Back to the world of marketing this week, with the teams tasked with creating a campaign to raise awareness of English Sparkling Wine, creating a new image for the industry, designing a web site and producing an online video.

Let’s see what we can learn about creating and pitching a successful campaign from this week’s episode . . .

Lesson 25: The pitch team has to live the brief

Phoenix’s web design team were Nick and Jade, PM Tom seemed happy to let them get on with it while he and Adam went off to enjoy wine tasting, masquerading as market research. With no management input, Nick and Jade drifted away from the awareness brief towards a sales oriented web site. In contrast, Sterling’s web site answered the brief much better. If it weren’t for Stephen and Jenna’s dire off-message video which wrecked their campaign, Sterling would have won by just sticking more closely to the brief.

You can deliver the best pitch ever seen, but if it doesn’t answer the question the customer is asking, you’re wasting your time. Use the brief as your screen saver, paint it on the wall, tattoo it on a team member’s forehead but NEVER forget it.

Lesson 26: If you make a mistake, learn from it

Last week, Tom managed to alienate the artist he was courting by droning on at length to demonstrate his knowledge rather than showing enthusiasm for the work. This week, after a couple of worrying signs early on in the research phase (“the creamy vanilla notes might be something to do with the French oak”) Tom stuck to the message in the pitch presentation and resisted the temptation to show off in front of a panel who would probably have reduced him to jelly.

If you make a mistake, recognise the problem and turn it around next time.

Lesson 27: Start with the end in mind

In the pitch presentations both teams fell into the trap of focusing too much on the web site’s functionality and how they’d been built, rather than the plans for raising the awareness of English sparkling wine among the champagne drinking public. (There’s that brief again!). The judging panel were left to work out for themselves whether the campaigns would deliver the required outcome.

Starting with the end in mind (in this case winning the pitch by answering the brief) would have given focus and allowed the project managers to keep their teams on track.

Our Pitching for Business workshop transforms the impact of both new and repeat business pitch presentations. This programme consistently achieves outstanding results so next time you have a business pitch to make drop us an email to learn more.

Next week the teams have to negotiate best discounts for a daily deals website. Expect some priceless insights into negotiating successfully under pressure!

In stark contrast to last week’s shopping mall and market stall experience, this week the teams were thrown into the edgy but lucrative world of street art. Tasked with earning as much commission as possible from a gallery sale, featuring two artists of their choice, their market was the art-loving public and a corporate client lined up by Lord Sugar.

Some useful lessons this week around sales conversations . . .

Lesson 22: Proving you’re an expert never sells anything

Tom, appointed Project Manager on the basis of his knowledge of the urban art scene, set out to impress the artists by dropping names and sharing his opinions. In contrast was rival PM Gabrielle with far less knowledge but boundless enthusiasm and engagement. In the end this was the reason that ‘Pure Evil’, an artist favoured by both teams, chose to go with Gabi.

On its own, no amount of knowledge is ever going to persuade a customer. Interest, rapport and enthusiasm are the key foundations of any successful relationship.

Lesson 23: Having a nice chat isn’t enough

In the gallery sale, Laura did little more than ask customers how they were doing and whether they were enjoying themselves. Net result; lowest sales of the group and her exit from the contest. Tom made a bit more effort, but in two painful conversations missed all the buying signals from customers interested in a large and expensive James Jessop painting, whose price tag of £10,000 would have guaranteed a win.

On the same team was market trader Adam. Way out of his comfort zone, he used his engaging but purposeful approach to close more deals and outsell his colleagues by quite a margin.

Having rapport with a customer is important – but you must follow through to understand what they need, position your offer and gain a commitment in order to succeed.

Lesson 24: You need to know what investment is on the table

Gabrielle’s team listened to their corporate client (Beefeater Gin) and understood what they were looking for. What they failed to do was to ask what budget was available. So they chose an artist whose work matched the brief but whose price point was well below what the client wanted to pay.

So they never understood the value of the corporate opportunity, a fact demonstrated by their indifference when the client arrived at the gallery. Not offered a glass of wine let alone a gin and tonic, not introduced to the team or the artist, the client finally walked away into the night, a huge missed opportunity.

Because they never asked about the budget they failed to understand the size of the opportunity until Lord Sugar in the boardroom enlightened them; £10,000.  Unless you have some idea of what the customer expects to invest it’s impossible to position an offer that demonstrates value and will gain their commitment.

