belief systems are clashing in Belfast.Anti-immigrants v anti racists are rioting in Wellington Place - mirroring events in Sunderland, Stoke and Leeds.Bored, undervalued, ignored, badly represented adults are resurrecting an old evil, against a back drop of TEAM Genocide - USA and Israel - carpet bombing of Palestine.Worrying times.
No doubt things had changed significantly in the world of sales after COVID. Sales BC - is that a thing?Some of the outcomes and consequences have been beneficial for sure - but as a business have you moved forward strategically or have you been moved along by the tide of change and have kept moving.For me it is about taking control of that destiny and Im pretty sure that some of the habits and processes that have been crafted by COVID are definitely not business enhancing...what do you think?
On holiday mode but still find myself thinking about work - what;'s needed to finish this year with a flourish and then what lies beyond 2024.in battle mode - doing the stuff you strategised about last year - you don't get much time to think about beyond the short term. Firefighters are only thinking abut this fire - the job in hand.When you get the right kind of down time you can think about these things - in my case, the comfort of my cottage (rented) in Donegal.The big things that I want too attend to - in no order - the use / integration of AI, being real with EQ, motivating a team through cultural transformation, using data properly, improving sales performance, making the messages more personalised (that's if you're into ABM...)What's on your radar?
A Dudley Moore movie that should speak to anyone in communications - sales, marketing etc...Crazy People.I now know that its Boxy, but good but I always remember it being boxy but safe.Anyway..Marcus Sheridan's book They Ask, You Answer, reminded me of the movie - as it did LIAR, LIAR with Jim Carey - the idea of telling the truth despite knowing the consequences might be just terrible, when in truth they won't be.But you'll never know until you start telling the whole truth about your business - your honesty over the exact value you offer, where your weakness might be and the costs...publishing a cost that you can stand over and not worry what exposure your competition gets.His book is excellent - I'd recommend it for anyone that seems to be spending more time getting the message right and needs to build up the confidence required to say what needs to be said...?
Follow up from the last episode where I talked about managing your energy - never said it was easy, no way. But it is doable.Stendhal Festival would be the perfect place to tune into nature and get into some great local music and art, unwind, chill out and relax.Changing of the guard in Derry GAA - rumour has it that the county plan to revert to their previous manager, the one accused of DV. Lets hope that isn't the case.
'Lively up yourself and don't be no drag'The first line of the Bob Marley song is a call to arms for everyone to raise your vibration - get your energy levels up.Bring your A game to everywhere, everything and everyone.And into work. Especially in sales, the energy we bring to our work impacts directly the success of our work and therefore the overall success of the business.I've avoided giving any content that might suggest this is a scientific podcast...quite the reverse.Much of it is common sense, aye?
How is your sales team set up? Motivated or disciplined? Neither or both? A trip to IFAT in Munch teaches me a lot about both and 2 trips to see Bruce Springsteen reminds me about the importance of thought
I'm sat here waiting for an engineer to arrive to install broadband. They'll be here soon, well some time but it might not be soon at all, in fact just like last Friday, they might not arrive at all...
Spending 2 days at an exhibition in Birmingham with plenty of time to think and a cancelled flight with the Irish national air carrier of real choice - not Ryan Air - gave me some food or thought on how some of the very basic sales techniques of the past can compete with the very best the digital world has to offer
Sales momentum is critical for any business - are you able to turn the heat up when you need to or does your team operate at inconsistent levels across the year?Would you trade of 3 hours of flow sales for a day of?
This podcast gives a brief insight into a project that I had the good fortune to work on over the last 3 years that culminated in a customer service charter.All the good work of a business that has a clear focus on driving value through a better working relationship with customers - something that ill clearly differentiate them from their competition and help them win out in marginal situations
For so long we only thought in terms of academic intelligence. Along came Daniel Goleman and Emotional intelligence in the mid 90s and yet before in 1938 - Howard Gardner had introduced Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences where he talks about multiple intelligences, 8 and how they can impact our world view and our engagement with other people.Valuable if you have an interest in sales.
Fergal Keane is a renowned journalist, war correspondent and author of 'Madness: A memoir of war, fear and PTSD.'Not a normal read for me but a brilliant biography and my first encounter with epigenetics and generational trauma.And a good reason to be reminded about the importance of screening your media intake
Too often the focus is on asking questions rather than analysing what you know.In this podcast I talk about the origins of critical thinking and how it can be applied to your sales process along with EQ, to help deliver greater success.
As luck would have it I ended up speaking to someone with the inside track on customer service at the Merrion
Found myself back at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, last weekend...just 3 days after the deployment of the largest number of Garda in riot gear.(If this podcast was part of the BBCNI offering, Garda would be described as *the Irish Police....)Interesting times on all fronts - but no change at The Merrion where customer service was exemplar.Worth taking a dive into their world over the next 4 weeks - I'm sure they'll make it special for you.Can this level of customer service and attention to detail be applied everywhere? Or is it just the domain of those that can afford it?
My work recently with a client has put me on the other side of the buyer - seller relationship, as we build a new business development team.
I have been amazed at the approach taken to my interest in their 'Sales SaaS' resulting with the feeling that outbound sales are deemed more precious than their inbound counterparts.
In the podcast I go a little deeper in the experience and reference some good examples of BANT, MEDDIC, ANUM and GPCTBA/C&I (interesting methodology thats designed especially for inbound sales.
Linkedin get a solid reference based on the fact that they are very good at what they do...very, very good...
Let me know what you think.
An episode that I had threatened to record at least 3 times - about the GAA and their response to the alleged abuse by Rory Gallagher to his wife Nicola. The recent events in Spanish football and the threat of prosecution against Luis Rubiales has persuaded me to record this.
I hope that the GAA can learn and learn quickly from what's going on in Spain.
What else would you be at on a bank holiday except recording a podcast on life as a start up against life as a mature business. My work with a few of these clients recently has prompted me to record this - also watching some of the 2014 Queens Sigerson team flourish in the start up world.
Some clear differences in setting up a business in 2023 v 1998 but surely there must be plenty to learn from each other for both parties...?
I posit yes - from sales, branding, customer and talent acquisition as well as raising money, scaling and everything else.
There is less structure too this episode but I hope there is still enough worth thinking about.
Thanks for listening and reading.
Selling is not a symmetrical process. It's far from it. Once a seller makes a connection with a business thats when the hard work starts but it's important that to understand that most of the hard work should be done before the selling even starts.
This podcast covers a methodology to consider when you are looking at the other person's(the buyer) perspective. Edward De Bono was a physician, physiologist, writer and inventor and apparently a deadly man from the 45m too (in house GAA joke)
Much of this methodology will make sense if you find yourself in the middle of a complex buying process.
For me the jury is out when it comes to NLP, DISC profiles and the rest...learned recently that I'm more of a skeptic than a cynic when it comes to this sort of thing but it made me wonder about other aspects of personality and the softer skills when it comes to selling.
I also learned that there are as many as 12 learning styles - I had thought there were 4...audio, visual, kinaesthetic and digital...this podcast focuses on just the 7 but asks an important question - how are you making your digital platforms and your sales content work to cater for all 7 learning styles.
more questions asked than answers in this one - would be keen to hear your thoughts.
Some thoughts on what might well be the most important part of the sales role - territory planning and forecasting.
There is an obvious logic to planning in almost every aspect of our lives and yet when it comes to sales management and sales that's not often the case.
This podcast is a quick run through some tips and ideas to help with planning a sales territory for. the next 12 months - helpful, I hope for both sales people and sales management and business owners.
let me know what you think.
Around this time each year, I get asked to speak to a group of business owners from across Northern Ireland - the brief: "What's new in sales?"
Everyone wants to hear what's new in sales - quite rightly. Any new methodologies? Technologies? Routes to market? What is everyone else doing?
The truth is that pretty much everyone else is making some basic mistakes - across acquisition and retention.
In this podcast I look at some the failings made by business owners, sales leaders and sales executives that when corrected could make a massive difference to your overall performance.
A series of short-form podcasts - only a few minutes long - with some areas that I think are worthy of consideration if you are struggling in sales. All based on experience as a sales person - been guilty of a few of these myself for sure - and most of them I have seen from the position of a sales coach and trainer.We all know that relationships are based on trust - are we doing enough?Do we have a plan? Have we rehearsed? Do we know what Trust is?Competence, Character, Confidence?Were are the weaknesses - and our strengths...and how can we improve?
