This sales blog helps you to be reflective about your learning to sell. This means that blog posts MUST NOT be a descriptive account of what you did but an opportunity to: share useful resources, tips with your peers on what works for sales; how and why you did what you did; what you now think about what you did; what ONGOING ITERATIONS you as an Individual need to make when securing YOURS AND YOUR TEAM goals and how YOUR TEAM has changed its assumptions. Make sure you evidence all your claims.
Toulouse Business School, Barcelona
Friday 27 February 2015
Thursday 26 February 2015
Monday 23 February 2015
Negotiation Roles
The negotiation exercises we did in class showed me how hard it really is to engage into a business negotiation that will benefit both parties. For the first exercise I was a seller and thought that it was going to be quite easy to negotiate with the buyers, and at first it was. I believe that in a group there is always one person that is more reasonable and one member who is unreasonable, and in my case one member of the buyers side was unreasonable and would fall under the category of a "bully" in the strategy table. Overall we eventually came into an agreement, but it could have been a lot quicker if the two most predominant negotiators would have kept negotiating, in the way we were. I believe that I fell into the category where I was not a bully, but I was not giving in to the demands of the buyer.
For the second exercise, I played the role of the observer and it was completely different from that perspective than being on the negotiation side. The group I was observing played the seller role and believed that the buyers were going to give into their demands right away. This gave them the confidence to go in and lay down what they were going to offer. When the negotiation began both parties were not budging on the price and did not come to an agreement. The sellers were very open to what the buyers would say and even offered to take over their marketing campaign, but it wasn't a good enough deal for either parties.
One thing that I learned from both exercises was that you do not always have to come to an agreement with someone. Also going in with a set game plan doesn't always mean you will come out with what you want. Overall, it was a cool exercise and it made me understand how difficult people could actually be when it comes to negotiation.
Monday 16 February 2015
Hi everyone!
Well what I thought of doing about this post is to relate most of the activities we've done so far in the course.
Since we started with all the Fabulyzer project, it was a challenge to approach random people and between interviews and knowing them get to the point where we needed them to be. When I first heard about the idea of the activity I thought that it was going to be easy, but when you face people and the way they turn the conversations makes you feel like you have to be prepared for everything. In some way we started the negotiation the minute we met them. We negotiated information, personal information about them.
However, when we did the class activities of the Open/Close stores and the one we had to set a price and discuss the conditions, both of them were really interesting to see which was our first thought about negotiation. Most of us chose price, but what was interesting was to know that we could have negotiated the terms and conditions about time and sizes for the order. Also when we met with the other part try to make the best for both and not losing much. Realizing that sometimes the other part doesn't respect the agreement, and you have to be prepared for that too.
What I take from all this is to work in groups and get to a conclusion that you don't really know what can happen but you can be prepared and make the best of it.
Sunday 15 February 2015
interesting article
Hey everyone,
I read a very interesting article about processes in our brains when we exercise:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3025957/work-smart/what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier?utm_content=bufferb4b12&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer
I read a very interesting article about processes in our brains when we exercise:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3025957/work-smart/what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier?utm_content=bufferb4b12&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Reflection - Julia Sitz
Hey
everyone,
i
want to share my impressions with you.
In
my opinion, we learnt many
different aspects by the individual work in this course. The most
important point is to listen carefully. When we started our project
and had the task to interview some customers, I immediately started
to ask questions to complete the profiles. It was not because I
wanted to finish very fast, but because I had the next question in my
mind and did not want to loose the thread.
Because of this I
forgot to listen carefully. Many people are not really sure about
their insights. During an interview, they try to give a good answer.
In my opinion, this is often not the real insight. They tell me the
consequence of their insights/needs without being aware of the real
insights. These can be included in a normal statement: “The kids
are not good in school at the moment”. Moreover, I have to be
careful that I do not interpret the answer the way I would like to
hear it. If someone knows, what I want to achieve, it could happen
that I have an influence on their answer. Therefore I changed the way
of interviewing. I tried to react spontaneous and asked more
open-ended
questions.
|
In
order to be able to be spontaneous I have to know my objectives.
