Building your own Sales Competency Framework
Early in my sales career, I learned that customers don't buy products; they buy solutions to their problems. However, I initially misunderstood this concept, believing that understanding the problem was more important than knowing how my product could solve it. It wasn't until I discovered the concept of a sales competency framework that I realized the importance of both understanding the customer's problem and having a deep knowledge of my product's features and benefits.
A sales competency framework (SCF) is an essential tool for organizations to develop and maintain a high-performing sales team. It provides a comprehensive list of the competencies required for success in a sales role, covering the essential skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes that salespeople need to perform effectively.
For salespeople, understanding and investing in their personal SCF can be a game-changer for their career success. Top-performing salespeople understand that consistently overachieving requires continuous self-improvement and investment in developing and refining their sales competencies.
By focusing on key competencies such as product knowledge, customer focus, communication skills, and sales process management, salespeople can improve their performance, build stronger customer relationships, and ultimately drive more sales. Personal SCFs also help salespeople to identify areas for improvement, set goals, and track progress towards achieving them.
According to a study by Sales Performance International, focusing on a competency-based approach to sales training and development achieved 17% higher win rates (what impact would that have on your monthly commission check!), here are some key areas to focus on when building your own SCF
Product/Service Knowledge: talk to other salespeople, the marketing department and customers about how the features of your product solve problems, the more you understand your product from a solution perspective the more successful you will be (this used to be called FAB (feature, advantage, benefit).
Sales Process: I'm surprised at how few salespeople use a documented sales process to track their progress with a potential sale, and even worse, how some skip parts of it believing that the sale is moving quickly. It's important to spend time before, during, and after each prospect meeting evaluating where you are in the sales cycle and what needs to be achieved to move to the next step.
Communication Skills: Continual improvement in critical sales areas such as clear and persuasive communication, active listening, building rapport, and earning trust is essential. To enhance your skills in these areas, you can seek out resources like the book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People,' attend free webinars, and observe others. Developing a continuous improvement model for effective communication is imperative if you want excel in your sales role.
Time Management: Time may seem an odd element to include in an SCF but having the ability to prioritize tasks, manage meetings effectively and balance multiple priorities will create an extra 10-15% of selling time for you to network, prospect or just improve your golf swing!.
Network Building: Building and maintaining strong relationships and leveraging networking opportunities are essential for longevity in sales. To achieve success, it's vital to hone your networking skills and regularly evaluate their effectiveness, even measuring which events result in new customers. Improving in this area requires constant review and effort.
Negotiation Skills: While many people believe that successful negotiation is about being a "great closer," the truth is that effective negotiation begins long before the close. A skilled negotiator takes charge of the sales process, sets the agenda, and outperforms the competition. One simple way to measure your negotiation skills is through deal velocity – the amount of time it takes for a deal to move through the sales cycle. As you move through the sales process, pay attention to any stalls and consider how negotiating a different path could have progressed the deal faster.
Regularly reviewing your SCF can help you identify areas for learning and development, enabling you to gain a clearer understanding of your competencies and skills. Leveraging this information can position you for career advancement, leading to increased value to your current employer, higher commission earnings, and greater appeal to potential employers.