The importance of connecting with your customer, understanding their needs and following through to gain commitment is vital to achieving your objectives and succeeding in sales. These basic skills are at the heart of our popular and transformational Outcome Selling workshops. Investing in these skills will make a real difference to your success, so why not drop us an email to learn more.

Next week, the teams have the opportunity to create a new image for English sparkling wine. Tune in to see who has the fizz to succeed!

This week, Lord Sugar’s favourite task – starting a business from scratch, turning wholesale goods into profit. The teams were tasked with choosing what to sell and where to sell it, then returning to the warehouse for more of whatever was selling best. The winner would be the team with the maximum cash and asset value left at the end of the day.

A deceptively simple task with some fundamental lessons about selling . . .

Lesson 19: Focus on profitable top sellers

By quickly recognising what was selling and focusing on it, Sterling sustained a healthy margin on their best-selling fake tan. In contrast, on Phoenix’s replenishment trip, Jade failed to stock up on the profitable robot bugs that were selling well back at the mall. Instead she repeated her mistake of going with a variety of stock, diluting the sales effort and ending the day having to discount heavily.

If you have a product or service that sells and returns a healthy margin, focus on it. It won’t be like that for ever, so make the most of it and be ready to ride the next wave when it comes along.

Lesson 20: Don’t waste a good decision

The one blot on Nick’s otherwise excellent management of Sterling was a decision to send Stephen and Ricky straight back to the warehouse for more fake tan, rather than letting them drop off their remaining stock from the market on the way.

This negated a major tactical advantage. Sterling had made a quick decision to locate both their sales teams in Romford and just 7 miles from the warehouse. Phoenix chose venues some 25 miles apart. If Nick had capitalised on this advantage, Sterling would have won by an even greater margin.

If you have a strategy, follow it through and avoid being distracted by short term issues (in Nick’s case zero stock of the worryingly popular fake tan).

Lesson 21: Make the most of the talents in your team

Sterling were quick to recognise that Jenna’s background in beauty salons would enable her to successfully sell cosmetic products. They invested in stock accordingly, got the price right and her ability to quickly build rapport and confidently demonstrate the products paid dividends.

Phoenix had a potentially even greater asset in the shape of market trader Adam, whose entertaining patter on the stall at Pitsea market meant that his limited stock quickly sold out. As Lord Sugar pointed out, if they had given Adam more stock, they might have won.

Playing to the strengths of your team is important for sales success. By planning around your team’s strengths and talents, you can make the maximum impact on results.

Recognising what your market wants, developing a robust plan to deliver it and making the most of your team’s talents are key elements of our Successful Account Management workshops. Investing in these skills will make a real difference to your success, so why not drop us an email to find out more.

Next week, something very different; the teams have to convince urban artists that they should be their representatives in a gallery sale. Expect more fireworks and sales excellence insights!

Gourmet street food is booming. This week the teams had the opportunity to have a go at this lucrative business, with the brief from Lord Sugar to produce a quality product. The teams headed to Edinburgh to try their luck.

Some simple but important lessons this week, around price, target audiences and taking responsibility.

Lesson 16: The right ingredients and the right price

Phoenix Project Manager Adam was obsessed with maximizing margin. This he achieved by using inferior ingredients and selling at an inflated price, even though he was reminded more than once of Lords Sugar’s edict that he didn’t want “any junk served up here”. At one point Adam actually said “it’s about profit not taste”!

The team then attempted to sell their rather unappetizing meatballs and pasta at the inflated price of £5.99 to the Edinburgh football fans, only a penny cheaper than an organic sirloin steak at the London food fair they had visited earlier.

The price of your product has to reflect its perceived value to your chosen audience even more than the actual cost of production.  Getting the cost and selling price right is critical to profitable sales.

Lesson 17: Pick your battles – target the right audience

The teams had the choice of a number of venues for their mobile stalls, including tourist hot spots and the Tynecastle football stadium, where local side Hearts were to play Glasgow Rangers. Phoenix marketing lead Katie pushed the latter as their prime venue, based on the likely footfall, ignoring concerns about whether this ‘pie and gravy’ crowd would go for an upmarket product.

In the event, the combination of an indifferent audience and their unrealistic pricing led to poor sales. Trying to rescue the situation, sub team lead Stephen came up with a plan to persuade passengers on tourist buses to break their journey and sample the team’s foodie delights at their relocated stall. This was an even less successful idea, with sales of precisely zero.

Understanding who your target audience are and what they want is key to success in sales. Focusing on the right market makes a big difference to success.

