The Behaviors and Skills Sales Leaders Care Most About

Julia Thomas

There’s a lot of talk about how two years of working virtually has led to permanent changes in the B2B sales process. It’s broadly accepted that the customer/prospect drives the sales process bus. They determine when and how a meeting will occur, and more often they are going with virtual meetings.

What does that mean for how salespeople will foster and maintain relationships with customers and prospects? What skills matter most in this new selling environment?

In this podcast, we talk with Julie Thomas, president and CEO of ValueSelling Associates, which recently published an eBook on a study they completed called “The Behaviors and Skills Sales Leaders Care Most About – and How to Measure Them.”

Thomas talks about the skills that matter most in each of four sales process phases:

  • Engaging with prospects
  • Prospecting and qualifying leads
  • Negotiating
  • Closing Deals

One of the biggest changes that companies must embrace, says Thomas, is the need to measure behaviors and not just the outcome (i.e., sales).

Authors

  • Paul Nolan

    Paul Nolan is the editor of Sales & Marketing Management.

  • Julie Thomas

    Julie Thomas, president and chief executive officer of ValueSelling Associates, is a noted speaker and consultant and the author of “ValueSelling: Driving Sales Up One Conversation at a Time.”

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