101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 95: BENCHMARK YOURSELF You may be pretty good at selling (even though you say so yourself), but do you know how you compare with others, not just in your organization, but also more widely? Idea From consultants Miller Heinman … This company specializes in the sales area. It does not regular research, and one survey, conducted in conjunction with Quest Media Ltd, and published in the journal Winning Business, reviewed current practice and looked to the future. It examined the changing sales role, customer expectations and beliefs, and the whole way sales teams are organized, staffed, rewarded, and managed. Key finding indicated that: Customers are becoming better informed and more organized, demanding, and sharp in their dealings with sales people (with the internet being used to a significant extent for pre-buying research). Technology is having, and will continue to have, an effect on sales activity. Most dramatically it is replacing sales people with electronic, impersonal buying, although this is not affecting large numbers of business areas. The dynamic nature of this area is evidenced by the uncertainly respondent reflected in their forecasts of what other influences are becoming important. Recruitment is a perpetual challenge, as is retention. CRM is becoming a more...
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