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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...