Time for CPD
October 11th, 2023 by Journal Of Sales TransformationDo salespeople have time to learn? +
The AI balance sheet
September 6th, 2023 by Nick de CentWhat will be the impact of artificial intelligence on business? There is a fierce debate (not to mention a lot of hype) surrounding the future impact of artificial intelligence, related both to its potential benefits and also to the not inconsiderable dangers of introducing AI into business and society. On the one hand, AI investment has been growing rapidly over…
Sales AI in its own words
April 20th, 2023 by Nick de CentWe’ve seen the hype, but what is the future of AI in sales? You were either asleep for the past few months or marooned on a desert island if you missed the hype surrounding ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot that was launched in November 2022. The system quickly became a social media sensation due to its detailed responses and articulate…
Sustainable sales
February 14th, 2023 by Colin MacKenzieWhat does it mean, and does it add value to businesses? In a world where sustainability is the new buzzword, is “sustainable sales” just greenwashing or can it genuinely support the creation of a company’s unique selling proposition? Academic concepts sometimes languish through lack of action as they cannot be translated into professional practice; however, this article defines sustainable sales…
Quarterly forecasting or healthy pipeline?
February 14th, 2023 by Ofer Zilberman and Dr Phil SquireSales operations are having a golden era. Organizations that understand this will come out winners in the years to come. Tomorrow is happening now – like, now now! From forecasting to demand management, sales operations is moving from an enabler to a player, but the move must be intentional; it will not happen by coincidence. Here’s why. The business of…
Technology
November 26th, 2021 by Journal Of Sales TransformationQ: What are the top-three new agenda items that sales leaders will be thinking about for 2022? IM: Buying behaviours have evolved tremendously throughout the digital age, seeing the most accelerated growth specifically throughout the pandemic, and sellers must rapidly adapt accordingly. Working and living in the same space caused many people to rethink what is important to them, leading…
The Professional Bodies
November 26th, 2021 by Journal Of Sales TransformationAustralian Institute of Sales, New Zealand Institute of Sales – Stuart Edmunds, Director; Association of Professional Sales – Andrew Hough, CEO Q: What will be the top-three agenda items for sales leaders as businesses emerge from the pandemic? SE: 1) Staffing (retention, attraction, development – with the skills shortage). 2) New-customer acquisition and accelerating pipeline. 3) Increasing virtual/remote selling capabilities….
The Practitioners
November 26th, 2021 by Journal Of Sales TransformationWaldemar Adams, Global Senior Vice President, SAP Customer Success COO Office; Grant Van Ulbrich, Director, Sales Transformation – International, Royal Caribbean International Q: What will be the top-three agenda items for sales leaders as businesses emerge from the pandemic? WA: 1) Ensure customer success. 2) Budget achievement and growth plans. 3) Manage their teams successfully, with empathy. GVU: Our focus…
The Consultants
November 26th, 2021 by Journal Of Sales TransformationMark Davies, Founder, Segment Pulse Limited, Visiting Fellow, Centre for Strategic Marketing and Sales, Cranfield School of Management, and The Advanced Services Group, Aston Business School; Dr Mark Hollyoake, Director, Customer Attuned and Associate Lecturer, University of the West of England; Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy Officer, Corporate Visions; Dr Philip Squire, CEO, Consalia; Philip Styrlund, CEO, The Summit Group Q:…
The Academics
November 26th, 2021 by Journal Of Sales TransformationDr Frank Cespedes, senior lecturer, Harvard Business School; Professor Mark Johnston, Professor of Marketing and Ethics, Rollins College; Professor Nick Lee, Warwick Business School; Dr Colin Mackenzie, specialist lecturer, Edinburgh Napier University; Dr Javier Marcos, Associate Professor, Strategic Sales Management and Negotiation, Cranfield School of Management; Dr Beth Rogers, Visiting Fellow, Cranfield School of Management Q: What will be the…
This time it’s personal!
November 26th, 2021 by Iain MassonIn the bold new world of sales, a mental shift is required. The pandemic turned the whole world upside down: it made us shift our priorities away from things that we once thought were important to new ways of working and living. As people switch careers and re-evaluate how they spend their time, naturally their behaviours have fundamentally changed. In…
No going back
November 26th, 2021 by Bob ApolloWhat should B2B sales leaders be prioritising in 2022? As we head towards 2022, sales organisations are emerging from a tumultuous two years. Across many markets and industries, the sales function has had to cope with transformational changes that have been compressed into a short period of time. Inevitably, some sales organisations have managed to adapt better than others. They…
The Trust Dividend
September 28th, 2021 by Mark Hollyoake, Dr Melanie Ashleigh and Professor Malcolm HiggsThe strategic implications of trust building in B2B client relationships and the way towards enhancing them to create mutual economic value. Trust is recognised as a central concept in relationship marketing (Blois 1999) and this may be attributed to the significant impact on many outcomes in this area (Seppanen, Blomquist and Sundquist (2007). This paper considers the strategic implications of…
The role of trust in sales
September 27th, 2021 by Bob ApolloIf we expect our customers to trust us, we need to develop both an internal and an external culture of trust. Trust is an essential foundational element in any sales environment, and it can (and must) take many forms. Perhaps the most obvious manifestation lies in the relationship between the salesperson (and the vendor they represent) and the customer’s decision-making…
Four steps to embedding ethics
September 27th, 2021 by Mark W JohnstonSales 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…
THE VALUE OF TRUST ONLINE
September 27th, 2021 by Journal Of Sales TransformationThe three truths of sales enablement
July 26th, 2021 by John MooreLike any change-management programme, effective sales enablement is not rocket science but remains challenging to deliver. I am constantly amazed by the poor understanding of enablement in the go-to-market space. Many overcomplicate it; others oversimplify and dismiss its value. I recently delivered a webinar with the Sales Enablement Society, titled “The Only Enablement Operating Model You’ll Ever Need.” In that…
Do millennials have a chance?
April 26th, 2021 by Eileen ChuaThe theme of my research is to explore the extent to which companies need to adapt and change to cater to a multi-generational workforce, define what the distinct differences really are using facts data, and in the process also draw out similarities. I will look at how stereotypes and unconscious bias skew realities, responses and attitudes. My research seeks to…
The triumph of data over intuition
April 26th, 2021 by Jamie AndersonHow businesses must adapt to the new world of virtual selling. When the Coronavirus pandemic swept across the world in 2020, it is safe to say that all industries were dramatically disrupted and forced to reassess their operations and ways of working. However, the sales industry was one of the business sectors that was significantly turned on its head by…
Omnichannel here to stay for B2B sales
April 23rd, 2021 by Journal Of Sales Transformation