Thank you to everyone that came out to the Chicago Sales Leadership Community meeting. It was a great opportunity to network, share and learn.  The meeting included a panel discussion on “Changes in Customer Decision Making Teams”. The panel from the community shared insights and perspectives on ways their companies are successfully adapting to these changes in customer buyer behavior:

• Customers are taking longer to make buying decisions.es
• Customers decision making often involves a team of stakeholders.
• These decision making teams are getting larger and include both formal and informal members.

Who Were the Sales Leaders for the Panel Discussion?

• John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (VP, Client Engagement)
• Dr. Rich Rocco from DePaul University (Assistant Professor)
• Matt Forcey from PowerReviews (Vice President of Enterprise Sales)
• Joe Super from Shearer’s Snacks (Senior Vice President of Sales)

Questions discussed at the event:

• One of the areas where we are seeing a lot of discussion across our communities is the topic of sales coverage. How does your organization define your market and allocate resources to cover the market?
• What are some of the initiatives that you have put in place to better optimize sales coverage?
• One of the big drivers that we are seeing impacting sales coverage is customer buying preferences. What kind of changes are you seeing in your market as it relates to how customers prefer to buy?
• What types of initiatives have you put in place to better cover your market and align with these changing expectations? (examples might include: inside sales, alliances/partners, redefining market segments and roles, etc.)
• How have you measured the success of different sales coverage initiatives?
• What have you seen that differentiates sales coverage changes that drove strong business impact vs. those that haven’t?
• What recommendations would you make to other sales leaders as they think about enhancing or evolving their coverage model?

Finally, thank you to our hosts for the meeting, DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

 

Why Should You Attend Future Meetings?

The meetings offer opportunities to:

• hear from other sales leaders to get their perspective on important topics you may also face within your company
• meet other sales leaders from the area to expand your personal and professional network
• connect with university students participating in the sales program to identify potential sales talent for your organization
• ask your questions to get further insights from other attendees.

Who Will You See at the Meetings?

Previous events have included sales leaders from Acuity Brands, CH Robinson, HP Enterprise, IRI, LinkedIn, Micro Focus, Miller Coors, Optum, Prolifiq, Right Management, SAP, Shearer’s Foods, Siemens Healthineers, Softchoice, Southwire, TransUnion, Whirlpool, Zones and other top companies of all sizes and industries.  Plus, there will be DePaul University students that are participating in the sales program – a great chance to recruit some top sales talent for your organization.  Meetings are open to practitioner sales leaders and invited guests.  There is no cost to attend.  Registration before the meeting is required to ensure that a seat is available to you.

When Was the Meeting?

September 28, 2018 / 7:30 am to 9:00 am

Where Was the Meeting?

DePaul University
Center for Sales Leadership
1 E. Jackson
Chicago, IL 60604

About the Chicago Sales Leadership Community

The Chicago Sales Leadership Community was co-founded by DePaul University and SOAR Performance Group to create a forum for best practice sharing, executive networking, and student engagement within the Chicago area.

• The community is a cross-industry organization of senior sales leaders focusing on building a community for advancing best practices in sales leadership.
• It creates networking and mentoring opportunities for senior sales executives with DePaul University students participating in the sales program.
• An advisory board leads the community with representatives from companies that represent different industries and go-to-market models.
• In addition to the meetings that include discussions on sales leadership topics, the community also provides online options for participation.
• Recordings from the meetings are posted in the previous events section.
• The online discussion group, Sales Leadership Community Insights, is available on LinkedIn.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!