It’s the twentieth year of Global Sales Transformation, so this week Eddie and Phil sat down to discuss the history of the event and some of the highlights they’ve seen over the years.
They then move on to talk about this year’s theme, which will focus on how salespeople can keep selling in an ethical, human way while taking advantage of the latest developments in AI.
Highlights include:
- [05:41] – Looking back on two decades of GST
- [09:56] – This year’s theme: Winning The Right Way
- [15:13] – Refreshing Phil’s research into how companies want to be sold to
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Full episode transcript:
Please note that transcription is done by AI and may contain errors.
Eddie: Hello and welcome to the Sales Transformation Podcast. I am Eddie Vara, head of marketing here at Consalia. Uh, and I am joined here today by our CEO Dr. Phil Squire. Phil, how are you?
Phil: Yeah, I'm great. Thanks, Eddie. Yeah, very doing very well in these frantically busy times, but doing good. Yes,
Eddie: yes. Busy is definitely a, a, an understatement there.
Yes. Um. So I thought it would be great just to talk a little bit about, uh, an upcoming event. Something that's quite special in the, uh, the Consalia calendar, right? it's the, uh, the Global Sales Transformation event. Uh, and it's our 20th edition, Phil.
Phil: It is. I know. It's, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
The two Xs.
Eddie: Yeah, the two Xs, of course.
Phil: Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, it's absolutely amazing to, um, yeah, to, to, to be here at this point. Uh, yeah, we've run it 20 times. Uh, all but two, uh, have been run in the uk, so it's our 18th, 18th time at the London Stock Exchange, of course. Uh, but we ran one in, uh, Singapore and also we did a, a kind of virtual event with.
US partners, the Summit Group. Mm-hmm. Uh, years ago. Um, so yeah. It's amazing to think we're here.
Eddie: Yes, exactly. Yeah, exactly. So Phil, for, um, for some of our new listeners who, uh, might not necessarily know what the global sales transformation event is, um, I wondered if you could just give us a, a quick rundown of what the, what the GST event as we call it here at Consalia. What is the GST event?
Phil: Well, it's, uh, we, we, it's an annual event, uh, that we run.
It's now hosted at the London Stock Exchange, and it's always been hosted there. Um, and essentially what. What we wanted to do is to bring together kind of thought leaders from within the profession of sales, um, and also people outside of sales, um, to kind of debate, um, different aspects of. Of sales practice.
Um, it's also been a platform for some of our students to share the research that they've been conducting on their master's projects. And we've had some exceptional speakers over the years coming from, you know, within our own alumni community. Um, yeah, so that, that, you know, it was conceived as a. As a place for thought leadership?
For, for, for networking. Yeah. We combine a sort of structured content, um, with some fun afterwards where we can drink a few beers and, and uh, focus on, on relationships, which is really what a lot of this is all about. But no, it, um, it's been a very, very symbolic event. And not just in terms of contact, but the venue as well.
You know, we wanted to be at the heart of commerce. Uh, we have debated whether or not we take the venue and, and put it somewhere else, but, um, the, the place is quite unique. You know, you're surrounded by the stock market indices, uh, changing by the second. Um, you feel as though you're right in the heart of where commerce is, is happening.
And the amphitheater there, or the theater that we're in is, is very, it, it's quite intimate, even though it can take 120, 130 people. Uh, and we prefer, you know, we quite like the intimacy of the venue, so. Yeah, it's worked out really well and we've, we've never gone anywhere else.
Eddie: Yeah, very true. Very true. No, you're right.
It's such a, such a, um, symbolic event for, for an event called the Global Sales Transformation. Um, so now we're on the 20th, you know Yeah, the 20th edition. When you, when you first started the GST events at Consalia, Phil, did you, um, did you ever think that you reached the number 20?
Phil: I, I don't know if we ever, you know, it sort of had a target figure in, in mind, but, um, you know, I'm delighted that it's become such a sustainable part of our agenda.
