What's going on here?
- Sales training has been around for more than 100 years. Yet every year, new approaches appear with the promise of being "The Silver Bullet." Old approaches-even those that are relevant to fixing the proble-are labeled "old-school," and rejected.
- On Amazon.com there are 29, 469 books under the category of "How to Sell." In "Sales Techniques" there are 11, 194.
- I'm personally tracking 80 blogs about selling. There are many more. Dozens provide solid advice.
- There are several hundred sales training firms ESR is aware of, yet there is no single one or two that dominate, as you would see in any other industry.
- In 2008, U.S. corporations spent around $6 billion on sales performance improvement, yet sales productivity (pre-recession) was down.
- The number of free webinars focused on improving sales capabilities is at an all-time high, and increasing. So are free articles, eBooks and white papers.
- Reports, statistics, surveys, research and opinion related to sales ineffectiveness are abound. Here are just a few sources: CSO Insights, Forrester, Sirius Decisions, The Sales Executive Council, Selling Power, Sales and Marketing Management magazine, most of the major sales training companies, and of course, ESR. You can find anything you need to know about the subject among these sources.
- There continue to be emerging movements with value propositions focused on sales performance improvement. The latest is Sales 2.0. Add the new online social media to the list.
- There is no shortage of associations and groups focused on sales performance: SMT (The Professional Society for Sales & Marketing Training), ASTD's Sales Training Drivers, UPSA, SAMA (focused on Strategic Account Management, an advanced selling discipline), SMEI, The Sales Management Association, USEF (The University Sales Education Foundation), and a dozen or more groups on LinkedIn.
What's my point? The root causes of sales ineffectiveness are clear. There is plenty of sound advice about how to fix the problem. There is a proven path. The answers are there for everyone to see. There are companies you can read about and observe that have achieved sales excellence.
So, recession aside, why is sales as a profession and function, losing ground?
Let me know your thoughts, please.
Photo credit: © dragon_fang - Fotolia.com
Link to original post