Have you got what it takes to be an account manager?

A good account manager needs to have a foot in both sales and in customer service. That’s according to a detailed careers review on the Wet Feet careers advice website. They define an ‘AM’ in two ways. Firstly an account manager is “the liaison between a company and its clients… to see that those clients are maximizing the value of the products and services provided.” Secondly the account manager ‘has a duty to maintain, retain, and usually upsell to their portfolio of clients or accounts”. Looking at the opportunities for a career in account management, the website list a number of areas where a good account manager may use their skills. These include consulting firms, public relations agencies or manufacturing companies for major brands. First steps on the account management ladder may be a role as an account executive or account coordinator. Read more sales career advice at http://www.wetfeet.com/careers-industries/careers/account-management

What skills you really need in 2012

A clear and emphatic ‘to do’ list for sales professionals is laid out in the latest issue of Winning Edge magazine by Sean McPheat. Sean’s list includes areas such as the value of ‘entrepreneurial salesmanship’ and the importance of the relationship between marketing and sales. The article explains that ‘ 25-40% of the buying process is completed online before customers engage with your sales team.’ Sales teams needs to know about the prospects found by marketing teams who are ‘conducting their research online, on blogs and in forums’, to have a ‘a distinct advantage over the competition.’ Negotiation skills are described as often left at the end of a training course but are essential ‘ if margins are going to be protected in 2012’. To find out about the other winning points to know about selling in 2012, read the full article on the ISMN(Institute of Sales Management) website http://www.ismm.co.uk/news/2012/01/27/sean-mcpheats-selling-imperatives-for-2012/

Flexible study in leadership skills

Enhancing your leadership and management skills with a formal qualification doesn’t have to mean stepping off the career ladder. The Open University, well known for its high quality distance learning programs, offers a wide range of short courses applicable to a sales professional or manager.
In their Business and Management school, short courses such as ‘Investigating entrepreneurial opportunities’ and ‘Leadership,influence and change in retailing’ are available as well as full degrees in Business Management. Distance learning still means contact with a tutor either online, at a local tutor group sessions or at a day school. For graduates, an MBA course is also available for those with at least three years management or professional experience. However you think your sales management career could benefit from gaining knowledge and experience , take a look at the OU’s website for more information. http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/business-and-management/index.htm

Developing B2B sales skills

Sales techniques need to match the economic environment and in his blog ‘Developing your B2B sales skills’, Voss Graham, provides practical advice in many areas. His recent article “Barriers to overcome to get decision to buy’ looks at why your customers and clients get more reticent about the buying process in harder times.

His seven points to look out for as ‘barriers’ to a successful sale include increasing time pressure for many people. This then allows little time for you as a sales professional to put your case. Others are the need for very strong proof of performance before a deal is completed. He suggests a proactive approach: “Begin tracking your success in terms of a customer’s results with your product or service… ask your customers for their outcomes. Newer customers will provide more interesting data than old existing customers.” For all seven of the potential barriers to decision-making read the whole article on Graham’s blog. http://developingb2bsales.com/barriers-to-overcome-to-get-decisions-to-buy/#more-1074

Building a sales team – expert advice

How does a leading business figure go about putting together a new sales team? Whether you are putting together your own field sales team or are looking to join one, an article from the Forbes magazine website could help.

Bob Gaudreau, the global sales director of Regus, describes his six fundamental needs for an effective sales organisation starting right from the beginning when he stresses the need to ‘Hire right’. He says that companies should ‘Insist upon a structured interview process with two key components: a formalized interviewer questionnaire and dual interviews with at least two separate managers.’ Variety is also the spice of life as well as key to an effective sales team – ‘If you hire only people you like you are failing your organization many times over.’ For more points on building a sales team from training to pay rates, read the full article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2011/11/28/how-to-build-a-sales-team-from-the-ground-up/

Sales strategies for IT sector

If you are a sales manager selling IT systems, you may need to know much more about the company culture in your client’s company than with other product sectors.

In the US blog, ‘Heavy Hitter Sales Blog’, Steve Martin describes how the decision making processes for IT purchases may not follow the traditional company structure. Instead he recommends that you look more closely at the interdepartmental relationships of the IT department. He puts forward four possible categories or types of departments: ‘consolidators, consulters, responders, and bureaucrats.’ Are you dealing with a ‘consolidator’ - an IT department that ‘seeks to increase its power, authority, or control within their organization.’ Or maybe a ‘responder- who are ‘weaker IT departments that operate under the direction of other departments’. To find out more about all four types to help with your next IT sales negotiation , read the full article at http://heavyhittersales.typepad.com/heavy_hitter_sales_sales_/2011/11/it-sales-strategy-software-saas-hardware-sales.html

‘Adapt or perish’ – sales advice for 2012 from the other side of the world

According to an Australian sales and business advice website, Smart Company, sales managers will need to have their wits about them in 2012, with ‘Adapt or Perish’ being the theme of their article looking at sales trends for 2012. From the article’s starting point discussing ‘ A seismic shift in the way we sell’ , the advice is clear: “ It’s no longer just about doing deals and all
about developing strong relationships that go beyond great products, great
service and great design.”

Other trends discussed in the article are the importance of coaching for an effective and dynamic sales team as well as the optimal number for field sales teams. Despite this advice coming from the other side of the world, it seems like British sales managers will be facing the same issues as their Australian counterparts in 2012. Read the full article at http://www.smartcompany.com.au/sales/20111205-the-12-sales-trends-for-2012.html