1. Business acumen
The first competence we want to discuss is perhaps the one that is also the hardest to define and the most difficult to develop. We would define a person with business acumen as someone with an affinity for how businesses work. They have an intuitive understanding of good business practices and how to represent oneself and their organization. Additionally, they have a good (acquired) knowledge of market conditions in their specific niche. They stay up to date with trends and developments and are proactive in responding to them. They know their competition inside and out and are able to develop comprehensive strategies and business plans to achieve their commercial targets.
Business acumen can only partly be taught: it depends, to an extent, on a person’s natural disposition and commercial mindedness. However, it is still useful for an ambitious sales professional to devote time to further developing themselves in this area. Here are some suggestions to train business acumen:
• Read the economic, financial and business sections of daily newspapers.
• Do a scan of your direct market competition. Get to know the ins- and outs through networking.
• Learn about the (financial) structures of companies.
• Look up inspiring examples of business leaders and study their career trajectories.
2. Leadership
Even for autonomously operating Sales professionals without team responsibilities, leadership remains an important skill to have and develop. Why?
Because leadership comes in at almost every level of work in Sales. From inside sales teams to customer service employees, from office management to direct colleagues to marketing colleagues: no matter your level of independence in your Sales role, you will deal with people that work together with you to achieve common goals. Your ability to assist, collaborate with and, most importantly, motivate those colleagues is essential to your development in Sales. Below are a few questions you can ask yourself to reflect on your level of leadership within your direct team.
• How do you deal with colleagues that don’t deliver work you need in time?
• How do you make sure you keep your communication clear and professional, keeping everyone aligned towards a common goal?
• How do you motivate your team after a commercial failure?
• How do you differentiate your approach to a colleague depending on their personality? Do you think a tailored approach is needed at all?
