Organisational knowledge

Understand your organisation’s vision, values and capabilities, the principle goals of its overall strategy, and the specific objectives of its marketing and sales strategies. Know how to analyse your organisation’s sales and marketing strategies and objectives and translate them into plans and actions for your role.

Product, service and sector knowledge

Identify the features and advantages of the product(s) and/or services(s) you sell, understand how these meet customer needs, and examine how they compare to competitor’s solutions. Understand the nature of your sector and the likely forthcoming changes to it. Understand the legal, regulatory and ethical frameworks relating to your sector and role.

Market knowledge

Understand how your market is segmented and how to target specific segments through effective product or service positioning.

Customer knowledge

Know how to analyse the macro and micro environment of individual customers. Understand the challenges and purchasing motivations of your customers and the internal and external factors that impact their purchasing decisions. Understand expectations of what constitutes a high-quality customer experience.

Commercial and financial acumen

Understand the principles of finance for sales, such as profit and loss, return on investment and budgeting. Appreciate the impacts of different types of costs on the businsess and the drivers of profitable performance. Understand the impact of any discount or variation in terms that you may offer.

Digital knowledge

Understands how to exploit digital technologies to aid the sales cycle.

Sales planning and preparation

Set effective targets using sales forecasts. Prioritise customers and activities to grow account value and maximise return-on-investment in line with your organisation’s strategy. Formulate or refine customer plans and objectives. Create efficient territory plans where appropriate.

Customer engagement

Effectively communicate and interpret customer information exchanged through written, verbal and non-verbal communication. Develop a customer engagement style that effectively opens sales conversations, builds rapport, enhances customer relationships, and adapts to different customer’s social preferences.

Customer needs analysis

Be highly skilled at effective questioning and active listening techniques to understand the customer’s needs, guide the sales conversation appropriately, create mutual understanding, and build trust and affinity with customers.

Propose and present solutions

Develop sales proposals and deliver them using a presentation style and technique appropriate for your customer. Present relevant products and/or services, explain features and their advantages, and clearly articulate the value and benefit of the solution for the specific customer. Use and adapt a range of techniques to draw-out and overcome common sales objections.

Negotiate

Research the customer’s likely desired outcomes and negotiating stance.  Develop responses to likely objections. Identify your own organisation’s needs, such as minimum price and acceptable terms. Negotiate or trade variables effectively.

Closing sales

Be attuned to verbal and non-verbal buying-signals andmove to close at an appropriate point in sales conversations. Develop ethical techniques to close sales and confirm customers’ purchase agreement.

Gathering intelligence

Collect, analyse and interpret market intelligence and share it appropriately and effectively within your organisation.

Time management

Use and adapt appropriate tools and techniques to prioritise and manage your time effectively.

Collaboration and team-work

Contribute effectively within a team environment. Work collaboratively with both internal and external stakeholders. Manage communications with the cross-functional team in relation to the effective delivery of your sales, such as finance and service delivery. Support continual business improvement by sharing best practice with sales team colleagues and assist the marketing team to develop new marketing collateral.

Customer experience management

Deliver a positive customer experience. Manage customer enquiries and issues effectively. Take proactive action to prevent and minimise customer concerns and complaints. Handle all customer interactions professionally to the customer’s satisfaction.

Digital skills

Effectively use digital tools to conduct research and target customers in line with the overall sales strategy. Able to deliver presentations and meetings using digital communication. Complete accurate records and process sales in accordance with your organisation’s policies, procedures and digital CRM systems.

Ethics

and integrity

Present yourself as an ambassador for your employer’s brand, and act in accordance with your organisation’s values and code of conduct at all times. Maintain integrity in all business relationships. Challenge unethical behaviour.

Proactivity

Proactively develop new and existing customer relationships. Plan and lead sales conversations and make recommendations to support the customers’ requirements.  Proactively monitor the customer experience.

Self-discipline

Demonstrate the ability to control your actions, reactions and emotions.

Remain calm under pressure and be aware of your personal impact on others.

Resilience and self-motivation

Demonstrate the ability to maintain optimism and professionalism in the face of rejection, quickly recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep going in the face of adversity.  Remain highly motivated to achieve both personal and professional goals.

Continuous professional development

Respond positively to coaching, guidance or instruction; demonstrate awareness and ownership of your continual professional development, and actively seek out development opportunities outside of formal learning situations.