A series of short-form podcasts - only a few minutes long - with some areas that I think are worthy of consideration if you are struggling in sales. All based on experience as a sales person - been guilty of a few of these myself for sure - and most of them I have seen from the position of a sales coach and trainer.It all depends on the sales cycle - 6 months to 18 months or more...or even a month. It is important not to rely on your initial engagement.Do you have a process - an effective one? What are your touch points? From sales and marketing?How do you feel about waiting? Think about detail, resilience, focus, commitment...
A series of short-form podcasts - only a few minutes long - with some areas that I think are worthy of consideration if you are struggling in sales. All based on experience as a sales person - been guilty of a few of these myself for sure - and most of them I have seen from the position of a sales coach and trainer.A classic here - many people ridicule this notion..."communicating value" but the truth is, if you cant communicate the value fo what you are selling, your customer won't be completed to buy or put in the hard work trying to understand.It's as much about NOT selling features and benefits but talking about the outcomes and giving them proof that there is value to be had.
A series of short-form podcasts - only a few minutes long - with some areas that I think are worthy of consideration if you are struggling in sales. All based on experience as a sales person - been guilty of a few of these myself for sure - and most of them I have seen from the position of a sales coach and trainer.This one is about all those times when we think we don't need to, or don't make time to thoroughly research up on our customers or our prospects. It's important to make the time to understand as much as possible - no shortage of information out there at the minute with search engines, media, machine learning tools etc...
A series of short-form podcasts - only a few minutes long - with some areas that I think are worthy of consideration if you are struggling in sales. All based on experience as a sales person - been guilty of a few of these myself for sure - and most of them I have seen from the position of a sales coach and trainer.This episode is where we find ourselves spending too much time talking about ourselves - as people - or as businesses, spending way too much time on our products and services.It's what we get paid to do? Not really - we get paid to sell - and presenting products and services is only one every small part of all of that.
A week has passed since I made the veneration at the altar of Bruce Springsteen whilst making my first stay at the Merrion hotel.It made me think about what good customer service looks like - how good brands not only read the room, they anticipate it.Again and again.Against a back drop of the music, whiskey and craic was the headline dominating domestic abuse claim levied at an inter county manager.An example of how easy it is to misread the room.
How do you decompress from a hard shift in the office or out in the field?"Climb a mountain or jump in a lake?"
A busy time of year for many businesses as they close off 2023 and gear up for 2024. By the end of March 2023, 5 of my customers will have activated significant campaigns to target new business across the North of Ireland - from completely different sectors.Great to see sales and marketing teams working together for that common goal - I have always been an advocate of collaboration but sometimes I get scared by the amount of data that drives all activity - surveys, traffic analytics, predictive behaviour, and, and, and...People. One of the 4 Ps from back in the day. Isn't that what it's all about?When should the Human touch come into play in your business development activities?
This podcast takes a few left turns on the way to talking about the 3 fundamental reasons why you should consider sales training for your business...there might even be a fourth.On the way I talk about the cost of creativity - thanks to ChatGPT, MidJourney, Fiverr etc...creativity can be funded from petty cash compared to 'back in the day.' Less than 20 years ago, let's say.Then onto one of the most influential music programmes of UK culture...The TUBE...and a segue into the portrayal of Paula Yates in the media.
This episode is nothing short of a signpost to another podcaster and a specific podcast - Lex Fridman and Chris Voss on the Lex Fridman Podcast.If you're interested in fine-tuning your negotiation skills this episode gives a brilliant insight into human behaviour, emotional intelligence and helps explain some of the common stumbling blocks that we all face.I have listened to the episode 2 or 3 times at this stage - there's way to much for one listen.
In the world of sales, closing deals and generating revenue are often seen as the most important metrics of success. However, what is often overlooked is the role that empathy plays in achieving those goals. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is a crucial skill that sales professionals need to possess in order to succeed.Everyone might have heard of Emotional intelligence but how many of us continually practice it and how many of us recognise the importance of empathy in sales?In this episode I discuss Daniel Goleman's 1995 best seller, Emotional Intelligence and how having a better understanding of our own emotions can help us become better sales people.
Root cause analysis is a method used to identify the underlying reasons or causes of a problem or issue. The goal of root cause analysis is to uncover the source of the problem and address it at its root, rather than simply treating its symptoms. This approach to problem-solving has been widely adopted across a range of industries, including business and sales.The origins of root cause analysis can be traced back to the field of industrial engineering and quality control. The method was first popularised in the 1950s as a tool for improving manufacturing processes and identifying the root causes of defects. Think Toyota, Lean manufacturing and 6 SigmaSince then, root cause analysis has been adapted for use in a variety of fields, including healthcare, safety, and finance, and has become an essential tool for organisations looking to improve their processes and operations.In the podcast I discuss how RCA and the 5 x why's can be used in sales.
The quality of the work at the very first stage of any sales process usually defines the success of the campaign – get it wrong at the start and the ending will be predictably bad.Get it right and it can be a game changer.For salespeople and sales management alike, the art of prospecting is a double-edged sword.On one hand, it is the lifeblood of sales success – without a steady stream of qualified prospects, the sales pipeline will inevitably dry up, resulting in missed targets and lost revenue.On the other hand, prospecting can be a formidable challenge, requiring a unique set of skills, patience, and an indomitable spirit to persist in the face of rejection.In B2B sales, the importance of effective prospecting cannot be overstated.It is the foundation upon which sales success is built, the crucial first step in the sales process that sets the tone for the entire customer journey.Prospecting is about more than just finding leads and making a list of potential customers. It is about understanding the needs of the target market, tailoring the sales approach to meet those needs, and building meaningful relationships with prospects based on trust and understanding.
I reckon I'm qualified to post this podcast based as much on a legacy of failures in negotiation and the odd success.I have been holding back on recording a podcast on negotiation - it's a complex area, with hours of content but you have to start somewhere.Negotiation is the business end of sales - where you earn your commission or get sacked, as I once did.Sources I would recommend are the Negotiate like the pros, JP Dolan, Never split the difference, Chris Voss Harvard University to name but a few.Big question is - are you a townie or a culchie?
January is a tough month for most of us - it's especially tough if you work in sales, either as a sales leader or in business development.January is usually a time for rate increases. It's also the time of year that buyers and prospects can easily avoid your calls - which leads to no meetings for the month. Unless you have planned. Seasonal mood swing compounded by dark and cold mornings and evenings. Failed resolution making. No time to get to the gym. The boss is highly charged and rejuvenated after a long fortnight off over Christmas.It can be hard to get the engine started, lack of enthusiasm, motivation, inspiration, energy.In this podcast, I talk about one of the challenges facing sales people and how that adds to the other burdens of January.
If you've tried writing a blog for your website, what is the most important thing for you? Creating more SEO content? Posting engaging and meaningful content for prospects and potential customers? Satisfying Google? Making sales? Some of the above?Over the last year I had been looking at a number of AI content providers - Jasper being the first and more recently, ChatGPT.To get a sense of the current popularity of Chat, try accessing the platform on a Sunday evening as the world sits down to Netflix and Chat, preparing content for the week ahead.Big question - can AI replace humans when it comes to writing good content?Discuss...
Three weeks from now the Qatar World Cup will be over and our news media will be filled with other local, regional, national or international stories, all made important by editorial staff, driving circulations and audience figures to satisfy greedy media owners and large corporations.
Think of everything else that's ongoing in our world just now - there are plenty of news worthy items to lead the way.
Alas, there can be only 1 lead news item as we all compete for time and interest.
When you are reaching out to decision maker its important to remember how far down a list of CEO's priorities you sit - and to remember the role you have in promoting 'that problem' that you solve.
Getting their attention - and how you go about that is critical
If you think you don't have enough acronyms in your life then this podcast is for you. Thinking acronyms in sales - BANT, ANUM, FAINT...so many that are centred on the N word...NEED.
I share a story about working in a start up and building a pipeline of sales to almost £2m...based on what the customer needed...Except it turns out that they didn't need it...
Oonagh O'Reilly has been involved in sales in one form or another from the early days learning on the farm to various high performing roles with the NI Chamber of Commerce, The IFA and the ICC Belfast.
We have a varied conversation - the importance of having a purpose and vision, getting a handle on the basics of sales and marketing which allows you to not have to worry about revenue and some valuable life lessons from working on the farm.
