Latest insights

Small and medium, local enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the economy’s health and predicted to lead an economic recovery post-COVID. However, many of these businesses are fighting to keep their doors open since the onset of the pandemic. 89% impacted by the recent rioting and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, according to research by BeyondCovid. Positively, the latest data by Skynamo’s Industry Thermometer for July 2021 reveals that the political turmoil did not have as big an impact on sales as expected.

At a glance it may seem like choosing a best of breed platform is the simple answer to all of your problems. However, we can forgive you for thinking so off the bat. Before making such a decision it is important to understand how your company engages with technology. You might want to identify your needs and decide how best to meet them. This includes your needs for your reps, integration, and more general functionality. Single platforms offer a unified interface across all your platforms. A familiar look and style that makes things feel more comfortable and

How do field reps stay entertained in traffic or while travelling to a customer who’s an hour or more away? Do they tune in to music or talk radio? Or, do they prefer listening to a podcast or getting lost in the plot of an audiobook instead? A field sales rep’s car is probably the most important space they spend time in each day. It’s their office on wheels, where they de-stress and recharge between customer visits. With the right sales tools, they’ll use that time on the road to complete daily admin tasks, plan ahead and sharpen their skills. But when they’re en

Selling is increasingly pushed to purely digital channels. While it’s enhancing efficiency, it’s also removing what’s at its heart: trust. Using the right kind of sales technology can play a crucial role in restoring this trust between you and your future customers. Facts don’t persuade people, trust does. While the facts are important and are without a doubt a motivating factor, it is the human, face-to-face interactions that people are often looking for in sales. These interactions influence a person to become one of

Over the last decade, mealtime habits have changed considerably. Out-of-home eating and consumers skipping meals have led to the concept of a snack and a meal becoming increasingly conflated. Due to this change, consumers are becoming more aware of the types of snacks they look to have throughout the day. Looking for products that can offer them not only great taste but for nutritional value. Ultimately, consumers say they want snacking products that are conveniently nutritious and appear guilt-free. So, what does this mean for snacking in 2021 and beyond?

South African women still face tremendous challenges in their daily lives. From personal safety to access to education and work opportunities and appropriate healthcare. Women are still more likely than men to be unemployed. According to Statistics South Africa, 31 percent of men are unemployed. Compared to 34 percent of women, with black women by far the most vulnerable, with an unemployment rate of 38 percent. These are structural issues, backed up by some troubling

Dietary supplement manufacturers and distributors share which new product ranges they are exploring and what role outside sales reps play in their order-taking process in 2021. Polling data taken during the live Dietary Supplement Trends for 2021 webinar presented by the Natural Marketing Institute draws attention to emerging industry trends. Manufacturers and distributors share what they

You’d be forgiven for being a little confused. Many other business decision-makers are left scratching their heads when they’re pressured to choose between different sales technologies. But we’re here to help clear this up for you. Understanding CRM vs SFA: How Customer Relationship Management Boosts Sales Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process that businesses use to manage interactions with customers through data analysis. CRM

The sales game has changed significantly over the past few decades. Gone are the days of cold calls and unannounced visits attempting to hook prospects with flashy pitches. As it is, customers are already bombarded with ads, mailers, and pop-ups that encroach on their privacy and overwhelm them with information. The last thing they want is a field sales rep trying to force a conversion at an inconvenient time. While being absolutely clueless as to their pain points and their actual needs. Instead of alienating customers through antiquated sales techniques,

It’s safe to say that no one in the world is having an easy time of it at the moment. Between a pandemic that has ripped through companies and communities, uncertainty created by political factors such as Brexit and the US elections last year, and political instability all over the world – including in South Africa, where our head office is – life is challenging, and businesses have been hard hit. So how businesses can support each other in troubled times? Many of these factors have been beyond our control. But in difficult times, all we can do is focus on the things