The Art of Selling

Being in a sales role for a large nationwide wholesaler, I can think of a few things that allowed me to get this job, plenty of work experience, hard work and a never give up attitude.  My degree however taught me very little about the world of Sales and the skills required to sell and negotiate with customers.

The number of subjects you can study at University is endless from golf studies to David Beckham studies, whether these subjects are entirely relevant to your career paths never seems to be an issue. Sales is something that is naturally occurring within our daily lives, but many of us don't know truly understand how to handle put this in to practice in the workplace.

Natural Selling: Sales is one where we are involved in everyday life, but many of us just don't realise it

With many businesses under extraordinary pressure to deliver results and increase margins, sales technique is something that should be preached within all organisations. New business and business development is a highly crucial element in this volatile climate. Having a highly trained sales force plays to many strengths and also an opportunity to increase professionalism.

Then there is the theory of sales, is it something that can be taught? Everyone has a different sales technique depending on the product and the market you are selling in. There may not be one clear defined rule when persuading someone to buy something off you. This could be one of the reasons for the lack of content related to the art of sales & negotiating within my degree course.

The sales field is becoming increasingly complex, the switch from a more hard selling approach to a process of building and maintaining business relationships has become a household name in many organisations. With this change within the business environment it is more evident that soon to be graduates need to be taught how to sell and work within a sales environment.

The question then, does the art of selling fit well within the classroom? It is believed by those in the industry that sales requires practice and real life experiences to be successful. The theory behind however it is some thing that can be taught through workshops and sales training, I believe that if  these elements were included in the course content of a management degree they would complement many other modules such as entrepreneurship giving every graduate the foundations for their future career path.

The not so amazing deal that we think we are getting.

Imagine the situation, your looking for an easy lunch-time snack on the run and you have just popped into your local supermarket looking for something quick to eat. You fancy a meal deal, you pick up 'what you think' are the inclusive items in the deal, but when you get to the checkout you are sometimes stung over how much you are paying for your meal deal, as it was wrongly assigned on the shelf. 

As we become more money rich and time poor ready to eat foods have become an increasing convenience in our household diet and we are prepared to pay through the nose because it is there, ready  now.

The Not so Amazing Deal: Supermarkets tend to charge higher prices for multi-buy items when they would work out cheaper separately. Whose to Blame?

As well as being stung, in a recent report, the Office for Fair Trading suggests that 'misleading advertising of prices, however, may lead to consumers spending more than they need to... but buying a product which is not the best for them may add to wastage of time or suffering annoyance, disappointment or regret that you bought that item in the first place.

On the other-side of the coin should the consumer be to blame for the supermarkets poor marketing tactics, it is of my opinion that supermarkets often want us to be caught out, buying on deal, often become more expensive when you buy them together rather than separately but because we are too busy to work out the unit cost we fail to recognize this fact. 

Moreover with supermarkets becoming more like department stores, there is an increasing amount of advertising developed to attract consumers to money saving offers, triggering messages such as Special Offer, Double Discount, Reduced Rate, often do more harm than good and we tend often to avoid them in the supermarket. As John Bridgeman, former head of the Office of Fair Trading says "We've got to do much better at giving people the information they need to buy carefully, properly and secure value." 

So there it is, should we do more to know what we are paying for? Or should the supermarkets repeat quality audits on their labeling systems to make sure they are 100% up to date with the offer. 

Are we really ready for the Olympics?

2012 is officially here, with just over 6 months to go until the Olympics London is planning for one of its busiest years. The last time London hosted the Olympics was in 1948, where a total of 59 nations took part. The limelight will be on London from the 27th July 2012 - 12 August with the  Paralympics to be held a month later in the Capital. 

With the main stadium slowly close to completion Britain prepares itself for an influx of over 500,000 tourists in the space of two months. However the question that's on everyone's mind is - Is Britain actually ready to give the world the greatest Olympic experience ever?

Transport?

