This morning I had an urgent need to purchase a pair of shoes for work. I arrived at work (cycle commute) and for the first time in 3 years I had no shoes! I chose Myer in Brisbane CBD because I already had a gift voucher left over from Christmas. When I had chosen [...]
My son (9), daughter (6) and I love to reward ourselves at the end of a Saturday morning Park Run with ice cream from McDonalds. There are 2 McDonalds locations close to our house. One is amazing. I love to watch their staff work quickly and efficiently to provide good food and customer service! The [...]
When my 5-year old daughter helps with the family's grocery shopping she knows she will receive a small reward. Last weekend she asked me to get her "pink milk". The dairy section displayed two strawberry milk options: Dairy Farmers Classic Strawberry. 300ml for $1.50 ($5 per litre) Norco Mighty Cool. 250ml for $1.75 ($7 per litre) From my perspective [...]
For almost 5 years I worked for Jeppesen, an iconic aviation company that has pioneered aeronautical navigation since the 1930's. When an aviation accident occurs a detailed investigation follows. The findings from each investigation helps the industry determine if new lessons can be learnt and implemented across the industry. The practice of learning [...]
That new product idea that you have for your organisation? There is a 70-90% chance it will fail. Why? Because you don't know what you don't know. If you launch a fully-featured product without testing your potential customers prior you risk wasting all your valuable capital. Sure you will learn a lot, but the "tuition fees" could cost [...]
As a startup mentor at River City Labs, I have worked with technical founders to appreciate the "dark arts" of selling. With the anticipation of Episode VII, The Force Awakens, I wrote this fun piece about the selling skills of Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious. 1. "Hard to see, the dark side is" - Yoda (Episode I, The Phantom Menace) The [...]
From the outside the organisation has a great brand and and displays the trappings of success. The company is keen to hire you because you are a sales gun with proven ability to meet and exceed targets. Your past sales success gives the company confidence you could be their gun. But its a trap! If [...]
I have a problem with a lot of sales books and sales training courses. Especially when they are mechanical and process focussed. Sales is not a predictable science like other professions. A + B does not always equal C. People mistakenly think you can train anyone to follow a step sales process and the customer will [...]
Are you a start-up CEO looking to bring on a sales person? If so you will probably be contemplating: In lieu of a salary, should I induce a sales person with equity to work for my start-up? Could I afford to hire a sales person (without equity)? Can I find an organisation to be my [...]
You're a start-up? My "picture of success" for a start-up business would be: A healthy and diverse client portfolio which validates your business to potential customers. Your brand is recognised as solving "something". When a problem is encountered, who are you going to call? (cue Ghostbusters theme). You can explain your offering in 30 seconds [...]
I'm 39 years old and have been selling software to government and enterprise for over 12 years. Here is my LinkedIn profile. During this time I've managed to successfully launch 4 new "start-up" products while working for large organisations. These products are now turning over $1m in revenue. In all but one I have [...]