As a high performing athlete, playing GAA for her native county, Oonagh is clearly as focused on success in her role as Sales and Marketing Director of the ICC
With sales training there aren't many guarantees although the degree of certainty does improve dependant on a number of factors.
A clear strategy, willingness to learn & coach-ability, strong leadership, a sound and understood culture, buy-in.
I try hard to live by the idiom "it's not about being right but about doing the right thing that matters." Behavioural change isn't easy - especially if you own the business or if you are a sales leader at manager or director level.
Guesting on this episode of the Shift Control Sales is Benjamin Dennehy - self titled as The UK's most hated sales trainer.
A befitting title for someone controversial and outspoken? Perhaps, but Benjamin's iconoclastic approach to sales training is definitely worth considering if you are serious about performance improvement in your team.
We cover a lot of ground that might make for some uncomfortable listening for a few people...mainly sales leaders and business owners as he (and me) call out some behaviours that are responsible for underperforming sales teams.
The odd curse word thrown in, it's a high paced episode that I hope offers a lot of value to those of you who are serious in changing the way you do things in sales.
Emotional intelligence fits in as a logical 3rd episode in this series...all about being more self aware, understanding what prompts your feelings and the responses to those feelings.
2 men that I worked with in the past used to say: 'Try and see the picture in the other man's head.'
Says it all - or most of it anyway - Daniel Goleman gets the credit for EQ and he is worth checking out in TED Talk format if not his books which can be somewhat heavy
We all suffer from setbacks - there is no escaping that fact. In sales we think that we encounter more of them on a daily basis - rejection, ghosting, the competition, the economy all can put greater pressure on us to perform.
In this brief podcast, through my work as a coach and as a sales person, I share some tips that might help you build up your resilience and deal better with the challenges thrown at you everyday.
Always remember nothing lasts forever - good or bad - just try and ready yourself for the turbulence which is guaranteed to show up.
A short series of podcasts on the stuff that sales people can look after on their own so as to make their sales time more productive and more craic.
I hate the media - not irrationally I hope, but I've an understanding of how the machine works and how it impacts our well-being.
Negativity and bad news is the order of the day - lets not include the call in shows etc...but the morning news is one bad news story after another and that kind of impact can be far-reaching if your going to start work at 8.30am.
Change the channel - podcast, audiobook or music...anything but the news.
How we forget the headline manipulation, phone-tapping, lies, promotion of self interest...it's nothing new...
Hugh Gilmore has spent over a decade providing sport psychology support to Olympians and Paralympians, coaches and the associated multidisciplinary teams. He is passionate about training people in Motivational Interviewing, (MINT Member) and has also trained in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) at the Albert Ellis institute in NYC. (Acronym alert)
In this podcast we discuss the broad area of building culture within teams - Hugh introduces many of the disciplines and theories that he has applied to Olympic & world class weightlifting and athletics teams.
I learnt about OAP - Observable, Achievable, Promotable - if you are changing your cultural behaviour internally does it follow the 3...is it observable? is it achievable? is it promotable?
I learned about the difference between informal and formal culture.
And I learnt about REBT - Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy.
Much of what we do in the sales environment is process driven but at the very core sits people - employees, customers and prospects.
I hope you find something in this episode - I always enjoy chatting with Hugh.
He puts serious depth to the whole idea of culture, team building and performance improvement, fills in the gaps (where there are plenty) and leaves us maybe asking more questions of ourselves and our strategies for change.
Enjoy.
I watched a brilliant documentary over the weekend on Ange Postecoglou and his 12 month transformation of Celtic. You look on in awe at the speed of the cultural transformation, the off-field impact that has turned around on-file performance.
IT's important to take a sense check on what is possible with a sales team referenced from a sports team.
There are some major contextual differences and i reference a few of them in this podcast - recovery, downtime, performance analysis, food, mental and emotional wellbeing and physical exercise all come into play.
I reference the book Sales Cybernetics (again)- It's sold out on Amazon but you can get it on Ebay...Pricey but worth it in my opinion.
I won't lie to you on this one but there are 100 + resources online that could help you write better sales content. My perspective is a bit more basic than that - if you don't write a lot with your work, if you write mainly with acronyms and text-speak, if you didn't pass your English O'Level, GCSE, then you need to get a handle on the very basics of writing.
The short cut to great sales copy doesn't exist. Having a great conversational sales style is of no benefit to you if you cannot write in a way so that you can be understood.
I have mentioned it before in other episodes - storytelling - maybe that should be story writing, ultimately you need to be able to write emails, letters (YES letters), direct marketing copy, presentations, etc...
To do that you need to understand the basic principles of grammar, format, etc...
I hope this episode helps underline that and point you towards some good books to help - STEPHEN KING & STRUNK and WHITE are 2 great places to start.
Some thoughts on account management that I wanted to share with you. I often see the roles as being under-developed within organisations and can be a number of reasons for that which I highlight briefly in this episode.
Do you have the right people looking after the right accounts? Are you ignoring some potential accounts based on their current value to you rather than their lifetime value? Do your account managers understand the true value that you bring to those relationships? Portfolio selling? Partnerships and collaborations - real and meaningful ones... Have you created a strategic plan for those high value accounts? And finally the sales pitch - do you think your people could do with some more sales training?
Curious to see how the return to work or the continued working from home is impacting your sales culture and how you are able to inject the spark into the weekly sales meeting/huddle/symposium or whatever you are calling it.
For me there are some core issues that need to be discussed - as a broad framework - and everything else is built around that.
What you want to come from the sales meeting is energy, focus and clarity.
There needs to be a little fun and craic but its all about the big picture - revenue, sales and performance improvement.
- Statistics that measure the productivity and performance of everyone in the team.
- What happened since the last meeting
- A preview of the week ahead
- Problems + solutions
- Performance against target / year on year / etc...
- Something curious or lighthearted...but sincere!
Sales cadence is an important part of any business development out reach. It puts some order and structure to what can be often random activities - emails, telephone calls, social media nudges etc...requires a measured approach.
It represents the rhythm of your out reach - personalised messages targeted to the right person, over a predetermined time frame.
It's where 'No means not yet' comes into its own - patience, diligence and plenty of target customers to keep you distracted.
45% of everything we do is habitual. That's around 6 hours a day that you're leaving in the incapable hands of your subconscious / unconscious mind.
It made me think this morning of the challenge sales coaching presents to everyone involved - the business owner, the sales person AND me.
Who wants to be told that what they have been doing for the last X years isn't as good as it good be? Lets face it - not everyone is coachable even though they say that they are.
Business owners want the coaching done - they want it to be effective but they usually want it done quickly...GOOD, FAST, CHEAP...pick 2, remember?
This podcast is all about being careful what you wish for - managing expectations and committing to the process.
I could sound hypocritical here but everything I talk about here I struggle with from time to time - the biggest challenge I have is working rom home and having that consistent discipline to grind it out for 7 and 1/2 hours a day.
Working from home will be a challenge for sales execs and fro business owners alike - how it fixes itself remains to be seen.
But it's not the only challenge - poor diary management, elongated and meaningless conversations, selling to the wrong person and a few others...
There are myriad resources telling you all about the art of asking questions in sales - if you've not come across any, it's worth googling. Everyone knows about open and closed questioning techniques - high impact questions, directional, and and and...
Sales effectiveness isn't about asking questions - IMHO - it's about curiosity...having an interest that goes beyond superficially asking a list of questions. Sales isn't about police-style interrogation...it's about curiously getting underneath the skin of your prospect in a meaningful and sincere way.
struggling with the concept - think PINT OF GUINNESS...the white stuff is you talking and the black stuff is you listening.
Build your questions around that, if you like
Most businesses will admit to following a strategic model for business development activities yet when things go wrong or a challenge appears from the competition or the marketplace, occasionally they head straight for tactics.
In his biography Alastair Campbell talked in depth about OST - objectives, strategy, tactics - I have interviewed PR Smith on this podcast in the past - where he talks about his business model SOSTAC.
It's important to always have a clear objective that you can refer to - in good times or in bad.
I use PR Smith's model for all my business development work simply because it's intuitive and makes planning really easy for both sales and marketing functions.
Some time ago I received a letter from a company who were representing a number of media companies and photography agencies.
2 letters actually, in and around the same time.
Both asking for a serious amount of money to pay for a license for misuse of 2 images...otherwise court and a big fine and costs.
