Monday, September 30th, 2024
Keep on learning… to be successful
Learning is not just important; it’s essential for success in sales. When we saw the headline on the cover of this Journal (edition 9.5) “Do Salespeople Have Time to Learn” we were left with a massive feeling of déjà vu and drifted towards a discussion of what was top of the pop charts when we first heard that said. Thankfully,…
Thursday, December 12th, 2019
Professional sales and the “differentiation conundrum”
How salespeople can make a difference in helping their organisation stand-out from competitors, in ways that resonate with customers. Article summary This is the fourth in a series of articles in which Dr Simon Kelly, Dr Paul Johnston and Stacey Danheiser explore customer value and differentiation. Here they draw from their own recent research, to focus on the role that…
Tuesday, September 10th, 2019
Research identifies three key sales competencies
As B2B buying behaviour evolves, how can sales organisations adapt? This is the third of a series of articles in which Dr Simon Kelly, Dr Paul Johnston and Stacey Danheiser explore customer value and differentiation. In this article they offer an early view into their latest research around the roles and competencies required by salespeople to help their organisations differentiate…
Tuesday, June 25th, 2019
Selling in a sea of sameness
When your competitors are floating in a sea of sameness you need to make sure you are waving not drowning. In the second of a series of articles in which Dr Simon Kelly and Dr Paul Johnston explore customer value and differentiation, they are joined by co-author Stacey Danheiser to ask: are you selling in a sea of sameness? In…
Thursday, March 21st, 2019
Putting the value in value propositions
This is the first of a series of articles in which the authors explore customer value and differentiation. In this article Dr Simon Kelly and Dr Paul Johnston consider the importance of customer value and its criticality in building effective value propositions. They draw together their experience as marketing and sales practitioners, their recent academic and commercial research, and their…
Saturday, October 31st, 2015
KAM – the art of performance
Much has been talked about the nature of value propositions but how do KAMs go about the act of proposing value? Paul Johnston explores KAM distinctiveness, social context and identity. What makes a key account manager distinctive from other salespeople? Much has been researched and written about KAM best practice (see for example Rackham, 1995; Payne et al, 1998; Ulaga,…