Many people ask me about trends in sales and marketing. While watching and reviewing recent research I have determined the following trends for the next several years.

1. Lead Generation – Recent research illustrates that sales representatives generate 50 percent of their selling leads. As work progressively gets busier, representatives will turn to other avenues to generate leads. The true survivors will be those to rise above and create their own business advocates.

2. Training – Currently their exist a proliferation of sales training firms. The large issue, nearly 45% of corporate training dollars are spent on sales versus updating skills in management, technical applications, or finance. The preponderance of evidence suggests that many firms train in fundamental skills in one-day increments. And, those that do- train once per annum. Training is a process not an event.

Training in sales is a necessity and a proper return on your investment. Do not train for training sake. Ensure success with metrics and continual functions to aid effectiveness.

4. CRM denotes crude relationship mechanism. Contrary to many pundits nothing replaces selling then a relationship. The proliferation of the Internet and its tools enables personnel to research and develop consultative sales ideas not augment the relationship. Refrain from hiding behind computers and get selling professionals where they need to be- in front of the consumer.

5. Globalization – There is a vital need to understand culture, dialects and linguistics. Selling professionals must comprehend how to bridge the gap between the western world and those of our new neighbors.

6. Multigenerational Selling – Veterans, Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers are giving way to the millenials. This strong group of over 78 million people is entering the sales force. Generation Y as they are often known as are high in technology, quick to impress and move quickly. It is essential for sales professionals to understand how to communicate effectively to cross-generational groups.

7. Research is essential – Recent research from the 2008 CSO Insights discovered that 47 percent of sales leaders found that their professionals lacked good research skills. Sales leaders understand the value of information and know where to get it. Pundit believe research is a waste of time, nothing is more imperative than truly understanding customer needs.

8. Value versus Features and Benefits – Refrain from the selling stereotype. Sales professionals must sell value. Research shows that over 70 percent of selling professionals value selling. CRM, the internet and other software devices will not help. Professionals must ask the difficult questions to seek improving the client’s issue.

9. Professional Selling. There are too many organizations and associations that seek certification and sales development. The fact is that every facet of the organization is a selling process. That said, sales must be taught to everyone. More importantly, selling is the very nature of entrepreneurial success. World Class leaders will send all employees to a sales program. More importantly, just as marketing is taught in universities so too is the need for selling.

©2008. Drew Stevens Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 5:39 pm and is filed under Drew Stevens PhD, sales trends, selling techniques, selling tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.