Insights Skills in demand

Top skills in demand: Sales.

about 3 years ago by We Are Aspire Dubai

Hiring and finding a role in sales is proving:

Extremely popular. A large majority of candidates out there have the skills that our clients want and candidates are open to having conversations about opportunities. The candidate market has changed over the past 6 months, we are having to do a lot of active searching. A lot more research goes into what the candidate wants, and who they want to work for. Flexible working and cultural fit are more valued. If the company doesn’t fit, regardless of the salary, candidates won’t move.

The sales sector is often looking to hire:

Business Development Managers. Our clients are hiring for multiple roles at once because they are ‘scaling up’ really quickly and are eager to hire high volume in a short period of time. All clients are looking for experienced candidates. People in their second role, or with 1-3 years experience have the most choice at the moment. This is expected due to backfilling roles that were not filled after redundancies during Covid-19. Businesses of all sizes are very much recovering, and sales is at the core of that growth. We are finding that our clients need BDMs to return revenue and grow forward too.

The perfect sales candidate includes:

Expert knowledge in their field, demonstrating their credibility and how they have positively influenced team targets or business revenue.
Ease in relationship building with different levels and types of employers, able to create a friendly and professional rapport.
Time management to ensure they act quickly and efficiently as well as completing projects in good time and generally managing time well.
Excellent communication to ensure stakeholders are kept informed.
A clear understanding of the sales cycle to understand how much buyer intent people have and what is needed to help potential customers make a decision to purchase.
The ability to listen well to client needs, saying less, and hearing what they have to say is a skill worth having.
Knowledge and tact to offer a tailored solution based on client needs.
A problem-solving mind that is invested in helping people with their challenges.
Resilience to bounce back because you’ll get a lot of no’s in a sales role, but that’s okay.
Confidence to push back no’s by carefully educating people with their best interest at heart.

Inexperienced sales candidates can:

Use the tools available online, forums, and groups to build skills. LinkedIn and offline events are very beneficial to network and speak to other sales professionals. Similar entry-level jobs such as pre-sales or account manager roles, customer services/success and executive roles can help get a foot in the door. An extra tip is to look out for opportunities within your current organization which may be easier to get into. Showing a proven record of generating revenue or exceeding targets, even in other fields is very key.

Sales employers ought to be:

Open to people who want to work on a more flexible basis. People want more flexibility to work remotely. Be open and honest about salaries and commission structures. Sales candidates are usually money motivated. If they can’t see how they will earn money, and progress, they will not apply or they will apply elsewhere. Set sales targets that are realistic and achievable. A healthy sales work/life balance can be tough, communicating how their business is striving to change that stereotypical culture shows that they value going the extra mile to support their employees. To help with this they can offer health and wellbeing-related workplace perks. Further support with working from home office setups can also help ensure they can work comfortably. All in all, thinking outside the box to appeal to relevant candidates is important.