The New York Times best selling author Ellen Tanner Marsh says 'You will never need to read a book on this subject again'. An endless number of books have been written on mastering sales techniques and improving a company's bottom line. While many of them contain helpful tips and ideas, few of them delve beyond the how-to's of managing the sales process, and fewer still venture into the inner workings of corporate culture, where the secrets of success-and often failure-lie. In Get Sales Focused: Rethinking and Revolutionising Sales Forces and Sales Results, experienced author, consultant and...

A welcome update on building a sales force in the new economic environment. The financial meltdown of 2008 claimed many victims, but an area that surely felt intense pressure was the corporate sales force. Every company's sales force had to adjust to a new market reality. The author of this timely book, an international business consultant who highlights some of her firm's research into sales organizations, writes that a "new customer profile" started to take shape after the financial crisis. Customers "were less trusting and found heavy selling tactics repulsive...they wanted price and if...

Companies fear looking at changes or improvements to their sales forces for good reason: sales are the engine that drives revenue. No matter how patched up or sputtering that engine may be, the mere thought of overhauling it fills CEOs and senior executives alike with dread. Companies will make ongoing, piecemeal repairs as long as they can in a vain attempt to keep revenue flowing. They will tolerate behavior and performance from sales and marketing that would not be tolerated in any other areas of the business. For CEOs, there comes a point where changes or improvements must be made to...