Because of that I can listen in an active way. Moreover, it is
helpful to repeat the answers. This has some benefits:
- I can see, if I understood everything
- The interviewee can think about his/her answer and can add or change something
- The interviewee gets the feeling that I understand him/her and that could create empathy
I
try to keep everything in mind and to listen carefully. It is
important that the interviewee feels comfortable and likes to talk
about his/her insights.
Thursday 12 February 2015
Hey Guys!
Check this article, "Science says Fit Bit is a joke" AKA Science help Fabulyzer to become a substitute of Fit Bit wearables, another argument of sales.
Bests,
Daniel
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/02/science-fitbit-fuelband-fitness-trackers-cellphone-health?utm_content=buffer53bdb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Wednesday 11 February 2015
Monday 9 February 2015
Very interesting article
Hello every one!
I read this interesting article in Times about the new phenomena of data mining and the tracking band trend.
The author explains how the fury of "tracking" has reached us all in such a short period of time and how it can not only affect us, but also the medical and health sector in a good way.
He comes up with some good arguments which we could use for our interviews with potential customers:
"You get better, more regular data, and it’s harder for you to fudge it to make yourself feel better. That also means the information is easily shareable with doctors."
"Health professionals are finding that simply tracking an activity can encourage people to do more of it."
"Data tracking could make it a lot easier for someone who is, for example, trying to manage a weight problem–especially if the data could be automatically uploaded to a doctor’s office."
I hope you enjoy the read and it can help you with your interviews!!
http://time.com/3584218/fitbit-apple-watch-wearable-tracking-tech/
I read this interesting article in Times about the new phenomena of data mining and the tracking band trend.
The author explains how the fury of "tracking" has reached us all in such a short period of time and how it can not only affect us, but also the medical and health sector in a good way.
He comes up with some good arguments which we could use for our interviews with potential customers:
"You get better, more regular data, and it’s harder for you to fudge it to make yourself feel better. That also means the information is easily shareable with doctors."
"Health professionals are finding that simply tracking an activity can encourage people to do more of it."
"Data tracking could make it a lot easier for someone who is, for example, trying to manage a weight problem–especially if the data could be automatically uploaded to a doctor’s office."
I hope you enjoy the read and it can help you with your interviews!!
http://time.com/3584218/fitbit-apple-watch-wearable-tracking-tech/
Sunday 8 February 2015
Video Learning in Action- Selling for Real: In Class Test
Victor
|
Steve
|
Daniel
|
Above you have the 3 test-sales meetings and the negotiators Daniel, Steve and Victor from Group 1.
You should all attempt a test run before the main event but not until you have prepared and planned your negotiation as you did for the G-Technica simulation. Use a planning sheet like we did in class.
Before you test your sales-meeting technique, therefore, you must make sure that as individuals, you:
- have completed or are continuing to complete your 12 discovery interviews,
- have narrowed down buyer personas and archetypes,
- targeted key values and pain points for which the person you are selling to is amenable to considering Fabulyzer as a solution.
Friday 6 February 2015
Reflection - Negotiations
It has been quite a challenge to sell Fabulyzer to some people and then negotiate with them, but at least I have learned a few things while doing so. Firstly, I've learned active listening makes a big difference when negotiating. I say this because on my first interviews I was constantly thinking of which question I was going to ask next, instead of paying attention to my "potential customer". Because I was so worried about the questions, there was complete detachment between the customer's feelings (emotions) and myself. Finally, it got to a point that even my interviewee was asking what the next questions were going to be. It was obvious that something needed to change. This is when I changed my strategy and decided to reiterate to my customer what he/she had said in order to listen closely to what was being said. So if my customer said something like, "I exercise because I want to feel more active", I would now reply, "wanting to be more active is a great motivation, how do you keep track of how active you are?". By repeating what they said, I was placing myself on their shoes and that creates empathy. In terms of my negotiating style, I am more of an accommodating style because instead of being more assertive, I tend to be more timid during the negotiation process. Being calm and patient was useful when talking to people who had time in their hands, but not practical when people were in a hurry. So I need to be more assertive in order to reach a Negotiator style. Any ideas?
Another Cool Report on Buyer Types
Hi All
Another really great report on Buyer Types, their motivations , etc in the general Consumer Market Space...
