The British Passport - a recent history

Just before Christmas 2017 the UK Government announced that post-Brexit the colour of the British Passport would revert to blue. Why is this so important? To understand fully you probably have to be British. With an increasing ‘overseas’ clientelle we thought we’d try to explain. SB Jan 2018

Post-truth selling

In 2016 politicians made some remarkable ‘sales’: Brexit in the UK and President elect Trump’s successful campaign in the US. What are the implications for 'ordinary' selling? Should we adopt the techniques used by the politicians? Be careful! SB Jan 2017

The 21st Century Alphabet

Simon Cowell annoys me! Every time I sign off a text those smart folk at Samsung tempt me to impersonate the second most annoying Briton after Piers Morgan. So if my phone tries to change my surname, what other persuaders are there influencing our daily life? Does ‘A’ still stand for ‘Apple’ or for ‘Am…? SB Jan 2016

Sales forecasts made simple

Forecasting accurately is tough! Assigning a percentage and using simple arithmetic won’t work. There’s a better way using 4 simple tests and a technique that’s as simple as ABC. Find out more and how the wisdom of crowds can work … sometimes … if you’re careful. SB Jan 2015

Sales & the ethics of Big Data

There’s zettabytes of data available, enough to stretch to the moon and back millions of times if it were in human readable format. Have we learnt how to handle the data safely? Have we managed to turn all that data into wisdom? Sadly not yet and there are few guiding principles we all need to follow if we are to avoid damaging our reputation with customers. SB Jan 2014

Sales & Marketing, Art or Science?

High tech start ups face a challenge as they begin to take their ideas to market. How can they get the market to buy their new product? They face a difficult transition from being R&D-led to becoming a business dependent on sales to fuel future growth. This is an extended version (the original had 7 slides and 38 words) of a seminar delivered to the Harwell Oxford Technology Entrepreneurs Forum. There is also an A4 handout. SB Feb 2013

Sales Ethics

2012 has left an unexpected legacy to Britain - a new ethical climate. As the press, politicians, the police, multinational corporations and the rich come under increased moral scrutiny, how will this affect the way we sell? While the British may be wary of salespeople, a slightly more open approach to usual sales practices such as qualifying out are likely to deliver dividends. (Over 4,000 views on Slideshare) SB Jan 2013

Brand Britain

As we celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, and following a number of brand related projects this presentation reflects on the values of Britain were it a brand. Does Britain rest on past glories, have we evolved our brand values or does the country need a re- brand? Now with updates following Brexit and the Scottish referendum. SB Jun 2012

Some think social media is a whole load of …

…or 6 steps to making social media work for business I first led a project to develop a web site in 1997 - things have moved on a bit since then. The latest turn of the wheel is social media; some see social media as another bubble fit to burst and others see social media as a game changer. My view is: it's all about people, not social media but social media are changing the game So I've put together a simple approach to making social media work for business in a dozen easy to digest slides. SB Jan 2012

Would Nelson have made a good sales director?

…or an alternate analogy to Sun Tsu and the Art of War Military texts have often been used as analogies for sales and selling. One of the most often quoted is the Art of War by Sun Tsu. To quote Wikipedia(!) it "has also become increasingly popular among political leaders and those in business management." With the ascendancy of the Chinese economy ... I wondered if I could find an alternative. There are three basic ingredients to successful sales: People, Process and Proposition …and for a sales director I would add leadership. Here’s my assessment of Nelson's potential as a Sales Director in about 500 words. SB Jan 2011

How customers think

Getting the message right by addressing the buyer’s cognitive sequence Structuring your sales message is important, particularly as social media become more prevalent. Too often the way people deliver their message ignores the thought process of prospects as they take their emotional journey towards making a decision to buy. SB Jan 2010

Possibly the best sales letter ever, certainly the most optimistic!

Certainly one of the most ambitious We received this letter from an executive jet salesman at the height of the onset of the recession when even bankers were feeling poor. You’d think any rational jet salesmen would have sold up, downsized, and flown one-way to the Caribbean while there was still fuel left in his Learjet. An impossible market you’d think? Well yes and no: here’s the best effort in the 2008 Marketing Olympics. We have to admire AlexxHunter’s steadfast approach to marketing. Sadly his list could have been better – we don’t charge the rates which would allow its consultants to use executive jets. SB Jan 2009
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Insights

New Year Broadcasts

Every New Years day we send out a slide deck reflecting our thoughts on selling, technology, branding or some other aspect of business and the world we live in. We used to set this up to arrive at a minute past midnight, but with smartphones we delay delivery until all but truly committed revellers have stopped partying. All are also available on slideshare where some have received thousands of views. If you would like to read something more serious try some of our seminar notes on the events page.

