Peter Drucker once commented "so many business decisions are made over lunch & dinner meetings, et even the business schools do little to no training here". Whether at The Ritz or Starbucks, sales professionals need to ensure that their etiquette is up to scratch when conducting deals over lunch or dinner.

CRM systems and what's in it for the sales professional.

As 2009 draws to a close and the minds of sales profesisonals up and down the UK begin to focus on what lies ahead for 2010, we go back to ten of the people we've spoken to over the past year to find out how the past 12 months were for them and what they are expecting from the year ahead.

Sales is a high pressure profession with targets, difficult buyers and unrealistic management expectations. For that reason, we look at a lighter side to selling by looking at a few famous scenes from TV and cinema that will hopefully lighten the spirits as we head towards Christmas.

Tom Devine left school at 16 with very few qualifications, and began work as an apprentice service engineer for British Gas. Today he is Director of Consumer Sales at Vodafone UK, in charge of a division of 3,300 people with an annual turnover of £1 billion a yearTom Devine left school at 16 with very few qualifications, and began work as an apprentice service engineer for British Gas. Today he is Director of Consumer Sales at Vodafone UK, in charge of a division of 3,300 people with an annual turnover of £1 billion a year