MEANING OF SALES MANAGEMENT
In recent years, Sales Management has changed more rapidly as a practice and profession than ever before. A lot of this has to do with the rapid disruption in the sales industry and a transition to Inside Sales, which as a model is much more measurable and transaction driven. I thought now would be a good time to redefine what sales management is and the new roles of sales managers. Things changed for many reasons, some due to the information asymmetry from the days before the Internet, which has transmuted into information parity that is now the prevalent de facto standard, not to mention the fact that the buying cycle is 70% complete (according to Corporate Executive Board) before a buyer even speaks to a sales representative. Additionally, there has been a disruptive change within the Inside Sales model, which is growing 10x faster than traditional field sales as a profession – more and more sales are done over the phone rather than in person. Thus, the practice, appro...