Sales

Highly successful sales directors must really understand the technical principles of selling and have an outstanding personal sales track-record. But above all, they need excellent people management skills.

People Management

A sales director’s line reports can span customer services, complex technical sales where the buying cycle takes months, sales teams who close a deal in one visit, the web channel, telesales, technical customer support and even marketing. These are very different roles and processes, delivered by very different types of people. Within any one of these roles you will see a wide range of character profiles, each responding very differently to a single management style. What motivates one person may demotivate another. Managing sales people to success requires a real understanding of these behavioural differences.

Yet it’s possible for senior salespeople, if they hit their sales figures, to rise through the ranks without ever having gained such people management experience.

Sales Skills

Some sales directors are also not very good at selling! In certain industries sales targets have been historically easy to achieve. Sales directors in these sectors may have been promoted, without having to prove themselves or develop the skills to cope in a tougher market environment.

In short there are many senior sales people in the market who aren’t as good – in people management or sales terms – as their CVs might suggest. Yet if they’re clever, and know their product or service very well, they are likely to come across exceptionally well in an interview and get the job.

Faced with this, how do you pick through the mass of candidates to find not just the good ones but the outstanding sales director, business development director or commercial director for your business?

That’s where NJR’s experience and skills come in: