In a rapidly changing world where sales and marketing are constantly evolving, insights and inspiration are crucial to success. We had the opportunity to speak with Sophia Loader, CEO of Saleseffect—Sweden’s only independent online magazine for sales managers. In the interview, she shares her thoughts on how we can increase the proportion of female sales managers, what Saleseffect will contribute at Sales & Marketing Expo 2025, and how AI and digital tools are shaping the sales leaders of the future.
At Saleseffect, you highlight female professionals, among other things, to help increase the proportion of female sales managers. Tell us more!
Yes, that’s right! Last year, we were inspired by Women in Tech, an organization that works to encourage more women to enter the tech industry and thrive there. We took a closer look at the sales profession, and Kantar Media’s annual report, ORVESTO Näringsliv for 2024, showed that only 21.7 percent of sales managers in Sweden are women. This figure really underscores the need to promote women’s career development in sales and leadership, and we are now consistently featuring profiles of female sales managers on our website. We’re also collaborating with some of Sweden’s top leadership experts and offering training programs to help more female salespeople feel confident and motivated to take the leap into a management role, as well as to encourage female sales managers to aim for even higher leadership positions within sales.
Given the rapid advancements in AI and digital tools, how do you see the future for sales managers?
The rapid advancements in AI and all the digital tools now available are truly redefining the role of the sales manager.
This became especially clear when, as the new year approached, we asked a number of leading industry experts to share their perspectives on 2025. Virtually all of them wrote about AI and the changes it will bring—not just for those of you working in sales, but for all professions.
Here, we collaborate with various partners to offer digital training courses designed for sales professionals, where you’ll learn how to find new customers, write better proposals, provide better customer service, and identify new markets to sell in using AI and tools like ChatGPT. These are two-hour digital training courses that provide participants with many new tools to work with, making them both more professional and more effective.
It’s great to be able to offer this to our readers and newsletter subscribers, and in this way help them embrace AI and not be afraid of it. Success comes from combining all the new possibilities that AI brings with traditional sales skills.
And finally, what can visitors expect from Saleseffect during the trade show?
For the second year in a row, we are proud to be a media partner of the Sales & Marketing Expo, and we are very excited about it. Just like last year, we will be releasing the “Top 50 – Sweden’s Most Recommended Sales Coaches” list. The 50 participants have been nominated and received the most votes from Saleseffects readers in 2024. We’ll be hosting the event on February 19 in collaboration with Goalplan, where—in addition to serving a light lunch—we’ll also share some smart sales tips and useful sales tools for those of you who work as salespeople, sales coaches, or sales managers.
Mer om:
Training Programs for Women in Sales
AI Training Courses for Sales Professionals
Nine Experts’ Predictions for 2025
Inspiring Women in the Field
The Saleseffects Website
