What Buyers Reward in High-Stakes Sales Moments

Sales organizations invest heavily in enablement platforms, tools and process optimization — yet many still struggle to improve win rates or build lasting buyer trust. Buyer decision research shows why: deals are won or lost based on how sellers show up in a small set of high-stakes moments. This session explores how leading enablement teams are refocusing training on the behaviors buyers reward most to drive consistent, measurable results.

In this session, Doug Hutton, senior vice president of sales at Corporate Visions, brings a front-line sales leader’s perspective on what actually changes seller behavior in the field. Drawing on data from real-world enablement programs, Doug will show attendees how to identify the skills that matter most, assess them objectively and design development approaches that sellers adopt — and sales leaders trust.

This interactive talk will provide easy-to-understand insights on how to:

Identify the specific seller behaviors buyers say influence deal outcomes — and prioritize training accordingly.
Distinguish between activity, confidence and true selling capability when evaluating seller performance.
Align enablement programs to buyer-validated skills that improve trust, deal progression and win rates.
Build a clear, defensible story that connects seller development to measurable business results.

View full agenda.

Speaker

Doug Hutton, SVP, Sales, Corporate Visions

Doug Hutton, SVP of Sales at Corporate Visions, leads all post-sale teams for exceptional delivery of the company’s science-backed messaging, content, and skills. Each year, his Customer Success and Consulting Delivery teams orchestrate the customer experience to help 250+ B2B commercial organizations have more successful commercial conversations with prospects and customers. In his prior role as SVP, Products, he worked with behavioral scientists and research partners to build the scientific foundation for Corporate Visions’ award-winning solutions. Doug has authored numerous research reports, thought leadership papers, and is co-author of The Expansion Sale: Four Must-Win Conversations to Keep and Grow Your Customers.

Prior to joining Corporate Visions, Doug led product development at CEB (now Gartner), where he advised hundreds of B2B sales and marketing executives in the wake of the 2008 recession, bringing new research-based strategies to restart growth. With clients as diverse as National Instruments, ADP, and Sherwin
Williams, Doug led the implementation of sales technology and assessment tools to yield higher performing sellers. As a practitioner, Doug led marketing, product, and sales enablement at Second City Works, the B2B arm of the legendary Second City improv theater. As Global Operations Director for Mind Gym, Doug’s teams had responsibility for all logistics and delivery quality for 14,000+ unique client events annually.

Doug earned his B.A. from Wake Forest University and M.A. from The George Washington University. He lives outside Charlotte, NC with his wife, two children, and two Yorkshire Terriers.