And, um, I mean, originally we, we sat down with Middlesex University who are partners of ours on the, you know, masters on the, on the master's program. And, uh, we, we jointly worked with them. They, they were. Part financial sponsors, um, to host it. Now it's sort of broadened out. So we, we, we get, uh, a much more varied, um, sort of sponsors helping us to support the financial costs of the program, but also to add their own content, their own, you know, their own take on it as well.
So, yeah, it's just, uh, yeah, it's just been a. Amazing to think. Now here we are at number 20. Yeah. And I guess it is, it is become quite a, a significant moment, hasn't it? You know, 2020 events. I mean, these things are, you know, take a lot of organizing. Um, but we, you know, we've had people coming to these, who've been to tens of these events over the years, so it was fantastic to see people coming back and new people coming, coming into it.
Yeah.
Eddie: Yeah, certainly, certainly. Um, and obviously just before we get into the crux of what this year's, uh, GST event is all about, uh, I wondered if you had any kind of highlights from previous GSTs. What, what are some of the moments that have stood out to you the most over the years?
Phil: I've been thinking about this question and, and it of course it's going to be really, really difficult to, to kind of.
Pull things out because each time we run the event we say, do you know what, that's been the best event we've run so far. And uh, and. Uh, but, but if I, if I go back in time and look at some of the speakers, um, that we've had, who've had a huge impact, I think on, on the audience. I, I think, uh, so Graham Lamb coming in was quite a big one.
You know, he came in as a, an X three star general. He, he, he was, um, he, he was a director of the SAS. And, and we asked him if he could talk about resilience and in fact, he's, he's on a podcast of ours as well. Mm-hmm. And he, it was very interesting. He is completely unlike any, any sort of general like figure you would imagine.
He, he walked on stage with his leather jacket and with his broad Scottish accent. Um, but you could tell immediately the. He comes across as a person who is incredibly thoughtful with great gravitas. And of course he's had some quite amazing experiences, uh, that he was able to talk, well not talk in detail about.
And so, so his was really, uh, amazing. But we've, we've equally and I. Um, you know, we've had Olympic, you know, downhill skiers who are blind, you know, coming, uh, sort of sharing their experiences and, you know, not just talking about about resilience, but also talking about partnership. And mm-hmm. And coaching and and so on.
So if I talk about those that we've invited who aren't in the sort of Ali immediate family, know those are two, there's also John Ardi, who is the ex. Mm-hmm. Uh. Military intelligence and so on, talking about ways of conducting critical thinking. Mm-hmm. And he was absolutely hilarious. Uh, Dr. Samuel West, you know, the Museum of Culture.
Yes. Uh, you know, I always talk about him. Yes. The importance of psychological safety. Of course. Yeah. So when you look back on it, we've, you know, we really have had quite a eclectic. Group of, of people that, that have come in. But I suppose the proudest moments are when you see our master's students actually taking the podium and um, sort of sharing their particular.
You know, piece of research and, and seeing how far they have grown in terms of confidence and, and, uh, standing up in front of, you know, that sort of kind of audience is not that easy to do, but yeah, it makes you feel quite, uh, quite proud, really of what's been achieved over the years. So. It's a great platform to, to kind of, um, showcase, you know, from people who are quite humble, often great insights and great achievements.
I. think another proud moment, so there's so many, was when we had our first level six students graduate and we invited them to come up onto the platform and we gave them all, all around of applause. And, you know, for them it's amazing to be in, in the company of such influential sales leaders and that Sort of environment. And it's always wonderful to have some of our level six students, you know, just embarking on their sales career. Join us as well. So, yeah, there's so many, so many, you know, sort of different highlights and in a way it's unfair not to single everyone out who's played a role in contributing, you know, to the success of the program.
Um, yeah, of course,
Eddie: I.
Phil: Yeah,
Eddie: of course. Well, I guess that brings me on to obviously this, this year's event. Um, and for those who are listening, if you are interested in coming, please mark your calendars for the 27th of November, 2025 at the London Stock Exchange, just as Phil has alluded to there. Um, so Phil.
