Business Ideas For Smes And Start Ups

How many of you are actively and knowingly integrating AI into your business development process? I think at this point everyone has gotten over themselves - even copywriters - and begrudgingly admitted that generative AI can be a great thing for creating content both in the arena of sales and marketing. But beyond that, what else can it do...? A first discussion episode for me in quite some time with Rory Kelly - ex-Hubspot guru who has been recently shining a light on AI in his on line commentary. He is a genuine sales expert who has worked with organisations globally guiding them through the HubSpot platform. Find him on Linkedin, connect with him and enjoy his perspective on AI

The boys are back in town - the bad ones. As Ireland continues to punch above it's weight in global sport - like it does in the arts, music and film - 2 opposing belief systems are clashing in Belfast. Anti-immigrants v anti racists are rioting in Wellington Place - mirroring events in Sunderland, Stoke and Leeds. Bored, undervalued, ignored, badly represented adults are resurrecting an old evil, against a back drop of TEAM Genocide - USA and Israel - carpet bombing of Palestine. Worrying times.

No doubt things had changed significantly in the world of sales after COVID. Sales BC - is that a thing? Some of the outcomes and consequences have been beneficial for sure - but as a business have you moved forward strategically or have you been moved along by the tide of change and have kept moving. For me it is about taking control of that destiny and Im pretty sure that some of the habits and processes that have been crafted by COVID are definitely not business enhancing...what do you think?

Best Hurling Final Ever, Wise Up. by Shift Control

On holiday mode but still find myself thinking about work - what;'s needed to finish this year with a flourish and then what lies beyond 2024. in battle mode - doing the stuff you strategised about last year - you don't get much time to think about beyond the short term. Firefighters are only thinking abut this fire - the job in hand. When you get the right kind of down time you can think about these things - in my case, the comfort of my cottage (rented) in Donegal. The big things that I want too attend to - in no order - the use / integration of AI, being real with EQ, motivating a team through cultural transformation, using data properly, improving sales performance, making the messages more personalised (that's if you're into ABM...) What's on your radar?

A Dudley Moore movie that should speak to anyone in communications - sales, marketing etc...Crazy People. I now know that its Boxy, but good but I always remember it being boxy but safe. Anyway..Marcus Sheridan's book They Ask, You Answer, reminded me of the movie - as it did LIAR, LIAR with Jim Carey - the idea of telling the truth despite knowing the consequences might be just terrible, when in truth they won't be. But you'll never know until you start telling the whole truth about your business - your honesty over the exact value you offer, where your weakness might be and the costs...publishing a cost that you can stand over and not worry what exposure your competition gets. His book is excellent - I'd recommend it for anyone that seems to be spending more time getting the message right and needs to build up the confidence required to say what needs to be said...?

Follow up from the last episode where I talked about managing your energy - never said it was easy, no way. But it is doable. Stendhal Festival would be the perfect place to tune into nature and get into some great local music and art, unwind, chill out and relax. Changing of the guard in Derry GAA - rumour has it that the county plan to revert to their previous manager, the one accused of DV. Lets hope that isn't the case.

'Lively up yourself and don't be no drag' The first line of the Bob Marley song is a call to arms for everyone to raise your vibration - get your energy levels up. Bring your A game to everywhere, everything and everyone. And into work. Especially in sales, the energy we bring to our work impacts directly the success of our work and therefore the overall success of the business. I've avoided giving any content that might suggest this is a scientific podcast...quite the reverse. Much of it is common sense, aye?

How is your sales team set up? Motivated or disciplined? Neither or both? A trip to IFAT in Munch teaches me a lot about both and 2 trips to see Bruce Springsteen reminds me about the importance of thought

I'm sat here waiting for an engineer to arrive to install broadband. They'll be here soon, well some time but it might not be soon at all, in fact just like last Friday, they might not arrive at all...

Spending 2 days at an exhibition in Birmingham with plenty of time to think and a cancelled flight with the Irish national air carrier of real choice - not Ryan Air - gave me some food or thought on how some of the very basic sales techniques of the past can compete with the very best the digital world has to offer

Sales momentum is critical for any business - are you able to turn the heat up when you need to or does your team operate at inconsistent levels across the year? Would you trade of 3 hours of flow sales for a day of?

This podcast gives a brief insight into a project that I had the good fortune to work on over the last 3 years that culminated in a customer service charter. All the good work of a business that has a clear focus on driving value through a better working relationship with customers - something that ill clearly differentiate them from their competition and help them win out in marginal situations

For so long we only thought in terms of academic intelligence. Along came Daniel Goleman and Emotional intelligence in the mid 90s and yet before in 1938 - Howard Gardner had introduced Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences where he talks about multiple intelligences, 8 and how they can impact our world view and our engagement with other people. Valuable if you have an interest in sales.

Fergal Keane is a renowned journalist, war correspondent and author of 'Madness: A memoir of war, fear and PTSD.' Not a normal read for me but a brilliant biography and my first encounter with epigenetics and generational trauma. And a good reason to be reminded about the importance of screening your media intake

Too often the focus is on asking questions rather than analysing what you know. In this podcast I talk about the origins of critical thinking and how it can be applied to your sales process along with EQ, to help deliver greater success.

As luck would have it I ended up speaking to someone with the inside track on customer service at the Merrion

Found myself back at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, last weekend...just 3 days after the deployment of the largest number of Garda in riot gear. (If this podcast was part of the BBCNI offering, Garda would be described as *the Irish Police....) Interesting times on all fronts - but no change at The Merrion where customer service was exemplar. Worth taking a dive into their world over the next 4 weeks - I'm sure they'll make it special for you. Can this level of customer service and attention to detail be applied everywhere? Or is it just the domain of those that can afford it?

My work recently with a client has put me on the other side of the buyer - seller relationship, as we build a new business development team. I have been amazed at the approach taken to my interest in their 'Sales SaaS' resulting with the feeling that outbound sales are deemed more precious than their inbound counterparts. In the podcast I go a little deeper in the experience and reference some good examples of BANT, MEDDIC, ANUM and GPCTBA/C&I (interesting methodology thats designed especially for inbound sales. Linkedin get a solid reference based on the fact that they are very good at what they do...very, very good... Let me know what you think.

An episode that I had threatened to record at least 3 times - about the GAA and their response to the alleged abuse by Rory Gallagher to his wife Nicola. The recent events in Spanish football and the threat of prosecution against Luis Rubiales has persuaded me to record this. I hope that the GAA can learn and learn quickly from what's going on in Spain.