Two days, a packed main stage, and a topic currently on the minds of every sales organization: How is artificial intelligence changing B2B sales, and what will remain the domain of humans? On November 4th and 5th, 2026, I had the pleasure of moderating the Sales Summit Main Stage program in Düsseldorf. Here are my key impressions and insights.
The most important points in brief
- AI is moving to the center of sales: AI agents build pipelines, analyze customer conversations, and suggest the next logical step. According to Yannick de Jong, at Stepstone, a call based on such signals generates ten times more revenue.
- Humanity remains the difference: Relationship building, listening, and emotional intelligence were the most frequently cited success factors on stage, especially as AI takes over routine tasks.
- Leadership needs new goals: From „wrong goals make you sick and unsuccessful“ to clear priorities under pressure: Many contributions questioned the classic goal management approach.
- Next appointment: The Service & Sales Summit It will take place again on November 23 and 24, 2027 at the Böhler site in Düsseldorf.
Service & Sales Summit 2026: Trade fair and conference for B2B sales
The Service & Sales Summit, the trade fair and conference for sales and service innovations, took place for the fifth time in 2026 and for the first time in Düsseldorf: on the Böhler site, a former industrial area with brick halls, steel beams and plenty of space.
My role: two days as conference moderator of the Sales Summit Main Stage
Two conferences and a trade fair under one roof: At the Service Summit The main stage focused on the future of customer service, where Sales Summit The main stage, themed „The Future of Sales,“ focused on B2B sales. In addition, there were masterclass stages, a large expo hall, and a dedicated startup area. Organizers reported over 1,500 attendees, more than 150 speakers, over 100 exhibitors, and more than 45 hours of programming.
On both days I worked as Conference moderator I guided the audience through the Sales Summit Main Stage program, moderated the keynote speeches, led the Q&A sessions, and presented the Startup and Speaker Awards. The panels were moderated by experts from the field.
For me, it was a bit of a home game. As I revealed in my opening remarks on stage: „I used to be one of you.“ I worked in sales for many years, including as Head of Business Development at a management consultancy. So I was all the more pleased to guide the audience through these two days.
AI and Transformation in Sales
Salesforce: When CRM comes to the people
The opening keynote was delivered by Liesel Klokkers, Senior Director of Solution Engineering at Salesforce, together with Lead Solution Engineer Lukas Fahnroth. Their starting point likely resonated with everyone in the room: After a client meeting, the next appointment is already scheduled, and the notes never make it into the CRM. These knowledge gaps cost revenue because the context is missing at the crucial moment.
Salesforce's answer: In the future, you won't even need to open the CRM anymore, because it will be located where you already work. Sales teams will access customer data, workflows, and next-step recommendations from Slack, Microsoft Teams, or AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude, using only the same access rights they have in the CRM.
AI agents work behind the scenes: They analyze customer conversations and automatically update the CRM, answer incoming inquiries on the website, and independently build new sales pipelines. The sales representative always approves the plan.
Startups: AI solutions in a five-minute pitch
The topic became particularly tangible during the startup pitches on the Sales Summit Main Stage: On both days, a total of 17 young companies each had five minutes to present their sales solutions. Almost all of them relied on AI. The audience selected these three winners via app:
- Sleak (Rank 1): AI coaches and virtual conversation partners allow sales teams to realistically practice customer conversations and negotiations, in 35 languages and with feedback after each conversation. According to founder Philipp Heideker, more than 17,000 people in over 500 companies are already training on the platform.
- telli (2nd place): AI agents that handle phone calls: from customer service callbacks to appointment scheduling with leads, multilingual and with CRM integration.
- System One Labs (3rd place): Machine learning models from behavioral research that analyze CRM data and provide sales staff with personal coaching impulses, for example if a customer stays too long.
ACO: Less Processing – More Selling
On the first day, Rouven Gehrmann and Niklas Lorenzen from ACO demonstrated what AI and automation look like in real-world business operations. While the name might not be familiar to everyone, most people have likely encountered their products. ACO is the market leader in drainage technology, a family-owned company from Schleswig-Holstein with approximately 5,400 employees and €1.2 billion in annual revenue. Its Customer Sales Service, with around 90 employees, processes approximately 60,000 orders and 90,000 quotes each year. The goal: to transform the sales support department from a cost center into a profit center.
An AI system that ACO has been using since 2021 now automatically creates 69 percent of order documents. The time saved is invested in sales: A dedicated object management system tracks around 3,000 sales opportunities, and a machine learning model in the CRM helps assess which of these are likely to succeed.
I found one lesson from the presentation particularly honest: ACO shelved an AI project that was supposed to automatically translate specifications into offers because employees weren't using it in their daily work. Instead of constantly developing new tools, the company is now focusing on better integrating its existing systems.
Humanetics Digital: The transformation from physical to digital sales
Frank Mager, Managing Director of Humanetics Digital Europe, opened the second day with an honest story of transformation. While few people are likely familiar with the name Humanetics, almost everyone knows its products. Humanetics is the market leader for crash test dummies and now also develops digital human models, for example, for virtual crash tests and ergonomic simulations.
