“Knowledge” is THE Power Today

In days gone by, whenever anyone mentioned “knowledge,” there would be an immediate assumption that they were going to discuss “product knowledge” That is understandable; even today, 80 % of all training budgets are spent (invested?) on teaching sales teams all there is to know about the “product range.”

The reality is that product knowledge is no longer a differentiator. It is a very basic requirement of all successful frontline sales professionals. In other words, it’s part of the entrance exam, not a higher qualification.

Today, knowledge really is power, and that means …..

• Industry knowledge
• Sector knowledge
• Competitive knowledge
• Company knowledge
• Business knowledge (acumen)
• Self-Knowledge

Do you speak the customer’s language? Are you relevant?

“Wholly relevant” means using our knowledge — our complete knowledge — to justify our right to be part of a customer’s purchasing process.

As we move up the food chain, our ability to use different “languages” becomes increasingly important. We have to become commercially “multi-lingual” because C-level executives, for example, rarely use the same language as members of an information technology team. And both groups naturally have different sets of buying criteria.

In the very near future, having the right attitude, a broad range of sales skills, and familiarity with internal consultative sales processes will not guarantee our survival. The key will be the extent of our “commercial bandwidth” — and that means our knowledge.

Pick up a typical report and what words do you find? Verbs like analyze, forecast, plan, assess and schedule, are used by organizations that are efficient, productive and predictable. What set of people are required? Obviously, people who are efficient, effective, proficient, competent, productive and co-operative.

But I believe we need to go beyond — we need to be inspired, motivated, creators, who are enthusiastic and able to consistently deliver against our key objectives. We should be developing individuals who are not afraid to challenge paradigms, who are prepared to go that extra yard in search of excellence and who understand that success is 80 % attitude and only 20 % aptitude – Pareto is never far away!

The sales leader has a significant role to play here.

For a group of people to remain consciously competent at optimum performance levels, they require frequent injections of stimulation, motivational guidance, prompting, and directing. Otherwise, they can easily lapse into becoming unconsciously competent or worse, unconsciously incompetent.

The Acid Test: When thinking about your own sales force:

• Do you understand their motivators – what is driving them? Each of them?
• Do you have visibility of their numbers – year to date, forecast vs. required performance?
• Activity levels – are they working hard and smart enough?
• Engagement – are they talking to the right level in their prospects/accounts?
• Messaging – are they capable of delivering an appropriate message at the right level?
• Qualification – are they only spending time on deals where they can compete and ultimately they can win?
• Closing – are they constructing successful campaigns and closing business?

We should never forget that the primary objective of a professional sales manager has to be:

“To achieve consistently superior results, through the performance of every key individual.”

Jonathan Farrington is the CEO of Top Sales World and the editor of Top Sales Magazine. TSW is a unique, international online community dedicated exclusively to the profession of sales, bringing together the industry’s best-known sales experts to provide information in the form of how-to-guides, articles, webinars, podcasts and so much more. He is also the principal of Jonathan Farrington & Associates, a consultancy focused on helping clients prepare sales teams for the future. For more articles, thoughts, white papers etc. please visit Jonathan's personal website, Jonathan Farrington.