Lesson 18: Take responsibility and lead from the front

Sterling were led by Jenna. She canvassed opinions at the planning stage and took responsibility for the decision to go for premium priced ingredients. In Edinburgh, when sales stalled at their first location, Laura and Ricky surveyed the possibilities at Princes Street. They concentrated on audience (enough of the right type) and competition (a van selling Aberdeen Angus burgers at a price lower than theirs). After listening to their report, Jenna quickly summed up the situation and made the decision to move, saying ‘I’ll take the risk’.

The move paid off, with Sterling edging ahead on sales. In the end Jenna’s willingness to listen to her team, take responsibility and lead from the front made the difference.

These days, selling is often a team effort. Sales people who use their colleagues’ advice to make informed decisions will earn respect and stand a better chance of success in sales.

Understanding your audience and positioning your offer effectively are key elements of our Outcome Selling approach.  In our Successful Account Management programme, we highlight the importance of engaging, managing and leading internal resource to achieve your outcomes with the customer.

Investing in these skills will make a real difference to your success, so why not drop us an email to learn more.

Next week, the candidates have to prove themselves ‘flipping’ wholesale goods in Essex. Come back next week to see how they get on!

Week 5 and we’re in the lucrative world of licensed fitness routines, with the teams pitching innovative programmes to three of the UK’s leading health club chains.

They were tasked with developing a routine, shooting a promotional video and presenting to their potential clients, all within the space of two days.

This week, the sales lessons are all about the pitch presentations. Here are three valuable insights you can apply to any presentation opportunity . . .

Lesson 13: Anticipate the awkward question

Phoenix, under the leadership of Stephen, went with a retro 80’s programme involving space hoppers and hula hoops. Tom spotted the potential weaknesses in this approach early on – would the clubs invest in the additional equipment? Where would they store it? The team decided to stick with the plan – ‘take a risk’ as Katie put it – and promptly forgot about it. When it came to the pitches, the question was asked, and the team had no answer. When pushed, project manager Stephen made the costs up on the spot.

A key element in planning for a pitch presentation is to anticipate objections and prepare to answer them. If you have a convincing answer, an awkward question can get you closer to achieving your objective.

Lesson 14: Look for opportunities in questions

After hearing their pitch, Virgin Active asked Phoenix whether their programme wasn’t more appropriate for children. The question was put in a challenging way and was not answered confidently.

The irony was that behind the question was a desire for more children and family involvement in club membership – Virgin Active’s insight was that Phoenix’s Groove Train had exactly that appeal, and placed an order for a 6 month trial worth £12,810, the only order Phoenix received.

Any client question in a presentation is asked for a reason. Whether you’ve anticipated the question or not, always pause, welcome and repeat the question. If you’re not sure why they’ve asked it, get clarification. Never react defensively and look to turn it to your advantage.

Lesson 15: The power of an effective presentation style

Sterling’s programme blended martial arts and dance moves – but the poor promo video produced by Duane only demonstrated the dance element. They were rescued by Ricky’s highly effective presentation style. With good physical skills, confidence and thorough preparation, Ricky won 2 out of the 3 pitches for Sterling, in contrast to Phoenix’s poorly prepared and stumbling efforts which convinced none of the clients, Virgin only making their commitment after the event.

The best offer in the world can be undermined by a poorly prepared and delivered presentation. In contrast, Phoenix’s experience showed the difference that a professional pitch can make.

Often the confidence, enthusiasm and rapport you can generate with your customers goes a long way to cementing success.  In our Presentation Excellence and Pitching for Business programmes, we provide these skills, making a huge difference to the success you can achieve through presenting effectively.

Investing in these skills will make a real difference to your success, so why not drop us an email to learn more.

Next week, we’re off to Edinburgh where the teams are selling food to the public. Tune in again for more insights!

Week 4 saw the teams rising to the challenge of retail and the losers getting highly animated in the boardroom. We saw a graphic illustration of the difference that controlling your costs and understanding your customers can make. And there was a telling example of how to alienate customers and fail to sell!

The teams were each given an empty shop in London’s trendy Brick Lane and tasked with sourcing second hand stock to sell to the public. With freedom to invest up to £1,000 in their ventures, the teams set to work. Once again the winners would be the team making the most profit.

So what sales lessons can we glean from this week’s performance? Let’s see . . .

