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I met with a friend last week and we mused at how easy the journey from 'Surviving to thriving' sounds when you say the words really quickly. But the stuff that matters is usually never easy - we have all been, at one point or another, in survival mode, on the back foot, reacting, stressed and under pressure. When you're in survival mode, what time do you have to do anything else but just survive. But there are stages and a bit of a process to follow that night help you on the journey - this podcast is about moving through survival stage, to stabilising, adapting and then thriving...and then when you get to the thriving stage, how do you stay there for as long as possible? (Another model thanks to Martin Seligman PERMA !) Thanks for reading. www.shift-control.co.uk

What a person understands management to be is often shaped by their own lived experience. For some it’s the simple instruction passed on to them by superiors to get things done. Others benefit from books and coursework before being jettisoned into the university of life. There are those who see management as the logical progression to satisfy an intrinsic ambition. For some, management just isn’t their thing, and they’re happy enough to accept that their definition of management is the stuff other people do. When a business looses a Sales Manager the natural instinct is to recruit from within - a safe pair of hands, someone we know we can trust, someone who knows the business. What if the skills that made them the best sales person are not the skills needed to be the best manager?

If salespeople are using AI to sharpen their approach, is it much of a stretch to think buyers are doing exactly the same? Research shows buyers are using AI just as much as sellers — for discovery, comparison, shortlisting and the final decision itself. Now, by the time we're brought into a conversation, much of that groundwork may already be done. To be found in that process, content needs to do two things: rank for SEO, and be structured so AI systems can extract, understand and cite it directly. Most of what AI cites comes from outside a brand's own website, so earning third-party visibility matters more than what sits on our own page. “Price available on request” or “email for more details” might be quietly locking us out of those AI-driven conversations before they start. Is it time for marketing and sales to be more aligned than ever?

I think people are generally bad at knowing what they want from work because we've never really been taught to notice what actually gives us pleasure in a career. We chase job titles and status instead of the underlying experience - what pleasure, joy or happiness could be found in work and what does that look like, or what could it look like if we were to take another job somewhere. People in moments of transition or young adults deciding what path to follow need more than the pressure of following in the footsteps of a parent or on the whimsical advice of friends. An interesting model and methodology to try out? Have a listen if you are curious.

There are so many reasons for businesses to integrate regular sales training - for some its a massive shift in behaviour having always held internal tribal programmes, for others it is embedded in their DNA and their culture. Training should be more than an anniversary event or a response to stuttering sales figures. It should be programmed more frequently and it should more than the event itself - in fact I would argue that most of the good work takes place outside of the course itself and goes way beyond any notes, slides or hand outs . In this podcast I discuss a modular approach to sales training success. Let me know what you think

Recent discussions about AI with clients, coaching colleagues and friends has opened up different avenues of thinking. No denying the benefits of AI and the opposing concerns and fears that clearly exist over work displacement. Then there is the threat to human intelligence through over reliance on AI for speed and efficiency for even the most basic of tasks. AI can be a game changer for sales teams but only when the conditons for adoption are optimised.

There's a great line from the book "The paradox of choice" by Barry Schwartz - “The more options we have, the less satisfied we are with whatever we choose.” I was drawn to it recently when I was getting a coffee and some breakfast in Belfast - the choices we make and what influences them. Location, price, familiarity, curiosity, recommendation - whatever motivates you puts pressure on the business owner to not only get it right first time but to keep getting it right, then changing, then going again all the while watching out for rising costs in produce, energy and the ever-decreasing attention span of humans - both staff and customers. I have watched on as SEED have taken their successful, food-outlet business into the world of high value content, via social media, email and events. If you are not familiar with them, check out their places in Dungannon and Lisburn Road - also their social media content SEED People on instagram and the brilliant content from chef, StevieB.

I have noticed recently how businesses have become reliant on data to determine whether their business development efforts work or not - over-reliant maybe. The numbers, lead indicators or whatever the performance metric will tell you what is working on that campaign but what is there to tell you how well your 'brand' is performing overall in the minds of your potential or existing customers. Well executed outreach will generate meetings and begin sales cycles but doesn't impact the sentiment rating (my words...not sure if they're the right words but bear with me) - what the brand means to the customer or the way it makes them feel. It seems that data has become omnipotent in many marketing campaigns at the expense of creativity and experience. It goes back to the notion that marketing isn't an expense but an investment - advertising and sales aren't marketing they are "channels" of marketing. Other channels are available.

