Barrett Sales Trends Report 2021

2020 has been one of the most trying year for many generations and we can’t wait for it to finish. We are over it and impatient for a sense of control, some degree of certainty, something more solid on which to build a better future as we look into the horizon to see what’s coming next, what the ‘new normal’ will look like, and when does this enticing new normal start. And here’s the thing, in a world where we don’t know what’s coming next, or when ‘next’ is coming, we have two choices: 1) we can sit and wait to see what will unfold or 2) we can choose to embrace this uncertainty and become pioneers and agents of change; we can choose to be part of the rebuild for a better future.

Taking heed from the lessons being learned during COVID-19, we are learning about the risks of offshoring production and supply in too few locations that threaten access to vital resources and raw materials. The benefits of remote communication to stay in touch and keep working together. The effects of lockdown on our collective mental health and why stable, calm, and committed leadership, and having a Plan B or C is central to getting through the pandemic. The power of purpose and collaboration, and new opportunities emerging from the pandemic. And most of all we are learning that the key workers in our communities are the supermarket workers (floor and warehouse), warehousing and distribution, IT, maintenance and cleaning teams, teachers, and of course, health care workers – the very people who hold the fabric of our communities together and keep everything up and running.

Enough has been written already about the need to ‘build back better’, to innovate and rethink how we do business, how we work, how we sell and buy, so for this edition of our annual sales trends report, the 2021 Sales Trends, we are focused on reporting on what businesses and people within businesses and sales teams need to start, stop, and keep doing to step up to the challenge of building a better future. Through all its devastation, 2020 gave us a gift, the chance to re-think, re-calibrate, re-connect, re-engage and rebuild. Change is afoot, let’s make the most of it.