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Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.
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Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
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Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
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UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
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Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
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Opinion Articles

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Selling your way out of a recession? Of course you can!

Iain Graham writes:

Everybody these days (apart from a lucky few!) is suffering from a lack of business or reduced sales due to the current 'downturn in the economic climate'. In my opinion, this is the time when sales people should stand up and be counted!

No, I don't mean the hard nosed, foot in the door double-glazing, second-hand car or mobile phone types (no offence!), I mean EVERYONE!  Selling is a concept as much as it is a profession.

Let me explain what I mean with an example. I used to run a half day seminar for employees who had joined the company as customer care advisors. This was part of their induction into the organisation. At the start of the morning, I would pose this question to the twenty or so smiling upturned faces - "Who in this room considers themselves to be a salesperson?" Reactions varied from quiet thoughtfulness (probably asleep) to outright horror normally reserved for realising that a close friend was in fact the local flasher that the police were looking for!

The answer that I was hoping for but never got was "We All Are!!"  For that I believe is the truth! We are also natural at it!  More horror!  It is NOT all about having the 'gift of the gab', using leading questions, knowing the 'seven phases of the sales cycle', understanding the difference between an Alternative close and a Churchill close etc.

Sure these are all tried and tested methods or tricks that are employed, with varying degrees of success, by some individuals. I am talking about our ability as human beings to empathise with our customers or potential customers. The customer service department is often the first point of contact anybody has with your company. That first thirty seconds of contact may well be the deciding factor on whether the customer chooses to do business with you or, indeed, continues to do business with you.

Take your car to a garage for a service or repair. Reception is busy, but a mechanic helps out with your query. If he gives a sharp intake of breath (always an expensive sign), exclaims "Who the h*** fitted/sold this?" and generally knocks the competition, move on sharply!

If he listens attentively to the problem, explains clearly the suggested solution and how his garage is qualified to solve the problem, you can leave your car in his hands with confidence and you will probably go back again and again!  The second mechanic has 'sold' his company to you, and he probably doesn't even know it. If asked he would say he was just doing his job!

That is selling - so, in this climate, make ALL the people in your organisation 'salespeople'.

You never know, they may even start to like it and might even admit to it!!

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