As sales persons our job is to get the deal and when I say deal, I mean reduce costs, increase revenue or add commercial value. What I have learned over the years is that people mostly care about themselves. I’m quite meticulous around preparation and tend to go into sales meetings with right team and technical knowledge, as I don’t want to be the guy who turns up and is the idiot in the room. The penny dropped for me about sales training in 2010 after I stopped working for Aquascutum. I realised that sales is a performance and to perform well you have to practice, you have to analyse what you do - both the good and the bad - and you have to perform on the day and that takes a lot of effort and thinking and preparation. And this is the fundamental thing I take with me in everything - “Practice makes perfect”.

When you first get into sales you are taught about how to do the pitch (think about yourself), how great the product is and all that good stuff. It doesn’t really wash because everybody cares about themselves the most. The key to interpersonal skills is to try to be interested in the person that you are dealing with, and if you can build upon that and be authentically interested in the industry and domain that you are working in and this will ensure that you always will have great questions to ask. Buyers who are commercially astute and intelligent are formidable opponents when going into discussions or negotiations with them. Contact me via e-mail for your sales training and workshops.