*Re post from 1-26-2015

"Not much in the world ends up being the same as it started out, 
unless of course it had a very short life cycle." 
 
- Lorii Myers, Targeting Success, Develop the Right Business Attitude to be Successful in the Workplace

Forbes recently published an article about trends in 2015 and the one that really caught my attention is the evolution of the salesperson: "today’s savvy customers don't value old-school, pressure based manipulative sales methods. Today’s customers want value subject-matter experts, salespeople with refined consultative skills." Companies today want to do know how customers are making buying decisions and how they can give more value to their customers.

As the trend moves from "price" buying and towards "value" purchases, it's important for sales people to develop skills that demonstrate value if they are to increase their margins. Forbes provided the perfect antidote "Let's face it, if you paid half price but didn't get what you needed, it probably wasn't a good deal." How many of us have been there and done that? The 2015 salesperson will need to evolve and understand the difference between delivering a commodity more efficiently then other in the market or developing a strategy so that what you sell is not seen as a commodity, but something unique. Forbes said it best when they said "buyers will ensure they are getting superior value per invested dollar in a solution... not just lip service."
  
Work hard, be productive, and, above all else, stay positive.

Peggy White
Executive Director
Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce
peggywhite@pulaskichamber.info