HBR's 5 skills salespeople need

From analyzing 20k job postings, here is what HBR came up with;

At the same time, the following five forward-looking competencies are emerging consistently in sales job postings.

Anticipating the customer’s tomorrow - According to the job description, account managers for industrial distributor W.W. Grainger must, “demonstrate knowledge of market data and access to resources to quickly respond to new developments in the customer’s business.” Microsoft goes a step further, looking for its account executives (AEs) who sell cloud services to digital native startup customers to “understand how startup businesses grow and mature their commercial models” so AEs can get an agenda-setting seat at the buyer’s table.

Collaborating inside and out - Bank of America private client managers must, “liaise with specialists, service officers, and other resources to ensure the integrated delivery of investment, fiduciary, credit, and banking solutions.” Although many sales forces have teamwork in their DNA already, it’s a tectonic shift for others that have moved away from a one-on-one approach with customers. Salespeople must also drive collaboration within complex buying organizations, where diverse decision makers must come together to agree on a purchase. .

Leveraging digital and virtual channels - Pfizer sales reps must “utilize current digital tools effectively (e.g., Veeva Engage, Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Office) as well as adapt quickly to new/beta tools (e.g., digital triage app) for successful customer engagement.” Customers are more likely to have a satisfying experience when salespeople know how and when to use or co-exist with digital, virtual, and other in-person sales channels.

Ability to get power from data - 3M national key account managers need “highly developed Excel skills and competency in handling complex data analytics.” Although this 3M posting is somewhat on the edge (most salespeople don’t need to be analytical gurus), salespeople do need a greater inclination and aptitude for using analytics in customer interactions. This includes an ability to work with algorithmic outputs such as next best action recommendations, and a willingness to share feedback for training AI models.

Capacity to adapt - Apple enterprise channel account executives need to “adapt to change and find the right path without necessarily having all of the pieces to the puzzle.” Salespeople are often agents of customer change. Yet they must also adjust to new dynamics in their own world as a more agile approach to sales planning replaces traditional ways of working to a quarterly sales plan.