Google the company...PicRights...not something that you want to get caught up in because the hassle and cost is far far greater than any cool use of an image - in my case Lionel Messi and Russian soldiers marching in Red Square on May Day parade.
Having worked in marketing for a car manufacturer and a car retailer, having coached a number of sales teams within the automotive sector, I still fall back on my role as a customer when it comes to critiquing the sector.
Too often it's easy to criticise - for me, way too often and so it is always good to be able to give credit where it is due.
I was buying a car for a friend coming over to Ireland from France - simple requirements, buy an automatic costing less than £10,000.
This is a brief story of that journey and how a tangible lack of interest by 2 car dealers made me buy a more expensive car with 10,000 more miles on the other side of the country,
Richy Donnelly is an entrepreneur and elite athlete, running the very excellent Natur&Co in Co Tyrone and playing Tyrone club Football with Trillick and inter county with Tyrone.
WE had been in conversation way back before COVID about his desire and vision to set up a coffee shop with a focus on natural ingredients and wholesome foods, wellbeing and fitness - today his coffee shop, Natur&Co just outside Omagh is the embodiment of his vision.
In the podcast we talk about the challenges of being an entrepreneur, following the vision, setting up a business in the current climate and trying to fit in life around the demands of inter county football.
It's fashionable to talk about 'brand storytelling' but how many businesses actually succeed at communicating their business/brand narrative either through websites, marketing collateral or sales pitches?
Jonny Willox is a student of English Language, professional story teller, dramatist and actor.
He recently launched his first book into the children's book market with The Hairy Fairy.
No tenuous link to business here - far from it. Jonny discusses the journey he has taken to get to a point where he is a published author with another 4 works on the cusp of publication.
He discusses the challenges he faces writing to 2 audiences - parent and child, writing structure, knowing and respecting your audience, pace of writing and so much more but all of it relevant to your work as a business owner or sales lead.
One takeaway is the importance of consistency - writing all the time, embracing mistakes and failures but having the resilience to keep moving.
SOUND FAMILIAR???
Brand story telling has its origins in a post advertising world but much of what it is can be traced back to story telling and songwriting. Success leaves clues and Steve Earle leaves plenty across a body of work that spans half a century. How can your brand story be influenced by the work of one of country-musics most iconic, controversial and durable songwriters?
Referenced in the podcast: - Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey - Park Howell www.businessofstory.com - Dave Linton www.madlug.com - Randy Olsen, Houston We have a narrative - Donald Millar, Building A Story Brand - Steve Earle and The Del McCory Band, The Mountain,
The Irish playwright, Marie Jones has a strong body of work - most notably for me, Stones in His Pockets and the Blind Fiddler.
My introduction to hurling followed the path of the Blind Fiddler - an introduction to one of the worlds sporting masterpieces, The All-Ireland hurling final.
The weekend past, Tyrone and Ireland lost a sporting legend - Damian Casey, reminiscent of the death of Cormac McAnallen who died in 2004.
A sad day for his family, friends, for those that played for and against him and for those that looked one rom the sidelines.
Over the course of this and the last series of podcasts, I had tried to uncover some of what it takes to build high performing teams in sales - more often than not, talking about improving performance in a way that is both relevant and meaningful to business owners and sales management in the SME sector.
In this episode I talk with Noel Slane from Irish start up, Food Guard. Noel has experience and an excellent track record when it comes to high performance sales and building high performance sales teams.
From his recent experience with US based Cyber Security Company, #OPSWAT and in his latest start up FoodGuard, Noel talks about building teams from the bottom up - recruiting for values over academia, achieving stellar sales performance and building an SDR team in Carrickmore, Co Tyrone who sell into some of the toughest markets in the world - Defence, Public Sector, Bio-pharma, Finance....
Noel shares some valuable insights that would benefit business owners, sales directors, C-suite leaders as well as those sales people who are keen to improve their own performance.
The common thread in many of these podcasts is culture and the importance of values that resonate amongst the sales team - not just for the sales team but also the business owners and directors. Noel shares his experience of a number of companies - some that get it right and some that don't.
Check out Noel's new business www.foodguard.ie
The Law of The Instrument is a cognitive bias based on - "if you only have a hammer, then everything is a nail."
For years in sales all I had was features, benefits and questions - and not always the right kind of questions either.
Today organisations and customers expect more from their sales contacts - much more. Features and benefits, whilst having some importance are irrelevant if the seller is unable to build rapport with the buyer.
Asking questions brings 'interrogation' to mind. And by all accounts that type of thing is unpleasant.
In this podcast I talk about the importance of 'curiosity' and understanding "the picture in the other persons head."
And an entry discussion to emotional intelligence...
Thanks for reading and for listening.
Excuse the rant about Johnny Depp, Heard, The Jubilee and the rising cost of living as the lead into a discussion on the effective use of technology in a sales environment and the basics requirements for effective sales.
Many businesses that we work with use technology sparingly across their business development efforts - others try anything once, retaining what's effective.
We try and get sales teams to think about getting the customer offline as soon as possible and into a 1-2-1 engagement.
For business to business sales the human interaction is as important now as it ever was. Foolish to predict the future but if technology has a place in your sales operation it needs to be imbedded into a foundation that includes the very basic sales principles and processes.
Kevin Young is a practitioner and counsellor in Compassionate Inquiry. Based in Northern Ireland, Kevin works closely with Dr Gabor Maté and works with teams and individuals throughout the world.
He has a lifetime experience working in sales and sales management, working for corporates as well as being self-employed - he now coaches, offers counselling and mentoring as well as undertaking the important roles of husband and father as well as being a musician.
We talk about the major challenge facing business of any size - recruitment and retention, which predictably takes us into the world of cultural transformation and perhaps unpredictably the world of emotional wellbeing.
Days off work due to emotional stress and mental health causes the Uk economy £70 Billion a year - it's an unavoidable discussion.
Kevin can be found art www.in-mynd.com.
He's also hosting a retreat at the end of June in Strangford - amazing location, incredible venue and just the kind of content your mind and body needs, even if you don't know it.
I first spotted Callum on Linkedin where he publishes recorded content of his sales calls. I know some people that will not listen to their calls in private. Callum publishes them warts and all etc...critiquing the good and the bad.
He generates business for companies across a variety of industry sectors and types and the way he talks about his work you can see where the value is and why he is successful at what he does.
A great example of Blue Ocean business strategy - operating in a space where there is less clutter and if you are good and are prepared to put the work in then the rewards are great.
Callum gives some brilliant tips for people whose job it is to sell on the phone but he also endorses the channel to those people who think that telephone sales / marketing has lost its place in business development
This is the first Shift Control podcast of 2022 - also available on YouTube, featuring Gregory Bradley from BLK BOX, the Belfast based fitness equipment manufacturer. Celebrating 10 years in business, the company has grown into a genuine market leader and is considered to be one of the exemplar Irish manufacturing companies.
In the week that the podcast was recorded they had just finished an install for Manchester United and whilst they work alongside many of the global sporting brands in GAA, Rugby, soccer and myriad other sports, they are fast becoming the provider of choice for individuals, gyms and amateur sports teams.
Gregory talks about how the company transitioned into an e-commerce business at the beginning of the pandemic and how they work towards delivering the very highest standards of customer service.
As the business as grown they have moved premises and at their North Belfast facility, they have taken much of the production process internally, giving them much greater control one how they run their business.
Gregory talks about the importance of culture within BLK BOX and mentions the 'non-negotiables,' the expected behaviours of the staff and the current recruitment and retention challenges they face along with the rest of the manufacturing sector in the North.
He demands very high standards from himself and posits the notion that he does not ask anything from his staff that he would not expect from himself.
Greg was on the SHIFT CONTROL podcast 6 years ago and it is interesting to watch his personal development as well as the development and growth of his business.
I genuinely hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much I enjoyed recording it.
Hard to explain how hard it was for me to record and then publish this podcast - operating very much outside the comfort zone but I think that Greg's contribution is immense and has made all the anxiety worth while.
I hope you enjoy.
NOTES FROM THE EPISODE: BLK BOX Website, www.blkboxfitness.com Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/blkboxfitness/
Recommended by Gregory: Dan Sullivan, https://www.strategiccoach.com/
Recommended by Paul: The 5 Dysfunctions of a team, Paul Lencioni
A little while ago I had an interest in parts marketing, working with a couple of GAA teams. In the course of that work, I met with Enda Lynch who at the time was Head of Sponsorship at 02, when they were lead sponsor at IRFU as well as having naming rights at The Point / 02 music venue in Dublin.
