Tea and Timbits
Global perspectives on business development to help you prosper.
"Business Development" is so much more than sales and marketing. This podcast is for motivated business leaders dealing with complexity, wanting to make changes happen. Brought to you weekly by Andy Baqone and Scott Snowden, you'll get validation that you're on the right track and you'll come away with new ideas to accelerate your plans. From the rocky shores of Lake Ontario and the dreary streets of London, this transatlantic duo opine about the things they wish they'd known long ago - most of which they've just figured out.
Your client logos aren't case studies. Sorry.
We've all seen them. A wall of impressive logos, a few glowing claims, and perhaps a suspiciously round percentage improvement. But does any of that actually build trust? In our latest episode, we're talking about how case studies can become genuine business development tools rather than exp...
BONUS: Due Diligence: How Much Is Enough?
We’re back with a bonus episode on negotiations, because apparently four weeks of talking about contracts, deals, and difficult decisions just wasn’t enough. This time, we’re tackling due diligence. How much homework should you really do before signing on the dotted line? And at what point does bein...
Negotiation Tools: Because “I Thought We Agreed…” Is Not a Strategy
“Just sign the contract. It’ll be fine.”Possibly one of the least reassuring sentences in business.In this week’s Tea and Timbits, we’re talking about negotiation tools — and not the kind that require another software subscription, three dashboards and a consultant to explain the dashboard.We mean t...
The Negotiation Playbook: Prepare the Plays, Don’t Script the Customer
Negotiations have an annoying habit of refusing to follow the script. In this episode, we look at why a negotiation playbook isn’t about memorising clever lines or predicting every possible objection. It’s about doing the thinking before the pressure is on. We dig into setting principles and walk-aw...
Don’t Let the Contract Kill the Deal
A deal can survive months of selling, negotiating and relationship-building… only to wander into legal and emerge looking like it’s been through customs twice. In our latest episode, we talk about contract reviews and one of the biggest mistakes we see: treating the legal stage as a handoff. It isn’...
Negotiation Without the Arm-Wrestling: Why Collaboration Wins
Negotiation has a bit of a reputation. It can sound like two sides digging in, guarding their territory, and waiting to see who blinks first. In this episode, we talk about why the best negotiations rarely feel like that. We explore the difference between collaboration and negotiation, why the two s...
Stop Buying Tools. Fix Your Sales Process First.
This week, we’re talking proposal tools… although, in classic Tea & Timbits fashion, we spend a fair chunk of the episode explaining why the shiny tools probably aren’t the first thing you need. We start with a reminder that good sales often comes back to the basics: a defined process, clear next st...
Proposal Formats: Give the Buyer What They Need (Not Just What They Asked For)
Proposal templates are useful. Until they aren’t. In this episode, we talk about one of those deceptively simple sales questions: what format should a proposal actually take? A polished PDF? A PowerPoint? A response inside the buyer’s RFP template? A simple statement of work? A video? A one-page web...
RFPs: Win It, Reshape It, or Walk Away
RFP arrives. Cue excitement. Then, occasionally, several days of frantic proposal writing followed by the dawning realisation that perhaps we should have asked a few questions first. In this week’s episode, we talk about the three broad choices we think businesses have when an RFP lands: Try to win ...
Proof Before Promises: Building Proposals That Make “Yes” Easier
Most proposals explain the solution. The best proposals prove the decision. In our latest episode, we explore “proof architecture” — the combination of evidence, structure and story that helps a buyer feel confident saying yes. A strong proposal should show: • Why the problem matters • Why acting no...