Lesson 10: If you don’t control your costs, they will control you

Sterling were carried away with enthusiasm for adding value to their stock. As a result, they spent a third of their investment on materials, bought by creative lead Gabrielle without any guidance on budgets from Laura. By the end of the task, Sterling had sold slightly more than Phoenix, but at almost double the cost, sealing their fate.

Cost control is vital in business. A product should cost no more to put on the market than it needs to. In selling, always plan to minimise costs, especially if you expect your margins to come under pressure.

Lesson 11: Know your customer and understand what they want

In contrast, Phoenix, under the leadership of Tom, opted for a smaller amount of higher quality stock. They focused on the look of their shop, which was more in tune with the Brick Lane vibe and the result was that people were walking into the store before it opened.  In contrast was Sterling’s increasingly desperate attempts to drive enough people into their store to fulfil their higher volume, lower cost model.

Phoenix’s approach demonstrates again the power of understanding the customer. Their choice of product and the way it was presented was compelling for the Brick Lane crowd. If you don’t connect with your target market, no amount of cajoling is going to fix things for you.

Lesson 12: Build rapport and understand your customers

“You have to be quite pushy and really try to convince them” – the sales mantra of the hapless and ultimately doomed Jane, in response to Sterling’s dearth of customers. The ineffectiveness of her approach was thrown into sharp relief by the final individual sales figures; over £400 each for Gabriella and Jenna (over 50% of Sterling’s total sales), compared with Jane’s £10 contribution.

Customers are people; they are not even going to look at your product unless you have rapport with them and they feel that their needs are understood. They also need the space to form the emotional commitment fundamental to all sales.

Once again this week we’ve seen the importance of planning, building rapport with your customer and understanding what they need from you.  If your team could use some help in these areas, drop us an email.

Next week, our intrepid candidates have two days to devise and brand a new fitness class. Watch this space . . .

Week 3 saw the pace hotting up in the race to win £250,000 of investment in a start-up in partnership with Lord Sugar. In this episode the sales lessons were more subtle, but no less important. Let’s see how things went . . .

This week’s task was to create an original condiment, a messy business made worse by more sloppy management! The teams were given a day to create the product and a day to sell as much as possible to the public and the trade, with the winners being the team making the most profit.

Duane and Nick moved to the girls’ team (Sterling), whilst Katie, the recipient of Lord Sugar’s wrath in a previous boardroom showdown, was given the chance to redeem herself as project manager in the boys’ team, Phoenix.

Lesson 7: Don’t be scared to change your strategy

Phoenix’s chances were dealt a severe blow when poor production management left them with limited stock to sell. Katie decided to switch the product from mass market to premium price. Selling the majority of the stock to the public at £3.99 offset the poor results of Michael’s trade sales sub team.

In sales, expect the unexpected; be prepared to sacrifice your strategy in the face of changes to the market or your product. But make sure your solutions are aligned to the outcome you need.

Lesson 8: Know your absolute bottom line

At what point do you walk away? Michael’s eventual fate was sealed when he led the trade team in a pitch to a retailer, who was keen on the product and ready to buy at a price just under Katy’s minimum sales price of £1.99. Michael held out for £2.50 and walked away rather than doing a deal.

In any negotiation, only walk away if you’re sure of your real bottom line and that you’ve exhausted all other avenues; if you’re not sure, call a time out and check.

Lesson 9: Stay positive and focused in the face of setbacks

At their pitch to a high end retailer, team Sterling turned up with no sample for the customer to taste with the first batch being only fit for the bin. However, they rescued the situation by returning to the negotiating table later with the tasty and well-packaged final product, selling 300 jars and earning them £510 in revenue, contributing significantly to their victory.

The first meeting was an embarrassment, but it allowed them to Connect with the customer. Understanding what the customer wanted and keeping their eyes on the prize won them the deal!

Our sales workshops always focus on the practical skills sales people need where it really matters; thinking on their feet, connecting with the customer and gaining their commitment.  If your team could use some help in these areas, drop us an email.

Next week, Lord Sugar asks the teams to set up second-hand shops in London’s fashionable East End. Let’s see if they are better at selling other people’s junk rather than their own!

Last time we explored some real-world sales lessons from the first episode of the latest series of The Apprentice, the reality show where the winner receives a £250,000 investment in a business of their own creation, in partnership with Lord Sugar.

This week the candidates had the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in creating and developing a household gadget. Divided again into boys’ and girls’ teams, they were tasked with selling their idea to Amazon.co.uk and Lakeland.
So what can we learn about effective sales skills from this week’s episode? Let’s concentrate on the pitch to the client.
 

