Mr James H Bennett- Founder of AskPathfinder

Great Companies: Please tell me something about the business and how did you come up with such an idea?

Mr James H Bennett: It's a wonderful thing to see selling done really well!.done in a way that benefits both Seller and Buyer.so it grates when I see selling being done in a 'salesy' / 'pushy' / manipulative kind of way.the way that many people associate with 'selling', in fact.

and I am saddened when I see Sole Traders and Small Businesses miss opportunities for both them and their Clients - simply because they 'don't want to come across as salesy' and/or don't know how to make more of their opportunities.Professional selling is not, in fact, what most people think it is.Professional selling is not marketing - a world of telling people what we do.Professional selling is not Websites, Pitches and Offers.Professional selling is not just negotiating and closing.Professional selling is the conversation during which a Buyer receives value, not just from what is sold but also FROM THE ACT of it being sold to them.So Professional selling most often helps the Client find a better answer to the one they first thought they needed.And what most people don't know, is that being able to 'Help people Buy' in this way simply involves learning and practising skills.  Skills that yields them more business AND fulfils the golden rule of selling - 'Helping people buy'.  Skills that help them seize every opportunity.I spent 35 Years in Big Ticket Corporate Sales as a Sales Person and Sales Leader.  During this time, I was taught and endlessly practised the art and science of world class selling.And whilst much of it is undoubtedly over-engineered and over-complicated for Sole Trading and running Small Businesses, there are core techniques that everyone can use from that 'BIG' world which I have distilled, simplified and scaled down to fit Small Businesses.These are the skills I share as I coach my Clients in finding their own style, their own way, their own Path to great selling - helping their Clients buy and seizing every opportunity.

Great Companies: What are the various services and products provided by your company?

Mr James H Bennett: 1. Self-Assessment - that builds on what my Client already knows and is good at - as well as identifying skills gaps that can be filled.

2. Coaching the Mindset of great selling - largely dispelling myths and misconceptions!

3. Coaching TRUE Selling Skills - Specifically the methods and techniques proven to 'Help Clients & Customers Buy'

4. Support - Continuous coaching to help my Clients make the most of every opportunity

5. Coaching to help my Clients identify more places to offer their products and services...and then how to sell them there.

Great Companies: Why should one choose you over others in this field?

Mr James H Bennett: 1. I am NOT driven by ego and making money - I am not seeking to be the next 'Sales Guru' - I am driven simply by a desire to 'give back'.  My greatest reward is giving people the understanding and confidence to sell really well - to delight their Clients & Customers

2. I bring simplicity, structure and method to the titbits of advice from books, seminars and On-line 'Gurus'.  I focuses on giving people:

*Knowledge of what works

* Confidence of what to do

* Understanding of how to do it

giving them a method from the moment they first encounter a potential Client / Customer to the point of agreeing business.....and then agreeing more.

Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?

Mr James H Bennett: An appreciation of what selling REALLY is,

* Many people seem to think that marketing will do the selling for them and all they need to do in 'selling' is to close the business....they don't know the opportunity they've never seen so they don't know the opportunities they're missing.

* Many people have had bad experiences of 'sales people'.  They associate selling with those kind of 'sales people' and don't want to be like 'them'.

* Many people believe that communicating their knowledge of a subject, topic, service IS selling - not realising that, important as knowledge is, 'telling' and being an authority on something is NOT selling'.

Great Companies: What do you think are the few main things which are most important for a successful business?

Mr James H Bennett: 1. Absolute clarity on what we do and how it REALLY benefits Clients / Customers

2. Understanding the REAL reasons (BOTH emotional and logical) for Clients / Customers buying products / services...they're not just logical!

3. Relentlessly focusing on what Clients and Customers REALLY need - Focusing on that vs what we do

4. Continuously challenging assumptions and beliefs in order to be able to offer innovate new services and products

5. Managing cash well

6. Managing people brilliantly - both employees and Clients / Customers.