Sales management is a complex and multi-layered field that needs a combination of generic skills and tactical competencies to be adequately effective. Even in the current technology-driven modern markets, the task of sales management remains where it was a few decades ago in the context of the leadership skills, selling experience, and sales knowledge of the sales manager. As the lifeblood of an organisation, the responsibility of bringing in revenue still primarily lies with the sales team and the leadership provided to the team.
The ability to multi-task, resourcefulness and flexibility, organisational skills, and accountability are central competencies required by a sales manager. These are fundamental abilities and qualities that are essential for success in modern-day sales management. It is not merely supervising a team of sales personnel that existed a decade ago.
Tactical competencies
On the contrary, tactical competencies such as sales strategy development, forecasting, technology-based software use, and other methods provide the practical tools for the sales manager to achieve sales targets and drive business growth.
What are generic skills? According to some definitions, skills are abilities that are part of the personality of an individual and are useful in both life and work. This is often referred to as soft skills or transferable skills. Generic skills are not coupled to a specific task, yet they are considered valuable from a professional perspective. Hence, there is a high demand for generic skills in the workplace. Employers are usually keen to recruit workers with the ability to multi-task to ensure business success.
The ability to communicate effectively is an essential generic skill in sales management. In general, to have the intended impact, salespeople must be skilled communicators. More importantly, the sales manager must be a better communicator to convey management messages to his team.
Simply put, communication is the foundation of sales management, as the directives of a sales manager must be transformed into clear instructions through various forms of communication. Healthy communication is required between sales professionals among themselves as well as customers and all other stakeholders.
Therefore, communication is the heart of successful sales management in this paradigm. Sales managers must be able to properly communicate ideas, tactics, and objectives to their teams in order to convey the right message to the clientele. They must also be adept at active listening, since knowing the requirements and concerns of both consumers and team members is critical.
Another important aspect of generic skills in sales management is the leadership provided by the manager. Most often, a performing sales team consists of individuals with energetic and outgoing qualities who are always eager to achieve. Historically, professional salesmen tend to work independently with less control.
Such individuals invariably need constant leadership encouragement. Therefore, it is imperative that the leader be strong, knowledgeable, and able to foster mutual trust. A successful sales manager must possess skills to foster a teamwork culture and motivate team members. Good leadership always instills confidence, which leads to performance.
A good sales manager must also possess analytical skills to meticulously scrutinise market trends, consumer behaviour, competition, opportunities, etc. The sales manager’s analysis is predominantly utilised to make business decisions on strategies and other sales-related aspects. Resilient analytical skills are crucial for recognising and augmenting sales revenues.
Problem-solving
Problem-solving ability is among the skills that help managers successfully lead and improve their teams within a company. Sales managers often address concerns and questions from their own higher management, customers, and sales teams. Problem-solving skills can give managers a way to create useful solutions to those concerns and questions quickly.
The selling process of an organisation constantly confronts challenges on and off the field. Therefore, the ability to identify and address challenges is a fundamental skill for sales managers. Whether it’s resolving internal conflicts within the team, finding solutions to meet sales targets, or confronting external pressure from customers, problem-solving skills are crucial to maintaining smooth operations.
Tasks such as team and time management are essential generic skills that ensure the balance between managing and directing a staff towards a goal. Efficient team and time management practices enhance the performance of the entire team, both back office and field, and encourage them to do better as a team. While time management helps with planning and organising, tracking progress, teamwork provides a suitable work environment to provide better employment satisfaction.
What are the tactical competencies of sales managers? It is how they manage their day-to-day activities, such as supervising the team activities of the sales team, managing leads, and so forth. While generic leadership focuses on personality-related traits, tactical leadership focuses on metrics and activity.
High-performing sales teams are usually a professionally and personally happy group. Hence, it’s the responsibility of the sales manager to remove roadblocks and improve opportunities for the team. Successful salespeople are typically driven by both financial and non-financial benefits, such as recognition and independence. Therefore, a strategic leader sets the stage for the team members to perform at their best.
Sales strategy development is an important tactical competency a sales manager must seriously consider because it is a critical component of business success. A well-defined sales strategy helps prepare for the future, identify challenges, and manage various methods throughout the business.
The sales manager must have tactical competence in setting up goals, identifying target markets, positioning products or services, and planning to achieve the desired results. The sales strategy of an organisation is the component that makes the clientele aware of the product and engages potential buyers in a meaningful manner. Forecasting is one of the most essential ingredients in sales success. It enables businesses to plan and make informed decisions about future operations, marketing, selling strategies, resource allocation, strategy alterations, and so forth. The revenue goals are determined by forecasting, and usually the overall budget of an organisation is regulated based on forecasting.
Therefore, a successful sales manager must possess tactical skills to create sales forecasts with optimum accuracy by analysing historical data, future trends, future economic tendencies, potential customer behaviour changes, and so forth.
A successful sales team brightens the spirit of the team while generating more revenue. Consistent sales coaching ensures that these winning tactics find their way to every salesperson in the organisation while training strengthens and improves performance and also creates a sense of unity for those within your sales team. Sales training and coaching are better together because consistent sales coaching enables better training.
Providing suitable training for the sales team and coaching them effectively are also extremely important factors for an organisation. The tactical competence of a sales manager provides salespeople in the organisation with new maneuvers they can use to increase their success, while coaching offers them a continuing opportunity to improve their skills.
Sales managers must constantly monitor the market and assess competitors. Tactical competence in this area involves staying updated on industry trends, competitor strategies, and market gaps that the sales team can exploit.
Robust generic skills and proactive tactical proficiencies of a sales manager are important to achieving an organisation’s revenue goals. Generic skills such as strong leadership qualities, effective communication skills, experience, and knowledge to develop strategies are essential to succeeding in sales management. Similarly, tactical competencies to provide practical tools and methods are also important in achieving results.
