Britain ‘needs to sell itself in a post-Brexit world’

BRITAIN must re-learn the art of selling if it is to thrive in a post-Brexit world, one of the country’s leading sales experts is warning.

Alistaire Jama has worked with some of Britain’s best known companies, including BT, 118118 Media and the Guardian Media Group, spearheading their sales strategies at senior management level.

Based in the North West and with a string of Manchester-based clients, he now acts as a consultant to a range of top businesses, such as foreign exchange specialist Moneycorp, and is the author of a new book called Sellology, published now, which explores and discusses “the science of selling”.

Lancashire-based Jama believes many British companies lost their selling skills during the dotcom boom and have still to rediscover them. And he is urging them to go back to basics if they want to succeed following the vote to quit the EU.

He said: “Companies didn’t have to work particularly hard at selling and they stopped investing in sales training because they thought they didn’t need to.

“But having the right sales operation and sales systems in place is going to become even more vital as the country looks to open new global markets as it exits the European Union. We have to re-learn how to sell.”

Jama added: “It is imperative that we put sales, marketing and leadership high on the agenda if we are to thrive in the post-Brexit landscape.

“As a nation we have to invest in training and developing our sales forces of the future.
Whatever Brexit brings Britain, the fundamental truth remains in business: If you don’t sell, you don’t earn. It’s as simple as that.

“It may be too early to tell exactly what is going to happen after Brexit for certain, but there is one thing we can be sure of as sales professionals, in an uncertain economy, people are much more cautious about buying things.
 
“And if people are more cautious about buying things then we will need to be at the top of our game by using robust and recognised sales systems; and that’s to maintain our sales performance, never mind increase it.

“One thing I have learned in my 30 years as a sales professional is that the greater the pressure when selling the more important it is to go back to basics and follow a system that produces consistent results. That’s what companies need to do and it’s what the country has to do as well.”

Jama, who runs his own successful Lancashire-based consultancy Kennedy Ross is working with a host of top companies and organisations, helping them improve their sales skills.

All of the sales systems he uses to deliver results for them are explained in Sellology: Simplifying the Science of Selling. In it he also explores both the physiology and psychology of selling as well as introducing a powerful and repeatable system for increasing sales quickly.

He said: “The reason why I wrote ‘Sellology’ was to make selling straightforward, so that anyone who wants to sell can. It also has advice that should be of use to everyone with an interest in the world of business.

“It’s written so people can dip in and out of and use it almost as a manual to help them in their daily business roles.

“For instance it looks at how to improve your communication skills and get on with everyone you meet within the first seven seconds of meeting them. And one of the things I also explain is why ‘closing’ isn’t a dirty word.”

“Selling is perceived poorly as a profession and we have our annual laugh a the ‘silly salespeople’ on The Apprentice, reinforcing those perceptions. I want sales people to be proud of what they do. It is vital to the well being of the economy.”

The book also contains true-life scenarios and stories that Jama has gathered during his time as the managing director of Kennedy Ross – real examples of what to do and not to do during vital sales meetings and negotiations.
 
Jama believes Britain really lost its selling edge in the noughties and needs to get it back quickly. “The rise and rise of the internet really revolutionised people’s access to the marketplace. It changed everything.

“We live in over-supplied times and the worldwide web meant people could just click and make an order. It became so easy that the actual art of selling didn’t come into it and slowly began to fade.

“Then came the boom and again it was very easy to actually make a sale. These really were milk and honey years.

“And then during the downturn we discovered that, as a sales community, we had lost the ability to go out and sell as the market place had become much more competitive and challenging. This was something we’d not had to do since the 1990’s.

“We had lost a lot of skills. There was no training or investment in people. Marketing was also one of the first things to be cut in many organisations when the bad times came. It was short-sighted and compounded the problems.

“As we move towards the post-Brexit horizon selling is going to be more important than ever. It’s going to be increasingly at the top of every business’ agenda.

“There are exciting times ahead for UK businesses.  I’m delighted to be able to share my experience so that we can enjoy selling once again.”
 
  “Sellology – Simplifying the Science of Selling” is officially launched on Thursday September 15.