Bob Apollo
Exploring the Art and Science of Complex Sales
I was delighted to be asked to contribute to Membrain’s “The Art & Science of Complex Sales Podcast” with Paul Fuller, and our conversation about taking a Customer-Outcome-Centric approach to B2B sales has just been released.I think you’ll enjoy th...
B2B Sales Leadership and CRM
What role should sales leadership play in their organisation’s deployment of CRM?A CRM application lies at the centre of the technology stack of most sales organisations. It often represents one of the most significant investments made to support sales...
Why it’s time to stop selling ‘solutions’ – and start delivering outcomes
You see, traditionally minded salespeople typically regard the sale as over when the order is booked. But our customer only regards their buying journey as being complete when they are satisfied that the outcomes they are looking for have been achieved...
The four pillars of a powerful customer value proposition
The following article was first published in the March 2023 edition of the always-excellent Top Sales Magazine - there's a subscription link at the bottom of this article.:A key theme of this edition of Top Sales Magazine is selling on value rathe...
Why should salespeople bother preparing for their customer interactions?
There’s been a great deal of research into the dynamics of salesperson-customer interaction over the years, and the results are typically pretty depressing. Studies regularly show that prospective customers regard only a small minority of the conversat...
2 things we always need to know about every sales opportunity
Every competent salesperson recognizes the importance of accurately qualifying every sales opportunity.But I want to suggest two other things that we also always need to know about every sales opportunity - and they relate to the nature of our prospect...
Developing the potential of talented salespeople
In my previous article - “hiring salespeople with talent” - I explored the challenges involved in making good sales hires. In this article - first published in the International Journal of Sales Transformation - I now want to explore more of the implic...
Hiring salespeople with talent
In my last article, I shared Gartner’s findings about the current war for talent. In this article - first published in the International Journal of Sales Transformation - I want to explore more of the implications.Finding and recruiting the right sales...
Gartner: Building a high-performing sales team is now harder than ever!
Gartner’s latest guidance for Chief Sales Officers [Leadership Vision 2023: 3 strategic actions for success] contains a conclusion that I believe every sales leader will recognize: retaining and building a high-performing sales team is harder than ever...
B2B Buyers: from Fear of Missing Out to Fear of Messing Up
As Matt Dixon (of Challenger Sale and Challenger Customer fame) points out in his latest book “The Jolt Effect”, B2B salespeople have been preconditioned by most of the established sales methodologies to focus on cultivating their customer’s fear of mi...
Answering every new customer’s 4 key questions
If your prospective customer is seriously evaluating a new project that involves both a significant investment and a change to their existing approach or environment, it is close-to-inevitable that they will be seeking clear answers to 4 key questions ...
How can anyone sell value without values?
I recently participated in a webinar with LeveragePoint on the subject of “establishing a value-centric culture in your B2B sales organisation”. It’s a topic I care deeply about, and I’ve included a link to both the recording and the deck at the bottom...
The changing face of value in B2B sales
It's been a while since my last blog, but I'm pleased to be returning to the action with an article that I wrote for the current issue of the International Journal of Sales Transformation, which I think you'll appreciate.It leads to the conclusion - wh...
Coaching – the critical sales management skill?
This article was first published in the latest edition (issue 8.1 - January 2022) of the International Journal of Sales Transformation. To learn more about this excellent publication, follow the link at the bottom of this article.Successful sales ...
What should B2B sales leaders be prioritising in 2022?
I was delighted to be asked to contribute the following article to the International Journal of Sales Transformation's special report on "Emerging from the Pandemic". I chose to focus on issues that I believe B2B sales leaders should be prioritising in...
Why a generic “unique selling proposition” isn’t enough…
Marketers are keen to create what they refer to as “unique selling propositions”. According to Wikipedia, a unique selling proposition (USP) - also sometimes called unique value proposition (UVP) refers to “the unique benefit exhibited by a c...
What are Priority Issue Profiles – and why do you need them?
This article was first published in the October Edition of Top Sales Magazine.Many of you will be familiar with the idea of having an Ideal Customer Profile - and if you’re not, you should be. The Ideal Customer Profile is a powerful tool that helps…
The critical role of trust in sales
At a time when the level of public trust in the UK's elected politicians has never been lower, it's an opportunity to reflect on the critical role of trust in sales, which is what I chose to focus on in this article from the latest edition…
Identifying, engaging, and assessing our stakeholders
How many stakeholders are involved in the typical complex high-value B2B buying journey? It’s fair to say that the number is often larger than the average salesperson is aware of, let alone in close contact with.Various studies have put the average num...
Webinar: Three Gaps and a Bridge
I recently recorded a webinar with LeveragePoint (link below) about “making a compelling case for change”. Those of you who have followed me over the years know that this has long been a favourite topic of mine, and with good reason: “no decision”, doi...