The 12 sales trends of 2010

7. Sustainable selling
With the green agenda comes sustainable selling. 2010 will be about sales, people and the planet. And how we can best manage this relationship now for future generations? In 2010 we will value trust, transparency, substance and ethical sales practices which discourage excessive consumption and greed.

The focus will be on forging legitimate business relationships which serve the environment, people, business and communities. If we are to meet the needs of the present, without compromising the future, we need to engage in sustainable selling. Sustainable selling is an evolving process in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are balanced with future, as well as present needs. 2010 will be about putting eco into sales.

8. The new competition
2010 will see collaboration become the new competition. Markets around the world are crying out for collaboration as innovation and differentiation become scarce in a sea of commoditised products and processes. Sales people who see themselves as collaborators, both internally (colleagues, departments) and externally (customers, competitors), will prosper more than ever during 2010. Collaboration calls for a team effort. Sales teams where everyone is pitted against each other to achieve ‘top dog’ status will be replaced by a ‘lead team’ approach. Companies that want to bring in new business and grow and develop existing customers will rely on the united hands of many, rather than one. Successful sales people of 2010 will leverage the power of collaboration over competition because they understand that relationships never work if they are forced and manipulated.

9. A sales community
The professionalisation of sales is here. While sales has been poorly regarded and understood, in recent years there has been a growing body shining light on sales as a complex and skilful profession. Highly effective and successful sales people who act as trusted advisors can breathe a sigh of relief as you have known this all along. Now, in 2010 you will be joined by a community.

Recently, this movement towards creating a sales community was evidenced by the inaugural Optimising the Sales Force Australia 2009 conference. Sales leaders from a diverse range of industries came together to learn and share wisdom. We recommend putting the OSF conference on your 2010 agenda and get behind the profession of sales. Keep your eyes out for other forums popping up off and online. There is also a rising tide wanting to see ‘sales’ on the curriculum of Australian universities. We have some catching up to do when you consider that at last count there were 42 universities in the US with graduate and undergraduate sales courses on their curriculum. Watch this space in 2010.

10. Hot bath turns cold
The days of one-off training sessions or the hyped motivational speaker to lift sales are numbered. Despite these ‘hot bath’ techniques providing content and entertainment value, they do not deliver consistent results over time – like a hot bath, they soon get cold. In 2010, companies will want more.

Well founded research shows that continuous learning, a little bit every day, is the way to go. Smart, savvy, successful sales people need to train like athletes. This doesn’t mean spending a lot of money on fancy training – it means creating a culture of continuous learning where practice, reflection, self-learning and coaching occur daily. Leading companies will link this to a clearly communicated and committed sales capability plan and make it a conscious part of everything: every sales meeting, every sales call, every coaching encounter. 2010 will be about sales fitness.

11. Lead the way
Sales needs to be led from the top. In 2010, that will mean from the CEO down with sales on the agenda of the ‘C’ suite, ie. the CEO, CFO, COO, and even if they never have contact with an external customer they need to know how to sell and support the sales effort. Moving down the corporate ladder, companies will make the most significant difference to sales through their sales managers. Sales managers will be the key to sales success in 2010. Those companies that invest in properly training, educating and supporting their sales managers will see significant lifts in 2010 and beyond. The verdict is back: sales manager training delivers the best returns, with the highest positive correlation found between training and results. Time and time again sales teams achieved higher performance and results when their sales managers were frequently and effectively trained and coached. Lead the way to making 2010 the year of the sales manager.

12. Back to basics
One of the real challenges of 2010 will be keeping sales momentum while understanding how changes in customers, competitors, markets, innovations, media, technology and all manner of things will impact on businesses and people. Getting our heads around all this to find the right ingredients for our plans and strategies will be demanding. In 2010, wise sales people will embrace the ‘new’ but not forget the basics. This will be made easier by having a clear sales plan in place with direction, targets and activities.

By knowing who and how to target customers and being well skilled in sales planning, prospecting, and communication you will keep sales happening. Repeat the mantra ‘hasten slowly’ and keep doing the old basics while considering, evaluating and integrating the new. With change comes opportunity and challenges. In 2010 the focus will be on selective incorporation, based on customers, community, company and self, while still remembering the basics.

Which of these trends will have the greatest impact on sales? Click here to tell us which trends will be on your radar and top of your agenda in 2010.  We will publish the results of the most important sales trends for 2010 in January. Watch out for the Selling blog where we explore the 12 sales trends in depth over the year, starting in January with the number one trend as voted by you our readers.