Sales capability is usually treated as the combined talent, experience and personal ability of the sales team. Under the “people” model, much of the company’s capability resides in individuals, is impossible to shape and disappears when they leave.
We define sales capability differently. It is a company-owned asset independent of people: the architecture, language, learning system and management process that enable salespeople – and increasingly digital agents – to execute consistently and improve continuously. It has 4 parts.
1. Commercial Architecture
The company has a defined commercial architecture that establishes how opportunities should be created, developed and progressed. This supports accurate forecasting and helps management detect Risk-to-Revenue earlier.
2. Approved Commercial Language
The company has a clear, distinctive, but above all, an approved language that reflects its expertise, positioning and differentiation. Salespeople do not have to invent their own versions of the company’s value story.
3. Commercial Readiness Building
The company has a structured way to build seller understanding and conversational fluency through practice – and to measure when people are ready to conduct important customer conversations.
4. Commercial Execution Transfer
Managers have a practical way to transfer learning and know-how into live sales execution, compare performance with the company standard and drive continuous improvement.
The Philosophy of Sales Capability Thinking
Sales is becoming an expertise function.
The company defines approved answers to critical questions .
Hiring people is not the same as building capability.
Standards make capability measurable and improvable.
Learning has to move faster than the growth clock.
Capability ultimately has to show up in pipeline and conversion.
