Central business problemHow can we mass-produce a product that people can afford?

Sales roleOrder-taker: explain basic features, take orders and hit volume targets.

Moments that shaped the era

• 1900Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams.
• 1908Ford launches the Model T.
• 1911Taylor publishes The Principles of Scientific Management.
• 1913Ford introduces the moving assembly line.
• 1927Ford retires the Model T after 15 million units.
• 1929Bernays applies Freud’s theory to marketing.

Central business problemHow can we make people keep buying in saturated markets?

Sales roleBrand ambassador: sell the story—lifestyle, identity and emotion—not only product specifications.

Moments that shaped the era

• 1953Hovland, Janis and Kelley publish Communication and Persuasion.
• 1954The Marlboro Man campaign launches.
• 1955Ray Kroc opens the first McDonald’s franchise.
• 1959Barbie makes her debut.
• 1960The first televised US presidential debate airs.
• 1961Lavidge and Steiner formalise the advertising funnel.

Central business problemHow can we make products for different market segments?

Sales roleEarly consultative seller: understand segment needs and recommend the right variant.

Moments that shaped the era

• 1977Apple II launches.
• 1978SRI International launches the VALS framework.
• 1979Sony launches the Walkman.
• 1984Apple’s “1984” commercial airs during the Super Bowl.

Central business problemHow can we keep the customers we already have?

Sales roleFarmer, not hunter: build trust, own after-sales, and grow and retain the account.

Moments that shaped the era

• 1983Leonard Berry coins “relationship marketing”.
• 1988Neil Rackham publishes SPIN Selling.
• 1991Regis McKenna publishes Relationship Marketing.
• 1993Siebel Systems is founded.
• 1995Tesco launches Clubcard.

Central business problemHow can we access a global market and remove friction?

Sales roleHybrid seller: use phone, email, portals and CRM while justifying value against online-only competitors.

Moments that shaped the era

• 1995Amazon.com goes live.
• 1998Google is founded.
• 1999Salesforce is founded and pioneers SaaS.
• 1999Rethinking the Sales Force declares transactional selling dead.
• 2007The iPhone is unveiled.

Central business problemHow can we innovate and stay ahead with customers?

Sales roleCross-functional account team: co-create through pilots, manage renewals and churn, and negotiate risk-sharing.

Moments that shaped the era

• 2008Starbucks launches My Starbucks Idea.
• 2010Uber goes live in San Francisco.
• 2011Andreessen publishes “Why Software Is Eating the World”.
• 2013Adobe moves fully to Creative Cloud subscriptions.
• 2014LEGO relaunches Cuusoo as LEGO Ideas.
• 2020Airbnb goes public.

Go deeper: this era is explored in full in Past Trends →

Central business problemHow can we stay resilient when everything is volatile and AI is disrupting the rules?

Sales roleMulti-stakeholder seller: build the business case around resilience and continuity across the customer’s whole system.

Moments that shaped the era

• 2022Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggers global energy and supply shocks.
• 2022ChatGPT reaches mainstream adoption.
• 2023Microsoft launches Microsoft 365 Copilot.
• 2024The EU AI Act enters into force.

Research status: This era reflects the programme’s current interpretation and will continue to evolve as new interviews and cases are added. Explore the full evidence in Current Trends →