As effective business leaders or owners know, finding role-specific training for their employees is critical to the overall success of any company. In particular, this type of specialization allows the sales team to be equipped with the tools, resources, training, and opportunities they need to operate at their full potential.
It is also important when it comes to executive sales recruitment and finding the right training for your sales executives as, contrary to a commonly held misconception, they are not the same thing as sales managers. And, while there are any number of training programs available to choose from for your sales managers, executive sales leadership training can be a little more difficult to find, according to leading sales trainers.
A study by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) recently found that only 10% of companies train their sales leaders to a high extent while over 20% do not train them at all. On the other end of the scale, the study found that about 65% of those companies train their salespeople on selling skills at least once a year.
The skills needed to be an effective sales executive are not the same as those required to be a successful salesperson or sales manager. Because of this, finding a talented sales executive can be challenging as many of the skills they need are not obvious if they are currently a member of your sales team.
If you choose to look for an experienced sales executive outside of the company, it will still be important to ensure they have access to ongoing career development so they can continue to contribute to your company. By failing to provide access to executive sales leadership training, you could be hurting your company by limiting employees’ chances for success.
So, whether you are planning to hire a new sales executive, promote from within or are simply trying to get the most out of the sales executives you already have, investing in industry-leading training for your sales team will help your company get where you want it to go. Here is who will benefit from executive sales leadership training:
A member of your sales team with leadership potential
As any successful sales trainer will tell you, finding role-specific training for employees is critical to the overall success of any company. This is particularly important when it comes to finding the right training for your sales team leaders. Executive sales leadership training programs should be tailored to each organization and employee to suit their unique situation and provide the best possible learning experience.
An underperforming sales executive
It is important to remember to provide a proportionate level of training and coaching to your company’s sales executives as well as your frontline salespeople. Often, a lack of sales executive coaching and training is the reason they are failing or performing below expectations. While commonplace in many workplaces across the United States, neglecting to invest in the development of sales executives can be a costly mistake.
A promoted employee who lacks the leadership skills and tools needed for their new role
For anyone working in sales, one of the biggest challenges you can face is becoming a sales leader or executive after a career as a rep or a manager. Just because a person is highly skilled at closing deals does not mean they naturally have what it takes to lead people and plan strategically. They must be taught how to translate a company’s mission, values, and vision into a clear game-plan that their teams can get excited about and dedicate themselves to.
A skilled sales leader in need of an attitude adjustment to realize their full potential
Sales leaders must understand they are only as good as the teams they manage and their primary role is to make the people around them better. Executive sales leadership training teaches sales leaders how to define tasks, set achievable objectives, and maintain control over their teams. Good people skills alone are not enough. They must be able to take a logical and planned approach to help their teams maximize results.
Executive sales leadership training will be beneficial for your whole company
With it you will create a focused vision and mission statement for your company and set measurable goals and objectives that you and your team can follow. These sales team trainings will also help you to learn how to manage change, develop plans and methodologies to ensure your team is motivated to continuously exceed client expectations.
Investing in top-notch executive sales leadership training will help you develop a sales strategy that will take your company to new heights. The key is to find training that is specifically tailored to your industry and your employees.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Natasa Tomic is a journalist and content producer who specializes in writing about business and sales.
