Training needs to be top of the agenda as businesses face the economic headwinds
A new survey by UK sales transformation specialist Sales Talent has shed some interesting light on how businesses are coping with the current economic climate in the UK. The survey of business leaders spans the commercial property, international residential property, logistics and home improvement sectors. It found that 60% of sales teams are finding it harder to sell than they were three months ago.
In addition, the competitive jobs market means that firms are having to fight to hang on to their talented salespeople. 40% of companies report having faced challenges holding onto their sales teams, with some losing salespeople to other firms and others being forced to make changes to hang onto their staff. 58% of companies report having increased the pay of their sales teams to hang onto them, with increases equally split between salaries and commissions.
“The turbulent economic situation in the UK at present is causing many business leaders to take a long, hard look at their operations. There’s an element of preparing to weather the storm, although, interestingly, 80% of the companies I’m working with report that their sales have increased over the past quarter, despite the economic headwinds. Of the firms looking ahead to 2023, the most proactive are putting training plans in place that will support and engage their sales teams while also benefitting the business as a whole.”
Paul Owen, MD, Sales Talent
The Sales Talent Leadership Survey revealed some interesting attitudes to training among sales leaders. 80% of those surveyed felt that training should be delivered on a regular, ongoing basis. However, just 20% of companies actually approach their training in this way. And 40% of firms book occasional sessions “when needed” despite not a single respondent feeling that this approach was a good one.
“Whether it’s delivered in-house or using an external trainer, sales training should be a regular event. It’s about learning, then implementing that knowledge, then learning something more, then implementing that… it’s an ongoing process. A lot of firms are waking up to the value of this and implementing regular training as a way to engage, motivate and retain their sales teams.”
Paul Owen, MD, Sales Talent
Over the coming months, the value of holding onto highly skilled salespeople is likely to increase, as such individuals are key to supporting businesses through tougher economic times. Regular, effective training plays a key role in holding onto them. Yet the face of sales training is shifting. As we head into 2023, Sales Talent’s Paul Owen believes that we will see the lines between training and mentoring blur – something that has already begun to happen. Many of his clients begin by implementing a whole-team training programme, then break the team down into groups of two or three, where the training is more personalised and closer to mentoring. One-to-one coaching is often provided alongside this, with both the individual and the business benefitting as a result.
Paul’s other prediction for 2023 is that we will see a higher percentage of sales teams heading back into the office – a trend that has already begun in earnest, as businesses increasingly understand the value of in-person social interaction as part of a more blended home/office working arrangement.
“For professions that attract a high percentage of extroverts, time in the office is essential to team members’ wellbeing. That doesn’t mean firms necessarily going back to the same rigid hours as before; it means taking a fresh look at how the office can add genuine value to individual’s daily lives, as well as supporting them in their roles. Regardless of the economic landscape and the pressures that sales teams are feeling, companies that focus on supporting their people through measures such as regular training and a proactive approach to wellbeing will find it easier to hang onto their teams.”
Paul Owen, MD, Sales Talent
