Almost every company in the world has salespeople in one way or another, and it is important to consider why some are successful, while others struggle.

In other words, what makes a good salesperson?

The way companies sell product to their customers has changed drastically in the past few decades and continues to evolve, meaning that the competencies for successful sellers are also evolving.

After findings from a study on sales competencies conducted by Objective Management Group (OMG) were made public, John Cousineau, creator of Abicus, shared his conclusions from the research on how to differentiate between high and low achieving salespeople.

He analyzed the scores of OMG’s 21 Sales Core Competencies for the top 10% of salespeople and identified five competencies that account for the majority of the gap between top and bottom performers.

The biggest gap in average scores between top performers and bottom performers occurs in the sales core competencies where salespeople:

• Are comfortable discussing money
• Take responsibility for their results
• Thoroughly qualify their opportunities
• Sell value instead of price

This data is based on the assessment of more than 1,100,000 salespeople from more than 11,000 companies, and shows that there is a definite core group of elite performers, approximately 7%.

Considering these areas in relation to HRSG’s Sales Competencies, sales professionals should be focusing on Strategic Sales Planning, Industry Knowledge, Product and Technical Knowledge, Account Management, and Consultative Selling Process.

By incorporating these competencies within your talent management platform, you’ll enhance the way you recruit, develop, and measure your people.

You can access OMG’s findings to draw your own conclusions and make your own assessments.

To learn more about the importance of sales competencies contact us today!