Sales Competencies of the Future 1
Given the headwinds that exist in the current economy, it is probably safe to conclude
that growth will continue to be an issue beyond 2020. The hangover from the
2009 recession left many Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) wary of investment and more
comfortable achieving profit growth through expense reduction. We can see
the drag on organic revenue growth in any number of charts:
Many companies realize that this path is unsustainable and have embarked on M&A
binges in record numbers. Integrating acquired companies, however, just
exercises the same financial "muscles", cutting out redundant staff and recognizing
synergies. On top of this, several industries (e.g. retail, healthcare, financial
services, and energy) and countries are in a state of significant disruption. Quantitative
easing is ending and mature economies just don't grow as fast as emerging
markets. At some point, companies must re-commit to growing markets, taking share
and driving organic growth or risk being acquired themselves (at best, slipping
into oblivion at worst). This will involve building new muscles, the sales competencies
of the future, from the top of the house to the bottom.
A More Challenging Future for Sales
-2.47%
8
-8
10
-10
12
-12
14
-14
-16
0
2
-2
4
-4
6
-6
2006 2004 2002 2012 2010 2008 2014 2016
Figure 1: S&P 500 Real Sales Growth
