The present and future of the B2B sales profession

Abstract

Over the last three decades, business-to-business (B2B) sales practices have undergone significant change. This study evaluates the current responsibilities, skills, and knowledge sets required in B2B sales professionals. It identifies roles, qualifications, competencies, and the B2B sales position taxonomy. To achieve these objectives, we conducted three studies. The first study included an analysis of 565 job descriptions to identify the current task and skill requirements of B2B salespeople. The second survey included 380 B2B salespeople and incentivized the development of a new up-to-date taxonomy for sales positions. Our third and final study consisted of 33 semi-structured interviews with B2B sales professionals, and was designed to predict the future skillsets required in B2B sales professionals. Our results discuss the conception and current status of the B2B sales profession, and primarily highlight the role of future B2B salespeople. Lastly, this study offers a set of B2B sales-related recommendations based on our results.