SECRET SKILL. HIDDEN CAREER. The Truth About Sales

EPISODE 15 – Business Leader Profile: Barney Stinton

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 01:00:00 GMT

Having had high hopes of becoming a pilot, Barney Stinton never meant to become a salesperson. However, 15 years later, he now works at the top level of sales with global names across many industries. His sales career began shortly after graduation with a Eureka moment whilst racing cars as a gamer. He ditched the game and landed his first sales job selling Ferraris for Joe Macari, a job that combined his passion for cars with his skills (then unknown) in sales. Host Paul Owen asks Barney questions about the lessons learnt in sales of course but also about the fun he’s had, the places he’s been and the people he’s met through his interesting and successful career.

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EPISODE 14 – Conversations And Why They’re Rare

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 01:00:00 GMT

To become an outstanding communicator, you must ask questions and listen to the answers. They will tell you everything you need to know as you search for the most important thing in sales: the truth. Too often, though, people don’t find out the truth and their ability to satisfy their customer becomes a lucky dip. There are five key benefits to asking questions in sales conversations and these are discussed with sales leader John Pentin and entrepreneur Jamie Lester. With host, Paul Owen, they examine the importance of listening in sales, discuss the benefits of listening well and explore why people often fail because they’re simply not interested in any voice other than their own.

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EPISODE 13 – Business Leader Profile: Catherine Schalk

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 01:00:00 GMT

With 20 years’ sales experience, Catherine Schalk is a certified coach, speaker and trainer for The John Maxwell Company. She also runs her own sales enablement business - Inkwazi Communications - and has been involved in over 3,000 sales enablement initiatives across the globe. In 2015, Catherine was named the Top Female Executive for Excellence in Professional Training and Coaching. In this episode, Paul Owen asks Catherine about the lessons learnt early in her sales career in South Africa (including the warning about 3 strikes and you're out!) and how those lessons enabled to build her own successful company working with sales professionals across the world.

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EPISODE 12 – It’s The Way You Tell ‘Em!

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 01:00:00 GMT

The words you say matter most but the way you say them helps too. In this episode, our host, Paul Owen, is joined by entrepreneurs Josh Cohen and Dominic Cotton as they discuss the key factors to help present your stories (and your business messages) in the right tone of voice to create the right impression. How do you add credibility, gravitas and humanity to the words you use in business conversations?

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EPISODE 11 - Business Leader Profile: Gordon McAlpine

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 07:00:00 GMT

Having created and grown a company, BigHand, with his brother’s best friend, Gordon McAlpine sold it and is now an Executive Mentor and Coach plus a bestselling author. Despite being responsible for sales at BigHand, Gordon started his career with no interest in sales, only applying for marketing jobs. A quiet kid at school, he thought sales wouldn’t suit him yet soon discovered that salespeople are made, not born. In this episode, you’ll hear why Gordon believes his first job in sales was the most influential career step he took and why he recommends other people consider the same path into business.

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EPISODE 10 – Grab Me And Make It Quick!

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 06:00:00 GMT

The first step of a sales conversation is the shortest part, it’s the easiest part to prepare and it’s the easiest to practise. However, it remains the hardest part to do when you first start selling. Our host, Paul Owen, is joined in this episode by Catherine Schalk and Ben Rowland as they discuss how to create the best first impression when starting conversations, whether over the phone or face-to-face. Get the first few seconds right and you’re in with a chance of success; get it wrong and things finish pretty quickly. Getting names right helps too!

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EPISODE 9 – Business Leader Profile: Chris Brindley

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 06:00:00 GMT

Former MD of Metro Bank and one of the UK’s most prominent executive leaders, Chris Brindley MBE left his Manchester school at 16 with very few qualifications. The excellent reports on his people skills from teachers were a far better indicator of his future success than any exam result or academic achievement. How did Chris turn those skills into the secret of his incredible success and what can we all learn from his life?

