Biggest challenge in B2B Sales is lack of customer confidence
December 12th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationOverwhelmed B2B buyers are facing a crisis of confidence as they increasingly struggle to make large-scale purchase decisions. That’s according to research and advisory specialist Gartner. Research findings revealed at the recent Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference in Las Vegas suggest that the root cause of customers’ struggle has little to do with how they perceive suppliers’ offerings and…
Co-creating value via Fujitsu HXD
September 11th, 2019 by Richard Vincent and Mark DaviesReporting 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…
NeGOtiate&WIN
September 11th, 2019 by Katherine CollinsHow a unified negotiations approach drives customer loyalty and more revenue for SAP. The digital revolution is having a dramatic effect on the sales world. Listening to the customer, taking their concerns and strategic objectives on board, and using their feedback to identify the best possible solution has always proved to be an effective strategy. However, sales success can also…
Navigating choppy economic waters
September 10th, 2019 by Richard HiltonWorld-class sellers don’t expect success; they prepare for it. On the face of it, sellers appear to be on a winning streak. New figures from CSO Insights (the research division of Miller Heiman Group) reveal that, over the period 2017–19, sales organisations globally saw a 7% increase across both revenue and quota target attainment. However, before sales teams are too…
Growing together (part 2)
September 10th, 2019 by Phil Styrlund and James RobertsonFollowing up on our previous article in last issue of IJST, we continue the discussion on how to best work with your strategic customers to help create joint solutions for growth. What do the best do differently to create joint solutions? Leading companies that excel at collaboratively creating value with their customers are not trying to do a thousand things…
Research identifies three key sales competencies
September 10th, 2019 by Simon Kelly, Dr Paul Johnston and Stacey DanheiserAs B2B buying behaviour evolves, how can sales organisations adapt? This is the third of a series of articles in which Dr Simon Kelly, Dr Paul Johnston and Stacey Danheiser explore customer value and differentiation. In this article they offer an early view into their latest research around the roles and competencies required by salespeople to help their organisations differentiate…
Spotlight on Strategic Selling
September 10th, 2019 by Bob ApolloIn the previous edition of the International Journal of Sales Transformation, I summarised some of the key aspects of the Sandler Selling System. In the second of my series of articles on today’s leading sales methodologies, I want to turn to another long-established approach: Strategic Selling® from the Miller Heiman Group. The Strategic Selling methodology is particularly effective in complex…
Questions or insights?
September 10th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationContext is important in sales meetings. Successful approaches vary according to the level and function of the executive you are speaking to and how far along the buying journey they may be. Writing in Harvard Business Review, Journal contributor Dr Frank Cespedes and Tracy DeCicco warn of the negative consequences of choosing the wrong sales approach for the circumstances, such…
Inside sales organisations risk losing 24% of employees
September 10th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationSome 24% of inside sellers are actively looking for a new job, with the three most common reasons being dissatisfaction with the competitiveness of compensation package, manager quality, and the degree of respect the organisation shows employees. That’s according to findings from Gartner’s Global Labor Market Survey. The survey also highlights factors that would pull sales representatives to similar jobs…
Coaching the high-performing key account manager
June 26th, 2019 by Mark Davies and Richard VincentHighly skilled, highly capable key account managers are essential for any organisation seeking to transform to a KAM culture. As more organisations realize that having a strong KAM capability is an absolute necessity to manage the customer base where most of their business resides, increasing focus is being placed on finding those key “few things” that guarantee success. Through research…
Acquisition not the same as expansion
June 26th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationWorking together to deliver growth
June 26th, 2019 by Deirdre ColemanHow L&D can support sales transformation by collaborating with the sales leadership team. In this case study, RS Components Director of Learning and Development, Ian Wearne explains how L&D, sales leadership and salespeople collaborated to create a sales development programme that is transforming employee engagement and sales performance. In keeping salespeople at the top of their game, learning and development…
Just call me Coach
June 26th, 2019 by Deirdre ColemanHow developing a coaching culture can make you a “destination employer”. How to embed a coaching culture was a dominant theme at the most recent Sales Learning & Development conference. Sales learning and development is not just about teaching skills; it’s about engaging and motivating the whole organization to be passionate about learning and development, and adopting a coaching culture…
Enabling the digital sales force of today and tomorrow
June 26th, 2019 by Claus J BreedeAs the modern workspace is changing and the workforce is becoming more social, mobile and digital, corporate learning functions need to adapt their ways of providing training and enablement. This is especially true when enabling the sales force. SAP’s Learning2Go organisation provides SAP sales colleagues with offerings that harness digital and virtual innovations, empowering them with the most up-to-date and…

Growing together
June 25th, 2019 by Phil Styrlund and James RobertsonHow to work with strategic customers to create joint solutions for growth. Article summary Persistent, disruptive forces impacting profitable growth are intensifying, and as a result, companies in many industries face slower growth and accelerating commoditization of product and service margins. Given marketplace complexity and dynamic shifts in how customers buy, traditional business models are threatened and new strategies and…
Selling in a sea of sameness
June 25th, 2019 by Stacey Danheiser, Simon Kelly and Dr Paul JohnstonWhen your competitors are floating in a sea of sameness you need to make sure you are waving not drowning. In the second of a series of articles in which Dr Simon Kelly and Dr Paul Johnston explore customer value and differentiation, they are joined by co-author Stacey Danheiser to ask: are you selling in a sea of sameness? In…
Spotlight on Sandler
June 25th, 2019 by Bob ApolloIn this, the first of a series of articles on sales methodologies, I want to turn the spotlight onto Sandler Selling. Introduced by the late David Sandler in 1967 as an antidote to conventional product-centric, hard-sales tactics, the approach aims to achieve a more equitable balance of power between the buyer and the seller. By emphasising rapport-building and empathy, and…
Comedy and coaching culture at APS conference
June 25th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationTwo half-day programmes explored the interrelated issues of performance and talent. Driving improved sales performance via strategic insights and best practices was top of the agenda for delegates at a morning conference for APS members and guests at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on 16 May. An afternoon conference focused on developing sales talent. Speakers included a mix of company…
Cruise line receives sales award
June 25th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationRoyal Caribbean Cruises have been presented with the APS Investor in Sales award for passing the professional registration assessment. Professional registration with the APS demonstrates a commitment to ethical selling and the Investor in Sales award is granted to sales teams when more than 50 percent pass an exacting test. So far, more than 130 salespeople in the company’s pan-European…
APS expanding globally and locally
June 25th, 2019 by Journal Of Sales TransformationThe Association of Professional Sales held its first meeting in francophone Africa on 19 June. The inaugural event in Dakar, Senegal, featured a presentation by Emmanuel Delvaux, Global Sales and Marketing Director, Schlumberger. Delvaux, who also doubles as International Development Manager of the APS, discussed “The art of negotiation: what challenges for a win-win approach?” Meanwhile, in the UK, the…