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ATD Blog

Sales Training Competency Models

Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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Why are sales competency models a good idea in your sales organization?

So, what's ailing your sales organization? What keeps you your Sales VP up at night?

Perhaps a salesperson doesn't have the time or ability to perform all the work that needs to be done? Maybe the rewards in place are not giving salespeople the proper incentives? What are some causes of the skills gap in the sales team? What can an organization control or not control when it comes to unleashing what salespeople know and what salespeople do to be successful?

Find out....

Usually, a gap in performance that your organization can control stems from the absence of the right activities, beliefs, or competencies that will lead to the desired level of performance. These are the building block of a sales competency model.

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Activities are visible outputs that a salesperson creates. These outputs can take the form of something communicated, something thought, or something created.

Beliefs are internal thought patterns that lead a salesperson to accept something as "true", especially a particular tenet or a body of tenets accepted by a group of persons (i.e. that all salespeople are bad people, etc).

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Competencies are comprised of a sales team member's knowledge, ability, and skills:

  • Knowledge is acquisition of the right information necessary to perform
  • Abilities are defined as the quality of being able to do something, either physically or mentally (like drive a car).
  • skill is the proficiency, facility, or dexterity acquired or developed through training or experience (like driving a car very well).

As a learning or development professional, you have a unique ability to understand why a skills gap exists. More importantly, you have the tools necessary to define what the sales team member can control within that gap or what the organization must do to help. Sales trainers and learning and development professionals should objectively and appropriately define specific ways to close the skills gap by addressing the root cause (activity, belief, or competency). To accomplish this, they create learning solutions that help sales team members take advantage of formal and informal learning activities.

About the Author

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is a professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees in organizations around the world. The ATD Staff, along with a worldwide network of volunteers work to empower professionals to develop talent in the workplace.

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