The British Passport - a recent history

Just before Christmas 2017 the UK Government announced that post-Brexit the colour of the British Passport would revert to blue. Why is this so important? To understand fully you probably have to be British. With an increasing ‘overseas’ clientelle we thought we’d try to explain. SB Jan 2018

Post-truth selling

In 2016 politicians made some remarkable ‘sales’: Brexit in the UK and President elect Trump’s successful campaign in the US. What are the implications for 'ordinary' selling? Should we adopt the techniques used by the politicians? Be careful! SB Jan 2017

The 21st Century Alphabet

Simon Cowell annoys me! Every time I sign off a text those smart folk at Samsung tempt me to impersonate the second most annoying Briton after Piers Morgan. So if my phone tries to change my surname, what other persuaders are there influencing our daily life? Does ‘A’ still stand for ‘Apple’ or for ‘Am…? SB Jan 2016

Sales forecasts made simple

Forecasting accurately is tough! Assigning a percentage and using simple arithmetic won’t work. There’s a better way using 4 simple tests and a technique that’s as simple as ABC. Find out more and how the wisdom of crowds can work … sometimes … if you’re careful. SB Jan 2015

Sales & the ethics of Big Data

There’s zettabytes of data available, enough to stretch to the moon and back millions of times if it were in human readable format. Have we learnt how to handle the data safely? Have we managed to turn all that data into wisdom? Sadly not yet and there are few guiding principles we all need to follow if we are to avoid damaging our reputation with customers. SB Jan 2014

Sales & Marketing, Art or Science?

High tech start ups face a challenge as they begin to take their ideas to market. How can they get the market to buy their new product? They face a difficult transition from being R&D-led to becoming a business dependent on sales to fuel future growth. This is an extended version (the original had 7 slides and 38 words) of a seminar delivered to the Harwell Oxford Technology Entrepreneurs Forum. There is also an A4 handout. SB Feb 2013

Sales Ethics

2012 has left an unexpected legacy to Britain - a new ethical climate. As the press, politicians, the police, multinational corporations and the rich come under increased moral scrutiny, how will this affect the way we sell? While the British may be wary of salespeople, a slightly more open approach to usual sales practices such as qualifying out are likely to deliver dividends. (Over 4,000 views on Slideshare) SB Jan 2013

Brand Britain

As we celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, and following a number of brand related projects this presentation reflects on the values of Britain were it a brand. Does Britain rest on past glories, have we evolved our brand values or does the country need a re-brand? Now with updates following Brexit and the Scottish referendum. SB Jun 2012

Some think social media is a whole load of …

…or 6 steps to making social media work for business I first led a project to develop a web site in 1997 - things have moved on a bit since then. The latest turn of the wheel is social media; some see social media as another bubble fit to burst and others see social media as a game changer. My view is: it's all about people, not social media but social media are changing the game So I've put together a simple approach to making social media work for business in a dozen easy to digest slides. SB Jan 2012

Would Nelson have made a good sales director?

…or an alternate analogy to Sun Tsu and the Art of War Military texts have often been used as analogies for sales and selling. One of the most often quoted is the Art of War by Sun Tsu. To quote Wikipedia(!) it "has also become increasingly popular among political leaders and those in business management." With the ascendancy of the Chinese economy ... I wondered if I could find an alternative. There are three basic ingredients to successful sales: People, Process and Proposition …and for a sales director I would add leadership. Here’s my assessment of Nelson's potential as a Sales Director in about 500 words. SB Jan 2011

How customers think

Getting the message right by addressing the buyer’s cognitive sequence Structuring your sales message is important, particularly as social media become more prevalent. Too often the way people deliver their message ignores the thought process of prospects as they take their emotional journey towards making a decision to buy. SB Jan 2010

Possibly the best sales letter ever, certainly the

most optimistic!

Certainly one of the most ambitious We received this letter from an executive jet salesman at the height of the onset of the recession when even bankers were feeling poor. You’d think any rational jet salesmen would have sold up, downsized, and flown one-way to the Caribbean while there was still fuel left in his Learjet. An impossible market you’d think? Well yes and no: here’s the best effort in the 2008 Marketing Olympics. We have to admire AlexxHunter’s steadfast approach to marketing. Sadly his list could have been better – we don’t charge the rates which would allow its consultants to use executive jets. SB Jan 2009

Insights

© S W Breese Contact Policies