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SALESLEADERSHIPCOMPETENCY FRAMEWORKSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 20181
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe CPSA Institute would like to acknowledge thefollowing volunteer executive committee members in thedevelopment of the Sales Leadership Competency Profile.David JeffreyRegional Vice President, Commercial SalesSales ForceNick AllaireRegional Sales Director BC & Prairies,Xerox Canada Ltd.Dr. Karen Peesker, PhD, MBA Sales ProgramDeveloper, Ted Rogers School of Management,Ryerson UniversityDoug LyonsConsultant, Ld3 InnovationsJesse CournoyerManager of Sales – NA and EMEA, VidyardJohn RothwellVice President, National Business Development,National Bank FinancialLorella DepieriDirector, Schulich Executive Education Centre,Schulich School of Business, York UniversityScott GilmoreSVP Sales & Marketing, DoubleDigit SalesKatie ChristopherDirector of Sales, Vison CriticalMichelle RussellHead of Business Development,420 Advisory ManagementWe would also like to thank the many sales experts who participated in our national focusgroup meetings. Canadian Professional Sales Association, October 2018All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without theprior written permission of the Canadian Professional Sales Association.2SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
SALES LEADERSHIPCOMPETENCY PROFILEWHAT IS A COMPETENCY?A grouping of related knowledge, skills, and abilities that enable a professional to performeffectively in a certain aspect of their job, is called a competency. An important aspectof competence is the idea of performance; the observable actions taken by a competentprofessional which require some combination of knowledge, skill, or understanding to doso effectively. In the sales leadership competency framework, performance indicators aredocumented within each of the sub-skill areas and are organized to present a thorough andcomprehensive summary of the skills required to be a proficient sales leader through thecompletion of requisite education programs and 2 years of on-the-job experience in teammanagement or leadership.These indicators are denoted as numbered statements that begin with a “P” for “Performance”and outline the body of skills pertinent to proficient practice.The necessary knowledge that a competent sales leaders would processes in order to performcertain aspects of their job are denoted as numbered statements that begin with a “K” for“Knowledge” in each competency area.WHAT ARE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKS USED FOR?The Competency framework describes the competencies for the CPSA Institute graduatedcertification program. Competency frameworks:› Provide guidance to post-secondary educators and other training providers who wishto design programs that produce graduates with the skill sets that employers demand;› Guide professional designation candidates to understand what is expected of themwhen enrolled in a CPSA Institute accredited education program;› Guide the development of job descriptions and interview tools; and,› Are the basis for professional designation examinations.30 questions. 30 minutes.Learn more about your skills andimprove your performance with ourassessment at CPSA.com/assessmentSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 20183
TABLE OF CONTENTSSALES PLANNING. 51.1 Engage in Strategic Planning.51.2 Planning Accounts, Territories, and Targets.61.3 Execute with Excellence.6BUILD AND LEAD THE SALES TEAM. 72.1 Staff Planning.72.2 Recruit and Select Sales Team Members.72.3 Onboard Sales Team Members.82.4 Recognize and Incent Sales Performance.8COACH FOR SALES SUCCESS. 93.1 Support Sales Enablement.93.2 Coach to the Sales Process .93.3 Coach for Sales Performance.10SUPPORT THE CYCLE OF SELLING. 114.1 Establish Sales Process. 114.2 Support Strategic Client Relationships. 114.3 Engage in Sales Communication.124.4 Support Negotiations.12BUSINESS ACUMEN. 135.1 Understand your Company.135.2 Understand your Clients Business.135.3 Demonstrate Financial Literacy.145.4 Demonstrate Legal Literacy.14SALES TECHNOLOGY. 156.1 Align Sales Technology to Strategy.156.2 Leverage Technology for Data and Decision Making.166.3 Lead Technological Change in Sales.16PROFESSIONAL SALES CONDUCT. 177.1 Act with Integrity.177.2 Drive Results.187.3 Work as Part of a Team (Collaboration).187.4 Engage in Continuous Learning.197.5 Develop Personal Brand.194SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
SALES PLANNING1.1 ENGAGE IN STRATEGIC PLANNINGA competent practitioner must be able to:P1. Communicate organization vision, values, goal and measures to sales teamP2. Leverage strategic planning models to guide sales planningP3. Analyze current and future state of the industry environment, including:› future direction of your competitors and potential threats or opportunitiesP4. Research basic sales organization pitfalls and challengesP5. Leverage creative thinking to identify new solutionsP6. Communicate upward and throughout the organization to inform organizational planningP7. Adapt to new information and create changeP8. Develop implementation and communication plan to educate team members about selling strategyP9. Ensure alignment of selling strategy to company or product roadmapP10. Engage in process of market segmentation aligning service and product offerings to market segmentP11. Build organizational buy in and supports for selling success to ensure that all other departmentsare behind the selling vision and prioritiesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Corporate business plansK2. Customer growth and retention versus new customer acquisitionK3. Strategic Analysis models (e.g. SWOT – Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,and Threats)SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 20185
