Use great stories to persuade

Tell more stories to persuade. If you have attended our persuading for results workshop, you will have experienced the power of stories. At the end of day one we ask participants to come to day 2 ready to tell a story about themselves.

4 Market Trends Impacting B2B Business

There are four relentless market trends impacting how B2B companies do business. These market trends are long-term, and impact the top and bottom lines of B2B companies around the world.

SAMPeter Browne13 March 2015SAM, Strategic Account Management, KAM, Key Account Management, AM, Account Management, Relationship Management, Senior Executives, C-Level Executives, QuestioningComment

Negotiators need to be agile and adaptive in 2015

I have been approached a couple of times in the last couple of weeks for information on where clients can attend public programs on Negotiation. We are pleased to announce we are now presenting these programs through UTS.

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki4 March 2015Strategy, Negotiation, Strategic Negotiating, Leaders, UTS, University of Technology Sydney, Dr Chau Chak, UTS Business School, Executive Education, Public Programs on Negotiation, Frank GehryComment

Fire, Ready, Aim!

Before confronting someone you want to persuade to take a different view of the world whether it’s your parents, or a key customer or supplier: take a deep breath. Most people have fallen into the speed trap when wanting to influence someone else and jumped in too quickly without really preparing their message.

Persuasion, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki20 February 2015Speed, Haste, Persuasion, Planning, Framing, Competitive ThreatComment

The Year of the Goat and your top accounts

Welcome, and yes we are now in the Year of The Goat and the goat comes 8th in the Chinese zodiac calendar.

Most searches of the meaning of the year of the goat is centred on people who are calm, well-mannered and live peaceful existence. The Year of the Goat will be anything but calm and peaceful for you and your strategic accounts.

Stephen Kozicki, SAMStephen Kozicki13 February 2015Speed, Haste, Persuasion, Planning, Framing, Competitive Threat, Accounts, SAM, Strategic Account Management, Account Management, AM, Key Account Management, KAM, Managing B2B customers, Losing customersComment

The Zen of high stakes negotiation

How does one transform a sometimes hostile, high stakes negotiation into an empathic process of cooperation? That question has puzzled and frustrated negotiators for decades. A while ago, I sat down for a chat about preparing for high stakes negotiations with Stephen Kozicki, best-selling author, business educator and Australia’s leading specialist in breakthrough business strategies. How he handles high-stakes negotiations will most likely change the way you think about role-play simulation.

By Soren Malmborg

The future for UTS (University of Technology, Sydney)

We are delighted with the appointment of Steve Wozniak as an adjunct professor at the University of Technology, Sydney in December 2014. His passion and enthusiasm will bring an innovative perspective to the university.

Kill the hunters and feed the farmers [Strategic Account Management]

Often in conversations about sales and customers, people talk about hunters and farmers. For those of you not familiar with the idea, the idea is that sales people can be classified as either Hunters or farmers. Hunters are sales people who go out and make the kill: get the new order or get the new customer; farmers are those sales people who manage existing customers to gain more orders from them.

Gary Peacock, SAMGary Peacock23 January 2015Hunters, Farmers, Strategic Account Management, SAM, Account Management, AM, Key Account Management, KAM, Customer Relationships, Strategic Relationships, Sustainable Relationships, Long-term Relationships, Revenue, Gains, Strategic Comment

Are your account managers intimidated by Senior Executives

In most companies, when you ask an Account Manager to contact a C-Level Executive that they’ve never met at one of their accounts, they squirm...

SAM, Account ManagementPeter Browne4 December 2014SAMA, SAM, Strategic Account Management Association, Strategic Account Management, KAM, Key Account Management, AM, Account Management, Relationship Management, Senior Executives, C-Level ExecutivesComment

UTS Connecting with Technology

Interesting to see Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has joined UTS as an Adjunct Professor, the first appointment he has accepted at any university in the world. I can’t imagine that anyone would have predicted he would choose an Australian university. Most of us still think within the constraints of geography...

