Recent Trends in Sales

1. Sales Force Behavior Modeling

Models are verbal descriptions and visual representations of how systems work and processes fow. Models
enable repeatable and predictable experiences. More organizations will study their top salespeople in 2013 to
understand how they formulate their winning account strategies based upon customer politics, evaluator
psychology, and the human nature of executive decision makers that are unique to winning every account.
2. Win-Loss Analysis Studies
All companies and their salespeople are well versed on the logical arguments for selecting their product. However,
the decision to make a major purchase is also infuenced by internal politics, how the decision-makers receive
information along with individual biases and personal desires. Unfortunately many companies dont perform any
type of win-loss analysis so they dont understand their customers in these regards. Because of the economy and
relentless competition, 2013 will be the year that many companies have to re-discover the lost art of win-loss
analysis.
3. Emphasis on Language-Based Interactions
While proponents of the consultative, relationship, and challenger-based sales approaches will continue to argue
the merits of their respective philosophies, there is one thing everyone can agree on. For 2013, its not only what
you say, but equally important, how you say it. Sales linguistics is the new feld of study about how customers and
salespeople use and interpret language during the decision making process. If you are in sales, you make your
living by talking. You need to study language and perfect your use of words because your most important
competitive weapon is your mouth.
4. Sales Force Verticalization
A specialist beats a generalist every time. Closely related to Sales Linguistics is the accelerated trend of sales
force language specialization based upon the following strategies:
Industry verticalization focus (fnance, government, retail, etc.) to promote domain expertise.
Technical application segmented by the diferent solutions the company ofers to promote extremely deep
technical knowledge.
Business process improvement as opposed to the recitation of standard generic product features and
functions to customers.
5. Sales Process Inefectiveness
Many companies have realized that their sales didnt increase even after spending a great deal of money and
efort implementing a sales process methodology. The reason for this is because the black hole of the sales
process is what happens during and at the close of sales calls. Today more than ever, its the personal interactions
with prospective customers that determines winners from losers, not the internal processes of the sales
organization. In 2013 more companies will be studying and categorizing these customer interactions so they can
improve sales force efectiveness.
6. Organizational Buying Psychology
If you are involved in selling enterprise solutions, you already know the importance of understanding the inner
workings of the various departments within the prospective customers company. Your solution might be
purchased by the information technology department and used by accounting and human resources. Therefore,
its critical to map out the interrelationships of the departments within an organization. The essence of successful
enterprise sales is understanding not only who to sell to, but how to craft a message that appeals to various
departmental constituents. Understanding organizational buying psychology becomes an even more critical topic
in 2013.
7. No Decision as the Main Competitor
For sales forces involved with large capital expenditure sales cycles, never before has the mantra Call High or
Die been so true. Salespeople must reach C-level executive decision makers early in the sales process because
the default for organizations today is to maintain the status quo and delay every major purchase.
8. Intelligent Territory Management
Salespeople who have to manage hundreds of accounts and vast geographic territories face the perennial
problem of where to spend their most precious resource, which is their time. Perhaps the most important Big
Data application within sales will be the analytics that predict which prospective net-new customers should be
called upon and what installed base accounts are most likely to buy next. As opposed to salespeople creating
their own action plan for the days activities, more intelligent territory management systems will direct them to call
on certain accounts and prospects in 2013.
9. Technology Fatigue
While technology has profoundly improved the efectiveness of salespeople, there is an interesting trend that has
been growing over the past couple of years and will only get worse. Salespeople today are always available to
customers via their cell phones, constantly receiving a gargantuan stream of e-mail information, and every
account update they make in Salesforce.com is broadcast to sales management. Many long time salespeople are
sufering from Technology Fatigue and complain they are burning themselves out.
10. Continued Migration from Field to Phone
One fnal trend that bears mentioning is the accelerated move from feld-based sales to phone-based internet
sales. Many companies have quickly transitioned the majority of their feld reps to be almost exclusively phone
based. Therefore, these reps must now be able to create winning relationships with their voices as opposed to
how they sold in the past with their physical presence. Understanding and mastering the art of persuasion will
become even more important for all salespeople in 2013.
Trend in Sales Management
Trend 1: Sales management will look to drive costs
out of sales
In 2014, sales managers are going to come under increasing pressure to drive costs
out of sales. While being effective and generating more business will continue as the
main focus of selling, cutting cost out of sales and selling at better margins are going
to be the two primary challenges, as management looks to suee!e profits in a
market that is somewhat stagnant. "s a result there are likely to be five ma#or focus
areas including$ sales managers redefining sales territories% looking for new and
more efficient ways to service low&value customers% and a shift away from volume as
an indicator of sales success to a combination of volume and value.
