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Why? Because the modern prospect has changed. They’re more informed, more selective, and harder to reach. They place a far higher value on their time. If we want to succeed in this new era, we need to stop treating people like numbers on a call list and start building genuine, thoughtful connections.

This hasn’t actually changed that much, and the best business have always known this, but its definitely time for the rest to catch up.

The New Prospect Is in Control

First, let’s address the obvious: prospects are no longer tethered to their phones or emails. They’re spread across digital platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and even messaging apps, and they decide where they want to engage. We can’t expect them to adapt to our outreach methods; we have to meet them where they are.

Second, they’re overwhelmed. Inbox fatigue is real. A Harvard Business School study found that email traffic has increased during the pandemic, with messages being sent more frequently, to more recipients, and often after hours. Prospects are inundated, and our outreach risks being buried under a flood of competing messages.

Finally, the bar for engagement is higher than ever. The pandemic taught all of us to value meaningful interactions over surface-level chatter. Prospects want to feel like more than just a name on a list; they expect authenticity and relevance.

A New Approach to Prospecting

So, what’s the solution? The answer isn’t to abandon prospecting altogether — it’s still a vital part of the sales process. But we need to rethink how we do it.

1. Personalisation Is Non-Negotiable Personalisation has moved from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have.” It’s not just about account-based marketing anymore; it’s about account-based sales. This means understanding their company, their challenges, and even their communication preferences.

2. Technology Is Your AllyLet’s face it: keeping track of every interaction with every prospect is impossible without the right tools. Customer relationship management platforms are essential for staying organised and ensuring you have the context you need to deliver meaningful outreach. Without them, you’re flying blind. So if you have one, please stop playing lip service to it. And remember, LinkedIn is the database everyone owns, its not special anymore.

3. Research, Research, Research A little homework goes a long way. Of course, start at their websites. But, if you’re reaching out to a listed company, dive into their investor reports. For smaller businesses, set up Google Alerts and scour their press releases, and social media feeds. The more you know, the more value you can bring to the conversation — and the more likely you are to stand out.

4. Be Flexible With Channels Not everyone wants to take a call, and not everyone lives in their inbox. Some prospects might respond best on LinkedIn, while others prefer a handwritten note or even a thoughtful gift. The key is to experiment and adapt. If one approach doesn’t work, try another. There is no wrong way to try.

It’s Time to Step Up

The truth is, sales prospecting has become harder. It takes more time, more thought, and more effort than ever before. But that’s the reality of the modern sales landscape. Prospects demand better — and if we want their attention, we need to deliver better.

The days of high-volume, low-effort outreach are over. Success today requires a smarter, more strategic approach. It’s not easy, but if we embrace the challenge, we’ll build stronger relationships, close more deals, and ultimately, thrive in this new era of sales.

So, what do you think?

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Training equips your team with the tools they need to excel, fosters a culture of growth, and strengthens your business. Let’s explore why training is so critical for staff retention and how recruitment business owners can implement it effectively.

Why Staff Retention Matters 

High turnover doesn’t just affect internal operations—it also impacts client satisfaction. The professional industries are people-driven, and losing skilled team members can lead to inconsistencies in client service. Moreover, replacing employees is costly. From recruitment and onboarding to lost productivity, the expenses can add up to twice an employee’s annual salary.

Retaining experienced people reduces these costs, preserves institutional knowledge, and maintains consistent client outcomes. This makes effective training a cornerstone of your retention strategy.

The Role of Training in Staff Retention

1. Boosts Engagement and Loyalty Employees who feel supported and valued are more likely to stay with your organisation. Training programs demonstrate your commitment to their growth, fostering loyalty and motivation. When staff see clear opportunities for advancement, they’re less likely to seek them elsewhere.

2. Improves Job Satisfaction Work can be high-pressured, and the right training can alleviate stress. By equipping your team with the tools and skills they need, you’ll empower them to succeed. This leads to increased job satisfaction and reduces the likelihood of burnout.

3. Supports Leadership Development Succession planning is vital for any growing business. Leadership training prepares your team to take on more senior roles, creating a clear pathway for advancement. Employees who see potential for career growth are less likely to leave.

4. Fosters a Culture of Continuous Learning A strong learning culture attracts high performers and promotes innovation. When training is embedded in your organisation’s culture, it encourages collaboration and resilience, keeping your team engaged and forward-thinking.

5. Delivers Better Results for Clients Well-trained staff are more effective at delivering results for clients. This not only boosts client satisfaction but also enhances team morale. Employees who see the impact of their work are more likely to feel fulfilled and stay committed to their roles.

How to Implement Effective Training Programmes

1. Identify Needs Conduct regular assessments to identify skill gaps and areas for improvement. Tailor training programmes to meet these specific needs, ensuring they remain relevant and impactful.

2. Utilise Technology Online platforms to make training accessible and flexible. These tools allow employees to learn from anywhere, in shorter sessions and fit development into their busy schedules.

