Monday, September 30th, 2024

Using AI to prepare for sales conversations

Whilst AI is unlikely to completely replace salespeople in complex B2B environments, it certainly has the potential to make good salespeople even more effective. Here are a few of the most important ways in which salespeople are using AI: +


Monday, September 30th, 2024

Leveraging AI to coach your salespeople

There is no doubt that AI is going to play an increasingly important role in facilitating complex B2B sales. Here are a few ways in which sales managers can harness AI to coach their salespeople more effectively: +


Monday, September 30th, 2024

Sales competitions 10.3 2024

Steel City Sales Challenge – Hosted by… 


Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024

Establishing trust with your sales team

Sales managers need to both trust and be trusted by their sales team. Here are a few of the most important ways in which this can be established: +


Monday, April 22nd, 2024

Education inspectorate grades Consalia’s Senior Sales Leadership apprenticeship programme outstanding

Consalia’s Senior Sales Leadership apprenticeship programme has been graded outstanding by UK education inspectorate Ofsted, the sales business school announced recently. The inspection took place over three days in February. Questionnaires were sent in advance to employers and apprentices and the government inspectors also conducted detailed interviews with Consalia’s Academy Team, apprentices, employers, and delivery partners Middlesex University and Runway… 


Monday, April 22nd, 2024

Is sales training dead?

Is sales training dead? I recall reading a blog about the issue on LinkedIn back in 2016. Of course, it sought to refute this premise. That was then, but what of today? Well, the sales landscape has undoubtedly moved on, driven by evolving business practice, technology, and the advance of relatively new disciplines such as sales enablement. Firstly, the traditional… 


Monday, February 19th, 2024

What salespeople need to succeed in a new sales role

Of course, every new salesperson needs to have a clear understanding of what they are selling. But product knowledge is never enough to ensure success. Bob Apollo lists five things every new (and existing) salesperson needs to master: +


Monday, February 19th, 2024

Five things to consider before stepping up to a sales management role

For many salespeople, their obvious career goal is to advance into sales management. Unfortunately, this can turn into a frustrating move. Here’s what aspiring sales managers need to consider: +


Monday, February 19th, 2024

Sales competitions 10.1 2024

UTISC – University of Toledo Invitational Sales… 


Friday, February 16th, 2024

Your first day

What should a salesperson expect from their first few days in a new sales role? I suppose this article could have been titled “What do I wish I had known or done in my first day as a salesperson?” And maybe I might have benefited from reading it then – but that was a long time ago, and in a… 


Friday, October 13th, 2023

Addressing individual underperformance

Sales managers have a responsibility to identify, understand and address the root causes of individual underperformance in their teams. Here are a few of the key considerations: +


Friday, October 13th, 2023

Establishing your own personal development plan

No matter how comprehensive the training programme provided by their employer, salespeople need to establish and implement their own personal development plan. Bob Apollo highlights a few key considerations: +


Friday, October 13th, 2023

Sales competitions 9.5 2023

Steel City Sales Challenge hosted by Duquesne… 


Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

Time for CPD

Do salespeople have time to learn? +


Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

Addressing underperformance

Underperformance is not just about the individual; it can be a structural issue too. It would be an exceptionally lucky or gifted sales manager who has never had to address the issue of underperformance at some stage in their management career. Sometimes the causes appear to be external – changes in the market environment over which we have little influence… 


Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

Coaching conversations

My Coaching Promise ensures sales professionals have better sales conversations. In today’s hybrid world of both face-to-face and virtual customer conversations, ensuring the best of the limited time we get with customers is paramount. I find it odd that it’s taken for granted that sports professionals have multiple coaches, yet sales professionals struggle to get time with their managers, who… 


Wednesday, September 6th, 2023

Sales competitions 9.4 2023

SEASAC-South East Asian Sales Competition hosted by… 


Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Opening a conversation

Continuing our new series of sales tips, Bob Apollo discusses five things to bear in mind when preparing for your next significant sales conversation. How we plan and prepare for a sales conversation has a huge impact on the outcome. Preparation: +


Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Salespeople unhappy with their bosses

Survey analysis from the somewhat unlikely source of casinohawks.com has found that employees in retail, healthcare and sales report being the unhappiest with their managers, most commonly attributing their dissatisfaction to low pay, micromanagement and a lack of communication. By comparison, employees working in the creative arts and design and charity and voluntary sectors were found to have the most… 


Friday, September 1st, 2023

First-time manager

Navigating the transition from sales to sales management. For many successful and ambitious salespeople, their first move into sales management is perhaps the defining moment in their career. Some will succeed. Some will fail. Some will make the move and then wish they had never abandoned the simpler life of a salesperson. And some will remain perfectly happy avoiding the…