In December 2010 we published The 12 Sales Trends of 2011 and invited readers to vote on what they thought would be the most important trends in sales for this year. Thank you to everyone who shared their views and voted. Every month we will explore one of the trends in more detail, starting with the trends voted as most important to you.
Without doubt Sales Leadership and Integrity topped the rankings; the voting was overwhelming in favour of these two trends. The voting revealed the sales trends for 2011 in order of importance:
- The Year of the Sales Leader
- Integrity – your sales edge
- Knowing your business
- Prospecting and Social Media
- Results not Solutions
- CRM as a Business Strategy
- The Sales Pioneer
- Rethinking Incentives (The Science of Motivation)
- Procurement and Value Managed
- Leading and Examined Life
- The New Sharing
- Getting Personal
It’s the year of the sales leader. The increasing complexity of business structure, market changes, people dynamics, customer buying patterns and evolving technology, amongst other things have made the made the job of sales managers and leaders that much more challenging.
Keeping on top of their jobs will be a test of character as much as anything. The message is clear if businesses don’t get their sales leadership and management capabilities functioning effectively, their sales efforts will be in peril in 2011 and beyond. The research is clear, educate and develop your sales managers to be effective sale leaders and the impact on sales results will be dramatic.
International research into sales training reported that if Sales Managers were more frequently and better trained and coached then their sales teams achieved higher performance and results. In no other type of sales training was a more positive correlation found between frequency of training and sales performance. The study in Sales Force Effectiveness also reported that Sales Management training is the category of sales training that is addressed with the least frequency, in fact it is less than annually or not at all. Most sales managers are given very little or no support when it comes to being a competent, effective Sales Manager. In fact, many Sales Managers reported that they were given no formal training in Sales Management practices, either before or during their tenure as a Sales Manager.
Smart businesses will invest in the ongoing development of their sales leaders, producing highly effective professional business people who are knowledgeable and skillful in strategic action, technology, and global perspectives, and who excel at coaching, and proactive review.
Given the rapid pace of change, we need highly functioning Sales Managers and Leaders who can lead from the front with courage, insight, skilful action and a clear vision.
In 2011 and beyond what do sales leaders need?
- Knowledge about: markets, customers, products, competitors, technology, new marketing, what good sales talent looks like, how to develop strategy, fiscal management, etc.
- Skills in: coaching, leadership, management, recruitment, conflict resolution, negotiation, strategic thinking, planning, creating and leveraging networks, stakeholder management, selling, problem solving, etc.
- Personal Insight: self awareness, ethics, integrity, professionalism, resilience, optimism and future mindedness, achievement focus, initiative, innovation and improvement, collaborating to achieve results, team orientation, decisive, etc.
- Sales Resources: sales templates, coaching guides, recruitment resources, sales planning tools, CRM systems, performance management systems, etc.
Achieving mastery in all these areas can take a life time, however those companies that support and train all their sales leaders and managers in these core areas will gain a significant competitive advantage in 2011.
If you need further information on sales management and leadership training please contact us on (03) 9532 7677 or email us.
Remember everybody lives by selling something.
Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au
Could you please provide a reference to the study from which you draw your statement “International research into sales training reported that if Sales Managers were more frequently and better trained and coached then their sales teams achieved higher performance and results”? Who was the research done by? And when? You use the results from this study as the main theme behind your article, so it would be good to know the source. Thank you.