In working with a variety of member organizations, we’ve seen a pretty typical process play out. As David Bowie so eloquently put – “Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes”. Sums up the world of selling pretty well these days, doesn’t it? In fact, it also sums up the world of customer buying pretty well too. Which is why, we, in Sales, are going through some changes. Certainly, customer buying has fundamentally changed: as they are increasingly engaging us as late as they possibly can. Our reaction in this more commoditized, price driven space, cannot simply be attempting to differentiate on price. MORE >>

And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. As Lombardi said, we can make great leaders and great coaches, which will take a lot of hard work; but that makes winning all the more satisfying. There are 21 NFL Hall of Fame coaches , yes, just 21.  As we start the playoff run of this NFL season, we are reminded that winning championships not only takes great players on the field, but also great coaches and leaders. The question often asked is – are great coaches made or born?  Well, according to Vince Lombardi, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. MORE >>

Many of those questions are easily addressed through a better understanding of how we conduct our work and the assertions we make regarding its findings. . The backbone of any of our research, tools, engagements, or publications is what we see working at the leading edge of sales effectiveness. Here at CEB’s Sales Executive Council we are both excited and humbled by the global excitement for our research profiled in The Challenger Sale.  Indeed, just last week the book made it into the Wall Street Journal business book bestseller list for the first time.  In many ways, no.  MORE >>

This is information that exists in the deep inner workings of customer organizations. Companies like IBM have been lead-steerers for the rest of the sales community time and time again – and their work in the social selling space is no different. In late November, we released the first five trends of our annual “10 Trends” blog post. Thanks for sharing those as extensively as you did! And thanks to the many readers who insisted we publish these 5 more quickly. Without much fanfare, let’s dive into the remainder of the list. As usual, we look forward to your thoughts and feedback. MORE >>

But what we failed to recognize is how it feels for reps to have to operate, or try to change their behavior, when working in these highly transactional, activity-driven sales environments. 'In my last blog post , I introduced our newest research findings on sales culture, and how most sales organizations today have a sales culture or climate that is hindering their ability to build a Challenger sales force. And when you look at the cartoon illustration below, it is easy to understand why. And for the most part, these are essential and effective strategies for driving change. MORE >>