Bob Apollo
Go Beyond Win/Loss Reports and Find Out Why Others Chose “None of the Above”
Vendors who have the discipline to complete win/loss reports usually uncover valuable insights. But concentrating only on wins and losses, and ignoring the growing number of deals that end in "no decision" is really missing a trick! Most of our clients - who tend...
The Curse of the “Slow No”
If you're going to lose, it's always better to lose early - and if a deal is going nowhere, it's always better to realise this sooner, rather than later. These are both examples of what I've come to recognise as "the curse of the slow...
Seeing Through the “Window of Discontent”
Most of our clients come from B2B markets, with complex sales environments and are selling a discretionary product or service - in other words the prospect's business could survive, even if not very well, without their offering. Many of them complain about more people being...
Sell More Solutions by Uncovering More Urgent Needs
Many vendors who have a B2B sales model are facing tighter end-user budgets—and buyers who are prepared only to invest in solving their most pressing business issues. Most B2B technology markets are also facing a declining number of "early adopters"; the vast majority of...
You Can’t Outsource Great Customer Service
… or at least, that's been my experience over the past few days. I had the misfortune to have my car stolen last weekend. It was fitted with a tracker, so the police found it - fortunately undamaged - within 24 hours....
Show Stoppers: Why Are Exhibition Sales Techniques So Bad?
I spent half a day at the London "Technology for Marketing and Advertising" show today. I wished I hadn't. Each of the exhibitors had obviously spent significant sums of money merely paying for the space. The hidden costs in terms of...
The Chasm Is Closer Than You Think …
Like most high-tech marketers, I found Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" essential reading. His concept of the gap that exists between Early Adopters and the Mass Market, and the fundamental shifts in emphasis required to bridge it, has proved to be a key...
Value Added? It Depends on Who is Paying
I've lost track of the number of companies who proclaim that they are embracing a "value-added" strategy in order to differentiate themselves in an increasingly commoditised market. They often see it as their way of breaking away from relentless pricing pressure and a...
It’s Better To Sail With the Wind Than Against It …
Most of the best recent thinking about the complex B2B sales environment suggests that the primary role of the sales person should be to facilitate the prospect's buying process, and I've certainly seen companies achieve a step function improvement in close rates and forecast...
Where Do B2B Brands Get Built?
I'm making these observations about the high-tech sector in particular, but it may be that they are relevant to other B2B environments. I sat through a presentation a few days back from someone who, after declaring that "Post Modernism is the New Black" (I...
Don’t Pitch. Educate!
I've recently completed a number of "Buyer's Journey" exercises for clients, all of whom are focused on selling high-tech solutions to business buyers, and one theme emerges consistently - buyers love to learn, but hate being sold to. First, I'd better explain what the "Buyer's...
One of Us in This Room Must Be an Idiot …
One of the pitfalls in having your salespeople naively adopt "solution selling" is the danger that your sales people may present themselves as knowing more about their prospects business than the prospect does themselves - which is either unlikely or insulting ... This was...