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.
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...
Executive Visibility Without Becoming LinkedIn Wallpaper
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...
The Marketing Tool Shed: Build the Engine Before Buying More Spanners
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: • ...
Build Your Own Marketing Engine: Turning Visibility into Sales
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...
Marketing Departments: Helpful Engine or Fancy Lead Confetti?
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...