Trend 2: Telesales will have to make dramatic
changes
With an increase in demands from more sophisticated buyers, telesales operators,
who have traditionally focused on selling easy&to&understand commodities, are
going to have to increase their knowledge base and learn to sell solutions to buyers
who are more knowledgeable and have higher e'pectations. (elesales&people, long&
time users of script&based formula selling, are going to have to improve their skills
and develop more effective customer&focused sales skills that enable them to become
problem solvers, rather than product pushers. (his shake&up means a radical rethink
for telesales operations.
Trend 3: Sales excellence managers will find their
real role
)mart companies are dispensing with their sales e'cellence operations and
incorporating these back into the sales management function as they now recognise
the significant benefits of more centralised sales operations with the formal
leadership provided by sales managers. (his trend will see sales managers, who are
and have always been responsible for sales e'cellence, face pressure to resume this
responsibility and deliver sales e'cellence. In the process, sales e'cellence managers
will either revert to their original role of sales&training managers or find themselves
being deployed elsewhere in the sales operations chain.
Trend 4: Sales-training methodologies are going to
change
)ales training is not going to disappear. *owever, it will change its shape. "s the
market becomes more comple' and competition more virulent, salespeople will need
more, not less, training. +ut they will also have less time to be trained. (hese two
forces will make identifying different training methods the key to success. (he trend
will see companies reduce the cost of training by seeking a blended e&learning and
class room approach, with in&field coaching rounding off the e'perience.
Trend 5: The move to micro sales segmentation
(he comple'ities of selling in 2014 are going to demand a rethink on the part of sales
managers. ,elying, as they have in the past, on marketing-s broad&brush approach to
segmentation is not going to cut it anymore. )ales are going to be forced to re&assess
how to segment markets looking at non&traditional approaches beyond industry,
usage and buyer types. In 2014, unless segmentation becomes tighter, almost micro&
market focused, the opportunity to address the many individual e'pectations is
likely to be missed and, along with that, any hope of a real competitive advantage.
Trend : The low-car!on econom" sales
o##ortunities
.espite many governments lagging behind in terms of creating and endorsing low&
carbon policies and industries, forward&thinking organisations are taking the lead on
creating low/no&carbon businesses and partnering each other. "nd it-s not #ust big
business 0 there is a growing number of )12s 3small to medium enterprises4
driving change, too. ,ather than focusing on the cost of creating a low&carbon
economy, the trend is seeing smart companies and communities looking and acting
on the abundance of opportunity within new and e'isting markets, and seeing
potential in its many forms.
Trend $: The normalising of social media in sales
(here is a trend for businesses to really ramp up their use of social media and in
much more sophisticated ways. ,ather than seeing social media as a tack&on to the
marketing budget, businesses are now creating their own social media departments
working with sales, marketing and other departments to create real&time content
that is engaging, relevant and interactive. 5rospects and customers have never been
closer to businesses 0 they are #ust a click away. (hey can scrutinise companies as
much as companies can scrutinise them. )ocial media is the window into the
customers- world. In 2014, sales organisations are going to tap into these systems
and listen and engage their customers more effectively.
Trend %: & radical shift in sales mindset
(here is a trend towards a radical shift in the sales mindset as prophesied by the
6luetrain 1anifesto 17 years ago 3including the predictions that markets consist of
human beings, not demographic sectors% the internet is enabling conversations
among human beings% companies that speak in the language of the pitch 8 are no
longer speaking to anyone% and companies can communicate with their markets
directly4. With consumers in such a powerful position, products are no longer the
centrepiece of the sale and value has become more important than price. (he time
has come for sales teams and everyone in their businesses to work with customers,
helping them achieve their goals and, in doing so, achieving their own. (he trend
among smart companies is moving from competition to collaboration, from 9me: to
9we:. (hey are involving everyone across their business to be meaningfully
connected in some way to their customers.
Trend ': (rocurement needs to !ecome solutions
sales#eo#le too
(rends highlight how the skills, knowledge and mindset of procurement
professionals are being e'panded to include the capabilities of highly competent
solutions sales professionals. (he latest white papers, running commentary threads
on ;inkedin procurement groups across the world, and procurement conferences
and education bodies are all pointing towards procurement coming of age as a value
creator and provider. <o longer can procurement rest its case on 9lowest cost:,
9cheapest price: or 9supply of goods and services:% it must assume responsibility for
the creation and delivery of real value beyond a price and general supply.
Trend 1): The legitimisation of sales strateg"
)ales strategy will become the discipline for business in 2014 and beyond, as
business leaders work out how to move their sales operations from under the
shadow of marketing and being purely tactical to becoming a strategic operation that
works across the entire value chain delivering meaningful value and real growth.
)ales strategy will take a lead position at the boardroom table. )harp companies in
2014 will realise that selling is everybody-s business and that involving their
operations teams and other support functions in customer interactions is a
necessity, no longer simply an added value. "s more and more people in the value
chain become involved in selling and servicing, sales strategy will be reuired more
than ever to guide effective action.