3. Encourage Peer Learning and Mentorship Pair junior team members with seasoned people to foster knowledge-sharing and on-the-job learning. Mentorship not only accelerates skill development but also builds stronger interpersonal connections.

4. Provide Regular Feedback Establish a feedback loop where employees can share their training experiences and suggestions. Use this input to refine your programmes and ensure they meet evolving needs.

5. Recognise Achievements Celebrate milestones, such as completing a certification or applying a new skill successfully. Recognising these achievements reinforces the importance of training and motivates employees to continue learning.

The Long-Term Benefits of Training

Training is more than a cost—it’s an investment in your team and your business. By prioritising employee development, you’ll reduce turnover, enhance performance, and build a loyal, high-performing workforce. This not only improves your bottom line but also strengthens your company’s reputation as an employer of choice.

For all  business owners, the takeaway is clear: the time and resources you spend on training today will pay dividends in the form of a committed, skilled, and engaged team. Start investing in your people, and watch your business thrive.

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Two of my favourites are Tom Peters and Seth Godin. Tom I enjoy, but Seth inspires me.

Seth’s words help me to look at what I am doing and how I focus on my business and my marketplace.

Seeing the obvious

Seth and I have never met, but if he likes it or not, Seth is a mentor to me. He mentors me in a very specific and cool way. I read his words, or listen to one of his books on audiobook, and I start to see the obvious. Of course, things are only obvious once they are pointed out to us.

We all need this kind of inspiration in our working lives. We need to find the work or words of others to help us broaden our minds. If we don’t have that inspirational role model, we are stuck with only our own thoughts and ideas.

Yes of course this is obvious. But only obvious once you see it

The beauty of the e-world we live in is that we don’t have to wait for an author to publish a new book, we can subscribe to their blog feed, follow them on Twitter, or like them on Facebook. More often thank not we can also watch them on YouTube. We can take bite sized chunks of their thoughts and use these to help us think about our own businesses.

Being remarkable

Seth talks a lot about being remarkable. Being different and standing out, finding your ‘Purple Cow’. Taking the lead, and remaining a leader in what you do.

Getting to that point however, requires us to think about what we want to achieve, how we want to be known and how do we get there. It requires us to take time away from our desks, open our minds to the endless possibilities around us and formulate a process, a direction, a goal to chase.

In its simplest form, a business plan.

Most of us will have planned our start up, our next 12 months, our new division. But the constant appraisal and re-appraisal of our businesses and ourselves by seeking inspiration from others can be the difference that it takes to make us get to remarkable.

Be remarkable. Take inspiration.

(And, read Seth’s Blog, you will be pleased you did.)

Contact me 

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch. You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com, or call me on 07736 831151. Follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathan, or connect to me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to being in touch.

The post Taking Inspiration and Being Remarkable – Thinking the Seth Godin Way appeared first on The James Nathan Experience.

Today I visited the dentist. I’d broken a filling and needed to have it replaced. I don’t like going to the dentist, I have no logical reason for this or any phobia, but I just don’t enjoy it.

But, today was different. Today my dentist had a final year school student there on work experience. And as he worked on my tooth, he explained everything that he was doing, as well as the reasons for it all. I was more engaged, more interested and actually enjoyed the whole experience (until the bill, but hey, you get what you pay for!).

Cutting corners

So why doesn’t he do that every time I visit. My guess is that he doesn’t for the same reasons that many of us don’t add enough value to our clients’ experience. He hasn’t thought about it, or perhaps he used to but over time has forgotten to do what he was good at.

And, if every experience I had of visiting the dentist was like that, then I am sure I would refer business to him far more often.

We all get better and faster at our jobs as time goes on. We all find ways to be more efficient, and in doing so often start to cut corners. Sure, you get more done, but if you cut the wrong corners, then you risk reducing the quality of what you do.

Put the quality of service back in

Whether, like my dentist, this is explaining what you are doing, or it is spending enough time with a client at an initial meeting, taking the time to keep in touch regularly on the phone, or being genuinely interested in someone you work with or for. Cutting corners rarely makes us better in our clients’ minds. It just makes us feel less interested, less empathetic and less human.

We all know that people buy people, and that it is the personal relationship and rapport that you have put so much effort into building with them, that has allowed the client/trust relationship to develop. This is how you made that person you met at a networking event, or who was referred to you into a fee paying client.

Take action now

Take some time this week to think about your client relationships and processes. Look at those longer term relationships and ensure that you are still doing all the right things. Look at your newer relationships and ensure that you are doing those things to start with. All the things that made you great and successful in the first place.

Think about the simple stuff, how you answer a phone, how you make contact, whether or not you still take time to ask about someone’s well being as well as what they want from you, or you them.

Think about excellence (in a Tom Peters kind of way) – “when the going gets tough, think excellence…. In tough times, the pressure is such that there is often the temptation to cut corners. Think “Excellence”. Don’t cut corners.”