1.2 PLANNING ACCOUNTS, TERRITORIES, AND TARGETSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. C onduct internal analysis and performance history by product line, territory, sales person,and account as requiredP2. Analyze customer buying behavior to inform sales planningP3. Know the total potential for your accountsP4. Develop and implement process to identify top customersP5. Develop and implement a strategic account planning process to map out customer-specificsales plansP6. Developing a predictive model to indicate pipeline health, including:› win rates;› average deal size;› average sales cycle length; or› others variables for your business, if required.P7. Set and negotiate realistic, achievable targetsP8. Provide opportunity for bottom-up goal setting within the sales teamA competent practitioner must know:K1. SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-bound goal statementsK2. Sales process models, stages, and definitions1.3 EXECUTE WITH EXCELLENCEA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. C ollaborate with sales team and cross-functional team members to set leading and lagging indicatorsfor sales performanceP2. Identify sources for lead generation and work with marketing teams to alignP3. Lead sales team in the development of target customer list, priority market segments,regions and accountsP4. Delegate actions to team members with aligned skill sets, experience, and capabilitiesP5. Identify potential bottlenecks to success and work to eliminate themP6. Engage and collaborate with marketing activities for planning go-to-market strategiesP7. ssess errors in planning and implementation, learn from mistakes, and adapt plans throughoutAthe yearP8. E stablish ongoing communication and collaboration cadence with marketing to support sales successthroughout execution of the planP9. C ommunicate openly and transparently about how the sales organization is performing in good timesand bad timesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Key performance indicators and business objectivesK2. Organization structure and cross functional teamsK3. Leading and lagging performance indicatorsK4. Organizational strategy, strategic sales plans implementation plans and tactics6SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
UILD AND LEADBTHE SALES TEAM2.1 STAFF PLANNINGA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Recommend size and structure of sales force required to achieve goals (e.g. Inbound, outbound,sales support, etc.)P2. Align salesforce planning to lifestyle and preferences of current and future workforce demographicsP3. Plan across cultural and generational characteristics of sales team membersP4. Plan for a multitude of motivators including compensation, competition, reward, recognition andaltruistic motivatorsP5. Identify opportunities for team selling and foster cross functional relationshipsP6. Develop plan for sales force skill developmentA competent sales leader must know:K1. Sales force job descriptionsK2. Cultural differences within the workplaceK3. Demographic differences within the workplace2.2 RECRUIT AND SELECT SALES TEAM MEMBERSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Develop job description and specificationsP2. Identify suitable candidates for team member selection committeesP3. Establish job candidate selection criteriaP4. Source and screen job candidatesP5. Engage with human resources supports to prepare and present job offersP6. Engage in contract negotiationP7. Adhere to regulatory requirements in employee recruitment, selection, and orientationA competent sales leader must know:K1. Interview questions and style guidesK2. Job description templatesSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 20187
2.3 ONBOARD SALES TEAM MEMBERSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Establish job performance expectations and employee development plansP2. Develop and implement the onboarding journey with sufficient resources and supports to ensureevery new team members is set-up for success in their roleP3. Clarify performance standards and expectation of team membersP4. Support transition of client files and knowledge between sales professionalsP5. Ensure sales foundation training occursP6. Ensure client call feedback is incorporated during first period of onboardingP7. Review and update onboarding processes to ensure the time required to achieve proficiencyof role is addressed and reflective of unique industry, corporate, or product line requirementsP8. Establish processes that ensure sales people achieve proficiency in a defined periodA competent sales leader must know:K1. Organization onboarding resources2.4 RECOGNIZE AND INCENT SALES PERFORMANCEA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Identify potential misalignment between sales team behavior, incentive programs, and organizationgoals and objectivesP2. Select performance metrics that will be used for monitoring performance and understand how theseinfluence behaviors and link to compensationP3. Implement reward and recognition programsP4. Understand changing team member priorities and incorporate into incentive planningP5. Demonstrate to team members how compensation plan aligns with goals and objectivesP6. Identify short term and long-term incentive plansP7. Ensure sales people are aware behavioral and performance expectations, how they will be measured,observed, and recognizedA competent sales leader must know:K1. Short- and long-term incentive opportunitiesK2. Organization policy and procedureK3. Intrinsic human motivators8SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
