[briancl]

Enterprise software sales has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, largely due to the shift to SaaS and the shifting strategy from land big to land fast.

If you look around the younger generation succeeding in enterprise sales, you'll find that many come from a far more technical background. Maybe they transitioned via sales engineering roles first, but the next generation of field sales reps often have real world experience to apply in a consultative sales process.

The days of closing deals over steak dinners or on the golf course are over. Providing real business value in the short term during a quick POC is a must-have. Delivering on real business objectives over the first 6-12 months to ensure the expansion is too.

Some of the old guard, at least the ones that are any good, have adapted. A lot of the old skills are still useful for building relationships and trust. Being able to manage complex organizational challenges that getting more and more complex is an asset as well.