Think about it, and then do something about it. Being the best you can be in your clients’ minds often takes no more than refreshing what you know already.

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch.

You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com or call me on 07736 831151, follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathan, connect to me on LinkedIn, or follow me on Facebook.

I look forward to being in touch.

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“What is the key skill we should look for when we are interviewing for a new hire?”

“What is the number one skill that person needs?”

“What is the differentiator between a good sales person and a great sales person?”

“What is the one skill they really need?”

So what’s the answer?

And the answer is simple. The answer is listening.

I’m not sure who said this: “If you want to find oil, you have to drill wells.” To sell something to someone, you need to find out what’s really important, what that person wants and what that person needs.

Listening is the ultimate core competence. We all know that to sell more you have to listen. Two ears, one mouth and all that, but are you doing it?

Sales has never been about the ‘gift of the gab’, but my word, do some sales people talk a lot!

When we talk we can’t listen

When we talk we simply can’t listen, and when we are not listening we are not finding out about the other persons experience, needs, reservations, buying clues and wants.

When we talk we shift the attention away from the other person and towards ourselves, and our offering. Towards our perception, not theirs.

You are missing the point. You are giving them the opportunity to disagree with you, and you are no longer guiding the conversation.

And what’s more, you then aren’t able to convince the other person of the best decision for them. Most people don’t think they talk too much. But, they do.

When you speak with your clients, try to listen to yourself (or tape yourself) – What is the quality of questions you ask? Are you asking information gathering questions to help you move forward? Are are you just filling an empty sound void?

Watch and listen to others around you. Stop talking and start listening.

Contact me

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch. You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com, or call me on 07736 831151. Follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathan, or connect with me on LinkedIn.

I look forward to being in touch.

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You hear parents say something similar to their children all the time. The child is given something and we teach them to say thank you. It’s polite, it’s nice. It’s basic manners.

Why is it then, that in business we often forget this very simple lesson?

When I ask my Clients if they thank their own Clients for the business they receive, the answers are mixed. For some it’s “yes always”, for others it’s “usually” or “sometimes”, and for some the answer is “no, they thank us”.

Let’s ignore the last response which still amazes me to this day, but note that it isn’t something I’ve only heard once.

Our Clients are people who have trusted us with their business. They have helped us build our businesses and we should be delighted. So delighted in fact that we thank them as a matter of course. We want them to come back to us don’t we?

And I’m not suggesting just a simple few words (although that must happen). I’m suggesting something that means something. A card, meeting for lunch, a small gift which means something specific to that person. A real and personal thank you.

It’s not hard, but it takes effort. In business, as in all other parts of our lives, it’s not the thought that counts. It’s the effort that counts.

If you are one of those people who doesn’t thank their Clients regularly for the work that they give you, perhaps the time is right to make a change for the good.

Go back through your diary and sales ledgers. Look at who you have received work from and pick up the phone. Call them, thank them and organise to meet up.

And, before you reach for the keyboard, stop. DO NOT email. Email is a cop out, it’s lazy and it is meaningless.  Call them, and thank them personally.

Now, how about all those people who refer you work? The people who refer others to you? The people who help you out? Surely it’s time to thank them too…..

Contact me

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch. You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com, or call me on 07736 831151. Follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathan, connect to me on LinkedIn, or follow me on Facebook.

I look forward to being in touch.

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I’ve been doing this all my working life, but until recently I didn’t name it, and it is so important that Tom Peters made it number 36 in his fantastic book of blogs: ‘Little Big Things’. And guess what? It works.

Calling clients to wish them a happy new year, a good Easter, a merry Christmas, whatever. Speaking with people. Making it personal.

Do not email – call, write, visit…. 

I have ranted on many occasions about email. Yes it is useful, but it cannot be used to communicate in a way which allows relationships to be built. D.A.R.E cannot be done with email.

It takes more effort than that. Email is not enough of an effort.

It might start with a phone call. A simple thing, but one in this lazy age of email and social media, one that is really important, and one which differentiates.

Call your clients. Write to them to thank them for their support and their business. Send them a card. Take them for lunch. Talk to them about their businesses and themselves. Get to know them. Make a real effort.

A personal, real effort.

In many articles, people make mention of D.A.R.E. as a to-do item. Something that needs to be put into a reminders list for January, and do exactly as Tom suggests. Call 60 people to wish them a happy new year.

Okay, its a nice thing to do, but the concept goes so much further than a simple new years message.

Take the time to listen to your clients about their lives. Note where they are going on holiday, what their kids are up to, how their career moves are going, whats going on in their businesses. Note the things that are important to them.

Then call them, and ask about these things.

Simple isn’t it. Simple when you think about it and then do it. And the difference it makes is unbelievable.

Personalised acts. Do it today. D.A.R.E. to be different, and reap the rewards.

Contact me

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch.

You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com, or call me on + 44 (0) 7736 831151. Follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathan, connect to me on LinkedIn, or follow me on Facebook.

Have a great day,

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