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EPISODE 8 – The Secret Skill: Four Simple Steps

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Every sales conversation with a client is different, of course, but not as different as you might imagine. Underpinning most successful sales conversations is a four-step structure and, through following the structure, you will have good calls and meetings with prospective clients more consistently. What are those steps? And do they always come in the same order? Our host, Paul Owen, is joined in this episode by Tanya Uniacke and Jamie Lester to discuss the benefits of a structure to sales interactions and share thoughts on winning ideas for the beginning, middle and end of productive conversations with prospective clients.

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EPISODE 7 – Business Leader Profile: Julie Rodilosso

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 06:00:00 GMT

Aged 16, Julie Rodilosso was a single working parent knocking on doors to sell life insurance in South Africa. Today, she is one of the UK’s most successful insurance entrepreneurs who founded, built and sold her first business for £12 million. A self-taught sales superstar, she is passionate about the need for all of us to be trained in the skill of sales. What has sales taught her? How did those skills help her achieve financial security, career satisfaction and a fulfilled life? And what’s next for Julie?

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EPISODE 6 – The Ingredients For Success

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 09:00:00 GMT

There are 5 attributes so regularly found in successful salespeople that it’s fair to call them the ‘Ingredients For Success’. The traits are also key to success in other areas of business. Do you have them? How do you know? Hosted by Paul Owen with special guests, Nicola Cook and Marcus Vassiliou, this episode discusses the attributes for success and explores whether you’re born with them or whether they can be learnt.

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EPISODE 5 – Business Leader Profile: Michael Tobin OBE

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 23:00:00 GMT

An engineering apprentice at the age of 20, Mike Tobin OBE fell into sales by accident, an accident that led to an amazing career and life. He was MD of the French computer company, Goupil, by 22 and later became CEO of Telecity, taking them from a market cap of £6m to almost £3bn. He was made an OBE in 2014 for his services to the digital economy. Mike’s story is fascinating, not just for what he’s achieved in his career but for how he regards sales as a key skill for life, not just for business. And then there’s the sharks!....

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EPISODE 3 – Business Leader Profile: Nicola Cook

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 19:00:00 GMT

Founder and CEO of Company Shortcuts, Nicola Cook is a bestselling author, a high-profile keynote speaker and a leading light in the world of business growth and sales. One of only two children at her school not to go into higher education, the early signs of a successful career were not 100% obvious! How did she find her way in business and what lessons in life did she learn from an early exposure to sales?

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EPISODE 4 – The Hidden Career: 10 Reasons To Find It

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 19:00:00 GMT

There are many great reasons to go into sales, either as a first job to develop business skills or as part of a plan to spend your life in sales, yet too often they’re overlooked. So, what might you gain from moving into sales? Hosted by Paul Owen with special guests, Danielle Raymont and Gordon McAlpine, this episode uncovers 10 compelling reasons to consider sales.

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EPISODE 2 – Secrets, Myths and Scandal

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 18:00:00 GMT

There are 3 widely believed myths about sales, both as a skill and a career, and they’re dangerous because they stop many people from learning how to sell. Hosted by Paul Owen with special guests, Barney Stinton and Alex Evans, this episode exposes the myths and explains the truth about the world of sales. When you understand the truth, you will see how it helps you become better in business and better in life.

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EPISODE 1 - A Life-Changing Decision

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Aged 32, I was £26,000 in debt and earning £8,000 a year in a data admin job which gave me no life skills, no career opportunity and no self-esteem. I was living in the back bedroom of a friend's house. 9 credit card statements arrived on the doorstep each month. My life had not turned out the way I would have wanted. In December of that year (2000), I got a new job, a job that was to change my life forever. This episode, hosted by Entrepreneur and former BBC Broadcaster Dominic Cotton, explores the mistakes I made from age 18-32, how I turned things around and how that has all resulted in me becoming an evangelist for sales, both as a life skill and as a career.

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