Tuesday, February 14th, 2023
Sustainable sales
What does it mean, and does it add value to businesses? In a world where sustainability is the new buzzword, is “sustainable sales” just greenwashing or can it genuinely support the creation of a company’s unique selling proposition? Academic concepts sometimes languish through lack of action as they cannot be translated into professional practice; however, this article defines sustainable sales…
Tuesday, February 14th, 2023
Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad 9.1 2023
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….
Friday, September 30th, 2022
Cranfield KAM Forum (Reports from Q2 2022)
“Putting the customer at the heart” by Mark Bailey Rolls-Royce plc is a company that deals with power and propulsion and should not be confused with the motor-car company, which is entirely separate. Rolls-Royce plc provides power and propulsion systems for land, sea, and air, including nuclear submarines, military and civil aircraft, and major data centres. All of its systems…
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022
Cranfield KAM Forum online
Reports from Q1 2022 Sales tips from an advertising guy: Stephen Mangham Former Ogilvy Saatchi and Saatchi and Saatchi ad man Stephen Mangham shared his insightful views of the KAM market from the fresh perspective of someone who had a very successful career in advertising observing the companies that get things right and those that do not. Marketing is “the…
Tuesday, January 11th, 2022
Cranfield KAM Forum online
Reports from the Q2 and Q3 sessions Getting inside the head of a buyer (or what techniques and tips can you adopt to improve your commercial strategic negotiations?) John Viner-Smith has a Master’s in International Purchasing, and has been a senior category manager at JP Morgan, Dixons Stores Group and BP. He is a Founding Partner at Amplius Partners and…
Monday, January 10th, 2022
Brand Ethics
ETHICS IS AT THE TOP OF THE…
Tuesday, September 28th, 2021
2021 7.4 Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad
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 sales automation. Sales Performance Being…
Tuesday, September 28th, 2021
The Trust Dividend
The strategic implications of trust building in B2B client relationships and the way towards enhancing them to create mutual economic value. Trust is recognised as a central concept in relationship marketing (Blois 1999) and this may be attributed to the significant impact on many outcomes in this area (Seppanen, Blomquist and Sundquist (2007). This paper considers the strategic implications of…
Tuesday, September 28th, 2021
Avoid the parity trap
Differentiating your solutions in highly competitive categories. Are you struggling to create a truly unique value proposition that sets you apart from your competition? You’re not alone. In fact, 88 percent of marketers and sellers surveyed by B2B DecisionLabs aren’t confident their buyers understand what makes their solution unique or valuable. In well-defined categories, many companies can solve the same…
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
Five key topics for KAMs
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Cranfield Key Account Management Forum. Here’s what participants discussed in Q1. Key Account Management in a digital world Nico Smit, a Visiting Fellow from Cranfield University, discussed “Key Account Management in a Digital World”, focusing on how the increasing capability of digital systems can boost the value available to both suppliers and…
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
2021 7.3 Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad
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, capability development and sales behaviours. Sales…
Monday, July 26th, 2021
BUYERS’ PERCEPTIONS DIFFER FROM SELLERS’
65% OF SELLERS SAY THEY “ALWAYS” PUT…
Friday, April 23rd, 2021
3 steps to reinventing GTM
How top sales innovators are embedding data and technology throughout their organisations to reimagine sales for the “next normal”. Sales has always been a “sensing” organisation, attuned to changes in customer sentiment, shifts in demand, and the requirements of different buying stages. But those senses are being flooded as customers shift to digital engagement, leaving sellers with more channels to cover…
Friday, February 26th, 2021
4 key sales reads
Four new books written by distinguished contributors to the Journal offer business leaders, sales professionals, students and academics new insights and guidance as they seek to navigate the complexities of selling and sales leadership today. Each of the authors delivers that rare combination of academic credibility and practical business experience. Sales Management That Works by Frank V Cespedes Rather than moving…
Friday, February 26th, 2021
It’s time to level up!
Four forever changes transforming b2b revenue activities. Sales and marketing leaders, it’s time to level up. Buyers are searching for more information on their own, without talking to a sales rep. That means they are engaging with your content further down the funnel. As a result, your content can’t be just a companion to a sales-led customer conversation; it needs…
Tuesday, November 10th, 2020
Write like a pro
As a sales leader you may be a great talker, but how do you find your written voice? No matter how skilled you are as a practitioner, no matter how you have grown and flourished professionally, if you cannot express yourself with simplicity, in language unencumbered by business jargon, your work counts for little. Nowhere is this more evident than…
Friday, November 6th, 2020
What’s your customer’s unique value story?
Do you have compelling answers to three crucial customer questions: why change, why you, why now? Generic value propositions, while they might be of some use in persuading potential prospects to make initial contact with you as a potential vendor, aren’t very helpful when it comes to setting your customer’s expectations about the specific value that they will derive from…
Thursday, May 28th, 2020
ABM and KAM in tandem
Account-based marketing is increasingly recognised as a highly effective approach to working with key accounts, so is of major interest to key account managers looking for new approaches. November’s KAMBP explored how to use ABM and KAM together. Bev Burgess, Senior Vice President & Practice Lead, and Dave Munn, President and CEO, introduced ITSMA (the Information Technology Services Marketing Association)…
Thursday, May 28th, 2020
2020 Q1 Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad
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 three themes that focus on sales performance, customer management, and sales behavioural studies. Sales Performance…
Tuesday, May 26th, 2020
Cross-cultural sales into China
This study, adapted from a 2018 University of Portsmouth Business School MA Sales Management dissertation, explores the adaptive sales model and its suitability for cross-cultural sales into China. The author was surprised at the lack of cross-cultural awareness and understanding in global sales and communication, with even established exporting enterprises lacking an ability to fully engage and communicate effectively with…