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Is sales training dead? I recall reading a blog about the issue on LinkedIn back in 2016. Of course, it sought to refute this premise. That was then, but what of today? Well, the sales landscape has undoubtedly moved on, driven by evolving business practice, technology, and the advance of relatively new disciplines such as sales enablement. Firstly, the traditional… 

As we tentatively emerge from the pandemic, the consensus is that selling has moved on significantly – and not just in the most immediately apparent ways like the switch to the hybrid selling world of virtual and in-person engagement and the accompanying transition from field sales to inside sales. Such changes will be persistent, despite some shortcomings (such as issues… 

Sales ethics is essential in the new normal. Good business strategy Many companies, even entire industries, struggle to remain open during this ongoing period of challenging economic uncertainty. Business models that were shifting prior to the pandemic, such as the move from instore shopping to e-commerce, have accelerated because of the pandemic. Businesses are adjusting strategies to stay ahead of… 

UK lawmakers warn that Britain is suffering from a shortage of salespeople and sales skills. MPs say much more needs to be done to recruit and train people with strong B2B selling skills. Last month’s report by Westminster’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Professional Sales underlined a persistent problem for the sales profession in the United Kingdom: quite simply, not enough… 

Sales methods must change in a post-COVID-19 world. It is often said that people buy from people. Many of the world’s top salespeople have relied on their personality and ability to quickly establish a rapport with customers to become highly successful. While this trend may continue in future, the dynamics of sales have to change dramatically in a post-COVID-19 world…. 

Exploring the surprising benefits of remote selling by video. COVID-19 has suddenly changed the dynamics of selling. Salespeople who normally see prospects and customers in person are scrambling as they explore how to sell remotely. It may be a problem now, but could this be an unforeseen opportunity? Up until nine years ago, we sold our sales consulting services exclusively… 

How to avoid sales training mistakes and create a successful programme. Having trained over 6,000 people in countless workshops over the past five years, I have seen numerous examples of why sales training programmes fail. Since many training initiatives start at the beginning of each new year, I’ve compiled a list of the five most common sales training mistakes and… 

Are we witnessing the rise of account leadership and the fall of sales methodology? I contend that what customers really want today is so far removed from what salespeople are being told to do that we face a stark choice: replace sales methodologies with real leaders of accounts who are co-creative, deserve high trust and who encourage the agile-change buying… 

Reporting from the Cranfield KAM Best Practice Forum 20 June 2019. Key account managers and purchasing professionals are increasingly recognising the importance of co-creating value and the key part that the latest technology can have in facilitating that. So, the most recent KAM Best Practice Forum at Cranfield University decided to focus on how Key Account Managers can embrace technology… 

As selling evolves, how do you make sales enablement work for your company? When listing key company departments, many business leaders will name sales, HR, marketing or even their IT team. Today, however, more and more are adding sales enablement to that list. The rise of sales enablement is materialising. According to recent research from CSO Insights, 61% of businesses… 

CPD is vital in today’s sales world, and the “Journal” is aiming to help. Continuing professional development is widely recognised as fundamental to the improvement of standards and skills for individuals, their industries and professions. Yet, until recently, CPD has not been top of the agenda in sales. Why? Let’s face it, sales may be the world’s oldest profession, but… 

Lessons from Birmingham’s new Primark megastore. Primark’s new Birmingham flagship proves that stores still have a vital role to play in shopping journeys. But one store opening – albeit a great one – doesn’t spell the beginning of the end of pressure on the High Street. The discount fashion retailer’s megastore opening drew big crowds in April and demonstrates its… 

To boost productivity it’s vital for companies to embrace an “everybody sells” approach and to harness the “hidden sales force” that is an energised customer service department. The UK is suffering a productivity crisis. Start-up companies and total early-stage entrepreneurial activity are still booming, but the number of high-growth companies in the UK has been steadily declining in the past… 

Pharma needs to transform the way it engages customers if it is to adapt to disruption in the healthcare landscape. For the past 20 years, I have been involved in pharma discussions regarding the need to radically change our sales and engagement model. The pharma industry has shifted from defining its customers as the physicians prescribing to patients to a… 

It’s all change for 2018, and much of it for the better. Next year will be a big one for the sales profession globally. As an international publication with a global readership – we already have readers in over 30 countries – we see evidence of a new sales professionalism developing around the world. Here in the UK, 2018 will… 

A new resource to help you be agile and resilient. The whole sales world is evolving. There’s disruption in the marketplace. Change is unremitting and relentless. It keeps gathering pace. Our customers require increasing attention and sophistication in our approach. Every sales situation is contextually unique. There are greater and greater demands on our time. Needs and solutions can sometimes… 

Techniques passed down the generations in ancient trading centres are still relevant today. Dating back some 5,000 years, Aleppo in Syria is one of the oldest continuously habited cities in the world. It was there that my wife Louise and I met Mohammed, a textile trader, six months before the civil war began in the summer of 2011. Mohammed offered… 

Organisations understand the power of coaching and the importance of data to inform this activity. But could it lead to a zombie sales force? What is the difference between coaching and training? This is often poorly understood. As a starter, we might consider that training is about transferring knowledge while coaching is about enhancing that knowledge and developing people and… 

Here’s how both women and men can help sales organizations achieve gender equality to build success. Most industry outsiders I encounter view our industry as a corporate boys’ club. It’s a common misperception that sales has a shortage of women. In fact, the sales industry as a whole is almost evenly split on gender lines, with women making up 49… 

Teething problems and delays with the UK’s sales apprenticeship programme are frustrating employers. At the time of writing in early March, it is National Apprenticeship Week in the UK. This time last year – during the 2017 National Apprenticeship Week – there was considerable excitement that the standards for the first-ever degree apprenticeship in B2B sales would swiftly be approved….