Shortly after, Enda moved to Thomond Park, home of Munster Rugby, working with one of the leading names in club rugby, nationally and internationally.
In this podcast we get insights from both sides of the sponsorship wall - the brand investing big in sport and entertainment and as a leading sporting property in search for commercial partnerships.
A consulate professional and a go-to on sports marketing, Enda makes for a very interesting guest and delivers some sound advice for those people interested in sport and sponsorship.
Thanks for listening.
Paul
Much is made of the comparison between high performance sport and high performance sales - way too many sports books to mention that offer some excellent examples of people performing at the highest levels and the lessons those teams and managers can offer business.
It's an honour to have Enda McNulty guest on the show as someone who achieved sporting success at the highest level with Armagh winning the 2002 All Ireland and 7 Ulster titles in a career spanning 15 years or so.
Following on from his on-field success, Enda created McNulty Performance a consultancy specialising in moulding and crafting high performance teams and individuals in both sport and business - working with the IRFU, Google, Amazon, LinkedIn to name but a few of a roster of clients the envy of any consultancy practice.
In this episode he shares some valuable insights into the world of high performance - the importance of getting the right culture set up in your team.
He's very smart, knowledgeable and has some particularly valuable insights into what makes a winning team.
A very enjoyable episode to record for me and I hope you get the same enjoyment listening to it.
For more information on Enda and his business McNulty Performance visit www.mcnultyperformance.com
Delighted to have Declan Coyle on this weeks podcast. Declan is a leadership, development and transformational coach who has worked with some of the most successful teams in GAA as well as helping out John Calipari of the University of Kentucky in 2012 on their way to a championship victory. This podcast moves from left to right, north to south and up and down - I was thinking about taking an edit to parts of it but that might take away from Declan's flow.
The Green Platform methodology, was founded by Declan and is designed to help you identify and implement more positive choices in your personal, business or sporting life.
I got to find out the difference between emotions and feelings and to recognise that there is a split second between that 'feeling' and your 'reaction' wherein you can make better life choices.
It's not easy, but it works.
I hope you enjoy the podcast.
I really enjoyed recording this podcast with Hugh Gilmore, a sports psychologist working with the British Weightlifting and athletic teams.
I first crossed paths with Hugh 7-8 years ago whilst we were both offering different levels of support to the Queens University Sigerson team.
On a recent podcast I heard Hugh talk about the comparisons with sport and business in terms of creating culture and a high performance environment. In this episode we cover a lot of territory - the difference in culture and traditions to the theory of motivational interviewing.
Hugh talks about how he helped to create a thriving culture in British weightlifting and gives some first class insights into his area of expertise.
He has his own podcast 'Eight % Mental' and runs workshops occasionally on these very subjects.
He was incredibly generous with his time - we spent 4 hours chatting, most of which could have made it onto the podcast and definitely hope to get him back on before the year is out.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording.
Hugh is on Insta 'HughJohnGilmore' and Twitter @HughJGilmore
Enjoy
Paul
In episode 17 of the Shift Control Podcast I speak with Paul Creighton, CEO of AES Global - a company specialising in home security systems, operating across 28 countries globally.
It was an enjoyable podcast on a number of levels - Paul gives great insight into his business and how he has been able to manifest a clear goal - a from "bedroom to boardroom" journey - emotional intelligence, resilience and how he has been able to help support local businesses survive the recent pandemic.
For more information on Paul and AES Global click here https://www.aesglobalonline.com
Changing culture in an organisation doesn’t happen over-night.
Attitudes and behaviours within an organisation are deep rooted and change takes time.
Being adaptive, flexible and innovative are ‘ticket to entry’ behaviours for most organisations these days – brand values need to be reflected in individual and collective behaviours. Sounds straight forward yet there is often a clash between the desire for innovation and change and the prevailing culture.
Capacity for change varies from individual to individual yet everyone wants to feel that their work is at the very least valued.
In this episode of the Shift Control Podcast, I talk to Kevin Young from Inmynd an organisation dedicated to personal and corporate transformational change.
I have known Kevin for a few years and I am delighted to get him onto the podcast and this episode should make interesting listening for those business leaders who are considering or are on the cusp of cultural change within their organisation.
It will also make great listening for those people who are going through a period of transition and feel impeded by fear and anxiety.
Kevin is very experienced in the world of high performance sales, working for a global telecoms business, has been self-employed and is currently a counsellor and therapist of the psychotherapeutic method of Compassionate Inquiry developed by Dr Gabor Maté.
There are some incredibly powerful messages across a wide range of subjects from the conscious and unconscious within the individual to the change of culture within organisations.
Enjoy.
Paul
Kevin can be reached via his website www.in-mynd.com as well as Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-young-in-mynd/detail/recent-activity/ and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/youinmynd/
This podcast is a reflection on why some people engage in sales training successfully and why others don't. It's as easy to be the accused as it is the victim but my question is what really motivates business and business owners to engage with sales coaches if they expect a short term result.
Would be interested in thoughts on this - everyone should be looking from a sweet spot customer - coaches as well.
Leaving the decision making process down to a search engine can also be a disappointment.
Thanks for reading
Paul
Can anything that's processed be all that good for us? I'm thinking food to start with - what makes food accessible and gives it greater shelflife also as the potential in the long term to kill us. What about processed media? Can it have the same long term impact?
This podcast is unashamedly a sales pitch - the last few months have shaped a changing landscape in sales communication...people working from home, Zoom, Teams, WebEx calls with clients. IN March 2020, everything changed in the world of sales training and sales coaching, for me at least.
Clients were less willing to continue training programmes in such uncertain times nor try any new technologies but after a settling in period, virtual training has been given the green light by a number of my clients and it seems to be working well.
So, how should virtual training differ from face-to-face?
The podcast covers format, learning platform, session time and a host of other practical changes which will assist individual and team sales training.
Enjoy. All feedback welcome. www.shift-control.co.uk
The latest Shift Control Podcast segues between current social and emotional anxieties and the importance of remembering that the default position for the human condition is one of calm, honesty, friendship and doing good.
Not dissimilar to the behaviour required and the role of sales and business development.
Trading anecdotes from the brilliant HumanKind, by Rutger Bregman and discussing the key behavioural characteristics of a good sales person, the podcast focuses on what we can control within ourselves and argues that despite some compelling evidence to the contrary with humanity, all is not lost.
Take 2. Institutional Trust. In light of recent events, I have thought long and hard about continuing the podcast series - sales and marketing isn't top of most peoples personal or professional agendas, and quite rightly.
This episode focuses on institutional trust - or lack of - specifically within Media and Government, typified through the day to day activities of both, projected through social media and broadcast channels.
The Edelman Trust barometer gets a bit of kicking deservedly so, in my opinion and I reference some brilliant works by Alan De Botton and Randy Olson amongst others.
Any questions or if you would like to get in touch - email paul@shift-control.co.uk
Driving down the road last week, I was listening to a Spotify playlist - Lynyrd Skynyrd - which had 2 versions of their 1970s classic, Freebird.
It got me thinking about sales and about building trust - not in others but in yourself.
Admittedly it's a cheap way for me to link two subjects that i love and am curious about...
I hope you understand where I'm coming from and I'll not be apologising for the music!!
There are almost as many mobile phones on the plant as there are people - surely telephone sales has a role to play based on that statistic alone?
The legacy of double glazing, recruitment and advertising sales people has ensured that the reputation of the phone has never been moe tarnished.
It's certainly not a panacea but does it still have a place in sales strategies?
I think the answer is yes - in this podcast I try and dispel some myths and hearsay and also try and give some suggestions as to how to make it work better for your business.
Over the last number of weeks I have made some casual references to GlenGarry GlenRoss. Great movie, great acting, poor sales advice.
In his book To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink talks about the new ABCs of sales - Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity.
The thing is that whilst the book is brilliant - the new ABCs are not all that new...in fact the same lessons have been around since GlenGarry GlenRoss and maybe before.
Not to take anything away from Pink, this podcast reframes the new ABCs in a more down to earth way.
I was prompted to record this podcast following the 2020 Oscars with warranted wins for both Joaquin Phoenix and Brad Pitt (amongst others) and their respective outstanding performances - including acceptance speeches.