Remember when Heathrow Terminal 5 first opened? What a chaos, but imagine that on a much larger scale. 1/2 million items of luggage will make it an extremely demanding role for any baggage handler over the Olympic period. Yet alone getting that luggage to and from hotels & apartments at the Olympic park. 

The tube network will be jam packed, the daily commute in and around London will be awash with thousands of extra passengers all frantically trying to get their destinations. It is estimated that an extra 2,000 services will be introduced when the games are on, with an additional 1,500 for the  Paralympics . David Higgins, Chief Executive of Network Rail, said: “Our job during games time is to provide smooth, seamless journeys for spectators travelling to and from Olympic and Paralympic venues, whilst continuing to offer the service which keeps millions of people moving across Britain each day.” 

The road network especially the main arteries to and from the Olympic are chaotic already on a daily basis. I for one know that a single accident on the M25 can cause widespread delays to thousands of commuters within a short space of time. How will authorities be able to manage these delays and more importantly keep traffic moving? 

Security?

Terrorism will be at the forefront of security. The very next day after it was announced that London was to host the Olympic games 7/7 occurred. The threat for terrorism is still strong and we must be more vigilant than ever during the Olympics.    

However an issue that surrounds the subject of security at the games is that our police force is more stretched than ever, budget cuts have forced many bobbies off the beat. Chief Constable, Peter Fahy states  that (police) 'are working well beyond maintainable limits and they cannot sustain this pressure much longer.... the most difficult year in history for the police service'. With the Olympics posing yet more disorder and a potential risk to our national security, there are doubts in peoples minds as to whether we are ready for this and have the available resources to manage. 

Ready for Lift Off: Britain prepares as the world expects. 

Tickets or Lack of them? 

Over 8.8 million tickets went on sale to the British public. In retrospect just under 10% of the entire population of the UK had an opportunity to get hold of tickets for this once in a lifetime event. The lucky dip draw for tickets caused widespread public anger even though it was deemed to be the most fairest way of distributing tickets...But that's a story for another day. 

What is difficult to predict is how many of these tickets will be sold onto corporate organisations for sponsorship deals. There is also increased speculation that tickets could make there way on to the black market which will make it difficult to predict how many tickets will actually fall into real passionate Olympic fans; while the rest of us either watch the games or abandon them completely. 

Hotel Infrastructure?

Hotel's are expected to reach maximum capacity during the games, many of which are charging exceptionally high prices for rooms. London already has some of the most expensive already hotel rooms Europe, sure they are lavish but will they provide the unique experience that tourists will be looking for? Even more so will hotels be able to manage demand from the vast number of tourists expected in the capital. 

There is also the idea of home owners renting out rooms to visitors, Just like the Royal Wedding, thousands of us prepare to rent out our spare rooms for the two period. 

Legacy for the Future?

Building a sustainable legacy was paramount in London getting the games. But with many doubts over what some of the infrastructure will be used for is of great concern to many. Some of the stadiums including the Basketball Arena are to be recycled or sold off. What people don't want to see though is the Olympic Park like many others before them, becoming a White Elephant. 

Youth unemployment is at is highest level for years and the Olympics is the widely seen as the opportunity to give passionate, keen games makers and teenagers the stepping stones to get these skills and move further up in the career ladder. Whether or not the Olympics will be seen like this is a different matter and whether the right jobs will fall to the much needed will only become clearer closer to the time.  

Additionally numerous studies and statistics have been bandished about how the green the games will be. But whether the numbers reflect this will only be apparent only when the games have finished. 

National Mood?

With everything the games will only be the best if the nation embraces the festivities. This will ultimately boil down to the level of interaction with the games. If you were one of the lucky ones who managed to get tickets to the Olympics you will excited about the opportunity of witnessing what one would expect to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Yet, what about the people didn't get tickets or even tried and were unfairly ruled out? Then there will be relative negativity towards the games, expecting hundreds of thousands of tourists turn up in your backyard, will certainly clog up the roads and cause havoc on the tubes.

Whether you like it or not the Olympics are coming to London its part of living an Olympic country, whether we are ready or not.

What do you expect of the London Olympics?