The same quote can be super quickly applied to individuals & their evolution to a better version of themselves.
Employees (including sales people) unwilling to learn new skills & the state of comfort zones
At any point in their career, an employee can reach a threshold where they would lose the will to learn new skills. When the day-to-day responsibilities, all possible challenges and work schedules are predictable, it gives a sense of familiarity and creates a comfort zone for an employee. Additionally, the low drive to expand skills and lack of motivation to pursue bigger goals only puts them in the bubble of a comfort zone. But, stepping out of it and asking for more responsibilities or upskilling to pursue better job roles became an essential thing today considering changes in business models, job trends and empowered customers trying self-serve in buying a product/service. Like the old saying goes, necessity creates opportunity and not having a push to upskill in the present does not imply that the future holds certainty.
A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there
John Assaraf
Gap between Skills & Job requirement –
While the global unemployment rate is reducing, the gap between job requirements and skills has been increasing. With the rapid growth in science and technology, we never know which job will become redundant in the next 5 years and which job will be created afresh. An example for it – Many Sales people working in Retail and Channel sales are affected with the onset of e-commerce & D2C. Job losses were significant.
The employees working in a particular job role today might have to work in another job role (that doesn’t exist today) in the next five years. To adapt to this change, it is important to constantly upskill at the individual level. In the book, ‘The Upskilling Imperative’ by Patricia Witkin and Shelly Osborne, the effect of automation on the workforce is explained as growth in obsolete jobs. The rapid technological change implies that most skills only stay relevant for five years.
Good News –
Many Companies by now know the benefits of upskilling to hold a promising future for business and workforce.. They are vocal about the same across the organisation if not in practice. This created a sense of awareness among employees on the concept of upskilling to stay in the game. According to a survey by Gartner Inc, 60% of employees believe that they need new skills to do their jobs right.
Upgrading your skills is not an option but a necessity
Ashok Veda
In the domain of Sales –
Customers are becoming tech savvy and updating themselves with all the information available in the market related to solutions and solution providers who could solve their problems. This is giving them the sense of empowerment. As a result, customers are trying to help themselves in choosing a product /service rather than being persuaded by super sales people out there. This behaviour is similar to the self-serve model which is primarily existing in customer support areas but catching up in sales too.
The old school model of selling can be put to test in this new age of sales.
When sales people have to sell a product / service to a crowd that knows everything about the solution being provided, it creates a space to bring in new techniques and strategies on a regular basis, which means demand for new sales techniques & tricks.
Upskilling Sales people –
When companies invest in upskilling employees, they will build an increase in trust and pave the way to a long-lasting relationship with them. Companies like PwC and Salesforce have implemented in-house training for employees to choose and learn, providing them the opportunity to upskill at their pace and requirement. The increase in confidence will push the workers to contribute better which helps them achieve their goals better. By developing this sustainable relationship, companies will be able to see their workers take up better responsibilities, thereby minimizing the effort to hire new talent. Employees on the other hand can choose some courses that offer visibility into trends and skill gap and how to overcome them.
But what about other companies, sales people?
Answer –
Networking & Intent to learn –
Benefits of networking are immense. Mere surrounding yourself with successful sales people can do wonders.
Try and have social circles with the sales teams from various regions and companies that can expose you to a wider team who is attempting to upskill
Have discussions, dialogues, forums, etc. with other sales people on the evolving trends and how to address them.
Remember, sales models are not copyrighted, or patented and hence can be copied and applied, provided you have the right intent. The Intent to learn.
Use Salesguys platform for networking & Learning from other sales people who could complement your business goals.
Conclusion-
Know market trends, changing customer behaviour, network with other sales people, upskill yourself to stay in the game of new age sales.
