Sales research pioneer shares how to navigate the rapidly evolving sales profession
DAYTON, OHIO, March 21, 2012 – Business leaders charged with management of the rapidly-evolving sales profession and talent management professionals searching for top sales talent will be interested in a new book by sales research pioneer Howard Stevens, Chairman of Chally Group Worldwide. Mr. Stevens and co-author Geoffrey James offer the third chapter of their highly anticipated book, “The End of Sales As We Know It”.
In the book, Stevens and journalist Geoffrey James examine how the evolution of the Internet has transformed the buying and selling process, and offer guidance to help sales organizations and professionals navigate the new requirements for success. This latest chapter, entitled The Changing Role of the Sales Professional, examines ways that companies segment sales roles, starting with major classifications (hunter vs. farmer, outside sales vs. inside sales) and proceeding to the complex segmentations found in larger organizations. It explains why top performers are often “savants” who can’t be effectively moved between different roles, and then provides research-based recommendations for staffing, deploying, and training sales resources.
“The End of Sales As We Know It” draws from two decades of Chally research with 80,000 B2B customers and takes readers through a variety of topics including Selling in the Internet Age, Sales & Academia, Sales and the TQM Revolution, and the Science of Sales Training.
“Our research findings are important not only for Sales leaders, but for business executives and human resource professionals for strategic workforce planning. We clearly show there are new performance metrics and requirements to meet those goals in order to achieve organizational success,” explained Stevens. “A big shift needs to occur in the selection and development processes for many sales groups if they want to remain competitive.”
Individuals interested in a preview of the book may download chapters 1-3 free of charge at http://chally.com/news-media/publications/end-of-sales-as-we-know-it/.
The book will be available in its entirety in late 2012. Subsequent chapters of the book will be released as they become available over the coming months.
Howard Stevens is the author of several books on sales and management, including Achieve Sales Excellence; Selling the Wheel; and The Quadrant Solution, which have been published in multiple languages. He has written many articles about sales and leadership, and is a sought-after speaker and commentator, with appearances on CNN, Bloomberg USA, National Public Radio, Radio Free America and other business-based programs to his credit.
Geoffrey James has written hundreds of features, articles and columns for national publications including Wired, Men’s Health, Business 2.0, Selling-Power, CIO, Brand World, The New York Times and BNET. He is the author of seven books, including Business Wisdom of the Electronic Elite and The Tao of Programming.
About Chally Group Worldwide
A global leadership and sales potential and performance measurement firm, Chally Group Worldwide (www.chally.com) uses its industry-leading research, predictive analytics and advisory services to ensure that clients have the information they need to minimize risks associated with talent management decisions relating to selection, alignment, development and succession planning.