8th Sales and Marketing Officers Meeting

THE FUTURE OF SALES NETWORKS: TOWARD A NEW SALES HORIZON

In some industries, the role traditionally played by sales networks is becoming more limited. This is sometimes the result of regulatory pressure. It can also be due to a lack of product/service differentiation, not to mention the onset of inevitable price wars. But in almost all cases, in virtually every industry, the Internet is creating new channels and players that are threatening the business models of today's leaders. The digital world has also given consumers more power than ever in the form of greater transparency and access to new suppliers. Today's savvy customers are no longer convinced by the sale agent as a “talking catalogue” or mere loudspeaker of the company's sales approach. These changes have not yet affected some industries, but it seems unlikely that they could go unscathed.

In the meantime, sales teams are the survivors of a long-term recession that has changed for good the way businesses compete. And younger generations have different training, values and expectations. Getting them excited and training them for this new setting is now a priority, but there may be a lack of models. Good sales practices are therefore still a good place to go for guidance, but for how long?

The Industry Meeting will provide the opportunity for us to present our research findings on the future perspectives of the managers of a large sample of sales networks in Spain. We will ask some of them to describe their vision of the future. We will also encourage discussion on how businesses should adapt today to the changes waiting just around the corner.

Panel 1. The Future of Sales Networks.

Panel 2. New Ways to Motivate People.

Panel 3. The Power of Data: CRM, Automation and Visualization.