Dick Tan the show organizer and (better known as the Colonel) was on top form and he had a far better turnout than in 2008.

There were tons of new products, plasma screens, LCD panels and many new high quality HIFI amplifiers.

The interesting thing for me was the new low cost video and data projectors available at great prices. A consumer now gets a real bargain in this growing technology compared to a few years ago.
My great friend KS Tan the owner of Mediaplex Sbn and (better known as The General) was also there and selling products like wildfire. KS is one of the best guys around in the AV business a really good salesman, good businessman and over all a real gentleman.

It is so good to be involved with people who are winners and believe 100% in double win relationships.

Kuala Lumpur is a cool city, great food and well worth a visit.

Here are some questions I would suggest you use when interviewing a person for a”Sales Manager Job”:

How would you describe a major sale?

What exposure have you had in making major sales?

Give me an example of how and when you handled an objection resulting in gaining a major sale?

There are times when sales people do not respond well to a sales performance review.  Can you recall any meeting that didn’t turn out as you had planned with your staff? What was the outcome?

How did you decide on sales performance goals for your sales people? How did you establish these goals? Give me an example.

Tell me about some of the most difficult sales presentations you have ever made.  How did they pan out?

Have you ever tried to present an idea to a team with a view to improving sales, but were unable to gain their acceptance.  How did you handle it and how did you present it?

To be effective in this job, you will need to be good at persuading and motivating sales people. Give me an example of when you had to convince a group of sales people who were reluctant to agree with you.

What was your most successful sale in your selling career? Why was this sale so important? What did you gain from this experience?

Think of a time when a sales call did not turn out the way you had
planned. Why?

There is a fantastic book available right now for employers who require real hot sales staff. It is called “Top Grading for sales”. The book has been written by Bradford D Smart (phd) and Greg Alexander.

The book provides world class methods to interview, hire and coach top sales representatives.

Great sales companies do not just depend on strategies, they depend on hiring those very best salespeople who belong to an elite group. A group who are skilled in asking questions rather than telling selling.

The book “Top Grading for Sales” takes the guess work out of hiring, by teaching sales managers how to recognize those high producers. In other words A players “High Talent” salespeople. It also shows how to turn some B players into A Players and at the same time weed out C players before they do too much damage.

Brad Smart’s previous book “Topgrading”, has become the definitive guide for managers who want to hire, coach and train top talent. Now Smart has teamed up with with greg Alexander, who used Topgrading to dramatically improve his saleforce at EMC.

In Topgrading for Sales, they have boiled down the key topgrading ideas while adapting them to the unique needs of sales managers.

The book is straightforward, easy to follow and if used correctly will vastly improve any sales force. Using the methods and tools provided throughout this book should double your percentage of high performing sales reps.

There are forms and guides available to help sales managers assess current sales reps, obtain all relavent career history from candidates, and effectively hire A Players who will become long term sales stars.

It is a known fact these sales people are few and far between. Neil Rackham of Huthwaite Research discovered this back in the late 1960’s and consequently he has written and released a number of important and best selling sales books such as “Spin Selling” and my all time favorite “Making Major Sales”.

This new book “Topgrading for Sales” by Bradford Smart and Greg Alexander falls into the same important category as Rackham. It is an absolute must for any sales organization. Topgrading will save companies wishing to employ high performing sales reps an immense amount of time and agony if they study the methods available to them in this fine sales manual.
As professional sales companies or professional sales teams, marketing managers, sales managers or in fact anyone who makes sales should own a copy of “Topgrading for Sales” and be guaranteed the opportunity to double their sales for the cost of a few cups of coffee.
The Topgrading Website is here:

of continuous travel. None of my flights

served a meal that was worthy of eating.

After learning that the hotel restaurant was closed

and that room service was no longer

available; I was subsequently forced to endure a

diet of peanuts I had kept from an earlier flight.

I retired to my room and enjoyed the culinary delights,

courtesy of Korean airlines.

Moral of the story: Only

select hotels providing twenty-four

hour room service. Check on this before leaving, bring snacks of

health food bars along for

emergencies.