This year's event, I wonder if, uh, we can talk a little bit more about it. So the title for this year's event is Winning the Right Way. Um, and I think we are taking more of a human element to, um, everything that's going on around us in terms of ai, right? Um, so.
We're focusing on the human connection in the age of ai.
Um, but I wondered if perhaps you could dive deeper into why we chose this as a, as the theme and why it's particularly relevant right now.
Phil: Well, I think it's really difficult right now to get away from the, the impact AI is, is having on the, the sales industry. And so its kind of relevance is, is becoming rapidly, increasingly more important.
Um. And, and so it would be wrong not to address this topic kind of full on. Um, and of course, since we. Had the, impetus I guess from chat GPT you know, when it was, you know, formally launched. We are now beginning to see some maturity in some of the AI models and some of the diversity of the different ways it's been used to, to kind of provide tools and frameworks for salespeople to use.
Um, so yeah, it's reached a definitely a more. You know, uh, a mature level, A, a more mature level of development. Um, so ai, yeah, we, we, you know, AI clearly is important, but we've, we focused on the human connection. And I think this is because there is, I think, great concern amongst, uh, us and our clients about the.
Um, authenticity of, um, the usage of ai. Uh, and so we wanted to kind of bring these two strands together. You know, the human connection. I. And the human connection, I think to some extent is going to be, um, a kind of revisit of some of the research that I started, you know, all those years ago with, with the doctorate on how do customers want to be sold to.
And we decided for the 20th anniversary that we should come back to that particular sort of topic, um, with, um. Up to date research and it's been very interesting, um, already sort of interviewing people in Asia, in Europe. About to start the Americas quite soon, um, to get their sense of the kind of relationships that customers are looking for from salespeople in this world of ai.
Um, so yeah, the event is going to have these two strands. One, an AI strand sort of exploring how technology is. Is this technology is having an effect on how we manage and lead sales. Um, and then the other is going to be a revisit back to the kind of values that customers are looking for from salespeople which will surface from, from the global research project.
Mm-hmm. And we're gonna bring these two themes together. I think the tech technology theme is going to be partly influenced by a very exciting relationship where, where. Building with, um, Aviso who's, uh, uh, in the top right hand of the, you know, the magic quadrant according to IDC, around, around the, the, the use of AI and sales automation.
I. And, uh, and we have Trevor, who's the, the CEO, going to be flying over from New York to actually sort of give a keynote talk about, about the, the, the world as, as they see it and how they're beginning to, um. Uh, sort of look at the adoption of AI across the incredible number of clients have already started to, um, uh, started to acquire.
Um, but coupled with that will be, you know, the way we can develop a more authentic, um. Experience with, with, with, uh, you know, uh, with, with the users of ai. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, um, that's why we've called it the human connection in the age of AI and winning in the right way.
Eddie: Yeah.
Phil: Um, so we, you know, we had a, we had a GST, one of our students did a, a really fascinating session on. On the ethics of ai that was, uh, when it was first emerging. I think this is now looking at that whole world in a, you know, that world of AI now with the benefit of a couple more years. Kind of, um, experience.
Eddie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
yes. So obviously Phil, you, you alluded there to the, um, the global research project. Um, yeah. You know how we're going to re-look at whether or not some of the values still, um, hold true today in, in the AI world. Um. Just for anyone that's interested in, in partaking, um, in, in the global research project.
Um, how, how can they get involved?
Phil: Well, they could get involved in, in different, uh, in different ways, but just to kind of set a bit of the scene because we're right in the midst of conducting these interviews at the moment. Um. Um, we're, we're interested in spending 45 minutes interviewing anyone at any level who's got a point of view about the buyer seller relationship.
But we, we want to approach this from the buy side. Meaning from the customer angle. And so I've been, for example, interviewing CEOs. I've been interviewing heads of procurement. I've been interviewing, uh, directors of training. Um, we've got HR directors, uh, meetings sort of lined up. We've got, um, meetings with some heads of sales as well, uh, sort of being scheduled at the moment.