Gary Peacock, Business ProblemsGary Peacock1 December 2014Strategy, SYIP, Technology, Assumptions, ConstraintsComment

Negotiating: Have you missed the bus? [Identify Business Priorities]

When consulting on the toughest negotiations, we often see our client has missed the bus. Have you missed the bus: do you know the other parties’ problems and business priorities? ...

Gary Peacock, NegotiationGary Peacock7 October 2014Negotiation, Negotiation Priorities, Negotiation planning, Planning, Questions, Persuasion, Interests, Price PressureComment

Robin Williams, Negotiation & Luck!

There are a lot of clichés around about success and luck. I often tell negotiators the better your negotiation plan, the better your questions and the better you frame value, the luckier you can be...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki25 August 2014Negotiation, Strategy, Agile, Value, Compete, Focus, Frame, Value Proposition, Competitors, Customers, Luck Comment

Strategic Negotiations must be strategic!

Too many strategic plans become yearly reviews not dynamic plans for how to compete. As Michael Porter teaches, the objective of strategy is to win in the marketplace, delivering superior sustainable performance. His convincing argument requires ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki7 August 2014Negotiation, Strategy, Agile, Compete, Focus, Frame, Value Proposition, Competitors, CustomersComment

Change your organisation faster: you are not changing fast enough

In the health industry (medical products and pharmaceutical) we see procurement continuing to put pressure on prices. Why? ...

Gary Peacock, SAMGary Peacock1 August 2014KAM, Key Account Management, SAM, Strategic Account Management, Account Management, Health Industry, Change, Procurement, Price PressureComment

Senior Executives and Key Account Teams need to be smarter.

As customers are becoming more sophisticated in their buying strategies, so sales and key account management teams need to be ...

Gary Peacock, SAMGary Peacock24 July 2014Senior Executives, Key Accounts, Strategic Accounts, Strategic Asset, Strategic Risk, Growth, Profit, Return on Investment, Customers, Value, Loyalty, Barriers to competitionComment

As Negotiators have we lost the art of listening?

Negotiators build trust through listening

One of the great pleasures I have in working on live negotiations with senior global executives, is being able to watch great negotiators reach a successful outcome in tough circumstances. This is achieved through careful planning and a genuine connection with the other person or persons...

Stephen Kozicki, NegotiationStephen Kozicki16 July 2014Negotiation, Listening, Questions, Decision Makers, ValueComment

Why do most performance improvement programs and change programs fail?

Most development and change programs fail simply because they focus only on knowledge and facts and not on changing the mindsets of the individuals who will be affected by the change...

ChangeThe Gordian Team11 July 2014Change Management, Development Programs, Performance Improvement Programs, Performance Mindset, Improvement Programs, People Potential, High Performance Organisation, Positive Psychology, Neuroscience, Behaviour, Optimism, Success, Resilience, Development & ChangeComment

Leading transformational change through SAM

Following on from our earlier blog – Why bother with Strategic Account Management (SAM)? - if you are considering implementing SAM in your business then this case study recently published in Velocity magazine will give you some practical help. A successful Strategic Account Management process needs transformational change in your business...

SAM, Account ManagementPeter Browne24 June 2014Change, SAM, SAMA, Strategic Account Management, Strategic Account Management Association, Value, Key Account Management, KAM, AM, Account Management Comment

Fresh from Florida

Last week, Peter Browne from Gordian Business was presenting in Florida at the Strategic Account Management Association’s 50th Anniversary Conference. Peter was presenting a case study of a successful client who in a mature market grew profit ahead of their 5 year plans...

Stephen Kozicki, SAMStephen Kozicki6 June 2014B2B, Gary Peacock, Peter Browne, SAM, SAMA, Strategic Account Management, Key Account Management, Account Management, ValueComment

Does your business need SAM (Strategic Account Management)?

In business there is a constant tension between managing risk and capitalising on opportunities. SAM is a critical element for doing both...

SAM, Gary PeacockGary Peacock6 June 2014Opportunity, Revenue, Risk, SAM, Value, Account Management, Key Account Management, Strategic Account ManagementComment