Lesson 4: Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
Both teams neglected to plan their pitches, with the girls’ team making the most glaring financial errors. They failed to prepare robust costings and hugely overestimated the likely order that they might secure.In any sales pitch, the team needs to research the client, understand their needs and plan to make the pitch as relevant and compelling as possible and get your costing right!

Lesson 5: Know when to ask questions

Both teams treated their pitch as a lecture, taking little trouble to find out what the buyers might actually need nor testing their acceptance of the claims made. A critical factor in any successful pitch is to connect with the customer and create an engaging conversation. The old adage is ‘people buy from people’ and it is still true.

Lesson 6: Make the most of your team’s talents

The boys’ product (a tabletop compost bin) was Duane’s idea and he was an engaging advocate but in the first pitch, frustratingly, he was not included by the project manager. Only when the pitch got stuck did Duane interrupt and rescue the sale with the result that Amazon ordered 3,000 units. They learnt their lesson at Lakeland, Duane was involved from the start and they sold another 10,000 units, winning the task and dinner at The Ivy.

So to sum up; getting to the stage where you’re pitching for business takes a lot of time and hard graft. And yet so many sales teams throw away the opportunity by failing to plan, falling in love with their product’s features (rather than understanding what the customer actually needs) and not using their combined talents to best effect in the presentation.

We’ve worked with many clients on Pitching for Business, and it has always made a huge difference to their success rate, especially when we help with a specific bid.

Visit us again for more insights next week, when our brave candidates are tasked with inventing and marketing a new condiment. Tasty!

So, The Apprentice is back on our screens, for its eighth series. Whether it makes you laugh or cringe (or both), it’s compelling television with lessons for business. Rather than just securing a job, the winner receives a £250,000 investment in a business of their own creation, in partnership with Lord Sugar. And the candidates are people with experience in business, from 20 year old restaurateur Maria to Azhar, MD at the age of 33 of the company he founded.

So, given the prize on offer and the credentials of the candidates, does The Apprentice have lessons for us in the real sales world?  We believe it does and as the series unfolds we’re going to share our insights on what those lessons might be and how you can apply them to your own business.

Week 1 did not disappoint; quality control, selling in packs at the zoo . . . and how not to run a B2B sales meeting. Divided into boys’ and girls’ teams, our intrepid candidates were tasked to create and produce souvenirs and sell them to tourists in London.

Lesson 1: Selling in Packs

The girls’ team strategy, targeting children’s clothes at families visiting the zoo, made a lot of sense and looked like a winner. But, with all four of the team hunting in a pack, chaos ensued. This is a simple lesson; deploy your sales resource so that everyone on the team is accountable for their own sales, creating productive competition.

Lesson 2: Quality Control

Having failed to sell all of their stock to customers, the boys’ team sold their less than perfect remnants to an unsuspecting shopkeeper, who quickly called them back for a refund. They learned the hard way that what you sell has to live up to what’s promised – in this case badly printed tote bags, only fit for the bin.

Lesson 3: B2B Sales Meeting

When the girl’s team attempted to offload their unsold stock to a retailer, their stress-induced over-enthusiasm tipped in to aggression and our sales team were ejected from the meeting, leaving a very disgruntled customer.  A classic lesson in the necessary four C’s of effective sales meetings – cohesion, communication, consensus and commitment.

And as a final punch line, we saw a classic sales person’s error in the boardroom showdown; under pressure Bilyana stopped listening to the customer (Lord Sugar) and ever more stridently repeated her brand assets.  It rarely works, as she discovered, earning this week’s P45.

All good fun, but how can you be sure that your sales people aren’t making any of these fundamental errors? Find out more about how we can help by clicking here. And while you’re there, why not try our free Sales Audit?

Come back next week for more insight into the all too real world of the Apprentice.

Gary is the Business Development Manager specialising in Excel Enterprise, the sales centre of excellence at Excel Communications, delivering world class training solutions for sales professionals through diagnosing, designing and delivering tailored in-house learning events including coaching, workshops and development programmes for salespeople and their managers.

Not surprisingly Gary brings over 20 years of extensive sales and marketing experience to the role, in a wide range of sectors and markets. Immediately prior to joining Excel Enterprise he worked for 10 years in the training industry, specialising in bespoke high level training programmes and blended learning. He brings to Excel Enterprise his passion for delivering real, measurable benefits to our clients.

Outside of work Gary enjoys travel, walking and cycling and is a keen photographer.