This podcast is based around the 2002 movie, Moneyball, featuring Pitt as the GM of the Oakland Athletics Baseball team and how the introduction of data analytics as a player evaluation system helped the team almost win the World Series (of American only teams) in 2002.
It highlights the importance of measurement - specifically measurement of whats important to the end result and how that focus can be further honed in on what really matters.
Often in sales, the individual and team work hard at tasks that are ultimately unrelated to the success of the sale and the business.
If you know what's important and if it can be measured then the old saying "what gets measured gets done' comes in to play.
As an aside, it is a great movie - well worth a few hours of your time if you've not seen it already.
I hope you enjoy the podcast - all feedback welcome through www.shift-control.co.uk
One of the best known and most referenced #sales clips from the movies must be GlenGarry Glenross...if you're in sales you will have seen the clip by Alec Baldwin, if not the entire show.
The Anti-Salesman 7 minute piece by Baldwin is superb as is the entire movie, based on the David Mamet play and nominated for a bunch of oscars in 1992.
What I talk about in this podcast is the link between the acting and sales, rather than the language or the script itself.
How can sales people perform better if they are unable to hear or see how they currently perform or behave...it goes beyond mystery shopping and call listening. It's about understanding why you need thoroughly analyse recordings....just like football managers do on 'any given Sunday' or like actors do every day to ensure they're working to their best.
If you want to improve will you do what it takes?
I hope you enjoy - please get in touch by email on paul@shift-control.co.uk
In many sales coaching and sales training sessions we focus on creating a high performance sales team usually siting high performing sports stars and teams.
That got me thinking about some of the fundamental differences in HP in sport and also in business - with recovery, mental/ emotional well being and training as areas were there is often no cross over.
I have mentioned many sources and references before that I have read and that I am curious about - Damian Hughes being one obvious - but others include Anders Ericsson (I always call him Anders Anderson for some reason) Geoff Colvin, 'Talent is Overrated' as well as The Talent Code, Bounce, Outliers.
There are many sources for HP sport, Flow state and improvement etc...but not so often fro business and in particular sales.
I see the following as being important: - culture - talent acquisition - leadership - shared vision - surroundings and environment - teamship - hard work - training (coaching and mentoring)
Recovery? Never considered it. Stress? I've felt it for sure but do we plan to mitigate against or are we really dedicated to wellbeing?
I'm as curious about your thoughts on this subject as ever before - I know this podcast contains a lot of my thoughts - much of it isn't in order, but thats how I have been recording these sales podcasts.
Anyway.
Email on paul@shift-control.co.uk
Thanks for reading. Paul
This episode follows a week that included a 20 minute session at a an exhibition at Croke Park.
A hugely successful event which saw a lot of people take time out from their busy days generating revenue to spend 2-3 hours at the North Dublin home of the GAA.
I learnt a lot this week about high performance in sales against high performance in sport and how important it is to fully understand the levels YOUR TEAM can operate comfortably at.
From a sales training perspective it was a busy week - the highlight being my 20 minutes at Croker which reminded me about the importance of value and making an emotional deposit before you ever thing about making any withdrawals.
Following a recent conversation with a client, this podcast focuses on 'Commodity Selling'
If the sales person creates the narrative that what they are selling is 'just a commodity' then the buyer has it within their gift to immediately talk about price.
When the negotiations go straight to price, it becomes almost impossible for the seller to protect that price. The growth of coffee over the last many many years is a great example of how a commodity can be celebrated and gain substantial margin increases.
In the podcast I discuss the 3 waves of coffee growth and how making the sales process an educational one - supported by excellent customer service - you can create more value that the customer is happier to pay more for.
Shift Control is a sales training and sales coaching consultancy, working with individuals and teams across Ireland.
For more information, email paul@shift-control.co.uk or visit www.shift-control.co.uk
Does everyone have a biased viewpoint? How you vote, what you buy, what you read - all of our conventional 'consumer behaviour' is influenced and informed by who we are, our family background, schools, geography, what we read, who we hang out with...
How do these biases affect the world view of our business, of our marketing messages, our value propositions and in turn how does that thinking impact how sales people fully engage with customers and new prospects.
Shift Control is a business improvement consultancy focusing on delivering sales training and sales coaching to individuals, teams and organisations throughout the island of Ireland.
For more information visit www.shift-control.co.uk or email info@shift-control.co.uk
The first podcast of 2020 - and the first since mid-2019 - focuses on customer retention and the importance of creating value for those customers who helped you achieved targets over the previous 12 months.
Stratgic thinking in sales often focuses on acquisition over retention yet the importance of reducing the churn rate in your sales is obvious.
The Hegalian dialectic is a writing method (amongst other things) that can be used to help better understand the importance of creating 'tension' in those existing customer relationships.
For more information on sales strategy for your team or team or individual sales coaching, please email info@shift-control.co.uk
The first podcast of 2019 is a solo podcast focusing on sales, media and podcasts.
The last few months I have cut out pretty much ALL media from my life and taken control of what I DO listen to....podcasts (Rich Roll, Michael Gervais, Dan Carlin, Irish History, Blindboy Boatclub...and Bill Burr...)
Audio books are starting to work for me again and I'm having a go at speed reading...courtesy of Tim Ferriss
Sales focus in this podcast is on prospecting and why front loading the effort will pay dividends when it really matters.
Will get back to the conversational format next week - in the meantime, thanks for listening in.
Paul
Marketing has never been more complex than now. Channel proliferation. Social unconformity. Decreasing attention span. Big data. Small data.
And then there is the myth of the 'Brand Story.' That is to say the myth that a brand story is anything more than just a poor mans sales pitch.
A good brand story stands out for all of the right reasons - check out my podcast with Park Howell Shift Control Episode 17 - Park has it down to a very fine art and a set process. Check out www.businessofstory.com
There are some people who just get it and Dave Linton is one of those
At a recent seminar on the future of marketing in Belfast, I had the pleasure of listening to Dave, CEO of Madlug tell his remarkable 'brand' story. So compelling was it that I emailed him immediately to try and get him on the podcast.
And here he is - his story is right in the sweet spot of everything the I believe to be good about marketing and the art of storytelling.
Enjoy - and if you do enjoy, please share.
Geralyn Mulqueen is a psychotherapist, activist, mother and artist who has recently set up creative workshops to help those who suffer from trauma and mental health issues.
In this podcast Geralyn talks about her work at the bar and how becoming a mother gave her a sense of perspective and rekindled in her, the love of creativity she had as a child and how she now uses art and creativity to help others.
Ireland and in particular Belfast are neither recognised nor acknowledged as centres for excellence when it comes to watchmaking.
That may soon change if Hans Enoksen has his way.
Serial entrepreneur Enoksen has created a very beautiful brand in Enoksen Watches, collaborating with Big Motive, one of Ireland's digital design studios.
After a high profile launch in Belfast in the summer, Enoksen has now partnered with Alexandra Cousteau, grand daughter of Jaques Cousteau, on an environmental project Oceans 2050.
The conversation in this episode goes wide and deep on a number of topics - resilience, design, the environment and gives an insight into the non-tech start up world.
Hans can be reached on www.enoskenwatches.com - check out his story on the podcast and the beautiful watches on his website.
After growing a success web design business in mid 2000s and a product buy-out in 2012, Paul McKeever is back with his latest venture Continually, an online sales/customer service platform that helps businesses manage and assist better, online customer enquires.
A serial entrepreneur, with a passion for business and learning, Paul is an exceptional story teller - this podcast is about his journey from web design to his latest venture and the lessons he has learned along the way in business and in life.
The 3rd time guesting on the podcast, Damian is back on talking about his latest best-selling book, The Barcelona Way, Unlocking the DNA of a Winning Culture.
Through the lens of Pep Guardiola and one of the most successful sporting teams in world soccer, Damian gives an insight into what makes an authentic and winning culture within high performing teams - in sport and in business.
He shares the meaning of the acronym 'BARCA' and gives anecdote upon anecdote to help show the importance of vision, dealing with change, repetition and the OODA loop and an indication of the character required to drive home the change and to be part of the unit.
Damian is a Professor of Psychology and publisher of 12 books as well as being a consultant to Scottish Rugby.
A high percentage of our work this year has been in training rather than marketing or brand strategy. Over the last number of weeks we have begun work with some major businesses across a variety of sectors, including construction and logistics - both could be considered as bell weather sectors - if they are building and moving then things are ok.
