The New Rules of Selling
Old habits won’t yield results

As companies turn their efforts once again to growing top line revenues,
many are finding new rules apply to the game of sales. The newly released
Sales Effectiveness Study by Miller Heiman shows that sales managers face
a slew of new challenges as they begin their ramp up.

“Companies are once again focused on aggressively growing top line
revenues. The environment in which we sell, however, has changed,�?says
Sam Reese, CEO of Miller Heiman. “Old ways of selling aren’t going to get
the results management teams and investors are demanding. Learning to sell
in this environment will increasingly become the difference between those
companies that succeed and those which continue to struggle.�?BR>
The state of sales:

* 65 percent respondents agree that customers are finding it increasingly
difficult to differentiate the value of the products and services they
purchase.

* Only 56 percent of sales managers agree that their reps and other
staffers are appropriately deployed in the right positions throughout the
organization.

* 79 percent of sales managers say forecasting accuracy is becoming an
increasingly important priority for the organization.

* Just 38 percent of sales managers say their firms capture accurate and
comprehensive customer data.

* 67 percent of sales managers say their team members are not making
enough quality sales calls.