Trend 11: *earning to sell in the &sian +entur"
With more than a uarter of our e'ports going to 6hina, we are already more reliant
on that country for our prosperity than any comparable economy. We are 6hina-s
number one destination for foreign investment and a leading beneficiary of the
education aspirations of its growing middle class. =et many of our salespeople
remain deeply ambivalent about the world&changing economic transformation of
6hina and underestimate the need to be better prepared. In 2014, companies will
come to recognise the need to develop deeper engagement with their 6hinese
counterparts 0 in universities, industries and government. 1ore "ustralian
salespeople will need to study, travel, live and work in 6hina and speak 6hinese. If
they don-t, their organisations are going to find it harder to grow and almost
impossible to compete with the rushing "sian avalanche.
Trend 12: The enlightened sales #erson
(he new year will see a new kind of salesperson emerging. 6ompanies have come to
realise they need a new kind of salesperson 0 especially at the higher levels of
business. (he days of the flashy, aggressive 9pitch master: or schmoo!er are fast
fading. 2ven some of the latest offerings in the ideal salesperson arena, including the
contrarian sales challenger, will be faddish at best. 6ustomers, particularly in the
"ustralian market 3and increasingly worldwide4, are looking for a collaborative,
more enlightened approach to selling. (hey are looking to work with sales
professionals who bring in&depth knowledge and an understanding of how solutions
can be applied, and work with their customers to co&create the ideal solutions.
The Four Trends That Shape the World of Selling
GERHARD GSCHWANDTNER
SUBSCRIBE NW
The !orld of selling is "hanging at #rea$ne"$ speed% and sales leaders need to adapt &ui"$l'
or ris$ #e"o(ing o#solete) Here are the four (a*or trends i(pa"ting sales organi+ations toda',

-) So"ial (edia) A re"ent stud' #' the A#erdeen Group sho!s that ./ per"ent of salespeople
!ho in"orporate so"ial (edia into their sales pro"ess (a$e &uota% "o(pared to the industr'
a0erage of 12 per"ent) A Hu#Spot sur0e' finds that "o(panies using T!itter get t!o ti(es
(ore leads than "o(panies that don3t) Resear"h #' In#o45 sho!s that 61 per"ent of
"usto(ers are (ore li$el' to pur"hase fro( a #usiness that ans!ers their &uestions on T!itter)
To sta' ahead of the "ur0e% it (a' #e a good idea to "reate a ne! strateg' that in"ludes 7so"ial
listening8 and the "reation of engaging "ontent) If 'our "o(pan' doesn3t ha0e a 9in$edIn
group% it3s ti(e to start one) E0er' salesperson should ha0e a 9in$edIn profile that enhan"es
'our "o(pan'3s #rand) Tea"h 'our salespeople ho! to use su"h tools as HootSuite to tra"$
"lients on T!itter and share "ontent !ith "usto(ers and prospe"ts)

:) ;o#ile) A Gartner sur0e' predi"ts that #' :<-=% ta#lets !ill outsell >Cs #' .: per"ent) 9ast
(onth% laptop ship(ents reali+ed their #iggest (onthl' de"line in 'ears) ;ore and (ore
appli"ations are no! a0aila#le on (o#ile de0i"es% su"h as CR;? "onfigure% pri"e% &uote tools?
sales intelligen"e? "o(pensation (anage(ent? so"ial (edia? and online "olla#oration and
presentation tools) The (ost su""essful "o(panies ha0e e&uipped their sales tea(s !ith
s(artphones and ta#lets that are "onne"ted to the "o(pan'3s sales@ena#le(ent "ontent)
Custo(ers are i(pressed !hen salespeople "an ans!er their &uestions #' tapping a (o#ile@
de0i"e s"reen and pla'ing a &ui"$ "usto(er testi(onial on 0ideo or "onfiguring a "o(ple4
produ"t on an i>ad)
2) Cloud "o(puting) ;ore and (ore "o(panies a""ess Cloud@#ased apps through a #ro!ser
!hile the data are stored on ser0ers in a re(ote lo"ation) The si(plest e4a(ple is Google
Do"s) Aou ha0e a""ess fro( an' #ro!ser to do"u(ents that 'ou3d other!ise ha0e to store on
'our laptop) Soft!are@as@a@ser0i"e is another e4a(ple% su"h as ;i"rosoft D'na(i"s) Cloud
"o(puting (a$es ser0er@#ased "o(puting nearl' o#solete)

1) Big data) The re"ent #o(#ing in Boston has sho!n ho! fast the FBI "an anal'+e (assi0e
a(ounts of infor(ation gleaned fro( photographs and 0ideos to tra"$ do!n suspe"ts) The
poli"e "ro!d@sour"ed the in0estigation and lo"ated the suspe"ts in re"ord speed) Fro( the
da!n of "i0ili+ation to :<<2% fi0e e4a#'tes of data !ere "reated) B' :<-<% the sa(e a(ount
!as "reated in onl' t!o da's) As of Banuar' of this 'ear% the !orld is "reating fi0e e4a#'tes of
infor(ation e0er' -< (inutes)

Sin"e "o(panies ha0e rapidl' gro!ing a(ounts of data that are often stored in (ultiple
s'ste(s% "on0entional data anal'sis is no longer suffi"ient to opti(i+e insight) Ne! tools on the
(ar$et allo! "o(panies to organi+e% anal'+e% and (oneti+e data &ui"$l') While "on0entional
anal'ti"s e4plained the past% predi"ti0e anal'ti"s "an predi"t future sales opportunities)
A""ording to Frost and Sulli0an% 1/ per"ent of "o(panies are not using predi"ti0e anal'ti"s)
This is the ti(e to "ash in on #ig@data tools to i(pro0e re0enue)
Sales as an attractive career
DO know what you need. DON'T take a one-size-fts-all approach.