Your team's challenge is to focus on developing and presenting archetypes for Fabulyzer's Health & Wellbeing Consumer Market Space!
Another really great report on Buyer Types, their motivations , etc in the general Consumer Market Space...
Your team's challenge is to focus on developing and presenting archetypes for Fabulyzer's Health & Wellbeing Consumer Market Space!
Wolf Of Wall Street: Ideas for Your Sales Negotiation (not Customer Discovery) Meeting
Hi All
As you prepare for your actual sales negotiation (not customer discovery) meeting with real-world buyers, who you are asking to sign a contract agreement, pay attention to the hints regarding negation sales style from the Wolf Of All Street.
Please be critical and discerning about which aspects you like and will use and those that you are not comfortable with. e.g. some of the Wolf's pressure tactics are not consistent with Fabulyzer's values. Yet, some tips in the pressure sections, that are not necessary part of pressurising your target, might be valuable to your sale. Good luck and enjoy
Ed
As you prepare for your actual sales negotiation (not customer discovery) meeting with real-world buyers, who you are asking to sign a contract agreement, pay attention to the hints regarding negation sales style from the Wolf Of All Street.
Please be critical and discerning about which aspects you like and will use and those that you are not comfortable with. e.g. some of the Wolf's pressure tactics are not consistent with Fabulyzer's values. Yet, some tips in the pressure sections, that are not necessary part of pressurising your target, might be valuable to your sale. Good luck and enjoy
Ed
Short Feedback: NEGOTIATE DON'T BARGAIN
Good morning All
This week I've had the pleasure of observing Groups 1 & 2 in action with the G-Technica simulation. A quick reflection from me for all the teams that took part in the exercise: very few of you were able to NEGOTIATE through the exercise. In the main you are still operating in bargaining mode.
So these 2 satirical videos give you examples of BARGAINING (which is what you do not want to do).
1. The first demonstrates situations where you or your customer might find yourselves 'pushing the envelope' by bargaining and
2. The second the concept of 'be a man' in sales bargaining. Neither comedian is looking at negotiation- both are speaking about bargaining.
As I say, you want to develop yourselves and test out your abilities as negotiators, against your tendency to bargain, even in your customer discovery interviews. Looking forward to Group 3 demonstrating their NEGOTIATION abilities next week
So these 2 satirical videos give you examples of BARGAINING (which is what you do not want to do).
1. The first demonstrates situations where you or your customer might find yourselves 'pushing the envelope' by bargaining and
2. The second the concept of 'be a man' in sales bargaining. Neither comedian is looking at negotiation- both are speaking about bargaining.
As I say, you want to develop yourselves and test out your abilities as negotiators, against your tendency to bargain, even in your customer discovery interviews. Looking forward to Group 3 demonstrating their NEGOTIATION abilities next week
|
|
|
Negotiations task reflection: The Observer
Our second negotiations task was similar to the first where two pairs are given individual case studies regarding the same negotiation and they need to come to an agreement of who buys what for what price.
Previously I was a buyer and there were many complications in the process.Therefore as the observer it was very interesting to examine the behaviours of the pair I was assigned to in order to detect any disruption to the original negotiation tactics.
Firstly I noted down the discussion my pair were having after have read the case. They were talking about what they want out of the negotiation and the way in which they would go about it. I also took down how they thought the other pair would react in order to be prepared for any style. Both the individuals wanted a win-win situation if it could be possible and didn't talk about using sneaky tactics.
Throughout the duration of the real negotiation I found it difficult not to intervene or contribute as of course I was on my pair's side and wanted them to win. It was interesting to see the negotiation start off with a calm introduction and a small conversation before prices were being discussed which definitely set the tone of the whole session.
The pair's predictions of the opponent's tactics were entirely wrong (they thought they would be sneaky, instead, the opponents behaved the same way they did) therefore making the operation easier for everyone. As said in the private discussion they mad clear that they would stick to their aim and to their ideal price per unit as close as possible and this goal was achieved.
Without aggression or hard negotiation tactics the end result benefited both sides.
Overall as the role of the observer I found it most interesting to see if there were any differences between the private talk to when everything was on the table in the negotiation. For many the real thing can be flipped upside down and be a completely unexpected conversation however in this instance it was very close to the original plan.
