The Shift Control Sales Podcast

The Law of The Instrument is a cognitive bias based on - "if you only have a hammer, then everything is a nail."

For years in sales all I had was features, benefits and questions - and not always the right kind of questions either.

Today organisations and customers expect more from their sales contacts - much more. Features and benefits, whilst having some importance are irrelevant if the seller is unable to build rapport with the buyer.

Asking questions brings 'interrogation' to mind. And by all accounts that type of thing is unpleasant.

In this podcast I talk about the importance of 'curiosity' and understanding "the picture in the other persons head."

And an entry discussion to emotional intelligence...

Thanks for reading and for listening.

Excuse the rant about Johnny Depp, Heard, The Jubilee and the rising cost of living as the lead into a discussion on the effective use of technology in a sales environment and the basics requirements for effective sales.

Many businesses that we work with use technology sparingly across their business development efforts - others try anything once, retaining what's effective.

We try and get sales teams to think about getting the customer offline as soon as possible and into a 1-2-1 engagement.

For business to business sales the human interaction is as important now as it ever was. Foolish to predict the future but if technology has a place in your sales operation it needs to be imbedded into a foundation that includes the very basic sales principles and processes.

Kevin Young is a practitioner and counsellor in Compassionate Inquiry. Based in Northern Ireland, Kevin works closely with Dr Gabor Maté and works with teams and individuals throughout the world.

He has a lifetime experience working in sales and sales management, working for corporates as well as being self-employed - he now coaches, offers counselling and mentoring as well as undertaking the important roles of husband and father as well as being a musician.

We talk about the major challenge facing business of any size - recruitment and retention, which predictably takes us into the world of cultural transformation and perhaps unpredictably the world of emotional wellbeing.

Days off work due to emotional stress and mental health causes the Uk economy £70 Billion a year - it's an unavoidable discussion.

Kevin can be found art www.in-mynd.com.

He's also hosting a retreat at the end of June in Strangford - amazing location, incredible venue and just the kind of content your mind and body needs, even if you don't know it.

I first spotted Callum on Linkedin where he publishes recorded content of his sales calls. I know some people that will not listen to their calls in private. Callum publishes them warts and all etc...critiquing the good and the bad.

He generates business for companies across a variety of industry sectors and types and the way he talks about his work you can see where the value is and why he is successful at what he does.

A great example of Blue Ocean business strategy - operating in a space where there is less clutter and if you are good and are prepared to put the work in then the rewards are great.

Callum gives some brilliant tips for people whose job it is to sell on the phone but he also endorses the channel to those people who think that telephone sales / marketing has lost its place in business development

I first spotted Callum on Linkedin where he publishes recorded content of his sales calls. I know some people that will not listen to their calls in private. Callum publishes them warts and all etc...critiquing the good and the bad.

He generates business for companies across a variety of industry sectors and types and the way he talks about his work you can see where the value is and why he is successful at what he does.

A great example of Blue Ocean business strategy - operating in a space where there is less clutter and if you are good and are prepared to put the work in then the rewards are great.

Callum gives some brilliant tips for people whose job it is to sell on the phone but he also endorses the channel to those people who think that telephone sales / marketing has lost its place in business development

This is the first Shift Control podcast of 2022 - also available on YouTube, featuring Gregory Bradley from BLK BOX, the Belfast based fitness equipment manufacturer. Celebrating 10 years in business, the company has grown into a genuine market leader and is considered to be one of the exemplar Irish manufacturing companies.

In the week that the podcast was recorded they had just finished an install for Manchester United and whilst they work alongside many of the global sporting brands in GAA, Rugby, soccer and myriad other sports, they are fast becoming the provider of choice for individuals, gyms and amateur sports teams.

Gregory talks about how the company transitioned into an e-commerce business at the beginning of the pandemic and how they work towards delivering the very highest standards of customer service.

As the business as grown they have moved premises and at their North Belfast facility, they have taken much of the production process internally, giving them much greater control one how they run their business.

