As someone who loves learning, I've been through countless sales training programs throughout my career. Each one usually offers a golden nugget or two that becomes a lasting part of my approach.
Most sales trainings focus on a process or methodology, often paired with some unique strategies or tactics. While these are helpful, I’ve always noticed a critical gap: the development of underlying skills that sales professionals need to truly excel in influencing prospects and customers.
Organizations often emphasize process and strategy, assuming their sales teams’ natural emotional intelligence and work ethic will carry them to quota. But here’s the truth: without a solid foundation of core skills, even the best methodologies fall short. On the flip side, with a strong skill set, sales professionals can adapt and thrive using virtually any methodology.
When salespeople master the right skills and learn to apply them strategically across contexts, they unlock the ability to consistently deliver results—regardless of the sales framework they use.
Skill Application: A Strategic Scale
Strategic proficiency can be measured on a scale from 0 to 4:
0: No application of skills.
4: Mastery of skills, used strategically to achieve maximum influence.
Take a simple context like small talk at the start of a meeting. It might seem trivial, but used strategically, small talk can shape the tone of the current discussion, influence future negotiations, and impact the entire sales process.
Here’s how skill levels manifest in this scenario:
Level 0: The rep avoids small talk altogether or engages in it without intent or focus.
Level 1: The rep uses small talk to build rapport—finding common interests, easing tension, and establishing a friendly tone.
Level 2: The rep leverages small talk to build a behavioural profile of the other party and establish a baseline for body language.
This higher level of skill is pivotal. By profiling behaviour, reps can better understand values, emotional needs, decision triggers, and even the prospect’s locus of control. Baselining body language allows reps to detect subtle, nonverbal shifts—hidden objections or desires—and ensure that strategic state changes are happening as intended.
Skills Are the Foundation
Skills are the bedrock of any profession, and sales is no exception. To build a high-performing sales team, you must first ensure they master core skills. From there, they can learn to apply these skills strategically across contexts, enabling them to influence effectively—no matter the methodology they follow.
What do you think? Have you seen the difference skill mastery can make in your sales teams?
- Log in to post comments