Summary:

Aditya Rath is a partner at KPMG in India, focused on management consulting and Customer Advisory Lead. He is joined by Tom Lurtz, a Partner in KPMG Germany and Walt Becker, Principal Sales Transformation Lead in the US.

The global panel discuss how the most successful organizations have recognized today’s customer is ‘always on’ and how Sales functions need to look to their tech and digital selling systems to appease and engage with customers. This is particularly important as we transition into the ‘new reality’.

Technology and AI are a crucial focus for Sales functions. The panel discusses the investment that needs to be made and how best to manage spend – how can you ensure and define a return on investment?

The panel deep-dive further into technology and the ‘data journey’ and how connecting the data is key. From previous and real time interactions through to connecting solutions sold, it’s the importance of interpreting the data and creating meaningful connections.

The final topic the panel explore is the future of the Sales Rep and the prevalence of trust within the Sales function. Customers look for familiarity, for empathy. They don’t want to be sold to anymore. They discuss the future of the Trust Manager and the increasingly cyclical nature of the sales process – as we go forth it won’t be clear when the sales process starts and finishes but be more of an ongoing interaction that never ends.

Aditya finishes up the conversation by reverting back to the ‘always on’ customer. The Future of Sales relies on trust and proactivity, alongside broader investment in technology and AI to ensuring meaningful data collection is captured to help inform the sales process. Winning the customer’s trust is key – this is how the Sales function will succeed as we enter into the ‘new reality’.