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Why change sticks in some organisations and stalls in others

By / / Coaching, Leadership, Learning and Development, Sales Coaching, Sales Training

In 30 seconds

Problem: Most training never survives contact with the daily job. Organisations invest in workshops, then wonder why behaviour reverts within weeks, assuming the fault lies with the training content or the learner’s motivation.

The Shift: Research points elsewhere. The single biggest predictor of whether learning sticks isn’t the course, it’s whether the immediate manager reinforces it afterwards. Call centres already run on a rhythm built for this, continuous coaching, clear standards, short distance between leader and work, which is why change takes there without a push.

The Solution: Involve managers before learners, build a recurring rhythm rather than a one-off event, and measure behaviour change instead of course completion.

Why change sticks in some organisations and stalls in others Read Post »

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Coaching vs Policing: Leading B2C & B2B Sales Teams to Mastery

By / / Coaching, Learning and Development, Sales Coaching

In 30 seconds

Coached sales teams consistently outperform policed ones by 10–20%. Why? Because coaching fosters confidence, critical thinking, and meaningful client engagement—whereas policing drives compliance, fear, and short-term thinking. At Barrett, we see coaching as the foundation of sustainable, human-centred sales leadership. It’s about empowering people to grow, adapt, and connect authentically with customers. From retail banking to industrial sales, we’ve seen how real coaching creates real impact—like a pharmacy assistant who now confidently engages customers in meaningful ways. Sales leadership isn’t about control—it’s about cultivating capability. That’s how teams thrive. That’s the Selling Better way.

Coaching vs Policing: Leading B2C & B2B Sales Teams to Mastery Read Post »

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2025: Top 10 Action Plan for Leaders, Teams & Capability Builders

By / / Blog, Business Growth, Human-centred, Hybrid Selling, Leadership, Learning and Development, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Growth, Sales Leadership, Sales Results, Selling Better, Success

In 20 seconds

As we step into 2025, it’s clear that the fundamentals of trust, empathy, and delivering value remain timeless. However, the tools, methods, and contexts in which we operate are changing rapidly. Success lies in balancing these enduring principles with a willingness to adapt, innovate, and lead with clarity, commitment, and courage.

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Deep Practice – The Path to Soft Skills & Sales Mastery

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Blog, Brain Science, Coaching, Education in Sales, Emotional Intelligence, Learning and Development, Sales Coaching, Sales Skills, Sales Training, Selling Better, Soft skills

In 30 seconds

Mastering soft skills, such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and active listening, is key to success in sales and service. These skills foster strong customer connections and help create value-driven solutions. Deep practice, a focused approach to skill-building, involves breaking down complex tasks outside of a person’s comfort zone into manageable steps and practising them intentionally and repeatedly. Sales and service professionals can refine their techniques through purposeful practice and immediate feedback. Leaders and coaches play a crucial role by guiding their teams through actionable steps, providing feedback, and fostering continuous improvement that translates into better performance.

In 2.5 minutes

Mastering …

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Are They Ready to Lead?

By / / Blog, Leadership, Learning and Development, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management

In 30 seconds

Promoting salespeople to managing positions without upskilling them appropriately is like putting someone who is great at cooking for their family in charge of a full-scale restaurant kitchen.

When top salespeople are promoted to leadership positions, they need a different skillset to be successful in this new role, like conflict resolution, coaching, delegation and empowerment, and strategy.

Sales leadership is not just another obvious step up the sales career ladder. It’s a transition into an entirely different role.

In 2 minutes

When an employee moves to a different department or needs to operate new equipment or software, upskilling them through training is …

Are They Ready to Lead? Read Post »

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Sales Trend 6 – External Sales Training AND Internal Knowledge

By / / Blog, Education in Sales, Learning and Development, Sales Training, Sales Trends

This is Sales Trend 6 from Barrett’s 12 Business and Sales Trends for 2024. You can download the full report here.

In 30 seconds

Combining external sales training with internal knowledge transfer is a trend for optimal sales team development. It’s a key factor to shift from just providing training to creating real change. External programs, whether off-the-shelf or customised, offer proven methodologies, efficiency, and broad industry insights. Internal knowledge contributes company-specific expertise, cultural alignment, product insights, and best practice. The synergy of both ensures well-rounded, tailored and relevant training programs with relevant and targeted content, equipping sales teams with a …

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Striking Balance – Barrett’s 12 Sales & Business Trends for 2024

By / / Blog, Business Growth, Collaboration, Communication, Customer experience, Customer Service, Customer-centric, Digital credentials, Education in Sales, Emotional Intelligence, Ethics & Values, Human-centred, Hybrid Selling, Leadership, Learning and Development, Opportunity, Sales Consulting, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Growth, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Methodology, Sales Operations, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Strategy, Sales Tips, Sales Training, Sales Trends, Selling Better, Soft skills, Solution Selling, Strategy, Success, Value Based Selling

In December 2023 we published Barrett’s 12 Sales & Business Trends for 2024. This is a summary of that report, in case you missed it.

For decades, the business world has been dominated by what looked like opposites to choose from. You could be a hunter or a gatherer, a manager or a leader.

These concepts have been pitched to the business community as opposing and mutually exclusive choices, forcing a binary mindset. These polarisations don’t apply to modern businesses and sales operations – and they haven’t served us well for some time now.

In 2023 we’ve worked with businesses across industries and …

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Barrett Sales Trends 2023 Humans at the Centre

Mastering Human-Centred Learning

By / / Blog, Education in Sales, Human-centred, Learning and Development, Sales Skills, Sales Training, Sales Trends, Selling Better

Sales Trend 11 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends for 2023 is about Learning and Development.

By Jens Hartmann // Head of Learning and Development at Barrett

In 30 seconds

In the corporate world, the focus of learning and development (L&D) initiatives is shifting. Traditionally outcome-driven, organisations are now emphasising human-centred learning. With the advent of technology, training methodologies have diversified, offering online and remote options. While online learning can be effective, challenges like “online fatigue” and isolation persist. Human interaction remains vital, particularly for topics like communication skills. Studies show that a blend of online and in-person elements fosters …

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Boost Sales Leadership to Boost Sales

By / / Blog, Coaching, Education in Sales, Leadership, Learning and Development, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales performance, Sales Results, Sales Training

Every business wants better sales performance from their salespeople and to have happy, loyal clients.

If you look at the overwhelming content online about sales problems and issues, it focuses mostly on salespeople and their performance.

But what about Sales Leadership?

Sales Leaders are given little support when it comes to being competent in their role. In fact, many Sales Leaders are given no formal training in sales management, leadership, or coaching.

Perhaps the way to solve the problem of ‘better sales performance’ is to start by raising the standards of our sales leaders so they can lead and manage their sales teams better.

These …

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