On Thursday 2nd December we launched our 12 Sales Trends Report for 2022 – Decarbonising Sales Operations.
A panel of experts in different fields discussed some of the topics in the report and contributed their insight, stories and case studies to create a rich session full of interesting and inspiring ideas.
The panel: Cathy McGowan, Keith Badger, Jo O’Reilly and David Lunn
MC: Sue Barrett
You can watch the whole event here:
Here are some highlights and where to find them:
00:07 – 8:33 Welcome and Introduction (Sue Barrett)
8:34 – 12:01 Meet the panel
12:24 – 22:38 What’s your take on COP 26 and its outcomes (or lack thereof)?
Our panel share stories that make them optimistic about the effect that COP 26 had on their circles and networks despite the rather disappointing outcomes from Glasgow.
22:39 – What do you see as some of the challenges businesses will face if they don’t get their act together around decarbonising?
“There’s a recognition in the corporate world that we have to go ahead and do this regardless. The inflection point has come where people are taking this on. People who scotched my talk about going for zero emissions maybe 10 years ago, even 3 or 5 years ago, are now saying ‘how do we do it’. It is very much now about how to harness that cultural awareness.
“Don’t think of this as a problem, here’s this enormous opportunity”. Keith Badger
25:45 – Thinking about where you are coming from and your networks what do you see as the 2 or 3 biggest sales opportunities when businesses decarbonise, when they decarbonise their sales operations
Hear Cathy McGowan talking about the partnership that the people from Yackandandah have established with Mondo and the opportunities that this has created for the community. As Cathy says, “When you put community at the centre of what you do, the opportunities that come out of that are amazing”.
39:10 – In Australia, where are we excelling?
Great examples from Regional Victoria, ASX businesses, and moving from green-wishing “we’ll go net zero” with no tangible transition plan behind it to green- working where a business actually engaging with the work to be done.
48:45 – Question from the audience: Has the pandemic provided a silver lining whereby organisations, and particularly sales teams, have now seen the capability of remote meeting or will there be a rush to return to face to face? (What are the changes that we are seeing, and which are worth keeping?)
“There’s not only less travel and remote meetings but also electronic mechanism to transform essentially the way organisations are buying”. David Lunn
54:05 – What are other workplace changes and their impacts in reducing emissions?
Something that won’t go back to where it was is the working model. A hybrid system (working from home some days and from the office others is likely to be the preferred system).
The pandemic also proved that we can transform fast and overnight when we have to. We, humans can be pretty flexible, and this is a critical lesson to take forward and help in the efforts towards net zero.
56:25 – What have you noticed in terms of adoption of technology to communicate far and wide in the agricultural space?
“Two years ago being “green” was an insult. Now we have industry level associations leading the charge for climate action”.
1:01 – What about customers? What are they telling us they want from their suppliers?
Government clients are not demanding decarbonised services in their tenders, and they could be leading the way. But like with other issues before (purchasing locally, modern slavery, etc.) they will get there.
1:04 – What will decarbonised salespeople look like? And how will this affect recruitment and retention of salespeople?
“The decarbonised salesforce will be equipped to do sales presentations and deal with customers virtually, and they will be very aware of the impact their business is having and suggest better ways of doing it. There won’t be a big office hub, sucker of electricity, this salesforce is going to be a remote workforce”. Jo O’Reilly
1:13 – From the audience – What are initiatives that companies should aspire to that are interesting for customers?
Listen to what the Mars Petcare factory in Wodonga has done about landfill and the impact it has in their community, and how your decarbonising efforts can help your business in a tendering process.
1:23 – From the audience – How much extra dollars are companies actually willing to spend to reduce waste, energy, consumables like packaging? A lower carbon footprint will cost and the green-wish cost dollars. How much are businesses willing to pay? In some industries the sustainable options are 200 to 300 % more expensive. Do you know of companies that are willing to pay more – at least initially?
“Firstly, look at what is the cost of ownership of what you have the moment, and then if you have to pay more for something but it saves you a lot or helps you make more money in another way, this are the things to look at”. Sue Barrett
1:32 – From the audience – Have you found a simple way to respond to people who speak negatively on climate change but are clearly parroting social media, or poor journalism mainly from Sky News after 6, because they are unable to articulate solid facts to support their opinion?
Start with the benefit, like the people of Yackandandah did. Great story about this community.
1:40 – From the audience – How do you become a pioneer in decarbonising your business, your sales, or even your industry?
“You don’t need to be a pioneer. It’s already here and ready to go”.
1:46 – What are your final thoughts?
The unmissable final thought from the panel
1:50 – Sue’s final thoughts and closing
Have you heard the story about the 4WD, the boat and the helicopter? Don’t miss Sue’s final thoughts.
You can download the report here.
Remember, everybody lives by selling something.
Related topics
12 Sales Trends for 2022- Decarbonising Sales Operations
COP26 – What’s the future for business and sales?
A year ago
12 Sales Trends for 2021 – The Rebuild
Five years ago
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