Sandler Training Reveals 2012 Business Sales Trends

Sandler Training
Published: December 16th, 2011

December 16, 2011 // Franchising.com // OWINGS MILLS, Md. - As businesses face the forthcoming year with increased uncertainty, the achievement of profit and revenue goals will be of paramount importance, and critical to this will be the deployment of an effective sales team. Since 2008, there has been a significant increase in the number of businesses that have recognized the importance of developing a dedicated sales force through the implementation of superior sales training, approaches and processes that can actively work to meet sales goals.

“We see an unprecedented upswing in the demand for good quality salespeople and a new appreciation for the discipline of sales,” says David Mattson, President and CEO of Sandler Training, “We see a time at which almost every person and process within an organization will be involved in some type of business development activity. As such, there will be a need to fully integrate sales personnel with the rest of a company’s value chain. Sandler’s experts are here to help organizations with this transition.”

Sandler Training anticipates the following major sales trends for 2012:

• From Social Media Conversions to Interactions that Actually Close Sales -- In 2011 companies made significant investments in Web 2.0 based social networking platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs, and used these applications to generate conversations with their customers. In 2012 businesses will start to demand a return on their investments and will look to progress these conversations from simple interactions to real sales opportunities that allow them to close valuable deals. Professional sales skills can go a long way in teaching companies how to bridge the gap between using social platforms to talk to people, and actually winning business from them.
• Goodbye Sales Silos, Hello Multi-Functional Sales Teams -- The sales handling processes employed by companies is changing rapidly. Traditionally, many sales and business development teams have either been on the road calling on customers, or in sales departments that are separate from the rest of the company. In order to survive in 2012 and beyond, companies need to adapt new operational models that encourage the sales function to integrate with a company’s entire value chain, across different job functions, categories, and in departments that have not conventionally been involved with sales. Through the formulation of shared sales goals and dual accountability, every employee will have a vested interest in sales performance and a shared responsibility for the achievement of an organization’s common goals. Keeping customer relationships from the rest of the company is no longer being accepted by management.
• Game Changers, Selling Up and Out Selling -- In 2012 companies will need to render their competition irrelevant. One question that every business should be asking themselves is: "It's a new world, what can we do?" The answer to the question lies in their ability to change their approach and successfully sell their differentiated offerings. The buying process has changed for many organizations and so must the selling process. Salespeople have to get out of their comfort zones and learn new ways to succeed.
• Selling to the Top, Flatter Organizational Structures – Resource cuts and limited funds mean that many companies are now operating much flatter organizational structures that offer sales personnel an opportunity to sell to higher-level executives. To drive real sales results, businesses must field sales teams that are capable of communicating with those at the very top and at times to help fill in the some of the gap left by the reduction of middle managers.

About Sandler Training

Sandler Training offers customized recruiting and training solutions that help companies find, identify, train and equip their salespeople for success. Sandler Training is the leading provider of sales and management training, with over 250 licensed trainers in 24 countries. The company provides a full range of sales and management training programs, with powerful coordination and customization benefits throughout its extensive franchise network. Among its many achievements, Sandler has been awarded the #1 ranking for training programs in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Franchise 500” nine times since 1994, most recently in 2010. The company website is located at www.sandler.com. Follow Sandler Training on Facebook.com (Sandler Training), Twitter.com at Sandler Training, and at Sandler Worldwide on YouTube.com.

Contact:

Melissa Watkins
Public Relations
Bergman Group for Sandler Training
(804) 402-5316
Melissa@bergmangroup.com