COACH FORSALES SUCCESS3.1 SUPPORT SALES ENABLEMENTA competent sales leader must be able to:P9. Identify the cadence for individual skills development most appropriate for your sales team membersP10. Implement sales tools and processes to accelerate sales performanceP11. Identify business challenges that can be addressed through short and long-term training versusprocess improvementsP12. Engage team members in delivering sales enablement activities to leverage real world examples,storytelling and experience sharing as part of team learningP13. Implement ongoing training and skill development solutions to ensure culture of continuous learningand improves sales performanceP14. Establish linkages and ongoing communication with marketing team members to leverage toolsand resources for sales enablementA competent sales leader must know:K1. Sales training and development resourcesK2. Process for documenting and sharing experiencesK3. Training and development resources3.2 COACH TO THE SALES PROCESSA competent practitioner must be able to:P1. Provide specific feedback on areas to improve performance and keep team members engagedP2. Coach to the sales process and professional skill development separatelyP3. Establish performance expectations and metrics at every stage of the sales cycleP4. Schedule time for reviews of sales performance at various stages of the sales cycleP5. Ensure coaching time is allocated to individuals at all performance levels from poor performersto top performersP6. Assess individual team member capabilities at various stages of the sales process or productline knowledgeP7. Create a safe and open environment for dialogue with every sales team memberP8. Demonstrate accountability for delivering consequences for both ve & - ve outcomesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Sales Process, stages, definitionsK2. Performance metricsSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 20189
3.3 COACH FOR SALES PERFORMANCEA competent practitioner must be able to:P1. Identified individual team member needsP2. Establish coaching and performance feedback cadenceP3. Establish opportunities for peer mentoring and reverse mentoringP4. Participate on sales calls and provide feedback for improved performanceP5. Collect feedback about sales team members’ performance form others within the organizationP6. Conduct formal performance appraisalsP7. Discuss career goals with every team member to inform analysis of goal criteriaand development planningP8. Assess sales team member readiness for sales performance coachingP9. Determine best model for sales performance coaching based on individual team member needsP10. Ask specific, situational, and open-ended questions to guide development discussionP11. Share your own experiences and lessons learned with team membersP12. Engage in personality assessments for yourself and the teamA competent sales leader must know:K1. Emotional IntelligencesK2. Performance development modelsK3. Processes for coaching in the fieldK4. Personality assessments10SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
SUPPORT THE CYCLEOF SELLING4.1 ESTABLISH SALES PROCESSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Assess customer journey through the sales funnelP2. Develop and execute sales process to align with goals, objectives and priorities set in planningP3. Assess, update, or implement mechanisms in the sales cycle which put client needs at the forefrontof sales team conversation and process mappingP4. Evaluate various sales models and implement the best fit for your businessP5. Adapt sales cycle and metrics to align with organizational objectives and unique characteristicsof your product, service, or industryP6. Lead the sales cycle within your organization with attention to economic drivers, purchase influencers,and key personas within client relationships.P7. Empower sales team to own the entire sales cycle and customer journeyA competent sales leader must know:K1. Sales methodologies and modelsK2. Stages of the sales cycle, naming and definitionsK3. Establish methodology for sales team to document client organization structureand decision-making authorities4.2 SUPPORT STRATEGIC CLIENT RELATIONSHIPSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Work with team members to ensure that top clients have specific measurable plansfor maintenance and growthP2. Participate in client meetings to support team members with top clients or potential clientsas requiredP3. Establish methodology for sales team to document client organization structureand decision-making authoritiesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Client relationship management system or databaseK2. Client’s social style, e.g. analytical, driver, expressive, amiableK3. Cultural differencesK4. Demographic differencesK5. Importance of customer experience to build loyaltySALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 201811
4.3 ENGAGE IN SALES COMMUNICATIONA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Ask clarifying an open-ended questionP2. Repeat what you’ve heard to clarify understandingP3. Assess and adapt communication to personality typesP4. Deliver candid, open, and honest responses in all conversationsP5. Write reports, business cases, memos, policies, and proceduresP6. Adapt communication style and technique to a variety of communication channels includingtechnology enabled verbal, written, or face to face communication.P7. Deliver presentations which include appropriate presentation materials, storytelling, hand-outs,or whiteboarding as appropriate for the audience and settingP8. Facilitate meeting room management for desired outcomeA competent sales leader must know:K1. Presentation stylesK2. Verbal and non-verbal communication techniquesK3. Written communication format requirements, e.g. letter, proposalK4. Elements of report writingK5. Communication tools available, e.g. email, webcast, conference callK6. Emotional Intelligence4.4 SUPPORT NEGOTIATIONSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Support complex sales with multiple buyers and approval processesP2. Support sales teams through deal negotiation and help to overcome potential challengesP3. Achieve consensus on sticking points throughout the sales processP4. Handle conflicts and differences toward resolutionP5. Establish feedback loop to ensure customer feedback informs continuous improvementfor your entire sales team and organizationA competent sales leader must know:K1. Negotiation principlesK2. Concession strategiesK3. Risk management principlesK4. Principals and methods of conflict resolution12SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
