Latest News

While conflict needs to be managed well, it can also be productive. Conflict is a frequent challenge among business relationships with customers, partners and suppliers. Inside organisations, conflicts within teams and cross-functionally are also common, yet sales professionals often feel ill-equipped to manage conflict well. Unresolved conflict can spread and grow, and result in stress and well-being issues for those… 

Every salesperson has the potential to improve their storytelling skills. As human beings, we have evolved over the generations to use stories to communicate. Moreover, one of the key factors that sets today’s most effective salespeople apart from the rest is their ability to share compelling, relevant anecdotes – typically the experiences of other existing customers – that resonate with… 

Stories are not only enduring; they help drive business. Telling stories is what humans do; it is fundamental to the human experience. We’ve been telling stories for tens of millennia: 30,000 years at least. Cave paintings in the Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, located in the Auvergne district of France, date back 30,000 years and represent the oldest known storyboard to be… 

Almost every leader claims to be ethical in business, but do they have the character to foster trust? Ethics, necessary but not sufficient Corporate scandals from Enron to Freddie Mac occurred despite the fact that the organizations and individuals leading them were operating in environments governed by a code of ethics. Yet, people still behaved poorly. Why? Why do people… 

The Institute of Sales Professionals says it is encouraged by the UK’s finance minister Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer promised to look at tax incentives to boost vocational training. The ISP is urging the government to focus on professional sales skills and qualifications to close the skills gap and promote a more business-like attitude… 

Reports from Q1 2022 While the Cranfield KAM Forum is planning to restart face-face meetings in late 2022, the success and popularity of the online seminars has demonstrated that there is a benefit from them continuing in parallel with face-to-face sessions. The speakers and subject were chosen to be particularly relevant to key account managers building and maintaining business in… 

SalesWorks appoints trainers Consultancy SalesWorks has appointed Cara Pepper and Alzaysha Johnson as sales training leads. The role sees them working with clients to design and deliver sales training programmes, tailor programmes for advanced reps to refine and improve their skills, and spotlight areas of focus to up-skill teams, improve processes and increase revenue. +

Philip Morris Limited (PML) opened its first sales apprenticeship scheme to applicants in February. The first group was scheduled to start work in April across four English cities: Nottingham; Northampton; Sheffield and London. +

Only 25% of sales organizations are directly measuring sales behaviours that drive sales success, claims ValueSelling Associates. “Our research findings mean that 75% of sales teams are driving down the interstate with their focus fixed on the rear-view mirror,” President and CEO, Julie Thomas tells the Journal. +

The importance of business-to-business (B2B) selling for jobs and growth in the UK was highlighted at Westminster on 19 April. In a debate at Westminster Hall, Mark Pawsey MP called for government support and recognition for the professional B2B sales sector. The MP, who leads the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Professional Sales, explained that the UK has struggled to recruit and… 

Being there is still important in the modern B2B sales process. Businesses increasingly communicate with customers and prospects in new ways as technology advances. Today’s sales reps use a variety of tools to accomplish their tasks – email, social media and video-chat tools among others. Consequently, traditional in-person sales meetings have become less common. Nevertheless, even as the B2B sales… 

Value First, Then Price: Building Value-Based Pricing Strategies, edited by Andreas Hinterhuber and Todd C Snelgrove, is the definitive book on value selling. To celebrate the publication of the second edition we have interpreted some of the main points in one of the key chapters of the book: “Quantifying your value so customers are willing and able to pay for… 

Too shy to sell? Why organisations need introverts. Do you ever hear the words “introvert” and “sales” in the same sentence and wonder if it is even possible to be successful in sale and shy or introverted? The conventional stereotype is that sales is an extrovert’s playground, but the reality is that this is simply not true.Countless industry giants are… 

Engage buyers using the basics of value-based selling. We all know the frightening stats: buyers spend 17% of their time interacting with sales professionals, and nearly half (43%) prefer a completely rep-free experience (Gartner). Yes, this is alarming. However, this roadblock is just that, a roadblock – it’s not impassable. After all, the buying journey is complex and contains numerous… 

Exploring the changing face of value in B2B sales. It seems as if the phrase “sell on value, not on price” must have been around since shortly after the dawn of B2B selling, and it would be hard to argue with the sentiment. But what do we actually mean by value, and perhaps more importantly, how do our customers perceive… 

Ambitious sales teams may want to take inspiration from tech giant SAP’s flagship Master’s programme for sales leaders and frontline sales managers. This ten-year sales transformation journey has seen 140+ managers trained to become transformational leaders, representing a unique investment by SAP in its Leaders in Sales – no other company has sustained the costs and efforts around such a… 

Reports from the Q2 and Q3 sessions While things are slowly returning to normal, the Cranfield KAM Forum seminars are continuing to complement the regular face-to face meetings that will resume when it is safe to do so. The webinars continue to address both strategic and operational themes and personal development topics of interest for key account managers. In this… 

Digital is enhancing the way we manage business and sales organisations, but analytics are underpinned by relationships and human behaviours. The value tied up in customer relationships is vast but hard to measure; purpose is now a profit centre and predictable human behaviours can help us to forecast sales more accurately. These were just three of the key takeaways from… 

Three perspectives on enhancing sales skills through sales competitions. Introduction The USA has led the way in developing and promoting sales competitions for university students. However, this dominance is quietly being challenged by the Europeans and universities across Southeast Asia. There are different factors at play around the world as well as alternative pedogeological approaches. This article discusses the challenges… 

How embedded is coaching in your organisation? Introduction In the past few decades, coaching has become an established professional learning method. Some sales organisations have dedicated staff coaches, but leaders tend to underuse coaching to tap into the full potential and motivation of their teams. Frequently job ads for sales leaders include the requirement to coach; however, many feel underequipped,…