Um, doesn't have to be heads of, it could be department heads, it could be, uh, people involved in manufacturing because. All of these people in their different functions will have experiences of what they consider good or poor practice when it comes to sales approaches. Um, so how to get involved. It could be that you personally would like to, I.
And be willing to be on the receiving end of an interview from someone at the Consalia team. So it could be that you feel as though you've got some points of view you'd like to take part in, in, in, in contributing to this pool of data that we're going to be collecting. Um, you may have customers that you are interested in us interviewing as well.
Um, so. Um, uh, so we're, we're really open to exploring sort of different, uh, you know, diff different, uh, angles. Mm-hmm. Um, the benefits of taking part is of course you'll get a chance to see the report when it uh, eventually comes out. Um, if you are someone that wants us to interview your. Customers, you'll get a chance to see that report or a section of the report tailored around the feedback we've got from, from your, your customers.
Of course, they'll be anonymized, but, um, you'll get a sense of, of what they're saying about, uh, about your sales approach. So, um, yeah, just reach out to us. We're very keen. We've got the next two or three months we're ramping up the number of interviews that we're doing, and we've got a team of people here ready at Consalia to conduct the interviews.
Not just me, but see, um, you know, Eddie, you and, and George and some of the others in the team as well. Um mm-hmm. But yeah, we would really welcome you sharing your points of view, um, and. We are going to be exploring, you know, we, we tend to structure the interviews around examples that you've had where you've seen fantastic practice.
And also examples where you've seen really poor practice, and we'll ask you to talk about those. Um, but we'll also be asking you questions that relate to the topic of ai. And to what extent do you feel that the relationships between buyers and sellers are changing as, as a result of. The new world in which we're now living in.
Um, so we'd like to pull that into the research process and, um, frame it within the context of the values that we believe that are going to be important in this new way of. This, this new era or this modern era contemporary era that we're now selling in, you know, to, to say, well, you know, what's changed?
You know? Mm-hmm. Are the conclusions that we reached, uh, 15 years ago. The same conclusions that we're going to reach now. So I'm really excited to actually do a complete refresh. Yeah, on, on the data.
Eddie: Yeah. Likewise. I think it's gonna be super interesting to see if there has been any, any changes. Uh, I won't ask for your predictions 'cause you don't wanna, don't wanna skew any kind of results or anything.
Um,
Phil: no, I, I, I think all I can say at this stage is as I experienced first time round the, um, the energy of the interviewee is. Is the same. You know, they care about the, the buyer seller relationship. They care about the way in which salespeople engage with them. It matters to them because obviously if they have a good engagement process, they'll, I.
They'll get potentially a better deal or a more productive relationship that comes out of collaboration or whatever it might be. Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah, that I can say doesn't seem to have changed, um, since 15 years ago, but I won't say any more than that because I think, uh, I don't want to prejudice any, any kind of thinking.
Eddie: Of course.
Phil: I, I think the other, the other thing to to point out is that we, we, we are also working with partners on this. Mm-hmm. Uh, so we have people in, uh, we have people in Europe, we have people in Asia who are also conducting, uh, the research questions, uh, uh, that we've kind of set out. And I think this is also different to what I did the first time round.
Hmm. In that, um, any potential bias there is in the way that the data's being collected, um, will. Uh, be, what's the word, um, corrected through the fact that the lens through which, we'll, we're asking the questions, collecting the data is, is actually going to be, uh, you know, uh, sifted if you like, or mm-hmm.
Interpreted by, by the other others, uh, doing the interviews. So, yeah. Yeah. I'm really looking forward to it this time around.
Eddie: Yeah. And I think what you say there is super important as well, because I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but when you, when you first launched the, uh, the research initiative, uh, 15 years ago, um, I think one of the conclusions you found was that, um,
Phil: no matter the geography, the value still held,
Eddie: I.
