Tea and Timbits

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 ...

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...

Visibility without direction is just noise. That was one of the slightly uncomfortable conclusions we reached in our latest bonus episode. It is easy to assume that building an executive profile means posting more, speaking more and generally making sure our face appears everywhere short of the side...

We have discovered the fastest way to waste money in marketing: Buy a shiny new tool before deciding what problem it is meant to solve. In this episode of Tea and Timbits, we talk about the marketing tools we actually use—and, more importantly, the thinking that should come before them. We cover: • ...

What happens when your marketing department is missing, disconnected or simply not giving sales what it needs? You build your own marketing engine. In this episode, we explore how salespeople, business development professionals and commercial leaders can create the content, systems and momentum need...

This week, we’re talking about what happens when sales and marketing either work beautifully together… or stare at each other across the office wondering who dropped the lead-shaped ball. We dig into the classic sales-versus-marketing tension: marketing says sales ignores the resources and leads, sa...

We kick off our July marketing theme by tackling personal branding — which, despite sounding like something you’d find printed on a suspiciously expensive notebook, is actually quite useful. We talk about why personal branding isn’t really about vanity, self-promotion, or becoming a LinkedIn superst...

This week, we wrap up our month on sales methodologies by getting practical: what tools actually help teams turn clever frameworks into real commercial outcomes? We start, naturally, with a highly professional sports briefing involving Blue Jays baseball, Canadian hockey confusion, and cricket forma...

This week, we continue our sales methodology mini-series with Sandler, the one that politely asks: “Is this actually a real opportunity, or are we just getting excited because someone said the word ‘proposal’?” We look at how Sandler fits alongside Challenger and SPIN, especially in complex B2B sale...

We’ve all had that moment when a prospect says, “We need you to build X.” And the tempting response is: “Brilliant. Where do we send the invoice?” But this week’s episode reminded us that the better response is probably: “Interesting — how did you get to X?” That’s where SPIN Selling comes in. Situa...