Future Sales Trends
Future Sales Trends
How products and services are sold in the future will change. We cannot predict how it will manifest itself, but we do know change is coming -- usually before we are prepared. However, there is a solution: planning in the present helps us to prepare for the future. Plan ahead for trends and be better prepared for the future. Following are a few selling trends that will play a major role in your sales success today and in the future.
Say Hello to the Real Boss: The Customer
Customers will drive business outcomes in the future even more than they do today. An incredible amount of buying options puts real power in the hands of the customer. If organizations cannot meet customer needs or add value, the customer can easily move on. The roles and responsibilities of sales people will expand and grow in importance, as they become the voice of the customer.
Sales techniques and marketing quick fixes are out. Soft sell, partnerships and relationship building with customers are the coming trends. The goal is to partner with the customer. Partnerships are built on trust, immediate problem-solving, frequent contact, honest communications, and a win-win relationship. Relationships of this nature meet needs and add value to the customer. No longer can customers be thought of as a tool for personal gain. Rather, the focus must be on the customers’ gain and making the customers’ needs the key issue.
It is the customer who pays your salary and determines your company’s future. The best way to meet customer needs is to ask the customer, “How can our company add value or better meet your needs?” Then do it better then your competitors.
Those Who Adapt and Change Will Lead the Pack
Sales people must change to improve. This is done through continuous learning and development. Those who do not change or adapt will struggle and stagnate as others pass them by. Self-development and personal evolution will be pronounced among the sales leaders. This will enable you to adapt to complexity and stay ahead of change by observing and predicting trends before they occur. Change is the only constant in business. Sales people who adapt properly to change will thrive. The best method for success during turbulent times is personal learning, growth and development.
Prepare for the Internet
The Internet will become the most powerful marketing tool in history. It could be the most powerful development since the assembly line, the automobile or the telephone. Electronic commerce and marketing over the Internet are still in their infancy. This is an excellent opportunity to expand your marketing reach. There will be tremendous growth as a generation that grew up with computers begins to enter the marketplace. Instant communications, speed, increased information and incredible accessibility make the Internet and email a must in today’s business environment. The future will be a time of immediate and personalized satisfaction. Customers want it now and technology will satisfy that gratification. Smart sales people know this and are high-tech savvy and on-board with new technologies.
Creativity Will be Rewarded
Creativity is the spark that will grow your sales. Sales people who are proactive innovators and create new value will thrive. Only 10% of sales people are true innovators who are proactive in their markets and action-oriented. We all have innate creative abilities. Tap that creativity and develop strategies that will result in business success and prosperity. These leaders will create change and force competitors to adapt or fall behind.
Prosperity Comes to Those Who Are Having Fun
Successful sales people realize that they are motivated because they enjoy what they are doing. These folks do not work just for the money, security or ego boost. They work because it is fun. This will become the culture of successful sales teams in the future. Find ways to make selling productive and fun.
Values and Ethics
Customers will increasingly demand trust, honesty and ethical responsibility from sales people. Those who do not comply will be hurt in the marketplace. Lying, unethical tactics and a lack of integrity will be observed by smart and intuitive customers. Customers will demand honesty and true benefit. Evaluate your principles, values and virtues.
Other Trends:
Increased cost of direct mail will result in more targeting.
Telemarketing will increase.
Price is more important and more closely tied to customers’ perceived value.
Supply will continue to exceed demand and keep prices and inflation low.
Global selling will continue to rise.
Sales professionals must learn from the past, live in the present and plan for the future. Applying intelligent focus in these areas can help you prepare for the future by living in the future today
Future Sales Trends - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
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“The problems we face today cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” - Albert Einstein
How products and services are sold in the future will change. We cannot predict how it will manifest itself, but we do know change is coming -- usually before we are prepared. However, there is a solution: planning in the present helps us to prepare for the future. Plan ahead for trends and be better prepared for the future. Following are a few selling trends that will play a major role in your sales success today and in the future.
Say Hello to the Real Boss: The Customer
Customers will drive business outcomes in the future even more than they do today. An incredible amount of buying options puts real power in the hands of the customer. If organizations cannot meet customer needs or add value, the customer can easily move on. The roles and responsibilities of sales people will expand and grow in importance, as they become the voice of the customer.
Sales techniques and marketing quick fixes are out. Soft sell, partnerships and relationship building with customers are the coming trends. The goal is to partner with the customer. Partnerships are built on trust, immediate problem-solving, frequent contact, honest communications, and a win-win relationship. Relationships of this nature meet needs and add value to the customer. No longer can customers be thought of as a tool for personal gain. Rather, the focus must be on the customers’ gain and making the customers’ needs the key issue.
It is the customer who pays your salary and determines your company’s future. The best way to meet customer needs is to ask the customer, “How can our company add value or better meet your needs?” Then do it better then your competitors.
Those Who Adapt and Change Will Lead the Pack
Sales people must change to improve. This is done through continuous learning and development. Those who do not change or adapt will struggle and stagnate as others pass them by. Self-development and personal evolution will be pronounced among the sales leaders. This will enable you to adapt to complexity and stay ahead of change by observing and predicting trends before they occur. Change is the only constant in business. Sales people who adapt properly to change will thrive. The best method for success during turbulent times is personal learning, growth and development.
Prepare for the Internet
The Internet will become the most powerful marketing tool in history. It could be the most powerful development since the assembly line, the automobile or the telephone. Electronic commerce and marketing over the Internet are still in their infancy. This is an excellent opportunity to expand your marketing reach. There will be tremendous growth as a generation that grew up with computers begins to enter the marketplace. Instant communications, speed, increased information and incredible accessibility make the Internet and email a must in today’s business environment. The future will be a time of immediate and personalized satisfaction. Customers want it now and technology will satisfy that gratification. Smart sales people know this and are high-tech savvy and on-board with new technologies.
Creativity Will be Rewarded
Creativity is the spark that will grow your sales. Sales people who are proactive innovators and create new value will thrive. Only 10% of sales people are true innovators who are proactive in their markets and action-oriented. We all have innate creative abilities. Tap that creativity and develop strategies that will result in business success and prosperity. These leaders will create change and force competitors to adapt or fall behind.
Prosperity Comes to Those Who Are Having Fun
Successful sales people realize that they are motivated because they enjoy what they are doing. These folks do not work just for the money, security or ego boost. They work because it is fun. This will become the culture of successful sales teams in the future. Find ways to make selling productive and fun.
Values and Ethics
Customers will increasingly demand trust, honesty and ethical responsibility from sales people. Those who do not comply will be hurt in the marketplace. Lying, unethical tactics and a lack of integrity will be observed by smart and intuitive customers. Customers will demand honesty and true benefit. Evaluate your principles, values and virtues.
Other Trends:
Increased cost of direct mail will result in more targeting.
Telemarketing will increase.
Price is more important and more closely tied to customers’ perceived value.
Supply will continue to exceed demand and keep prices and inflation low.
Global selling will continue to rise.
Sales professionals must learn from the past, live in the present and plan for the future. Applying intelligent focus in these areas can help you prepare for the future by living in the future today
Future Sales Trends - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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