Yeah. Right. So the fact that we're getting our partners to, um, conduct the research for us as well, uh, in different regions is going to be super interesting to see if that also still holds true, isn't it?
Phil: Yeah, it, it does. And, uh, um, I, I think, um, I mean, what's been interesting so far is that. Um, 'cause I've been interested to, to look at the relevance of sales and the buyer seller kind of discussions.
And, you know, there've been certain reports there. There's one that was recently published in the Journal of Sales Transformation from, uh, McKinsey about the. Um, trend that McKinsey have seen in buyers not wanting to have a personal contact with sellers, even on very large procurements. Mm-hmm. And so I've, I've, I've been interested to kind of test their hypothesis.
With some of the people I've been, uh, interviewing. Hmm. Um, so yeah, this is, this is not just going to be, to determine whether the value still stand, but it's whether the whole nature of the buyer and seller relationship is changing given the current world in which we're now living much more technology driven.
Hmm. But so far, um, when I've shared some of the McKinsey data, for example, um, you know, the senior procurement people are, are surprised, you know, it's not been their experience, but, you know, the journey has still got a long way to go with these interviews. So it's gonna be really interesting to see whether, whether we come to the same conclusions.
Eddie: Yes. No, of course.
Phil: It's going to be definitely interesting. Um, you mentioned there something about, you know, us being in, in a new, new era, I guess you could say. It's the, the AI era.
Eddie: Um, and for those listening who are very well versed with Consalia, um, who know about the, the different areas that you, you talk about Phil, um, you know, being, you know, in like a post knowledge era, for example, from Yeah.
Uh. The adaptation of Julian Birkin Shaw's, um, model. I wondered if you can talk a little bit about, um, well, I can't be giving it away there, but, uh, the, uh, the keynote speaker who we've confirmed for, um, this year's event.
Phil: Yes. Well, we're very excited that Julian's coming, um, who's, um, uh, when I first met Julian, he was a professor at London Business School, and he's now.
Still a visiting professor at the business school. Um, but he's now, uh. A professor at one of the big, uh, Canadian business schools. Mm-hmm. Uh, it's a fantastic speaker and has always come up with some sort of fairly, fairly provocative, uh, no, not provocative, but actually challenging sort of concepts. And we, we love the work that he did around sources of competitive advantage.
Mm-hmm. And his interest now is moved into the, you know, impact of AI on leadership. And so, um, he's going to be giving a keynote, going to be dialing in from Canada to kind of share what his current thinking is. And I'm definitely going to be challenging, not challenging, but questioning him on whether he thinks the sources of competitive advantage of changed, you know, since, uh, I don't know, seven or eight years ago when he first.
Published his work around. Mm-hmm. Uh, sources of competitive advantage. But no, he's, he's, uh, really big in, in the academic world. And so we've got some, you know, we've got some heavy hitters at this GST what with Julian? Yeah. Uh, professor Julian Birkinshaw with, with with Trevor, the CEO of Aviso. And I guess you could say myself, uh, you know, the, the CEO of the business school, talking about some of the research we're doing, but I also hope we're gonna get some of our Master's students there as well.
Yes. Sharing some of their insights. So, yeah.
Eddie: Yes. And I'm, I'm sure we will. I'm sure we will. Um, so Phil, that's all for, for today's episode. Um, I think we will have regular kind of GST updates, okay. Uh, as we get closer to the, uh, the, the event. Um, but for anyone that's listening now, we are running an early burn offer on, uh, GST tickets.
Uh, you can simply use the code GST XX early at checkout for 50 pound off your ticket. Uh, and we'll link the, uh, uh, the. The Eventbrite link, URL in the, uh, show notes. So Phil, thank you for joining me on this, uh, impromptu conversation about GST. Um, I'm, I'm really excited now, kind of wanting to get to, to November.
Phil: Absolutely. It, it'll rush by.
Eddie: It will, it will. Thank you very much, Phil.
Phil: Yeah, thank you. Cheers. Bye. Thank you,
Eddie. Bye-bye.