Designing effective competency models is a critical part of an organization’s talent management strategy, but it is easier said than done.

Companies often create competency models with vaguely defined behaviors. Or many fall into the trap of telling reps what they shouldn’t be doing, without pinpointing what they should be doing. And in some cases, firms revise competency models on a very infrequent basis and as a result, emphasize selling behaviors that are outdated and fail to account for changes in customer buying behavior.

The first step to avoiding these common challenges is clearly defining what exactly the right selling skills and behaviors are in your sales competency model.

Competency models not only outline what skills and behaviors are important to your business and industry, but also help focus coaching efforts as you develop your sales force.  So getting these models right is essential to your talent management strategy.

The Council recently developed a list of seven distinct competency model design principles. Here are three from the list that I think are of utmost importance:   Read More »

Two-thirds of member organizations that we work with have some sort of sales competency model in place. But, when was it last updated?

Now that’s a very interesting question. While our sister program for HR execs recommends re-evaluating your competency model every 1-3 years, we’ve found that very few organizations actually find time to do this.

So what this means is that many of us have competency models that were built in a different architectural period. They are still functional, and many of them have good bones, but given the changes in today’s selling environment, these models may lack a few critical design features that we would all expect to see in the age of the Challenger Rep™.

In short, our competency models need a quick renovation.

Now to be clear, this isn’t about ripping out asbestos or renting a backhoe…rather than a major overhaul, most of us just need a fresh coat of paint and some updated appliances to get our competency models up to speed. Okay, if we’re completely honest, a few of us may desperately need a new addition…

But the fact of the matter is, we know infinitely more today than we did a few years ago about what it takes to be a high-performing sales rep. Many of the very relationship-building behaviors that were in vogue when we last updated our competency models have proven insufficient for driving customer loyalty. It’s not that relationships aren’t important. They’re just not enough anymore.

So then, how do we make our competency models more current?   Read More »

Whenever I speak with companies that sell through the indirect channel, one of the questions I’m most often asked is about the channel manager role. Because it’s undoubtedly become one of the more complex roles in a sales organization, Council members are always curious to discuss the job description, key competencies, and main activities of the individual who manages your channel partner relationships.

And though there’s not one magic, all-encompassing channel manager job profile I’m able share, a member in the High Tech industry recently summed up the role with this quote, which I thought was right on point:

“Channel managers are the inflection point. You can have the best channel partner program in the world, but at the end of the day, your channel managers are where the rubber meets the road.”

In fact, channel managers’ ever-expanding responsibility set requires them to act like “mini-General Managers.” They have to navigate their own organization, the channel partner’s organization, and at times the end-customer’s organization. And within each of these groups, the channel manager must interact with multiple stakeholders from sales support, marketing, finance, procurement…the list goes on.

Given the importance (and complexity) of the role, here are some of the trends that have begun to emerge about the indirect channel manager:  Read More »

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Table stakes. You’ll hear it at nearly any poker table—it’s the minimum amount of buy-in required to simply have a seat and play. You’ll also hear it in the business world to describe the basic fundamentals needed to enter a market or execute a transaction. In the Sales world, we’ve discovered a set of table stakes skills that are often overlooked in sales managers.

And here’s the kicker of it…this set of table stakes is something you’re likely taking for granted, and here’s why: 25% of total sales manager effectiveness has very little to do with Sales.

We’re all familiar with other traditional assumptions that don’t apply in Sales. Compensation principles (what other functions have to create a President’s Club to ensure sufficient motivation?) and promotion patterns (a star frontline performer does not necessarily translate to a star manager) are just two examples.

Perhaps we’ve become so comfortable assuming Sales is different we forget to look for places where it’s actually not different. Take a look at the first graphic to the right:

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What this shows us is that the skills we traditionally assume managers have—the ability to listen and reliability—need to be elevated to “must have” status.

The second graphic to the right shows just how non-negotiable these skills are in sales managers. Without these fundamentals, these table stakes, your sales managers are leaving revenue on the table. Period.

We’ll be exploring these manager fundamentals this week in our upcoming webinar, but here are few considerations:
Read More »

The topic of sales competencies and rep development has been coming up quite frequently in our recent conversations with members.  Some sales leaders are getting more frustrated with training’s failure to make behavior changes “stick”; some have started realizing that the new economy calls for a new set of skills that is largely lacking in reps; and some are simply looking for ways to boost rigor around training to increase the likelihood of success.

All good reasons to be talking to us, especially as we’ve learned that nearly two-thirds of all sales reps (61%) are unsatisfied with the business and sales skill training provided by their companies.

The bad news is we know that training alone has a relatively small impact on improving productivity – only 22%.  The good news is companies that take a more comprehensive development approach— integrating training, coaching, and real-world experience—have seen a 4 fold increase in productivity up to 88%.

We’ve set out to find what it is these companies do differently and will be tackling this subject of training and rep development over the next few months. Here’s what we have learned so far:

1) Do not limit rep development to just classroom learning.  Our research shows that reps forget 87% of training content within 30 days. Most of the actual learning and skill improvement happens as reps repeatedly “apply” and “perfect” new knowledge and skills on the job with continuous support and reinforcement from their managers.      Read More »

I’ve always wished the Winter Olympics included some sort of a Decathlon. Isolated mastery of skis, skates, or curling stones is impressive, but in my view, the truest tests of athleticism are cross-functional. Show me the athlete who can bobsled down a hill, play three periods of hockey, and then cross-country ski back up!

In sales we of course expect our front-line managers to epitomize multi-functional excellence – so perhaps there is an opportunity here for comparison. Let’s dig into the Olympic history books to learn a bit about how sales managers can be more successful in their own daily decathlons. Read More »