Monday, April 22nd, 2024

Do you need trust to challenge?

In this dissertation from an MA SALES MANAGEMENT programme in 2017-18, the author explores the extent to which trust is important when applying the Challenger Selling approach. Abstract Challenger Selling was a new sales approach that was popularised in a 2008 Harvard Business Review article by Matthew Dixon and Brett Adamson. They published the Challenger Sale book in 2011, and… 


Monday, April 22nd, 2024

Leap of faith

B2B trust research: what’s next? Abstract New academic research on trust will build on insights generated through Mark Hollyoake’s 2020 doctoral thesis (see previous article). They aim to dig deeper into the role of the “Boundary Spanner in relational trust development”, based on eight years of academic research through the University of Southampton. The original research Boundary spanners: What are… 


Monday, February 13th, 2023

Ethical principles in AI-guided selling

As AI-guided selling takes hold, ethics remains an important foundational principle. Abstract Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, development, and application have sparked a broad debate about the ethics of AI systems. As a result, several ethical frameworks have been published in recent years. These guidelines include normative concepts and recommendations aimed at assisting organisations in capitalising on the… 


Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Selling face to face

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… 


Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Understanding true value

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… 


Friday, April 29th, 2022

Digital evolution in sales: making sense

BY 2025: 80% OF B2B SALES INTERACTIONS… 


Monday, January 10th, 2022

Brand Ethics

ETHICS IS AT THE TOP OF THE… 


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. Abstract There is a noticeable lack of clarity around the construct of trust in the business to business (B2B) context. The thesis on which this article is based considers how trust building antecedents operate dynamically within a B2B relationship,… 


Monday, September 27th, 2021

The role of trust in sales

If we expect our customers to trust us, we need to develop both an internal and an external culture of trust. Trust is an essential foundational element in any sales environment, and it can (and must) take many forms. Perhaps the most obvious manifestation lies in the relationship between the salesperson (and the vendor they represent) and the customer’s decision-making… 


Monday, September 27th, 2021

Four steps to embedding ethics

Sales ethics is essential in the new normal. Good business strategy Many companies, even entire industries, struggle to remain open during this ongoing period of challenging economic uncertainty. Business models that were shifting prior to the pandemic, such as the move from instore shopping to e-commerce, have accelerated because of the pandemic. Businesses are adjusting strategies to stay ahead of… 


Monday, September 27th, 2021

THE VALUE OF TRUST ONLINE

OVER ONE THIRD (35%) OF UK ONLINE… 


Monday, July 26th, 2021

BUYERS’ PERCEPTIONS DIFFER FROM SELLERS’

65% OF SELLERS SAY THEY “ALWAYS” PUT… 


Monday, November 9th, 2020

Improved leadership communication

How storytelling can help bridge the gap between management and teams. “1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.4And God saw that the light was good.”Genesis, First Book of Moses Day 1 Since… 


Tuesday, May 26th, 2020

Moving from “I” to “We”

How a relationship-based group coaching model can improve performance. As a salesperson and subsequent sales leader with more than two decades of experience, on-the-job learning has provided me with valuable insights and business management skills. However, given the rapidly evolving business environment, I realised the need to embark upon a continuous learning path. On learning about the SAP Master’s programme,… 


Tuesday, May 26th, 2020

Helping cross-functional team leaders achieve better results

Research led to the creation of a “Success Guide to Leading A Cross-Functional Team”. My aim with this research is to help cross-functional team leaders garner better team performance by providing an easily consumable, repeatable set of recommended behaviours and actions to help guide them to success. Team leaders can utilize the knowledge provided from these research findings for guidance,… 


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… 


Wednesday, December 13th, 2017

Trust selling: a new source of business competitiveness

Vice chancellor of the Seoul School of Integrated Science and Technology, Dr Choi Yong Joo discusses the research around trust, social capital and value in the context of Korea. Social capital Research on “social capital” as a new source of competitiveness is very much in full swing. In 1997, Professor Francis Fukuyama at Stanford University – a renowned academic and… 


Saturday, October 31st, 2015

Power imbalances don’t preclude trust

Power imbalances between companies of different types and sizes do not prevent them from establishing successful relationships, as long as both organisations’ business strategies are compatible. The development of trust in business-to-business relationships calls for “goal congruence”, according to a recent University of Eastern Finland and Cranfield University study. Authors, Mika Gabrielsson, Professor of International Business of the University of… 


Monday, July 6th, 2015

Can contracts boost trust?

As businesses start to compete on their ability to perform and deliver results over time, contract terms are becoming the new platform for successful selling, argues the IACCM’s CEO Tim Cummins. Successful selling has never been an easy task. As time passes, it seems to become harder. Buyers are increasingly informed, aggressive and often cynical. Internet search has disrupted the…