When they stop building and moving , there's trouble, right?
Businesses are investing in training and up-skilling staff but there is no guarantee that training or coaching will work - there are many factors at play which determine ongoing success.
In this solo podcast I look at what needs to be in play for a successful coaching outcome.
Most of the time sales people are focused on short term outcomes and look inwardly towards their own needs and wants over those of the customer.
There has been a widely accepted move away from features and benefits to outcomes - seeing the world from the perspective of the buyer is the most important thing where the key is to understand the consequences of which to build a cogent argument around.
“Sponsorship is the future of business”
Jackie Fast, Pinpoint: How challenging the norm is the only route to success in selling sponsorship.
Only someone who has successfully navigated the choppy (and occasionally murky) waters of sports marketing and sponsorship can make that claim with any confidence.
As Fast points out in her book, advertising and marketing has changed.
Media consumption and channel proliferation has made it harder for brands to fully engage with their audiences but if advertising has changes then it is fair to say that sponsorship has also changed.
A logo on a shirt is never going to be enough.
In fairness, it never was.
There is greater demand on sports properties to demonstrate something beyond “equivalent media value” and greater pressure on brand owners and managers to make their sponsorship money work.
Jackie Fast sold her sports marketing business, Slingshot Sponsorship having worked with Sir Richard Branson, Spotify, IBM, Renault, Haymarket Consumer publishing and Shell.
She still very much believes in the benefits of sponsorship and her book, Pinpoint: How challenging the norm is the only route to success in selling sponsorship, looks at the world from both the perspective of property and brand – giving common sense direction and useful engagement and retention strategies.
It was a real pleasure to get Jackie on the show in a week where she was particularly busy in her capacity as board director of the European Sponsorship Association.
Follow her on www.jackiefast.com and on twitter @JackieFast
Is "Practice" part of your sales process?
How many of you spend time in 'rehearsal' preparing questions, answers, eventualities and outcomes for those big sales presentations?
In fact, not just those big presentations but for everything you do? There are examples everywhere of those people who take the time out to prepare hard for the main event. In a previous Podcast with Damien Hughes, he described how Pep Guardiola would spend 7 hours preparing for a 20 minute team talk.
Benjamin Franklin was renowned for preparation in his writing.
Do you make practice an integral part of your preparation - please, get in touch and let me know what you think.
So, you all set for GDPR?
The much talked about but not always understood changes to the 1998 Data Protection Act kick in on 25th May 2018
As the way we store and transfer data changes so too does the legislation protecting customers - non-compliance could be costly.
In this podcast, I talk to Orlagh Kelly, Barrister and CEO of Briefed - the go-to GDPR training and compliance consultancy in the North or Ireland.
Over the last number of months, Orlagh and her team has been working closely with hundreds of businesses across the UK and Ireland implementing procedures and de-mistlfying legislation - in the podcast she gives valuable insight into the impact of the legislation on SMEs, how you need to prepare and the impact it has on businesses using email and telephone data for business development.
For more information, visit briefed.pro or email Orlagh directly on info@briefed.pro
Delighted to welcome Damian back - last time we spoke we in May this year and much has happened in the intervening months. Damian has been working with Scotland Rugby Union, English Rugby League and is in the middle of publishing ANOTHER book - this time on Barcelona FC and what we can learn from their "culture" and how those learnings can be applied to sport and business.
The previous podcasts with Damian have proven to be incredibly popular - he is a Professor, consultant coach and an author and more importantly he's incredibly interesting and a fantastic guest.
Enjoy
Telephone sales is a much maligned business development tactic yet is undergoing something of a renaissance and when blended with a clearly defined digital strategy, tic an be very powerful.
This solocast offers 7 tips on how to up your telephone sales game.
For more information visit www.shift-control.co.uk
Over the last few weeks and in collaboration with no less than 4 clients, I have experienced first hand the challenges businesses are facing when recruiting sales personnel. Regardless of sector or position, it's not getting any easier.
What are the challenges facing your business and where do you see the answers coming from - millennials AKA "The Trophy Generation:" or the over 50s...too old to train them, right?
SOSTAC® is a marketing planning framework used by business professionals globally and was voted in the Top 3 Business Models worldwide in the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Centenary Poll.
The architect and brains behind SOSTAC® is PR Smith, marketing consultant, mentor and coach, public speaker and author of best selling digital marketing books including. Digital Marketing Excellence and SOSTAC® Guide to The Perfect Digital marketing Strategy.
in this episode PR breaks down SOSTAC® into the easy but highly effective stages, discusses the importance of 'internal" actions and gives some valuable advice for all marketeers on the importance of credibility over visibility.
Check out www.prsmith.org and www.sostac.org
A pleasure to get to interview Oliver Lennon, current CEO of Syndeo and driving force behind Speechstorm, local start-up success story.
In this episode Oliver shares some valuable insights into the world of tech start-up, the importance of self belief and how the world of sport has influenced him in business, through transparent leadership and teamwork - empowering and enabling those who work along side you.
Whilst Oliver despises the label "entrepreneur" he evidently thrives in an environment where the odds can be seriously stacked against you.
Brilliant backdrop for the recording at the Ormeau Baths - the co-working space in Belfast.
And great coffee at Root and Branch too.
According to Dave Trott, everyone is turning into a story teller these day and suggests it maybe a bad thing - check out his brilliant blog (www.davetrott.co.uk). He makes a valid point but I would argue that storytelling has never been more important when it comes to your brand and your business.
Trust is the accepted currency of any relationship - personal or professional. It is critical in building meaningful relationships but there is more to it than simply trying to be-friend someone. This short podcast covers some thinking on how to better create trust in sales and business development.
Powerpoint has been around for a little over 27 years and in that time, little has changed in terms of functionality, usability so Microsoft must be doing something right.
This podcast looks at the different ways we absorb information and questions why it is important to at least try to integrate audio, visual, kinaesthetic and digital methods in presentations for maximum effect.
Easily one of the best books I have read on business development and sales in a very long time.
Blending cutting-edge research in social psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics, The Science of Selling shows salespeople how to align the way they sell with how our brains naturally form buying decisions, dramatically increasing their ability to earn more sales. The Science of Selling reveals an evidence-based approach that connects the dots between science and situation salespeople face every day to help them consistently succeed.
Bundoran, a seaside town in Donegal has threatened to reinvent itself over the last number of years. Whilst it has become something of a mecca for surfers, it will need more entrepreneurial spirit from the likes of Laura Hardaker, owner of the beautiful cafe and bakery, the Hardy Baker.
In Episode 19 Laura talks about the importance of passion, attention to detail and the provision of quality products if you want to succeed.
The second episode includes more insights and anecdotes from Damian Hughes, author of 5 Steps To A Winning Mindset, where he goes deeper into values in action, behaviours and reconfirms the importance of culture at the heart of any team - either in sport or business.
This has been one of the most fascinating conversations I've had during the short time I have been doing the Shift Control podcast - mirroring my feelings about the 5 Steps to A Winning Mindset.
Damian has an ability to break down the complex into manageable and easy-to-understand chunks.
I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as I did recording it.
Cheers Damian
There are many obvious crossovers between and business and sport when it comes to high performance - mental toughness, controlling emotions and communication, to name but three.
In Part 1 of a 2-part podcast I discuss with Damian Hughes, the core of his latest book: "5 Steps to a Winning Mindset"
SIMPLICITY, THINKING, EMOTIONS, PRACTICAL and STORIES all make up the STEPS acronym and Damian shares some insights into all 5 over the 2 episodes.
Author of 10 books and currently working on his 11th, Damian is a Professor of Behavioural Psychology, coach and mentor in both sport and business - check him out at www.liquidthinker.com and enjoy the show
It has never been harder for brands, organisations and businesses to stand out for the right reasons.
Right now, everyone is short on time and overwhelmed with interruption and so to connect with any audience, your message needs to be succinct and easily understood.
Park Howell, the driving force behind The Business of Story believes that a strong narrative can have an incredible impact on a business.Park Howell, Brand Story telling for business
Technology and data may give us global reach and market intelligence but it is the ancient craft of storytelling, which truly helps make the connection between a brand and its audience.
In Episode 17 of the Shift Control Podcast I discuss with Park the Hollywood origins of The Business of Story and how big business is waking up to the possibility of tried and tested storytelling techniques.
