THe Harvard Business Review ran an article about the ‘new’ sales person and how sales skills have changed. The profession has moved away from the smile and dial into a relationship building process. Instead of features and benefits the converstations have moved to consulting and adding value. To stay competetive sales professionals as well as training programs need to make the change.
This quote from the article sums up the new skills – “There is plenty of evidence that high preforming sales people are those who listen and respond, who are flexible, and who think in terms of developing a solution to an emerging customer problem.”
The article goes on to highlight some specific skills in specific areas where sales people need to be stellar in order to perform. Check out the article here.