He recounted the story of an established software business's transition from license sales to subscriptions. The product itself wasn't the problem, but rather the sales incentives. As long as licenses were more financially attractive to salespeople, the transition barely progressed. Only with adjusted targets and commissions did the subscription business grow from zero to more than half of the revenue within three years.
His presentation was packed with valuable insights from real-world experience. My favorite: An experienced consultant who switched to US sales initially struggled to acquire new clients. But then his existing clients suddenly started using the software much more intensively and purchased additional modules. This led to the creation of today's Customer Success Team. For Mager, this proves that the customer relationship doesn't end with the sale, but rather begins there.
His lesson: Product, customer service, and sales must be aligned, otherwise even a good innovation will fail. This earned him first place in the Speaker Awards on the second day.
You can find more information about my work related to AI and tech conferences on my page as AI moderator.
Leadership, goals and sales philosophy
Robert Brummer: Wrong goals make you sick and unsuccessful
Perhaps the most personal presentation came from Robert Brummer, Managing Director of AMI Germany and a sales strategy consultant. He spoke entirely without PowerPoint, using only a flip chart and a provocative thesis: goals make you sick and unsuccessful. He then clarified: wrong goals.
He spoke of his passion for triathlon, which almost became an addiction, of his first Ironman, and of how a thirst for adventure turned into a purely performance-oriented goal. This had consequences that led him to rethink his approach.
The transfer to sales: Those who only work towards the next won project or the annual goal often experience no joy upon achievement, but only brief relief until the next goal comes along.
His antidotes for everyday sales challenges:
- Examine goals with a focus on „why“ and, above all, „what for“: This reveals whether it's driven by ego or a genuine concern.
- Conducting initial consultations without a specific goal: create a good atmosphere and truly understand the customer.
- Three questions for everyday sales: Are we doing the right thing? Are we doing it often enough? Are we doing it well?
The audience rewarded him with second place in the Speaker Awards.
Stepstone: Leading Backwards, because revenue is just a rearview mirror
To introduce the Stepstone keynote, I posed a question to the audience: When reading a gripping book, who sometimes reads the last page first? Probably very few people, since nobody wants to know how the story ends beforehand. But in sales, that could be a pretty good idea: first decide how the story should end, and then consider what we need to do today to ensure it's written exactly that way.
That was precisely the focus of the keynote address on the second day by Yannick de Jong, Senior Director of SMB Sales and Managing Director of Stepstone's sales companies. His central message: Revenue is a rearview mirror. It shows where you've been, but not where you should be headed. Instead of managing results, Stepstone therefore shapes the behavior that generates results. De Jong calls this „Leading Backwards“: starting with the desired customer outcome and working backward to align everything with it. In other words, reading the last page first.
Stepstone's data-driven sales approach demonstrates how this works in practice: Around 1.5 million data points are condensed daily into approximately 2,000 sales signals, indicating which company should be contacted, when, and about which topic. According to de Jong, those who make calls based on these „Next Best Action“ signals generate ten times more revenue per call; roughly 60 percent of new customer revenue is already generated this way. The algorithm doesn't replace anyone; it simply helps to better choose the timing, the customer, and the content.
The panels: First-hand practical experience
In addition to the keynote speeches, seven panel discussions shaped the program of the Sales Summit Main Stage, covering topics ranging from „Sales in Transition“ and „Women in Leadership in Sales“ to „Hybrid & Remote Sales,“ „Sales Under Pressure,“ sales tools, international sales leadership, and the „War for Talent.“ These discussions were moderated by experts from the field. The audience even awarded three panelists with a Speaker Award. Here are a few impressions from their sessions.
Sales in transition: Platform, consulting, people
The first panel of the summit, moderated by Heike Seltmann (Neovista Consulting), focused on how sales organizations are responding to changing customers, consolidated markets, and AI. Janine Will (Bikeleasing) described the shift from selling individual products to a multi-benefit platform. Her company has made a clear commitment to its employees: no one will be laid off because AI is taking over jobs. Instead, people will be further developed.
Her vision of the salesperson of the future: AI processes data, but people win and retain customers, and for that, emotional intelligence is paramount. The audience recognized this: Janine Will received one of the Speaker Awards that evening.
Sales under pressure: Resilience as a hard skill
How sales teams can remain effective under pressure was the topic of discussion on the panel moderated by Gianna Di Lorenzo (conSensio, ESMT Berlin). Resilience is not just a feel-good topic, but according to the Future of Jobs Report 2025, one of the most important skills for the future. Julia Goldt (Page Executive) spoke openly about the lack of a culture of learning from mistakes in sales, while Philipp Gruner (GEA) discussed the importance of clear priorities: if everything is important, then nothing is. Axel Pollmanns gave the audience three questions to ponder for the evening: What went well today? What did I learn? What am I looking forward to tomorrow?
