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Category Archives: General
Micro enterprise in the Dharavi slum
This is my second blog (and slightly delayed in writing!) following on from my attendance at the Commonwealth Asia Alliance for Young Entrepreneurs (CAAYE) Summit, where I was invited on behalf of Young Brits and the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance. My first blog focused on Mumbai’s Dabbawalas and can be found here, this blog has more of a social enterprise theme. Whilst I was in Mumbai I got to spend a day in Dharavi, this is known as the worlds most populated slum, housing over a million people and sits in the centre of the city.
You don’t always have to know the answers – just ask much, much better questions…
A few weeks ago I was hired to do some sales coaching for a company operating in a sector that I had no previous experience of whatsoever. I made sure the client was aware of this fact but they hired me in spite of this. The coaching went extremely well, and mainly due to the fact that whilst I was preparing for it, I reminded myself of something a wealthy entrepreneur had said to me some years ago when I was interviewing her for an article I was writing. What she said was – “Bruce, I don’t always need to … Read More »
The Dabbawalas of Mumbai
From the 13th to 17th December I was invited to Mumbai, India by Young Indians to address the inaugural Commonwealth Asia Alliance for Young Entrepreneurs (CAAYE) Summit on behalf of Young Brits and the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance. This is the first of three blogs I have written on the trip, this one will focus on the Dabbawalas, the second one will focus on social enterprises in the slums and the third will focus on the CAAYE and the wider role and importance of such alliances. The second and third blog in this series will go up in early in … Read More »
Defining sales and why you should NOT start a sales presentation talking about features and benefits….
Of course it is absolutely essential to know the features and benefits of our products and services BUT we should not usually open a sales presentation with them. Why? Because it’s very unlikely that the person we are selling to will immediately relate those features and benefits to their situation. If we open with features and benefits, the person we are speaking to is most likely to be thinking ‘so what’. They haven’t had the time, or indeed the inclination or desire to think about how those features and benefits can help them. That’s not their job – it’s the … Read More »
If you won’t use a sales script, consider this…
“I hate sales scripts” and “I won’t use a script when selling” are two comments that are frequently made when I introduce the concept of using a script during my training sessions. In many cases the objections are very strong indeed. And in spite of the fact that I emphasise that you only use a script until you know what you are going to say and how to respond to any question off by heart, many people, at first, absolutely refuse to have anything to do with sales scripts. If you have a problem with using a script too, consider … Read More »
A message from the Director General, September 2012
There are analogies between sporting and commercial achievement. The success of the Olympics provides lessons for both government and business.
