What Sales Leaders at CIPD Festival of Work

Introduction

I recently attended the CIPD Festival of Work at London's ExCeL and spent the day meeting clients we've worked with previously, organisations we're currently supporting, and a range of sales leaders operating across HR technology, workforce management, consulting and talent solutions.

While every business had its own challenges and priorities, several consistent themes emerged throughout the conversations. Interestingly, many of the observations aligned closely with the findings from our Quarterly Sales Hiring Market Report.

For anyone responsible for sales growth in 2026, the discussions provided a useful snapshot of what commercial leaders are experiencing right now.

Pipeline generation is not the biggest challenge; conversion is.
Buying cycles are longer and involve more stakeholders.
Customer retention remains strong across many organisations.
Winning new business and creating urgency is becoming harder.
AI discussions have shifted from adoption to governance and control.
Consultative sales skills are becoming increasingly valuable.
Human interaction remains a critical competitive advantage.
Face-to-face networking continues to provide significant commercial value.

Overview

If there was one consistent message throughout the event, it was that growth is still very much on the agenda. However, the way organisations achieve that growth is evolving.

Most sales leaders were not reporting major issues with activity levels. Teams are prospecting, meetings are happening, proposals are being submitted and opportunities are entering the pipeline. The challenge sits further down the funnel.

Converting opportunities into revenue is becoming more difficult, more complex and more time-consuming than many organisations expected.

Activity Isn't the Problem. Conversion Is.

The strongest theme from the day was that sales activity itself isn't the issue.

Across multiple conversations, leaders described healthy levels of engagement. Prospects are willing to meet. Discovery conversations are taking place. RFPs are being issued. Proposals are being reviewed.

The challenge is that opportunities are taking much longer to progress.

Buying committees continue to expand. Additional stakeholders are becoming involved later in the process. Procurement scrutiny has increased. More vendors are competing for the same opportunities.

As a result, organisations are finding that opportunities which would previously have converted within a predictable timeframe are now taking significantly longer to reach a decision.

The consequence is that pipeline volume alone is no longer a reliable indicator of future revenue performance.

The businesses performing best appear to be those that can qualify opportunities effectively, navigate complexity and maintain momentum throughout extended sales cycles.

This directly reflects what we've been seeing in the hiring market throughout 2026.

Companies are increasingly looking beyond candidates who simply demonstrate strong activity metrics. Instead, they want sales professionals who understand enterprise buying behaviour, can manage multiple stakeholders and know how to challenge opportunities when required.

The demand for consultative sellers continues to increase because organisations need individuals who can convert complexity into commercial outcomes.

The Market Report Continues to Hold True

The conversations at CIPD reinforced many of the findings from our Quarterly Sales Hiring Market Report.

Particularly within HR technology, workforce management, consulting and talent solutions businesses, there remains a clear preference for sales professionals who can operate within complex sales environments.

This is evident in two current assignments we are supporting:

In both cases, organisations are looking for individuals capable of leading strategic conversations, influencing senior stakeholders and ultimately turning opportunities into signed contracts.

The emphasis is increasingly on commercial judgement rather than simply volume of activity.

Retention Is Strong. New Business Is the Battleground.

Another interesting observation was how consistently positive feedback was around customer retention.

Across many of the conversations, leaders reported strong customer relationships, healthy retention levels and positive experiences within customer success and delivery functions.

That is encouraging for businesses operating in uncertain markets.

However, retention alone does not drive growth.

The challenge being discussed repeatedly was how to create urgency within new prospects and how to differentiate effectively against competitors.

Many organisations feel they deliver excellent outcomes for existing clients. The difficulty lies in convincing new customers to move away from incumbent providers or prioritise change when budgets remain under pressure.

Creating compelling business cases, demonstrating measurable value and positioning solutions strategically has therefore become increasingly important.

Once again, this places greater value on experienced consultative sales professionals who understand how to build consensus and guide customers through complex decisions.

The AI Conversation Has Moved On

It was impossible to walk around the event without seeing AI featured heavily across presentations, exhibitions and discussions.

What's interesting is how much the conversation has evolved.

Not long ago, organisations were asking whether they should use AI and where it could create value.

Today, many organisations appear to have moved beyond that initial stage.

The discussion is increasingly focused on governance, control and implementation.

Questions being raised included:

How accurate is AI-generated information?
Who owns employee-created AI assets?
How should intellectual property be protected?
How should organisations manage data security risks?
Which skills become more valuable in an AI-enabled workforce?
How should businesses prioritise AI investment?

For HR leaders in particular, there appears to be significant focus on understanding how AI changes workforce planning and future talent requirements.

The conversation is no longer simply about adoption. It is about creating frameworks that allow organisations to use AI effectively without introducing unnecessary risk.

Human Skills Are Becoming More Valuable, Not Less

Perhaps the most encouraging takeaway from the event was that human capability remains central to business growth.

Despite the excitement surrounding AI, very few conversations suggested organisations were looking to replace human interaction entirely.

Instead, AI is increasingly being viewed as an enabler.

It can help individuals work faster, process information more efficiently and automate lower-value tasks. However, the skills that create commercial impact remain fundamentally human.

Sales leaders consistently highlighted the importance of:

Consultative questioning.
Stakeholder management.
Commercial judgement.
Relationship building.
Influencing skills.
Problem-solving ability.

These are precisely the capabilities organisations continue to prioritise when hiring sales talent.

As technology evolves, the value of human interaction may actually increase because it becomes a greater point of differentiation.

The Continued Importance of Face-to-Face Interaction

One final observation from the event was the value of simply getting people together.

In a world dominated by Teams calls, email and digital communication, events like CIPD Festival of Work provide an opportunity to build genuine connections.

Many conversations that start online become significantly more meaningful when people have the opportunity to meet in person.

Whether speaking with clients, candidates or industry peers, face-to-face interaction creates a level of understanding and trust that remains difficult to replicate digitally.

For businesses focused on growth in 2026, that remains an important lesson.

Technology can improve efficiency, but relationships continue to drive opportunity.

Key Takeaways

Pipeline conversion has become a bigger challenge than pipeline generation.
Enterprise buying processes continue to lengthen and become more complex.
Customer retention remains strong across many organisations.
Winning new business requires stronger differentiation and commercial value.
AI discussions are shifting from adoption towards governance and control.
Consultative sales professionals remain in high demand.
Human skills continue to be critical despite advances in AI.
Face-to-face engagement remains one of the most effective ways to build meaningful business relationships.

The conversations at CIPD Festival of Work provided a valuable reminder that while technology and market conditions continue to evolve, sustainable growth still comes from understanding customers, navigating complexity and building trusted relationships.