Resources

Sales forces are change-intensive organizations, as are the markets and customers they serve. This research reviews critical change management practices in business-to-business sales forces, focusing on management’s efforts to anticipate and lead high impact change initiatives. Research outcomes include the degree and speed of change facing sales organizations, sales organization’s...Read more

Author Jason DeAmato considers behavioral and social intelligence key to sales success. In this webcast, he presents a model for categorizing buyers into one of four social styles: analytical, driving, amiable, and expressive. These styles, according to DeAmato, dictate how each individual person acts, thinks, and makes decisions. DeAmato shows...Read more

What are the secrets to rolling out a winning sales compensation plan? It's critical that the plan be easily understood and that it powerfully motivates the performance of everyone on your sales team, but there are other factors to consider as well, especially because the plan's success depends on your...Read more

Business-to-business sales forces confront a "customer experience gap" born from the suddenly widening distance between buyers' expectations and experiences. B2B buyers now want two things they're accustomed to from consumer experiences, but that most B2B suppliers can't do simultaneously: accurate, on-demand answers addressing their unique issues, and interactions across a...Read more

The Sales Management Association’s Sales and Sales Management Competency Dictionary is designed as a resource for firms developing competency models for their sales organizations. It draws upon commonly used competency descriptions used by sales organizations in defining the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors associated with high-performing salespeople, sales managers, and...Read more

Recent Sales Management Association research identifies best practices in salesperson onboarding, and quantifies the economic impact when firms effectively onboard new salespeople. Join Bob Kelly, Chairman of the SMA, who hosts a panel of thought leaders and practitioners to discuss the business case for onboarding investment. Bob and the panel...Read more

Changes in buyer dynamics and market conditions have put increasing pressure on organizations to adapt and modernize their sales training programs. But what are L&D and enablement teams to do when the pace of product innovation, competitive threats, and new go-to-market strategies now require new readiness programs? Join Steven Wright,...Read more

Companies need to stop believing the hype that there's only one way to sell. Top performers are not just consultative, challenging, transactional, or relationship sellers -- they are "situational" sellers who adapt their sales approach to different buying situations. In fact, 83% of customers say a salesperson's ability to adjust...Read more