Previously I was a buyer and there were many complications in the process.Therefore as the observer it was very interesting to examine the behaviours of the pair I was assigned to in order to detect any disruption to the original negotiation tactics.
Firstly I noted down the discussion my pair were having after have read the case. They were talking about what they want out of the negotiation and the way in which they would go about it. I also took down how they thought the other pair would react in order to be prepared for any style. Both the individuals wanted a win-win situation if it could be possible and didn't talk about using sneaky tactics.
Throughout the duration of the real negotiation I found it difficult not to intervene or contribute as of course I was on my pair's side and wanted them to win. It was interesting to see the negotiation start off with a calm introduction and a small conversation before prices were being discussed which definitely set the tone of the whole session.
The pair's predictions of the opponent's tactics were entirely wrong (they thought they would be sneaky, instead, the opponents behaved the same way they did) therefore making the operation easier for everyone. As said in the private discussion they mad clear that they would stick to their aim and to their ideal price per unit as close as possible and this goal was achieved.
Without aggression or hard negotiation tactics the end result benefited both sides.
Overall as the role of the observer I found it most interesting to see if there were any differences between the private talk to when everything was on the table in the negotiation. For many the real thing can be flipped upside down and be a completely unexpected conversation however in this instance it was very close to the original plan.
Thursday 5 February 2015
Buyer Personas and Value Statements
After designing our improved discovery questions and each carrying out 10 interviews, we used real-life quotes and our findings to create the customer persona table. From our results we found that the three most common pains were lack of time, lack of resources and lack of knowledge. The most common motivators were being image conscious, worrying about health and enjoyment factors. The three key requirements we found were time management, improved knowledge and maintaining a balanced lifestyle. The value statements in the table below show how all of these link with with our 6 buyer personas.
Team JEEP
Jessica, Emma, Emily, Phoebe
New Discoveries
Hi guys team JEEP here!
Whilst doing some extra research on Fabulyzer we came across this captivating video about the ins and outs of Fabulyzer and we couldn't help but share it with you! As well as telling us where the initial idea came from it also gives an in depth explanation of the technological elements and the product innovation. The video gives a further insight into the product, allowing us to enhance our knowledge and thus the tasks on the horizon.
Hope you find this as useful as we did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UKYCn3agZI
Kind Regards,
Team Jeep (Jess, Emily, Emma Phoebe)
Whilst doing some extra research on Fabulyzer we came across this captivating video about the ins and outs of Fabulyzer and we couldn't help but share it with you! As well as telling us where the initial idea came from it also gives an in depth explanation of the technological elements and the product innovation. The video gives a further insight into the product, allowing us to enhance our knowledge and thus the tasks on the horizon.
Hope you find this as useful as we did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UKYCn3agZI
Kind Regards,
Team Jeep (Jess, Emily, Emma Phoebe)
Looking for some ideas of places to perform your interviews and how to do it?
Every week many Afterwork events take place in Barcelona. People with an international background coming there to meet people and maybe learn about you, learn about you or about Fabulyzer.
Check out the following links:
how-to-talk-to-anyone-at-a-networking-event (How to approach people at a networking event)
Afterworks Barcelona (Afterwork events in Barcelona)
Bests,
Daniel
Wednesday 4 February 2015
What Negotiator Style Do I have?
Hi All
Some things to help you reflect on your behaviour as negotiators in your class exercises AND real world assignments. Enjoy and start sharing your thoughts about your style
Some things to help you reflect on your behaviour as negotiators in your class exercises AND real world assignments. Enjoy and start sharing your thoughts about your style
Video about the right way to formulate questions (closed questions to open questions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D4oFUrbZLY
Tuesday 3 February 2015
Question Set - Team LetsBreathe
Hey everyone,
Here's the questions that we estimated were important in defining the needs and pains and get a deeper understanding about the customers.
They are divided into two different parts. One being the basic questions that allow you to get an idea about the customer and the other being the questions that deepen your knowledge about the individual you are talking to.