Aou need to "o(e up !ith a good des"ription of the *o# and ha0e an idea of !hat s$ills the indi0idual !ill
need to ha0e to fill the open position) 9oo$ at 'our sales (odel) An inside sales for"e !ill need a different
s$ill set than so(eone e4pe"ted to (a$e "old "alls) Aour *o# des"ription needs to #e "lear and fo"used)
DO make a recruitment plan. DON'T have unrealistic expectations.
Good sales people are out there) The' $no! !hat the' !ant and the' $no! the' "an get it) There are a
nu(#er of !a's to rea"h potential e(plo'ees) Aou need to ha0e an idea of !ho 'ou are loo$ing for and 'ou
need to $no! !hat 'ou ha0e to offer to 'our sales person) For e4a(ple% if 'ou are planning to pa' hourl'
!ith a #onus% 'ou are not going to #e attra"t sales professionals !ho !ant salar' plus "o((ission)
Aou need to $no! !here to find the e(plo'ees 'ou !ant) So(e t'pi"al !a's to loo$ for e(plo'ees,
9oo$ inside 'our o!n "o(pan') Aou (a' ha0e people !ho $no! 'our "o(pan' and 'our
produ"t and !ho are loo$ing for a "hange)
Ne!spaper and radio ads)
Resu(eC posting sites li$e 9in$edIn)
Referrals) As$ 'our "urrent e(plo'ees and offer the( a #onus for an' referral that is hired)
SalesFor"e Sear"h
Also% re(e(#er that it is eas' for *o# see$ers to learn a lot a#out 'our "o(pan' and 'our #rand) DonCt tr' to
present 'our "o(pan' as so(ething that it is not) There are do+ens of !a's that prospe"ti0e appli"ants "an
find out !hat 'ou do and !hat 'our (ission is) Aou !ant to #e upfront and honest and 'ou !ant so(eone
that has done their ho(e!or$)
DO hire people with the right skills. DON'T ignore your company
culture.
Based on the *o# des"ription 'ou ha0e prepared% 'ou !ill need to de"ide upon a group of appli"ants that 'ou
!ould li$e to learn (ore a#out) 9oo$ for the &ualities that 'ou desire during the inter0ie! pro"ess) As$ open
ended &uestions that !ill gi0e the appli"ant the opportunit' to sho! 'ou !ho the' are) It is also 0er'
i(portant that 'ou tr' to deter(ine if this person is right for 'our "o(pan') The' (a' ha0e e0er' s$ill that
'ou are loo$ing for% #ut do the' fit 'our "o(pan' "ultureD If 'our "ulture is laid #a"$ and "asual% a (ore
for(al sales professional (ight not fit in and !ill pro#a#l' not #e su""essful in 'our "o(pan')
DO hire to fll a need. DON'T limit who you consider.
;an' ti(es !e hear the e4pression that a "o(pan' is hiring to fill a gap) Aou are loo$ing a (u"h (ore than
filling in a hole in 'our e(plo'ee #ase) Aou are loo$ing to find the right person that !ill fill a need) So(eone
!ho !ill help 'our "o(pan' (o0e for!ard) It is a (ista$e to li(it 'ourself #' onl' "onsidering appli"ants that
ha0e e4perien"e in 'our industr') Industr' infor(ation is easil' learned) S$ills are de0eloped o0er ti(e and
"an usuall' #e applied to an' industr')
Although ti(e "a(e #e of the ut(ost i(portan"e !hen 'ou are in the pro"ess of sales hiring% 'ou need to
ta$e a thoughtful% (ethodi"al approa"h to the pro"ess) With rushed de"isions or a la"$ of planning% 'ou
"ould end up !ith the !rong person in the !rong position)