A few years ago, I was working with a consultant. We used to meet every week, over breakfast. And, as my daughter was going through a phase of waking up every night, I was invariably tired. I remember one session, during which I had been particularly sluggish. Even a...
The last time I used live chat, it was to contact a large online train ticket provider, to claim a refund after my train got cancelled. The session started well, with a cheery promise from the customer support agent to sort my refund quickly. But it soon descended...
My email to the tech startup about the app I was using to manage my time hadn’t been a complaint – far from it. I’d actually written to tell them how pleased I was with their software. 'I’m really impressed,' I’d said. 'If you ever need a testimonial for your...
Of all the many conversations I had with senior lawyers in the strange summer of 2020, there is one in particular that stands out. It was with an M&A practice head at a top 20 law firm. She'd spent months wining and dining the founders of a mid-size tech company...
Nothing kills a sale like desperation. And with good reason. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a solopreneur or a senior account manager in a Fortune 500 corporation. As soon as you really, really need to get a prospect to say yes, the chance of them saying no...
So you’ve done the legwork. Over the last six months, you’ve bashed the phone till your ears hurt, driven more miles and eaten at more roadside cafes than you care to remember. And you’ve spent hours carefully building a relationship with your prospect, all to get...
The key to writing a good tender is to be specific and detail how your capabilities match the client’s exact requirements. You don’t have to be arrogant to sell your firm. Never kick off the tender by saying how great you are. Instead, show that you’ve listened to the...
I must confess, I’m not a huge fan of televised sport. My dislike dates back to childhood and my father’s habit of falling asleep in front of Grandstand every Saturday afternoon. He’d wake and protest loudly if I so much as edged towards the channel button, thwarting...
Have you ever noticed how you are more likely to give in to temptation at the end of the day than at the beginning? If you’re on a diet, it’s generally after eight or nine at night that you tend to mysteriously find your hand in the cookie jar, not just after you’ve...
There is a common piece of advice among hardy outdoor types that it’s much easier to stay warm than to get warm. If you’re stepping out into the freezing cold, they say, you’re far better off putting on a coat before opening the door than wrapping up ten minutes...
People who have the gift of being able to write a persuasive proposal tend to go a long way, regardless of whether they’re in sales or the Civil Service. Yet far from being a dark art, the skill of effective proposal writing is something you can learn. And there's one...
If you're ever feeling down about what you've achieved in life, this surprising fact might cheer you up. You managed to rewire your own brain before you were ten years old. There – feel better now? You should. Mozart may have composed his first symphony when he was...