Basic Questions:
1. Male/Female
2. Age
3. Profession
4. Nationality
5.Where do you live? (Sometimes gives an estimation about the salary)
6. What do you do during your free time?
7. Do you practice any sport? (Here we get to the topic)
Deeper Questions:
8. where do you practice sport? (Indoor, outdoor (City, Mountain))
9. How much do you practice sport?
10. Is Sport Important for you? Scale 1-10
11. Is having a Healthy Life important for you? Scale 1-10
12. Do you have any Health Problems?
13. Do you care about your fat?
14. Do you use any device
15. How much money do you spend per month on sport activities?
16. Do you think you need assistance in doing sport? (trainer, etc…)
17. do you find it difficult to estimate the exercise that fits you best?
18. What are your goals when you do exercise?
19. How do you measure the progress?
20. What is the typical meal that you eat on a regular day?
21. Do you count calories?
22. Do you take proteins?
23. How frequently do you eat junk food? Is that relevant for you?
24. Would you be interested in knowing your fat consumption? (If yes, get to the fabulyzer)
Thanks for giving us your feedback.
Team Let'sBreathe
Here's the questions that we estimated were important in defining the needs and pains and get a deeper understanding about the customers.
They are divided into two different parts. One being the basic questions that allow you to get an idea about the customer and the other being the questions that deepen your knowledge about the individual you are talking to.
Basic Questions:
1. Male/Female
2. Age
3. Profession
4. Nationality
5.Where do you live? (Sometimes gives an estimation about the salary)
6. What do you do during your free time?
7. Do you practice any sport? (Here we get to the topic)
Deeper Questions:
8. where do you practice sport? (Indoor, outdoor (City, Mountain))
9. How much do you practice sport?
10. Is Sport Important for you? Scale 1-10
11. Is having a Healthy Life important for you? Scale 1-10
12. Do you have any Health Problems?
13. Do you care about your fat?
14. Do you use any device
15. How much money do you spend per month on sport activities?
16. Do you think you need assistance in doing sport? (trainer, etc…)
17. do you find it difficult to estimate the exercise that fits you best?
18. What are your goals when you do exercise?
19. How do you measure the progress?
20. What is the typical meal that you eat on a regular day?
21. Do you count calories?
22. Do you take proteins?
23. How frequently do you eat junk food? Is that relevant for you?
24. Would you be interested in knowing your fat consumption? (If yes, get to the fabulyzer)
Thanks for giving us your feedback.
Team Let'sBreathe
Why You Must Always Use A Contract And How To Write One
This video could be helpfull for the next task
Monday 2 February 2015
Using gifted tools
Hey Guys!
While watching the video about Customer Archetypes i thought about what he said on using Social media to find Potential customers or at least be able to engage a conversation with people interested on the subject.
Linked in, facebook and more specifically twitter are platforms where you can just leave a subject there and wait for the comments to do the work for you, it can sound silly but people hidden behind a computer are very likely to be honest and critical, exactly what we need!!
The challenge here is to target the proper group of users and create polemic while giving them an incentive to comment, but also to identify the relevant info that would help us either in our buyer personas identification or by giving feedback over the product.
I will start my search and test this during the week, i'll keep in touch to report the results.
Bests,
Daniel
While watching the video about Customer Archetypes i thought about what he said on using Social media to find Potential customers or at least be able to engage a conversation with people interested on the subject.
Linked in, facebook and more specifically twitter are platforms where you can just leave a subject there and wait for the comments to do the work for you, it can sound silly but people hidden behind a computer are very likely to be honest and critical, exactly what we need!!
The challenge here is to target the proper group of users and create polemic while giving them an incentive to comment, but also to identify the relevant info that would help us either in our buyer personas identification or by giving feedback over the product.
I will start my search and test this during the week, i'll keep in touch to report the results.
Bests,
Daniel
Sunday 1 February 2015
7 Keys to Leading Highly Effective Sales Conversations
Hi everyone,
I found this article today, and I think it perfectly covers our matter on how to approach people we don't know in order to get informations / sell something.
It might interest you !!
See you guys on Wednesday !
I found this article today, and I think it perfectly covers our matter on how to approach people we don't know in order to get informations / sell something.
It might interest you !!
7 Keys to Leading Highly Effective Sales Conversation
http://www.raintoday.com/blog/7-keys-to-leading-highly-effective-sales-conversations/See you guys on Wednesday !
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