Abstract:

In today's Business-to-Business (B2B) sales environment, salespeople must be able to effectively leverage digital tools and technologies to engage with customers, build relationships, and close deals. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for contemporary B2B salespeople to be equipped with strong digital skills in addition to conventional selling skills in order to be successful. Knowing the currently demanded skills is crucial for educational institutions, especially when it comes to bridging the skills gap between what is taught in sales courses versus what is needed to be successful in the professional world. Consequently, an analysis of the skills currently in demand in the B2B sales environment is needed.
This research aims to investigate the current B2B selling skills demanded by employers in Europe. Using a content analysis approach, online job advertisements published by European companies will be analysed to identify required selling skills, with a special focus on digital skills.
This paper will provide insights into skills currently demanded by employers in the European B2B selling environment and will highlight the most sought-after skills, especially digital ones. By drawing attention to these skills, educational institutions can modify their teaching methods and courses for sales education, to ensure students are equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in today's B2B sales environment.

Keywords:

Selling skills, digital skills, business-to-business salespeople, job advertisements.