Bob Apollo
Bob Apollo
Bob Apollo is the CEO of UK-based Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners, the B2B sales performance improvement specialists. Following a varied corporate career, Bob now works with a rapidly expanding client base of B2B-focused growth-phase technology companies, helping them to implement systematic sales processes that drive predictable revenue growth.
7 Sales and Marketing Resolutions for 2014
It's that time of the year again. The start of a new calendar year often coincides with the start of a new financial year,...
Why the Cost of Inaction is so important in B2B Sales
Return on Investment (ROI) projections are often regarded as a critical element of B2B sales proposals, particular for high-value considered purchases. There's no arguing...
B2B Sales: are you sure you’re talking to the decision-maker?
If there's one message that gets drummed into the heads of every participant on every sales training course, it's "make sure you're talking to...
Why B2B sales people need to lead towards – not with – their solution
One of the key principles that underpin the Challenger Selling mind-set is the idea that your marketing messages - and your sales conversations -...
Steering sales people away from the 3Ds: Demo, Discount, Develop
3D movies can be entertaining to watch. They can make special effects jump right out of the screen at you. But if over-done, they...
How many Zombies are lurking in your sales pipeline?
Have you ever felt that you might be in the presence of the living dead? Even if you are not a horror movie fan,...
Why your salespeople need to learn to listen laterally…
I introduced the phrase "lateral listening" into a recent blog article, and had quite a few people ask me what I meant. In this...
Why your market segmentation must focus on the centres, not the edges
Market segmentation is one of the most powerful tools in the B2B sales and marketing toolbox. If done well, it can dramatically increase sales...
B2B Complex Sales: process is no substitute for emotional intelligence
Many sales leaders believe that having a sales process is important - as evidenced by the over 300 million references on Google to the...
B2B Sales + Marketing: You get delegated to the person you sound like
Sales training traditionally encourages B2B sales people to "call high" - in fact, it's hard to keep track of all the articles and publications...
Why we all need to start with “why” – Simon Sinek’s TED Talk revisited
Kudos to the folks at HubSpot for analysing just what makes Simon Sinek's awe-inspiring TED Talk on "Inspiring Action" so effective. The presentation has...
McKinsey: why most B2B marketing messages fail to move the customer
Recent research by McKinsey has revealed a dramatic divergence between the brand messages used by B2B companies and the characteristics that their customers actually...
The HBR and the CEB dismantle the “sales machine”
As I pointed out in a recent article, we're going to need fewer, smarter B2B sales people. But that's not all: we're going to...
Why we’re going to need fewer, smarter B2B sales people
According to projections by Gerhard Gschwandtner (CEO of SellingPower magazine) and others, we're going to need to employ far fewer sales people by the...
Happy B2B Sales Endings Start at the Beginning
Do you wish that your sales people were better at closing? Or that their sales forecasts were more accurate? Are you frustrated that...
B2B Marketing: The Trouble with Thought Leadership
Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the Booz Allen Hamilton magazine Strategy & Business first coined the term "thought leadership" in 1994. I wonder if he...
In complex sales, your fiercest competitor is often “do nothing”
It's bad enough when, after a long, complex and resource-intensive sales campaign, you end up losing to the competition. But at least you've got...
Selling Stupidity: the story continues…
Home improvement sales people are not known for their intelligence, but the Anglian Windows sales person who just knocked on my door while I...
B2B Sales: is your Champion Capable of Making the Case for Change?
Every salesperson longs to find a champion within their prospect who is prepared to recommend the vendor's solution to their colleagues. Even better if...
The future of CRM: interview with Nikolaus Kimla of Pipelinersales
Despite massive investment, many sales leaders remain dissatisfied with the impact that CRM systems actually have on their revenue numbers. I recently had the...