Everything in sales is changing at the moment, and no one is really sure which way it’s going, the only thing that we can be certain of is that it’s an exciting time.

In order to prepare you as best we can for the year ahead we’re taking a look at some of the emerging trends that we believe will be big next year in the sales world and the impact they will have on hiring.

Selling to people
The next year will see a change in the way sales teams sell. People will be at the centre of sales strategies, with the necessity for individuals to change from being perceived as salespeople. Instead, they will need to portray themselves as business partners who can provide ideas and solutions.

Dominic Quirk, Director of Advancing People, a recruitment company that specialises in hiring sales people says that there will be a bigger onus on business development in 2012. Clients can find out a lot about products or services online so many sales that were closed face-to-face will fade out. This means that field sales teams are likely to decrease over the coming 12 months.

Instead, sales teams need to be able to advise how the product/service will aid the growth of a business rather than providing only small details. This means sales people will need to learn new skills in patience, listening, creative problem solving and dealing with ambiguity and complexity in order to bring the sale from the first discussion and lead the client through the process.

Sales skills
In a tough climate to get that job, you need ensure your sales skills are sharp. Your product knowledge and presentation skills will need to be learned, practiced and polished. These fundamental abilities are at the core of every good sales person. It is imperative that you get them right if you are to be successful in 2012. If you can work on two or three skills a week you will greatly improve your chances of employment next year.

Sector-specific knowledge
Sales roles will be more prevalent in business areas that are seeing growth. Dominic Quirk says: “In particular with our clients, were expecting growth within the IT sector. They are in a good position to grow so we should see an increase in sales roles. Also, an increase in recruitment as things begin to lift, the recruitment companies will need to deal with that. Construction sales could have a bit of a turnaround as well.”

Dominic Quirk adds: “Along with generic sales skills, we’re seeing clients want more sector-specific experience.” Gaining knowledge of the sector will help sales people as they will become aware of how the client fits into the bigger scheme of things.

Coaching
A few years ago, there was a high demand for sales management roles, which meant that there was a focus on retention rather than acquisition. However, due to the economic climate, businesses want new clients and therefore sales management roles are hard to come by. Dominic Quirk, agrees saying: “Manager roles are the least available. They are a luxury for companies that need people to bring in new business, not just look after the ones that they already have.”

For sales managers to succeed in this difficult climate they need to be able to provide coaching to their staff in order to improve the bottom line. A trend in sales training seems to be an emphasis on neuroscience. Sales managers need to make sure that in these tough times, with increased pressure on their sales team to meet targets; their people do not burn out. Sales managers need to have a sound knowledge of how the brain works and the reasons behind our feelings and ultimately, how to master those feelings.

Closer links to marketing
Sales will see more collaboration with other departments including HR and in particular marketing. As marketing changes to include more data collection, sales teams will need to be able to interpret and use this data to their advantage. New customer groups will emerge and the only way to find them and know how to do business with them will be for the sales team to work closely with the marketing team to make sure the appropriate marketing approach is taken. Therefore, a useful skill for sales people to develop would be the ability to ability to position the same brand in different ways for different audiences.

In general, sales people will need to start thinking creatively in order to gain those difficult new sales. The old tried and tested methods unfortunately no longer have much impact. But this does offer an exciting opportunity for sales people to develop skills in new areas.

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