{"id":49634,"date":"2021-03-18T17:42:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T17:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=49634"},"modified":"2022-11-01T23:32:44","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T06:32:44","slug":"has-sales-changed-forever-we-got-the-experts-to-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/au\/blog\/has-sales-changed-forever-we-got-the-experts-to-weigh-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Sales Changed Forever? We Got the Experts to Weigh In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many sales professionals had to rapidly adapt to pandemic-induced disruptions like lockdowns and physical distancing. At the time, these changes felt like temporary adjustments for extraordinary circumstances. However, a year after the first whispers of COVID-19 reached our shores, it\u2019s beginning to feel like some of these changes will become permanent fixtures of the sales process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this changed landscape mean for the strategies and tactics sales professionals use? And what new skills will they need to meet new demands and expectations? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of their session in the upcoming Salesforce LIVE: A&NZ Sales Episode<\/a>, sales experts Tony Hughes and Cian McLoughlin sat down to give their take on which part of the sales process will be absolutely crucial in the future: the open vs the close. Here\u2019s what they had to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tony Hughes: It\u2019s all about the sales open<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

COVID has created for all leaders a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive change, and I believe sales leaders and sales reps should use this as a reason to engage new buyers. But to be successful in opening new opportunities in a tough market, everyone must invest in skills and technologies that enable higher levels of effectiveness.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great sales opening is the X-factor in the buying\/selling process. It\u2019s not enough to be good at building relationships, doing discovery, creating solutions, gathering consensus, navigating politics and closing. If you can\u2019t open a sales opportunity in the first place, all of your other skills are a moot point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way you open also sets the agenda for the rest of the business relationship and frames the conversation from that point on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I strongly feel that in this changed world of sales \u2014 where it\u2019s more difficult to create real connections selling at a distance \u2014 we need to focus on why conversations matter for the buyer to be customer-centric. This is the mindset for a consistent, quality sales pipeline. If you put your effort and attention there, you\u2019ll make progression and closing a natural next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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