Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

When Phil Solomon was working in the pressured world of recruitment, he saw the good, the bad, and the ugly of sales behaviour. But one company he worked for got it so right that it has influenced him throughout his career.

Move on a few years (and a few roles), and Phil is now the regional specialist for international organisation Sales Geek, which delivers sales training, part-time (fractional) Sales Director services, and some training that comes at absolutely no charge.

Catching up with a very busy Phil online recently, we chatted about his business, his membership of the Chamber, and an exciting event waiting in the wings.

No good at selling? Oh, the irony…

One of the observations Phil makes is that many people are, in fact, potentially very effective sellers – they just don’t realise it.

“The number of times” he says, “someone’s sat in front of me and said, ‘I’m no good at selling’, and then they speak to me fluidly and persuasively about their business for ten minutes… they don’t know they’re already selling!”

But Phil also emphasises the importance of listening. “In a sales situation,” he says, “you have to ask yourself, are you just listening for a trigger that enables you to jump in? A lot of sellers do, but what that often does is disrupt the flow of the conversation, and then you risk the prospect losing their thread.”

“It’s far better to hear them out. You’ll learn valuable things about their needs and pain points, and it will serve you better. Selling isn’t about you, it’s always about the customer”

Pushing the emotional buttons

Emotionality is also high on Phil’s list of effective sales techniques. “People buy with emotions,” he explains, “and these can be very powerful: the desire not to be seen to fail by making poor purchasing decisions, for example, or the desire to be seen to have a positive impact on the business and its reputation.”

And this feeds into a wider area of Phil’s professional interest – buyer and seller behaviour. “You have to understand why people buy,” he points out, “but also why they buy what they buy from you and not from somewhere else.”

“Once you know this, you can tap into it to drive more effective and efficient sales conversations.”

Giving back: coming in October

Phil prides himself on the fact that his sales training clients are businesses of all sizes across all sectors.

“The expertise within the Sales Geek network is very extensive,” he says, “so if our clients need specialist, sector-specific sales advice, we can always tap into that wealth of knowledge.”

But Phil’s also proud to give a helping hand to local businesses with no cost involved, via the Sales Club. These are free sales training events, with each one focused on a sales topic that is announced in advance.

These sessions provide useful and helpful sales content to organisations that aren’t yet in a position to become a paying Sales Geek client.

Phil’s next event in Bedfordshire is being run in conjunction with us here at Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce in October. More details will follow, so watch this space!

Beds Chamber – the place to be

A recent Chamber joiner, Phil says he was impressed from the very start. “The first Chamber networking event I attended, I looked around the room and said to myself: this is where I need to be. There was such a mix of people and organisations, and everybody was totally engaged.”

“That’s perfect for me.”

For more information on how to join Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, visit www.chamber-business.com, or call our friendly team on 01582 522448.