Gregory talks about the importance of culture within BLK BOX and mentions the 'non-negotiables,' the expected behaviours of the staff and the current recruitment and retention challenges they face along with the rest of the manufacturing sector in the North.

He demands very high standards from himself and posits the notion that he does not ask anything from his staff that he would not expect from himself.

Greg was on the SHIFT CONTROL podcast 6 years ago and it is interesting to watch his personal development as well as the development and growth of his business.

I genuinely hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much I enjoyed recording it.

Hard to explain how hard it was for me to record and then publish this podcast - operating very much outside the comfort zone but I think that Greg's contribution is immense and has made all the anxiety worth while.

I hope you enjoy.

NOTES FROM THE EPISODE:

BLK BOX Website, www.blkboxfitness.com

Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/blkboxfitness/

Recommended by Gregory: Dan Sullivan, https://www.strategiccoach.com/

Recommended by Paul: The 5 Dysfunctions of a team, Paul Lencioni

A little while ago I had an interest in parts marketing, working with a couple of GAA teams. In the course of that work, I met with Enda Lynch who at the time was Head of Sponsorship at 02, when they were lead sponsor at IRFU as well as having naming rights at The Point / 02 music venue in Dublin.

Shortly after, Enda moved to Thomond Park, home of Munster Rugby, working with one of the leading names in club rugby, nationally and internationally.

In this podcast we get insights from both sides of the sponsorship wall - the brand investing big in sport and entertainment and as a leading sporting property in search for commercial partnerships.

A consulate professional and a go-to on sports marketing, Enda makes for a very interesting guest and delivers some sound advice for those people interested in sport and sponsorship.

Thanks for listening.

Paul

Much is made of the comparison between high performance sport and high performance sales - way too many sports books to mention that offer some excellent examples of people performing at the highest levels and the lessons those teams and managers can offer business.

It's an honour to have Enda McNulty guest on the show as someone who achieved sporting success at the highest level with Armagh winning the 2002 All Ireland and 7 Ulster titles in a career spanning 15 years or so.

Following on from his on-field success, Enda created McNulty Performance a consultancy specialising in moulding and crafting high performance teams and individuals in both sport and business - working with the IRFU, Google, Amazon, LinkedIn to name but a few of a roster of clients the envy of any consultancy practice.

In this episode he shares some valuable insights into the world of high performance - the importance of getting the right culture set up in your team.

He's very smart, knowledgeable and has some particularly valuable insights into what makes a winning team.

A very enjoyable episode to record for me and I hope you get the same enjoyment listening to it.

For more information on Enda and his business McNulty Performance visit www.mcnultyperformance.com

Delighted to have Declan Coyle on this weeks podcast. Declan is a leadership, development and transformational coach who has worked with some of the most successful teams in GAA as well as helping out John Calipari of the University of Kentucky in 2012 on their way to a championship victory.

This podcast moves from left to right, north to south and up and down - I was thinking about taking an edit to parts of it but that might take away from Declan's flow.

The Green Platform methodology, was founded by Declan and is designed to help you identify and implement more positive choices in your personal, business or sporting life.

I got to find out the difference between emotions and feelings and to recognise that there is a split second between that 'feeling' and your 'reaction' wherein you can make better life choices.

It's not easy, but it works.

I hope you enjoy the podcast.

Delighted to have Declan Coyle on this weeks podcast. Declan is a leadership, development and transformational coach who has worked with some of the most successful teams in GAA as well as helping out John Calipari of the University of Kentucky in 2012 on their way to a championship victory.

This podcast moves from left to right, north to south and up and down - I was thinking about taking an edit to parts of it but that might take away from Declan's flow.

The Green Platform methodology, was founded by Declan and is designed to help you identify and implement more positive choices in your personal, business or sporting life.

I got to find out the difference between emotions and feelings and to recognise that there is a split second between that 'feeling' and your 'reaction' wherein you can make better life choices.

It's not easy, but it works.

I hope you enjoy the podcast.