Latest News

KEEP UP TO DATE with the latest sales news from around the world, including stories and developments with a commercial, educational and political theme of potential interest to sales leaders and their teams.

Gender imbalance in sales

September 18th, 2024 by

To improve female representation in the salesforce in 2024 and beyond, chief sales offers should address gender-based differences at three different career stages, according to Gartner: Despite making up nearly half of the global workforce, women represent only 40% of mid-level B2B sales employees, dropping to 31% at the senior level, Gartner has found. In 2023, the consultancy conducted a… 


Salesforce launches two new AI sales agents

September 18th, 2024 by

Sales CRM specialist Salesforce introduced two new fully autonomous AI sales agents – Einstein Sales Development Rep (SDR) Agent and Einstein Sales Coach Agent – on 22 August. Generally available in October, these sales agents are built on Salesforce’s Einstein 1 Agentforce Platform to help sales teams accelerate growth. Einstein SDR Agent autonomously engages with inbound prospects to nurture pipeline… 


ISP publishes new Sales Framework

September 18th, 2024 by

The Institute of Sales Professionals is publishing a new, modular version of the ISP Sales Framework outlining the knowledge, skills, behaviours, and tools required by sales professionals to be “effective and ethical in the prosecution of their profession, supporting personal development, professional advancement and improved business results”. Acting as a guide for effective, competent sales performance in line with organisational… 


5 essential steps for targeting customers

April 24th, 2024 by

Researching prospects can be a time-consuming activity but is essential to success. Used judiciously, AI can help streamline the process. Then it’s time to make contact… See Sales Tips 101 “Opening a conversation” +


How to establish trust with customers

April 24th, 2024 by

Trust plays a major role in our prospective customer’s decision-making. Here are a few of the most important ways in which salespeople can establish trust: +


Establishing trust with your sales team

April 23rd, 2024 by

Sales managers need to both trust and be trusted by their sales team. Here are a few of the most important ways in which this can be established: +


News in brief April 2024

April 22nd, 2024 by

The Institute of Sales Professionals has announced that two training organisations have joined the ranks of its endorsed training organisations. Competitive Edge is an awardwinning trainer that helps to develop high-performing sales teams and leaders. Meanwhile, Alate Business Growth specialises in business-tobusiness sales training for technology companies, across IT, telecoms, and software as a service (SaaS) in diverse global and… 


Education inspectorate grades Consalia’s Senior Sales Leadership apprenticeship programme outstanding

April 22nd, 2024 by

Consalia’s Senior Sales Leadership apprenticeship programme has been graded outstanding by UK education inspectorate Ofsted, the sales business school announced recently. The inspection took place over three days in February. Questionnaires were sent in advance to employers and apprentices and the government inspectors also conducted detailed interviews with Consalia’s Academy Team, apprentices, employers, and delivery partners Middlesex University and Runway… 


What salespeople need to succeed in a new sales role

February 19th, 2024 by

Of course, every new salesperson needs to have a clear understanding of what they are selling. But product knowledge is never enough to ensure success. Bob Apollo lists five things every new (and existing) salesperson needs to master: +


Five things to consider before stepping up to a sales management role

February 19th, 2024 by

For many salespeople, their obvious career goal is to advance into sales management. Unfortunately, this can turn into a frustrating move. Here’s what aspiring sales managers need to consider: +


KAM in 2024

February 19th, 2024 by

2024 is going to be challenging, so what are the significant issues for KAMs this year? We asked some respected commentators. What a decade it has been so far: a global pandemic, war in Europe and the Mediterranean, increasing geopolitical uncertainty and uncoupling of global supply chains, the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (for good and ill), recession in major… 


Your first day

February 16th, 2024 by

What should a salesperson expect from their first few days in a new sales role? I suppose this article could have been titled “What do I wish I had known or done in my first day as a salesperson?” And maybe I might have benefited from reading it then – but that was a long time ago, and in a… 


Addressing individual underperformance

October 13th, 2023 by

Sales managers have a responsibility to identify, understand and address the root causes of individual underperformance in their teams. Here are a few of the key considerations: +


Build a go-to-market coalition

October 13th, 2023 by

By 2026, B2B organizations that unify their… 


Establishing your own personal development plan

October 13th, 2023 by

No matter how comprehensive the training programme provided by their employer, salespeople need to establish and implement their own personal development plan. Bob Apollo highlights a few key considerations: +


Don’t sacrifice effectiveness

October 11th, 2023 by

Five negative effects of sales efficiency. Efficiency in the sales process is a good thing, right? Well, it all depends on what you mean by “efficiency”. The definition of “efficient” is: “achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.” In parentheses, the Google dictionary notes, “(especially of a system or machine).” And it’s that last part, I want to… 


Negotiation as a trading process

October 11th, 2023 by

How to dodge three avoidable mistakes when closing a deal. It is as if it were yesterday. I can still see their faces: stern, unbending, implacable. The setting was innocuous enough: a small meeting room in the hotel for which I was sales director. On one side of the table, I sat with the general manager, and on the other… 


Addressing underperformance

October 11th, 2023 by

Underperformance is not just about the individual; it can be a structural issue too. It would be an exceptionally lucky or gifted sales manager who has never had to address the issue of underperformance at some stage in their management career. Sometimes the causes appear to be external – changes in the market environment over which we have little influence… 


Coaching conversations

October 11th, 2023 by

My Coaching Promise ensures sales professionals have better sales conversations. In today’s hybrid world of both face-to-face and virtual customer conversations, ensuring the best of the limited time we get with customers is paramount. I find it odd that it’s taken for granted that sports professionals have multiple coaches, yet sales professionals struggle to get time with their managers, who… 


Gazing into the future

October 11th, 2023 by

We look into our crystal ball to understand how technology is reshaping business and wider society via Industry 4.0. We recently sat down with Henrik von Scheel, a leading speaker on AI and an expert on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As the originator of the term, he is highly regarded by businesses and governments for his insight into digital trends….