- Accountancy & Finance
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- Accountancy & Finance
- Accountancy & Finance
- …
- Accountancy & Finance
Soft skills in Sales
98% of Sales staff believe
they have the ‘hard’ skills
to do their job
Those who don’t said it was
due to a lack of training
Top skills employees would like
to develop are critical thinking,
communication and flexibility
Two thirds of employers
believe they have skills shortage
in their current teams
Employers are looking for
people with change management
experience, who can work
effectively with othersDo Sales staff have the
skills to fulfil their role?The 2% of Salespeople who believe they don’t have the skills to do their job also said they have a lack of clarity on their role and responsibilities, as well as not enough development opportunities.
Which skills do employees
want to develop?The vast majority of Sales employees are confident that they know everything they need to do their job effectively. Unlike the benchmark figures across all Professional Service sectors where employees felt they had a wide range of development areas.
In an industry built on maintaining relationships, it’s not a surprise that communication and interpersonal skills are the top soft skills Sales professionals want to work on to thrive in their role. Flexibility and adaptability and critical thinking are also keys skills needed by successful Salespeople, so it is no wonder that both of them score highly in terms of key development areas.
Businesses are also looking for talent with change management experience, not just in the Sales discipline, but in the working world in general. Following the pandemic, Brexit and the cost of living crisis, it’s clear that change is inevitable across all Professional Services, but Sales in particular (as discussed in the introduction), so having employees who can handle transformation is vital.
All employers who took part in our survey said they are planning to recruit in the next 12 months, with two thirds saying they have a two stage or fewer interview process. It’s therefore clear that businesses specialising in Sales understand the need to have simple and efficient recruitment strategies to quickly hire talent. Although they’re under no illusions; businesses also told us they believe recruiting the right staff will be a challenge in the next 12 months.
Skills most sought
after by employersRead next section