Over the last number of years, on his Business of Story Podcast, Park has interviewed some of the very best content creators, advertising creatives, authors, professors, makers, marketers and brand raconteurs in the business
People like screenwriting legend Robert McKee, author and CEO, Nancy Duarte, John Jantsch, President of Duct Tape Marketing and Randy Olsen, scientist and author of the best selling “Houston, we have a narrative.”
Rich in content, strategy and tactics, The Business of Story Podcast is one of my top 3 podcasts – a must for all marketeers – and it is a genuine honour to have him on the show.
Enjoy
Do you see your brand as investment or an expense? Developing a logo or brand identity is a skill. And skill costs. At the gig platform, Fiverr, a logo can be crafted fro as little as $5...let the rant begin... Music intro from www.bensound.com
Delighted to be presenting this episode of the shift control podcast - in discussion with Carlo Pignataro author of the brilliant Sell With Style.
Sell with Style: The Ultimate Guide to Luxury Selling is easily one of the best books on sales, branding and value delivery on the market. Carlo gives some great insights into personal branding, offering value and the idea of "perceived value" and shares some of his experience working for some of the biggest brands in the luxury market.
It was a genuine honour for me to have this discussion with Carlo - and my first online / Skype podcast - so please forgive my first night nerves.
Enjoy.
ccording to a recently published Neilson Sports report our appetite for fitness health and wellbeing will see the gym sector become the shining star of the post Brexit Economy.
Someone who is well prepared to take advantage of that market opportunity is CEO and founder of Belfast-based BLK BOX Fitness, Greg Bradley.
For Greg and his team, the business isn’t just about the gym industry in the UK and Ireland – the company has already established a solid reputation throughout the UK and Ireland in many of the major sports, including GAA, rugby and soccer and have already plans further afield with upcoming projects in UAE and mainland Europe.
This podcast has been a long time coming – I have known Greg for a few years now and have closely watched his progress in the industry.
Much of the brand’s development has come from his ability to create and retain meaningful relationships with a wide range of people – influencers, decision makers both here in Ireland and as far as Australia. Driven and hardworking, his business is a shining example for anyone starting up on their own today.
If you are interested in picking up strategies in sales and marketing then you should enjoy this podcast.
If you want to find out more about his business or to connect directly with Greg, then visit www.blkboxfitness.com or get him on Twitter @gregbradley1988
Al and Astra McNIcholl are the co-founders of The Itty Bitty Book Company - this podcast is a conversation with Astra, where she explains what motivated both her and her husband to leave their previous jobs and set up their new company. She talks about the importance of positivity and how a positive mindset can have an incredibly powerful impact on people and in particular young children.
For more information on Astra and the business, check out their website: www.ittybittybookco.com
How important is sales training to your business? how important is training of any kind to your business? If you take it seriously you will get the rewards and if you don't then you will most likely get what you deserve.
In an attempt to overcome bouts of deep depression, Luke Tyburski sees out on a journey to create The Ultimate Triathlon...25km, cycling the equivalent of the length of Ireland twice and running 12 marathons in 6 days....an incredible story on the eve of the screening of the Documentary of The Ultimate Triathlon in Belfast on 27th September 2016
This 1-in-5 is all about keeping customers and the importance of not neglecting over acquisition. if you are lucky 80% of your next years sales target is already written - question is, do your customers feel that important? www.shift-control.co.uk @shiftcontrol66
Luke Tyburski is an extreme athlete who has just finished making a documentary on The Ultimate Triathlon, a 2,000km swim, cycle, run race from Morocco to Monaco.
I know, mental.
He's coming to Belfast on 27th September 2016 and Conor Devine tells us a little bit more about the event
1-in-5 is a series of bitesized podcasts greed to 1 big idea in 5 minutes or less...this one is all about strategic planning and a model created by a marketing guru from Dublin called PR Smith
1-in-5 is a series of bitesized podcasts greed to 1 big idea in 5 minutes or less...this one is all about what we can learn from Starbucks. I Know. Starbucks!
Following on from the first episode with Frank Liddy, the feedback was really positive, which prompted a second conversation on mindfulness and its application to your personal life and business.
A business growth strategy needs to take into account your existing customers and the world as they see it - you never sell to your physical self, so it is impossible to fully understand the world of the customer unless you take the time out to do just that.
Emailing out 20 proposals a week, might make you think you've been productive but unless you are getting in front of the buyer and other decision makers, you are only clogging up the sales pipeline....
The importance of knowing who you are and why people need to engage with you - the customer value proposition is the reason people engage with you. Do you know yours?
In discussion with the founder and the Managing Director of Tyrone based "Heavenly Tasty Organics", Shauna McCarney-Blair.
Based in Augher but trading across Europe, The Middle East and Australia, Shauna talks about passion, knowing your customer and the importance of research
This solocast is a 10 minute focus on Blue Ocean Sales strategy - what to do if everyone is getting beaten up and bloodied doing the same thing in a race to the bottom.
It's all about the power of telephone selling against a backdrop of digital clutter and if selling is what's important to you, then using the phone should be top of your list.
25 years on from their musical breakthrough, The Minnows are back with a new album. I had the pleasure of chatting with Stevie O'Sullivan, double-jobbing as digital marketing strategist and drummer with The Minnows.
It's my first podcast on music and your chance to hear some songs from their new album.
IT was recorded in 2 sessions and there are some anomalies - all my fault - but the music is excellent.
A big thank you to Stevie who made time for the session and to you for listening to the podcast.
Enjoy
Day after day we come under different forms of emotional and psychological pressure - fight, flight, freeze and collapse are the coping mechanisms we use to cope under this pressure.
Mindfulness has its roots going back 1000s of years and is becoming more and more accepted in society - described as "one of the most effective forms of coping with negative situations"
In this podcast I get talking to mindfulness practitioner, Frank Liddy about how practicing mindfulness and help you cope both at home and at work.
This was 30 minutes spent with Frank and it wasn't enough time to cover such a deep and far reaching subject.
If you want to find out more - and I have no doubt that there are many of you who will - he can be reached at aware-ni.org or mindfulnessbelfast.org
The language we use to describe ourselves to customers, is incredibly important, yet many get caught up in superlatives and exaggerations rather than focusing on what is important to customers, clients, consumers etc...
Back after a short break, this mini-podcast is a bit of rant at politics, Football, the Homelessness issue in Belfast (AGAIN!!!) and thats about it...
A solo-podcast after a very invigorating and interesting few days in the company of Bruce Springsteen, Rich Roll and the Flynn Twins from The Happy Pear.
You can learn a lot by sometimes just taking the time to stop and think.
Stendhal Arts Festival is one of the top arts festivals in Ireland, 2 miles outside Limavady, Co Derry. Attracting the very best in local and national artists as well as those who have made it big on the International stage, the festival has grown its audience year on year by as much as 20% - but its about much more than just music.
This podcast is a conversation with Ross Parkhill, organiser and visionary who shares his experiences on the journey over the last 5 years. www.stendhalfestival.com for tickets...
The Power of Clarity is a solo podcast all about the importance of being understood - in that your value messaging needs to be understood by all of your staff and the importance of your customers knowing that YOU understand them.
Leading the 3rd Wave in Belfast, Established has become the go-to coffee shop in the city's cool Cathedral Quarter. In Conversation with the owners, we get a look at what makes the customer experience so special - passion, vision and no shortage of hard work. And people - how Bridgeen and Mark are both dedicated to the best possible customer service through highly skilled and dedicated staff.
I have always believed that psychology plays a pivotal role in sales - for the individual, the team and as part of coaching and a sales strategy.
There are parallels with sport and in this episode I discuss with Anthony McGrath, marketeer, manager, coach and qualified sports psychologist the importance of midst when it comes to winning - as an individual and as a team.
In this episode Conor Devine from GDP Partnership talks about money, finance, ignorance and the importance of picking the right people when it comes to getting the best in professional advice.
Conor is an entrepreneur and speaks from the position of experience - an experienced property professional, author, iron-man and inquisitive foodie he is walking the walk and very much talking the talk.
In this episode, I get talking to Damian Cranney, CEO and Creative Director of creative technology studio, Big Motive.
Damian was just back from SXSW, where virtuality was the hot topic and he shares some insights and perspectives on whats happening, now and next and the impact on business and potential for enhanced customer experiences and consumer engagement