In a brief survey, we asked sales managers from Slovenian companies about the main challenges they face at work. The majority of responses were related to a lack of staff, especially young people who would be willing to work in the fast-paced sales processes with high demands regarding financial plans and unpredictable business environment.

It also turned out that the problem is not just finding “good” employees, but also retaining, motivating, and rewarding them adequately. Expectations from young people are often very high. They primarily seek financial security for the future and opportunities for education within the workplace.

Many companies in the retail sector are struggling with high staff turnover. The question arises of how to transfer the knowledge that new employees need for their jobs. Classic mentoring is often ineffective, so some companies are developing apps and platforms with basic information and instructions for new hires.

Today, the biggest challenge for companies is changing their values and organizational culture so that younger employees feel comfortable. Often, management expects young people to adapt to us, but the reality is that they will gradually need to take matters into their own hands in the companies, whether it’s sales or leadership.

How can technical solutions make the work of salespeople easier?

Another set of challenges for sales management, as evident from the survey, is the use of AI in the sales process: from automating the sales funnel, finding new potential customers, writing sales pitches, to maintaining quality relationships with customers. Are we already at a point where we can trust AI programs with this?

Also worth mentioning is the challenge in B2B sales, which is the integration of business analytics into existing CRM programs. When it comes to finding new customers, sales are often hindered by GDPR legislation.