The audience voted Julia Goldt into first place in the Speaker Awards of the first day.
Sales Tools: AI in a high-security environment
In the panel „Sales Technologies & Sales Tools,“ moderated by Dennis Nenner, Oliver Jahnke from secunet demonstrated how AI can function even where data is restricted: with an internal offline AI that accesses the company's knowledge base and provides support, for example, in tendering processes. The audience voted him third in the Speaker Awards for the second day.
A detour to the Service Summit Main Stage: Ranga Yogeshwar on AI
During the lunch break on the second day, I treated myself to a little detour: over to the Service Summit Main Stage, where science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar was giving his keynote address, „Next Exit: The Future.“ I couldn't hear the whole talk because my own stage was calling. But even the first 25 minutes were packed with information.
Yogeshwar explained why language is the real game-changer for current AI: only since Transformer models have machines been able to handle the ambiguity of human language. And language is the tool of service and sales. At the same time, he warned against the „digital oracle“: an AI that makes decisions without us being able to understand why. As an example, he recounted how an AI attributed a book to him that he never wrote and that doesn't even exist.
A live poll in the hall proved interesting: „Many AI results are not transparent – would you still use them?“ 106 participants voted yes, 43 no. So, a good 70 percent would use AI despite the lack of transparency.
Yogeshwar's conclusion: Critical thinking is becoming the most important skill. Or, to quote John Maynard Keynes: The difficult thing is not coming up with new ideas, but letting go of old ones.
Startup Awards and Speaker Awards
On both days, the audience could vote via app for which speakers, panelists, and startups impressed them most on the Sales Summit Main Stage. Here are the results:
Sales Summit Startup Awards 2026
- Sleak, Philipp Heideker
- telli, Max Bernhardt
- System One Labs, Dr. Felix Haag
Speaker Awards Day 1
- Julia Goldt, Page Executive
- Robert Brummer, AMI Germany
- Janine Will, Bike Leasing
Speaker Awards Day 2
- Frank Mager, Humanetics
- Sophia Krekel, DERTOUR Germany
- Oliver Jahnke, secunet
Congratulations to all the winners!
Back to the 90s: Aftershow and start of day 2
And because a good summit isn't just about learning on stage, but also about networking at the bar: The first evening ended in the after-show lounge with the legendary beer pong tournament and a trip back to the 90s, when Loona sang „Bailando“ live. From the future of B2B sales back to the 90s, all in a single day.
The next morning dawned with sunshine as we began day two. Here's my short greeting from the stage:
Feedback on my moderation
I was particularly pleased with this feedback after the summit:
„Great charisma, great voice, very courteous yet humble. Thank you for the excellent moderation at the Sales Summit.“
Robert Brummer, Managing Director AMI Germany, Speaker Award 2026 (2nd place)
„Franziska can excite any room! Incredible energy and makes everyone feel like it's full house. Thank you for the moderation.“
Max Bernhardt, telli, Startup Award 2026 (2nd place)
„Great performance, Franziska! Thank you so much for the energy and power on stage.“
Dieter Reitz, Sales Manager e-chain® Germany, igus SE & Co. KG
„Dear Franziska, your moderation was fantastic – and the after-show party was amazing! Thank you to the organizers for the great atmosphere at the Sales Summit & Service Summit and a thoroughly successful finale with „Bailando“ Loona!“
Frank Dörrstein, Sales Manager, aixom
My conclusion as a moderator
Despite all the enthusiasm for AI agents and automation, almost every presentation boiled down to the same point: technology saves time, but trust is built between people. That's precisely why I enjoy moderating conferences like this so much: making technically complex content understandable, showcasing speakers in the best possible light, and engaging the audience.
Thanks to the team at Trailblazer Summits Thank you for your trust, to all the speakers and startups for the inspiration, and to the fantastic audience. See you again in 2027 at Areal Böhler!
Are you planning a conference, congress, or sales event? Learn more about my work as conference moderator and host or as Presenter in Düsseldorf or Please contact me directly..
Frequently Asked Questions about the Sales Summit 2026
When and where did the Sales Summit 2026 take place?
The Service & Sales Summit 2026 took place on November 4th and 5th, 2026 at the Areal Böhler in Düsseldorf, for the first time in Düsseldorf.
What topics were the focus?
The Sales Summit Main Stage focused primarily on AI in B2B sales, sales management, resilience, women in leadership, and new sales models. Startup pitches and the speaker awards were also featured.
Who won the Speaker Awards?
On the first day, Julia Goldt (Page Executive) won ahead of Robert Brummer (AMI Germany) and Janine Will (Bikeleasing). On the second day, Frank Mager (Humanetics) was in the lead, ahead of Sophia Krekel (DERTOUR Germany) and Oliver Jahnke (secunet).
When will the next Sales Summit take place?
The next Service & Sales Summit is scheduled for November 23 and 24, 2027, again at the Böhler site in Düsseldorf.
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