Sales & Marketing Management

We talk with author and management consultant Ken Lloyd about why today’s younger workers actually embrace performance appraisals as long as they are structured well and serve a purpose, namely to provide a framework for continued professional growth.

Today’s buyers aren’t stalled because they don’t understand your product. They’re stalled because they’re overwhelmed, under-aligned and unsure how to move forward. In that environment, selling harder won’t help. But enabling clarity will.

The reps who rely on AI outputs without questioning them will get burned. And the ones who ignore AI altogether will spend twice as long getting half as ready.

Sellers who see AI as a tool for creative problem-solving - and who provide targeted training and coaching on effective use of AI - are more likely to benefit from it.

The most practical mindset shift I see in high-performing sales and marketing teams is simple, but uncomfortable: Stop trying to be right. Start trying to learn.

AI doesn’t break sales. It exposes the difference between organizations that operate with decision discipline and those that operate on narrative. For organizations willing to treat that exposure as usable data, the opportunity is clear: replace gut feel with decision discipline – and finally build a revenue engine that scales with predictability.

Companies have begun to incorporate AI tools to reduce the cost of early stage sales work, but cautionary tales abound. These technological innovations are best used to support, not replace early stage sales roles.

When AI is embedded into workflows with precision, sellers are freed from repetitive, low-value activities and can concentrate on actions that move the needle for customers.

The use of language – words, tone and timing – shapes how the recipient of that message receives and responds. Great leaders know this and purposely choose words that get results.

The brands that build relational ecosystems rather than just content factories will shape the future of brand competition.

To build a modern sales engine inside a legacy organization, professional services firm GHD Digital had to rethink everything: roles, processes, culture and leadership expectations.

Sellers’ inclination is to bring buyers into market on sellers’ timeline, but savvy selling teams understand that buyers call the shots and sellers need to have the right information when the right time strikes for the buyer.

AI sales tools can raise the floor by standardizing best practices and accelerating learning, but they can’t replace the human elements that define great selling.

There’s a huge opportunity for B2B ecommerce businesses to deliver the frictionless experience consumers crave. It’s not about whether B2B needs to offer personalized, digital-first experiences like B2C customers receive; it’s how soon they can make the transition.