I'm writing this in Dubai following the first ever International Gathering of professional speakers and meeting professionals - what an event and what a place!

Since the last newsletter I've had the privilege of facilitating a strategic retreat for The Plunkett Foundation - an educational charity, which supports the development of rural group enterprise world-wide. They draw on 80 years' practical experience of working with partners to promote and implement economic self-help solutions to rural problems. The day included all the stakeholders in the enterprise - and what a committed and impressive group of people they are. I look forward to working with again in the future.

You may have heard me recommend Google AdWords as a great, cost effective, way to market your business. Well I've recently come across a real expert - Richard Hill and his business Gillissa. They are Google registered practitioners and they are brilliant optimising your AdWords programme and maximising the hits to your web site.

Talking of experts I would strongly recommend if you live in the UK to come along to a PSA National Event that we have in London on the 30th of June. We are bringing over Terry Brock, THE expert on the very latest technology to help you, as well as Nick Oulton - known as "Professor PowerPoint" - who you simply can't afford to miss if you ever use that medium and want to avoid "death bt PowerPoint". Details here. all welcome

Finally I have to share with you that for the first time ever I am taking a full four weeks vacation in August and will be going on the adventure of a lifetime - sailing the southern seas in a square rigger - on the Soren Larsen - from the Cook Islands to Samoa!

Have a great summer - I think I will!

I hope you enjoy this newsletter and find it valuable.

If your business is to both grow and be resilient in the face of whatever might come around the corner in the future continual prospecting for new customers is simply essential. The conventional wisdom is that every business needs to have its sales force spent 20% of their time prospecting - that's one day a week!

So how do you judge whether your sales people are doing a good job - just on performance against budget?

I find the Sales Management Matrix model a very useful tool to view your sales people from the helicopter.

The y-axis represents prospecting activity and the x- axis performance against budget - be that based on orders achieved or on contribution. Your salespeople are then characterised into four types - Junior, Star, Cow and Dog.

Let me explain some more:

What People Say

"Roger, we have seen a sustained increase in revenues and profits as a direct result of attending your workshop. Thankyou ! " Martin Mulligan, CEO, Martin Mulligan Group Limited

"Without question Roger's workshops have been the catalyst in enabling our six operating companies to unlock the door to profitable growth and without exception, everyone has a real desire to be in the renewal room and when there, reside in it permanently!" Trevor Hebdon, CEO, H&H Group plc

"I found your presentation, and I am sure I am speaking for a vast majority of those who attended the conference, one of the best in its genre I have witnessed - it was poignant, precise and engaging." Viswa Sadisivan, Chairman, The Right Angle Group of Companies

"It is no coincidence that the Group's dramatic improvement in performance, over the last 18 months, relates directly to Roger's association with us" Ian McKernan, Chairman & CEO Molecular Products Group plc

"Thankyou for sharing your "helicopter" concepts with our delegates. We received excellent feedback and they found the session to be useful." Patricia Enslow, Director, Strategic Marketing Asia, Pacific & Middle East, Citigroup Private Bank