Sales 3.0 and the Growth Mindset

The Sales 2.0 shows, which have been held for almost a decade, were rebranded Sales 3.0.  As with Sales 2.0, the focus remains on people, process, and technology.  I am not convinced that there is actually a discrete break from 2.0 to 3.0.  For example, the conference site states, “B2B buyers are online, digitally empowered, and looking for salespeople who can articulate value,” but this has been true for the past decade.  One can argue that two other differences are more current, the rise of artificial intelligence and Account Based Marketing.  Both have risen to the forefront of sales and marketing intelligence over the past two years due to the maturation of technology.

The final Sales 3.0 difference focuses on coaching sales reps to “embrace the power of mindset [to] achieve peak sales performance.”  Mindset is a set of attitudes and beliefs that we begin assembling at birth and which shape behavior.  The pre-frontal cortex of the brain stores these mindsets as networks of “cognitive elements, memories, and associated feelings from past experiences.”

“When your mindset is functioning at optimum levels, you’re better able to excel in tough sales situations. That’s because – according to scientific research conducted by Professor Michael Bernard at the University of Melbourne, Australia – high achievers consciously create a belief system that helps them cope effectively with difficult situations at work,” says a Sales 3.0 Conference report.  “We all have the capacity to direct our minds to become powerful, positive, productive forces for ourselves.”

The report noted that successful and positive individuals have a growth mindset which focuses on self-improvement.  “They believe that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, instruction, and persistence. They don’t necessarily believe they can become geniuses, but they believe they can become more skilled and intelligent by working hard. People with a growth mindset tend to achieve higher levels of success.”

This year’s Sales 3.0 shows will be held in San Francisco (May 1-2), Las Vegas (September 18-19), and Philadelphia (December 4th).