{"id":9134,"date":"2020-10-05T07:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T07:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=9134"},"modified":"2023-06-06T08:56:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T08:56:33","slug":"4-sales-trends-changing-the-way-you-work-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/blog\/4-sales-trends-changing-the-way-you-work-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Sales Trends Changing the Way You Work in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

E-commerce is going to replace salespeople.<\/i><\/p>\n

That was a personal prediction I made 20 years ago when I started my first company. Educated as an engineer, I naively thought technology would make the sales profession obsolete.<\/p>\n

I was wrong.<\/p>\n

In the decades since, I’ve run a handful of startups, learning firsthand how vital the sales team is to a company. The best salespeople care deeply about solving customers’ problems, and their work is the blood pumping through the veins of the company.<\/p>\n

But their job is really hard. And it’s constantly changing. That change is especially apparent this year, as selling goes virtual and buyers’ habits shift.<\/p>\n

Released today, the fourth edition of the State of Sales report<\/a> captures insights from nearly 6,000 sales professionals worldwide.<\/b> Our research surveys reps, sales ops, and leadership on recovery and growth in an evolving selling landscape. We also compare data by performance level to see what the best sales teams do differently.<\/p>\n

These aren’t predictions (I’ve thankfully gotten out of that business), but real trends to help inform your strategies for getting back to growth. Below are four major takeaways from the report. Make sure to check out the full research<\/a> for more insights and Tableau dashboards for industry-<\/a> and country-specific findings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Customer insights close deals<\/b><\/h2>\n

The reality is we’re all consumers. We’re all dealing with the immediate, pressing challenges of the times. The last thing we need right now is a difficult, opaque buying experience. That’s true whether we’re buying something for our personal lives or at work.<\/p>\n

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“<\/span>Nearly 90% of reps say current economic conditions increase the importance of anticipating customer needs.”<\/p>\n