Research Centre

Credible research is the foundation of the Journal’s approach to understanding what works and what doesn’t in sales. Most importantly, it tells us why. Here you’ll find the latest research from academic institutions, top consultancies and industry sales leaders – including the Journal’s own specially commissioned research – interpreted from a business perspective.

My Coaching Promise

September 6th, 2023 by

Developing a contract between coachee and coach works to improve virtual sales coaching. +


GenAI for sales messaging

September 5th, 2023 by

Gartner has devised its Generative Value Messaging… 


Opening a conversation

September 5th, 2023 by

Continuing our new series of sales tips, Bob Apollo discusses five things to bear in mind when preparing for your next significant sales conversation. How we plan and prepare for a sales conversation has a huge impact on the outcome. Preparation: +


Becoming an effective coach

September 5th, 2023 by

Following on from our new Sales Tips 101 column, Bob Apollo presents a parallel series of tips for sales managers, starting with the “Keys to effective coaching”. Coaching is perhaps the most important task of any sales manager, and the thing most likely to impact their team’s performance. Here are five principles to bear in mind when developing our ability… 


Mobile malware

July 10th, 2023 by

The rising number of mobile malware attacks is in many cases attributable to people not protecting their smartphones, according to IT support specialists CloudTech24[NdC1] . What can you do? Here are five tips:  [NdC1]Please keep the link +


Targeting

July 10th, 2023 by

In the first of a new series, Bob Apollo outlines some five things to bear in mind when researching, targeting and prioritising your most valuable prospects: If we do the research and use it to inform our prospecting priorities and programmes, we will inevitably generate much better qualified opportunities and convert them more effectively into satisfied customers. +


How AI is disrupting sales and marketing

July 10th, 2023 by

McKinsey research (published 11 May 2023) suggests… 


Sales Transformation: Leading and selling within and beyond the organisation

July 6th, 2023 by

In this summary of his doctoral thesis, Grant Van Ulbrich explores how his public works have highlighted how sales can be transformed to sell within and beyond an organization. Introducing sales transformation to Royal Caribbean Group ignites a SPARK I had learned through my first and second public works the importance of developing your successor by giving everything of oneself… 


Build deeper connections

July 6th, 2023 by

Understanding best practices for a buyer-centric sales approach. A buyer-centric approach to selling is table stakes in today’s competitive business landscape – and yet, buyer-centric approaches across companies and industries seem to be vastly different. It begs the question: How do sales leaders and sales representatives interpret buyer-centricity and are they aligned on its crucial components? To further explore this… 


Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad 9.2 2023

April 20th, 2023 by

The research review aims to help readers keep up to date with recently published research on sales-related topics. The review highlights short abstracts of academically peer-reviewed research. This selection of published research is from a range of academic journals. In this edition, the abstracts include four themes that focus on sales performance, customer management, and behavioural studies. Sales performance Salesperson… 


Embracing all generations in the workplace

April 20th, 2023 by

This paper has been adapted from the author’s Masters project and discusses how leaders can best cultivate “superpowers” that are applicable to multi-generational organisations and teams. When exploring the different generations, I came across many different descriptions and definitions. To avoid confusion, I have decided to use the definition from Purdue University: The aim of my research has been to… 


War on attrition

April 20th, 2023 by

How can effective coaching support the retention of employees within an organisation? The challenge of employee retention and continued commitment to an organisation has no straightforward documented resolution. A key responsibility of any business is to keep its employees happy and motivated, retain them in the company, but also to ensure they make best use of their individual talents. O’Reilly… 


Does your organisation have buyer-centric sales skills?

April 20th, 2023 by

Fewer than half of sales leaders and… 


Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad 9.1 2023

February 14th, 2023 by

The research review aims to help readers keep up to date with recently published research on sales-related topics. The review highlights short abstracts of academically peer-reviewed research. This selection of published research is from a range of academic journals. In this edition, the abstracts include four themes that focus on sales performance, customer management, behavioural studies, and systems and tools…. 


The SAP Masters alumni community: An ongoing transformational journey

February 14th, 2023 by

You’ve achieved you Masters, but what next? Can the alumni group help to continue the transformation journey? By November 2019, our SAP Masters cohort was really hitting our stride. Collectively we (and I especially) were seeing success with our papers, we were learning new skills and many of us were seeing growth within our teams as our leadership practices improved…. 


What does it take to transform?

February 14th, 2023 by

Tackling obstacles to transformational leadership in corporations. As middle managers, we sit at the intersection of the executives who have power and the employees who can create momentum. However, corporations are collections of people scattered across multiple departments with many hierarchies. While the organisation may appear to be united in reaching its ultimate objective, behaviour appears to be independent and… 


Ethical principles in AI-guided selling

February 13th, 2023 by

As AI-guided selling takes hold, ethics remains an important foundational principle. Today, AI can do things that humans could never do before like finding the quickest route to a destination; personalising suggestions for books, films, music, and clothes; identifying new chemical compounds and medical treatments; predicting equipment failures and coordinating maintenance across complex supply chains; using quality-assurance data to improve… 


Talent to thrive: inspiring cultural change

February 13th, 2023 by

How can sales leaders inspire cultural change so sales talent can thrive? Participants and speakers from leading organisations such as BT, SAP, Sharp, UCAS and Vodafone came together at the London Stock Exchange on 1 December 2022 for Consalia’s 17th annual Global Sales Transformation event to discuss professional development for sales teams and individuals, as well as the wider sales profession.  … 


Customers are demanding much more

February 13th, 2023 by

As buyers become ever more demanding, companies… 


3 key business technologies for 2023

February 13th, 2023 by

3 key business technologies for 2023 1….