A sales process is consultative when the stages and actions align with the customer’s buying experience and are defined in terms of the customer relationship. It's only successful when sales leadership and the sales force execute with dedication and competence. That's why a true consultative sales framework has both a process component and a human component. Let's dig into each.

There’s no question that the pandemic brought significant changes to the way buyers and sellers interact. But today, as the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, sellers are wondering: What changes are here to stay?

Desiree Pascual is the chief people officer at Headspace Health and leads HR for around 1,000 employees. Despite a packed schedule during the hypergrowth phase of the company, it doesn’t keep her from taking a three-week trip to Spain every summer to visit her parents.

It’s gotten to a point where I’m not even shocked anymore. An organization with a charismatic leader experiences enormous growth. Rumors and rumblings of leadership trouble behind the scenes start to come out, followed by actual allegations of bullying, sexual harassment, dominating personalities, or abuse. The leader goes down in scandal, sometimes taking the organization with him or her.

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” Ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu was onto the idea of servant leadership centuries before it became a modern-day concept. This leadership style boils down to one principle: The goal of a leader is to serve.

Speaking virtually can be an enormous challenge if you want to inspire your audience. After all, listeners don’t receive the usual visual cues from a virtual speaker, nor do they hear the presenter’s voice with the same clarity that characterizes in-person communication.

Oftentimes our sales strategy is so focused on closing the deal with new clients, that we forget one of our largest potential revenue sources: our existing customers. Past or current customers are already familiar with your brand, products, and sales process, and have built up a significant amount of trust. That’s why it’s up to six times cheaper to sell to a previous customer than a new one.

I'm a baseball guy and a die hard Boston Red Sox fan but I can't bear to watch them right now. They are playing the worst baseball since I was 10 years old so that's going back 55 years! It's not hard to understand why they are so bad because the data tells the story. Their stats show that as of May 9, 2022 their bullpen has 9 blown saves.

In 2007 Sonos, a manufacturer of luxury wireless-audio systems, struck a deal with Best Buy to sell its products at more than 600 retail locations across the United States. Sonos would be spotlighted in Best Buy stores with live, interactive, multizone demonstrations. In return Best Buy would gain access to the best-reviewed new audio systems in the world. The agreement was a victory for both companies.

An ongoing argument my husband and I have — which has become more contentious during the pandemic — is about how many friends we should have. We both have one or two close friends and siblings we like to spend time with. Plus, we are busy parenting two young boys who sap most of our energy. As a textbook introvert, this feels like plenty of friends to me.

Vacation time is an important way for employees to recharge their mental and emotional batteries before returning to work. But new Qualtrics research shows that nearly half (49%) of employed Americans say they work for an hour or more a day, even while on vacation.

A critical aspect of effective leaders today is the ability to lead change. Indeed, many would argue that the most distinguishing difference between people we identify as good managers and those we deem to be great leaders is that leaders are adept at bringing about change.

Before he died, beloved MIT professor Patrick Winston regularly gave a fascinating and deeply compelling lecture to university students about the value of good communication. In his introduction, he drew attention to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which calls for court-martial for any officer who sends a soldier into battle without a weapon.

New research from ValueSelling and Training Industry, Inc. has uncovered a glaring gap between the most impactful sales behaviors needed to engage with buyers virtually, and what sales leaders measure today. Surprisingly, winning sales behaviors are rarely measured. Yet without accurate measurement practices in place, companies are not effective in encouraging the right behaviors that lead to increased sales results, which means that money is left on the table.

While tactical customer service measures are typically managed by a single company department, strategic customer service innovations — that is, those that reflect what the customer is actually experiencing, not what you’re experiencing in your operations — necessarily involve the coordinated activities of multiple departments. Many leaders run into the issue of “organizational indifference,” where counterpart managers in other departments naturally focus on the measures top management has told them are most important, and for which they’re being held responsible.

Today’s B2B customers are very clear about what they want from suppliers: more channels, more convenience, and a more personalized experience. They want the right mix of in-person interactions, remote contact via phone or video, and e-commerce self-service across the purchasing journey. Adjusting to this new dynamic requires B2B organizations to shift from “traditional” and “inside” sales to “hybrid” in order to move with the customer.

As I spot “Help Wanted” signs on the windows of many establishments today, I often consider the qualities young job seekers should learn. Too often, young adults don’t take entry-level positions because they feel those jobs are beneath them. I recently reflected on the early experiences I had in my career that taught me lessons I may not have learned otherwise. I submit them here.

Late last year, Facebook announced plans to hire 10,000 people in Europe to build out its “metaverse,” an augmented-reality space. Amazon, meanwhile, announced plans to hire more than 55,000 people for corporate and technology jobs in the United States even as Google is moving to hire thousands of technologists.

Leadership development has always been and will continue to be a pressing need in the workplace. Trouble is, “people development” is often among the first budget items to take a hit in tough times. You may have noticed: We’re living in tough times.

There’s no perfect formula when it comes to success, but there are ways leaders can encourage growth through small steps every day. Growth is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and dedication, but little steps soon add up to big results.