A first networking event in years - a breakfast event at The Reform Club on Belfast's Royal Avenue in the company of business leaders, listening to journalist Simon Kuper talk about what business can learn from sport. Simon has written books on Barcelona, taking a different approach to Damian Hughes but also writes extensively across other areas than sport. A journalist for the FT he brought a perspective to the topic that has me moderating my own view - that sports teams and business teams are very different my nature - there are clearly some areas of crossover. A very worthwhile event and grateful for the invite as well as the opportunity to meet some very interesting people from different corners of the north. (thanks to Joanne at Clarendon and AAB and MLN.)

Contracting is a concept that that has been applied to the coaching, psychotherapy and counselling industries whereby boundaries are created and clarity given to collaborative work between a coach and a coachee. Is this something that can be applied to our meaningful interpersonal relationships and is there space for it to add value to your sales activities? Many coaching methodologies offer guidance in how to bring the prospect and customer forward in a sales discussion but for me it is the true intention of collaborative selling whereby you establish and agree the protocols of engagement - PURPOSE, PROCESS and mutual EXPECTATIONS. Every good discussion works better when there is clarity, respect and and understanding of why the discussion is being had in the first place. What do you think?

Beginning a new learning journey and I have picked up some valuable insights already - one being the use of the word 'why' in sales and the importance of finding a different way of asking that question without it. This podcast suggests a rethink on your questioning / information gathering techniques. I also talk about the value of learning later in life and starting the journey of getting to know yourself better.

I used to work with a business man who was as good at coaching as he was at growing a multi-million pound business. “I really pity the man that doesn’t know he doesn’t know.” He said to me one day, almost 20 years ago. It took a while to land but he was talking about that thing everyone is afflicted with – a blind spot. The phrase ‘blind spot’ comes from the Johari Window, a psychological model developed in 1955 by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham — the name “Johari,” comes from a blend of their first names. It was originally created as a framework for understanding and improving interpersonal communication, particularly within group dynamics and team settings. As a coach, a manager to as a sales person intent on improving, it's important to spend some time looking for that which is harder to see - or those characteristics that you have been spending a lifetime trying to avoid

Having invited guests over last week, I found myself without some key ingredients for a vegetarian dish I had planned to make. Taking the list of ingredients I challenged CHAT GPT to create a recipe for a similar meal - and it did. At no point did I question the recipe and it made me realise how much trust I have placed in this technology in such a short space of time. Research suggests that almost 60% of people in sales believe that AI tools sometimes provide inaccurate or misleading information. The big question to sales leaders becomes are you constantly regulating the veracity and quality of the information used by your sales people (and lets face it, yourselves)? If not giving you a competitive edge just yet, AI has given you the chance to reclaim some of your time each day - if you are not integrating AI in your sales function you are missing out. If you haven't given your team the authority to use AI, work on the basis that they are already taking some short cuts - you need to make sure if those short cuts aren't going to case long term damage.

Plenty of the recent episodes focus on the importance of process, from pipeline management to presentation formats. We can get caught up with the lure of CRM, believing that data and data management is everything. It gets tiring, sat in another sales meeting, discussing pipeline and nothing has moved from the previous meeting. A slow agonising death. Data is important, process is important but when it comes to influencing sales decisions, awareness and emotional intelligence matter most. In this episode I talk about the importance of awareness and being present when it comes to closing out on deals in your pipeline.

I was making plans for this coming weekend - Tyrone V Kerry in Dublin. Should I or shouldn't I? Weather isn't all that relevant but I looked at the forecast and found another reason to go. The importance of being able to predict something accurately. (It was in 2008 that Croke park was flooded after one of the quarter finals - so accurate is the operative word.) And so to sales forecasting - the devils business. So critical to all other parts of the business, planning, buying, HR, logistics and so difficult for sales people to get it right every time - because it matters every time. Some thoughts on forecasting from the world of the sales person and the sales manager.