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Navigating the transition from sales to sales management. For many successful and ambitious salespeople, their first move into sales management is perhaps the defining moment in their career. Some will succeed. Some will fail. Some will make the move and then wish they had never abandoned the simpler life of a salesperson. And some will remain perfectly happy avoiding the… 

Maybe it’s time to re-examine what you may have always taken for granted. Salespeople are born not made Whilst having confidence, a positive attitude and being generally likeable are all useful traits, they do not guarantee success in sales. The skills required to be effective take years to learn and hone. Too many sellers are thrown in at the deep… 

Three ways to analyse sales strategies to determine gaps and identify opportunities for improvement. I’ve been selling and consulting for almost two decades now. During that time, I’ve had the chance to collaborate with sales organizations worldwide, assisting them with their sales strategies and designing sales enablement programmes to bridge gaps. Based on my experience, analyzing sales strategies is crucial… 

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the European Sales Competition (ESC) hosted by Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences in Apeldoorn, Netherlands during May and June. This year’s competition saw twin parallel finals. Students were split into two groups, one selling software from ATOSS, a European company selling workforce management software, while the other main sponsor was TeamViewer, another… 

German digital media monitoring service PMG Presse-Monitor has expanded its management team with the appointment of Michelle Harold as Vice President Global Sales. She will lead PMG’s international sales team from 5 June. With her extensive experience in the digital transformation of content, Harold will lead PMG’s market expansion based on the company’s ongoing investment and commitment to innovation in… 

UK merchant banking group, Close Brothers Asset Finance is inviting applications to join its sales academy, which aims to attract new and diverse talent into the sector from across the UK. Six positions are available in this year’s sales academy, and experience in finance or sales is not a prerequisite. The role is being advertised at £32,500 basic salary plus… 

Analysts suggests that sales organizations which actively position technology as a “teammate” for sellers – rather than just another tool – will unlock seller productivity and enable highquality deals. Speakers at the Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference 2023, in Las Vegas on 16-17 May, explored how technology – particularly artificial intelligence – is key in augmenting the unique value… 

Some 35% of chief revenue officers (CROs) will establish a generative AI operations team within their go-to market (GTM) organization by 2025, according to a June statement from Gartner. The focus on generative AI will democratize, accelerate and enable the production of buyer-centric messaging and content, the technology research and consulting firm claims. “There is a great burden on sellers… 

What are tomorrow’s most important sales competencies? We’re entering a “brave new world of sales”, fuelled by the convergence of evolving B2B buying behaviours and the availability of AI-based new technologies. Is change the only constant, or do some of the traditional attributes of a successful salesperson remain important? I think it’s clear that many relatively simple pre- and postsales… 

How and why we ask questions is important. The twins of curiosity and ignorance Dr Marlys Witte is “a surgeon without hands”1, a researcher and educator of medical students and the self-proclaimed mother of the “medical ignorance” movement. She has not just adopted the Socratic method of educating through questions; her medical education model also develops the capability to be… 

What role should sales leadership play in their organisation’s deployment of CRM? A CRM application lies at the centre of the technology stack of most sales organisations. It often represents one of the most significant investments made to support sales effectiveness. And yet both organisations and users often express frustration with both the user experience and the quality of the… 

Don’t rely on “hopium” – the mindset that blocks agency growth and loses deals. I once had a boss who said, “I think we got away with that one” after just being told by the chairman of a global cereal brand our creative proposals were “the biggest load of crap ever seen”. We were fired the next day. The agency… 

Recent research highlights differences in how sales leaders and sellers view the best ways to engage with prospects, but the majority agree that buyer centricity is the right approach overall – that’s according to a study conducted by sales training specialist ValueSelling Associates and L&D publication Training Industry. A significant majority of sales leaders (61%) believe it makes sense to… 

A trio of important research-based sales books are in the pipeline this year and all are well worth checking out for different reasons. Book 1 The first of these is Transforming Sales Management: Lead Sales Teams Through Change by Grant Van Ulbrich, set for launch on 3 May 2023 along with the “Scared-So What” personal change app, which will be… 

Persimmon is the first homebuilder to achieve the Institute of Sales Professional’s Investor in Sales award. The award recognises commitment to develop strong customer relationships based on integrity, trust, and ethical selling. To date, 114 sales advisers have been fully accredited with the ISP with more to follow. Meanwhile, staff turnover within its sales excellence programme has fallen by 70%… 

Over 100 students from universities across South-East Asia recently competed in three rounds of the latest South-East Asia Sales Competition (SEASAC) 2022, sponsored by paint manufacturer PT Propan Raya. The competition offered participants a “great sales educational experience” one of the leading judges for the final round, Dr Colin Mackenzie told the Journal. The qualifying round was completed on 13-15… 

The way that pharmaceutical and medical device companies market and sell their products is on the cusp of major change, according to a paper from industry consultancy Impatient Health. Significant cuts are expected across commercial departments in 2023. “By the end of the year we will see 20% trimmed in commercial roles, at both HQ and country level,” the authors… 

Marking the start of National Apprenticeship Week on 6 February 2023, senior UK Treasury minister John Glen has called for students to undertake apprenticeships as an alternative to a traditional university degree. As part of the government’s campaign to boost apprenticeships, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury says that apprenticeships can offer better ROI for young people and will also… 

3 key business technologies for 2023 1…. 

How a single sales methodology can help to reap global benefits I am constantly amazed at how quickly companies that invest in a sales training methodology are led astray and lose out on the benefits it can deliver. Often, as the roll-out draws to a close, someone proposes a new “shiny toy”. Incredibly, they go for it, short-circuiting all the…