Nowe wyzwania w zarządzaniu sprzedażą w kontekście rozwoju nowoczesnych technologii i pandemii COVID-19

The purpose of the article is to systematize the knowledge on sales strategy and answer the question of whether current socio-economic conditions in the form of progressive digitalization and evolution of the sales function induce to update the definition of sales strategy. Furthermore, the study aims to verify whether the COVID-19 pandemic forces companies to reformulate their sales strategy. A non-systematic literature review supplemented by qualitative research was used as the research method. The first part of the paper presents the theoretical backgrounds of the analysis based on the literature review. The second part presents the results of the own research, enriched by the data from existing studies. Then, the results of the conducted discussion are presented. The final part of the paper contains a summary and the author's definition of sales management, focusing on sales strategy and a potential direction for future research. According to the analysis, the greatest challenge in implementing the assumed sales strategy is currently the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly affects consumer behavior and limits market activities. However, with widespread access to advanced technologies and a flexible approach to strategy, most of the surveyed companies can meet their financial targets despite the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. When defining a sales strategy, it is necessary to consider the aspect of progressing digitalization and the evolution of the sales function, closely integrated with the marketing function.