The transformation of professional selling

17th May 2018 |   Dr Javier Marcos

The Professional Selling Transformation

The nature of professional selling has transformed profoundly over the past few decades, resulting in a fundamental redefinition of the role of the sales force. Drawing on a study comprising interview data from 37 senior sales leaders, sales consultants and prominent sales academics from the US, UK and other European countries, I synthesise three key drivers for change and identify a set of core transformations sales forces are undergoing.

1. Key drivers of change in selling and sales management

The factors underpinning sales force transformation can be synthesised into a set of three key trends (see figure 1):

  • the nature of customer behaviour and evolving expectations of professional buyers,
  • the opportunities (and disruption) offered by new and digital technologies, and
  • the enhanced levels of globalisation and competition.

Dr Javier Marcos

Director of Learning for Performance Ltd | + posts

Dr Javier Marcos is the Director of Learning for Performance Ltd, a boutique sales training and consultancy practice and the Research and Executive Development Lead at the Association of Professional Sales. He holds visiting fellow positions at Cranfield School of Management and the University of Cambridge IfM.