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Developing People

Single Handle Every Task

Eat that frog! Every bit of planning, prioritizing and organizing comes down to this simple concept. Your ability to select your most important task, to begin it and then to concentrate on it single mindedly until it is complete is the key to high levels of performance and personal productivity. The Requirement for Every Great Achievement Every great achievement of mankind has been preceded by a long period of hard, concentrated work until the job was done. Single handling requires that once you begin, you keep working at the task, without diversion or distraction, until the job is 100% complete. You keep urging yourself onward by repeating the words "Back to work!" over and over whenever you are tempted to stop or do something else. Reduce Your Time By 50% By concentrating single mindedly on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more. It has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a task, to pick it up, put it dow...

Reflections On Your Greatness

Reflections on Your Greatness by Michael Dalton Johnson of Salesdog.com You are great. You are far greater than you imagine. You are a unique entity given the power to create your own life. When you look outside yourself for self-definition you are giving your power away. However, when you understand and accept that you alone possess the power to define yourself and your life, there are dramatic changes. You will find new clarity, focus and confidence. Youll also find that using this incredible gift is both exhilarating and challenging. You are in charge. Think of your life as a movie. You are the writer, director, producer and star. You choose your co-stars and extras. Whether the movie is a smash or a flop is in your hands. Your thoughts determine your outcomes. This is one of the great mysteries. There are a lot of theories about this phenomenon but no one really knows how it works. However, it does work and reveals the astonishing power of your thoughts. If you think...

Make Small Commitments. Get Big Changes.

Make Small Commitments. Get Big Changes. Compiled by Michael Dalton Johnson of Salesdog.com Taking Care of You Drink plenty of water. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Eat more fruits and vegetables and eat less that is manufactured in processing plants. Avoid eating food that is handed to you through a window. Live the 3 Es -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy. Play more games. Read more books than you did in 2009. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Sleep for 7 hours. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile. Your Outlook Dont compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Dont have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. Dont overdo. Keep your limits. Dont take yourself so seriously. No one else does. Dont waste your precious energy on gossip. Dream more while you are awake. E...

Increase Your Three Types Of Energy

Most successful people can be characterized as having very high levels of energy. Since energy is the fuel with which everything is achieved, there seems to be a direct relationship between energy levels and levels of accomplishment. It is hard to imagine a tired, burned-out person achieving much in life. On the other hand, energetic, positive, forward-moving individuals seem to get and enjoy far more of the things life has to offer than does the average person. Physical Energy is Basic We have been led to believe that there is basically one kind of energy. We supposedly replenish this energy by sleeping at night, and during the day, we use it up again. It is as though we are machines powered by batteries, and each night we recharge our batteries for seven or eight hours. However, there are some problems with this view of energy. The biggest problem is that it does not deal with the fact that there are actually three different kinds of energy, each of which is necessary for ...

How Do You Handle Lost Deals?

No self-respecting sales person accepts losing a deal.allnbsp; On the contrary, were really perturbed when we do - our natural competitiveness wont let us feel otherwise.allnbsp; But losing deals is a fact of life in selling.allnbsp; In fact, its a fact of life in any business transaction.allnbsp; But how we deal with losing goes a long way to determining how much future success we have.allnbsp;allnbsp;...

Sales Development

If You Could Sell One Thing...

If you could sell one thing, what would it be? I like asking salespeople this question in my keynotes and training sessions. Its amazing how people respond and the wide variety of responses. The mix of responses between things they currently sell and things they wish they could sell is pretty normal. What I am disappointed in is the low number of salespeople who respond with something like "myself " or "helping the customer succeed" or something similar that refers to the desire to impact positively the customers to whom they sell. To me this question is a barometer of the thinking of salespeople. After I ask this question, I like to ask salespeople where they believe their own level of sales motivation is. This is where I begin to see significant differences in the sales motivation levels of salespeople. Those who are motivated believe their job is to help others and in so doing, theyll be rewarded also. Those with low sales motivation believe their objective is to re...

Have An Excellent Relationship With Customer Service, Purchasing And All The Support Staff Inside His/her Organization.

This is such an important practice that I have named it one of my top ten time management strategies. If you have the book, Ten Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople, youll see that it is secret number nine. I had to learn this the hard way. I was a heavy-hitting, driven sales person. Id stop into the office, drop off work for everyone, and head out; just assuming that everyone would do the jobs that I had deposited on them. My task-oriented style put a number of people off, and my operations manager warned me that I was creating ill-will among the office staff. It took a while, but I finally decided that I needed them to be on my side. So, I apologized, bought everyone a gift, and tried to re-start the relationship on a more positive basis. As people gradually came over to my side, I found that I was able to be far more productive. Instead of doing a project myself, I could confidently ask someone inside to do it for me. Since they liked me, they didnt mind. I...

Make Decisions Easier For Your Prospects

Crazy-busy prospects cant handle complexity. They hate it when things are difficult to decode, decide or decipher. It grinds them to a screeching halt - which is the normal human reaction to being overwhelmed and stressed out. Because of the chaotic business environments we work in, simplicity has recently emerged as a key factor in sales success. As a seller, your job is to make things easier and minimize the effort for your frazzled prospects. This is especially true when youre dealing with people who seldom make decisions like the one youre proposing. Here are some strategies you can use to make things easier for your frazzled prospects. Augment, Dont Replace Your prospects already use something or someone to address their needs. You can make it a whole lot easier for them to get buy-in for your product or service by positioning it as an "add on" to an existing program, process, or technology. For example, when I talk to VPs of Sales, I always stress that my wo...

What Three Things Do Top Sales Performers Have In Common?

A few weeks ago I received an email from a sales director for a company that is an ESR client. I hadnt met this person in the past: Hi Dave, I have read your book, "How Winners Sell" and have found it to be one of the best sales mentoring books available. I have also followed you blogs and tweets over the years. The best business books are those that you read and then review over time by going to the yellow highlight sections. My copy of "Winners" has served as a reference source for about 7 years. I am a 20 plus year software sales veteran who spends the last 2 weeks of every July at a house in Katama with my family. As a result, I would love to meet you and perhaps get a cup of coffee or an early evening drink in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs (or just coffee in Vineyard Haven). I will be on the island from July 18th to August 1st and would be pleased to meet you, should schedules permit. BTW - loved the aerial shot of Tisbury Pond. [Hes referring to the photo in the ...

Are You Really Listening?

On every sales call, make sure you bring up at least one item the customer shared with you on the previous call. This demonstrates that you listen closely. Salespeople are already struggling anytime theyre talking to a customer or a prospect because of all the preconceived notions that so many people have regarding salespeople. Too many people believe salespeople dont listen and that the only thing theyre into is their own personal desire to sell something. The best way to overcome this is by showing the customer youre different and you listen. Problem is too many salespeople dont start listening to the customer until after theyve either already bought something or on the verge of buying something. The time to start listening is truly at the beginning. You do this by using each and every comment the customer makes to you as a potential follow-up question. This really comes into play if youre involved in a long sales cycle, where there are a number of sales calls eit...

Entrepreneurs

Getting an Accurate Picture of Your Business

6 tips for making sure your business reports deliver succinct, measurable insights ...

How to Stop Being A Control Freak

You've got to learn to let go. And ironically, you can't do it alone. ...

Spill's Effects Linger for Gulf Coast Entrepreneurs

BP may have stopped the oil flow, but the region's small businesses say it will be a long time before things return to normal. ...

How Repetition Can Turbo-Charge Your Business

These 6 steps for continuous improvement will help you master what matters most. ...

The Successful Optimist

Why the language you use makes a difference ...