BUSINESS ACUMEN5.1 UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPANYA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Develop organization core values, goals and objectives to empower salesforce to position solutionsto clients, for example:› Understand the competitive position of your own organization› Understand unique value propositionP2. Ensure that team members follow industry or corporate standards and best practicesP3. Participate in the development of industry standards and best-practices while developing yourprofessional network within the industry segmentP4. Comply with corporate policiesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Organization structuresK2. Business basicsK3. Competition offeringsK4. Value proposition5.2 UNDERSTAND YOUR CLIENTS BUSINESSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Analyze impact of industry trends on customer business objectives or challengesP2. Research customer competitorsP3. Participate in industry events important to your customer and the industry they work withinP4. Navigate complex customer challenges or goals to assist in adapting service offering to bettermeet their needsA competent sales leader must know:K1. Department objectivesK2. Common marketplace needs and solutionsSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 201813
5.3 DEMONSTRATE FINANCIAL LITERACYA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Develop and manage sales department budgetsP2. Monitor expenses (actual vs. planned)P3. Develop and use sales reportsP4. Forecast sales for your areas of responsibilityP5. Recognize all aspects of the costs related to a sale, e.g. cost of goods sold,wages (variable compensation), organizational and 3rd party expensesP6. Forecast deal profitability with complex variables, e.g. rebate, investment vs returnP7. Recognize total and lifetime value of a clientP8. Remain current on the financial trends influencing own industry and client’s industryP9. Calculate profit margin of different product lines and sales dealsA competent sales leader must know:K1. Budgetary Expense categoriesK2. Probability, Risk, and Sales Projection formulasK3. Cost of goods and servicesK4. Contribution marginK5. RevenueK6. ProfitabilityK7. Discounting5.4 DEMONSTRATE LEGAL LITERACYA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Foster relationship with legal departments for support on client contract negotiation andimplementationP2. Monitor and enforce regulatory and compliance requirements within specific industries or regionsP3. Understand government legislation and governing bodies that impact industry sales, products, orservices as requiredP4. Develop sales-related terms and conditions in collaboration with other departmentsP5. Leverage templates and contractsP6. Involve legal expertise when requiredA competent sales leader must know:K1. Federal, provincial, or territorial legislation as required for organizational contextK2. How different cultures view contracts and legal systemK3. Own company’s legal templates and documentsK4. Terms and conditionsK5. Payment termsK6. Purchase orders14SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
SALESTECHNOLOGY6.1 ALIGN SALES TECHNOLOGY TO STRATEGYA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Assess new opportunities for technology in salesP2. Encourage team members to identify, assess, and share technologies that will support various stagesof the sales cycleP3. Ensure technological change recommendations are aligned to strategy, vision, goals, and objectivesof your organizationP4. Act to learn about new technology and develop network of technological resources, for example:› blogs or vlogs that are industry specificP5. Identify and prioritize recommendations for sales force automation (roles or processes) to maximizetime spent on high value activitiesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Variety of sales related technology› Artificial intelligence› Prospect management software› Customer relationship software› Presentation software› Client intelligence software› Software for sales process automationK2. Organization’s security policiesK3. Implications of technology on customersK4. Hardware and devises to support sales processK5. Technology Return on Investment calculationSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 201815
6.2 LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY FOR DATA AND DECISION MAKINGA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Identify where new technology can be leveraged to generate insights:› Generating insights to understand organizational sales performance› Generating customer insightsP2. Synthesize data, findings, and support team through elimination of irrelevant data (data pollution)P3. Integrate data analysis into sales planning and executionP4. Support data-driven decision making throughout the sales cycleP5. Harness, where appropriate, technologies for social selling, artificial intelligence or data analyticsto improve sales processA competent sales leader must know:K1. Client intelligence models and methodologiesK2. Sources of quantitative and qualitative dataK3. Methods of documenting client data6.3 LEAD TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN SALESA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Anticipate and adapt to an increasing rate of change in sales technologyP2. Participate in sales technology implementation projectsP3. Engage with cross functional team members required to ensure sales technology adoption withinyour organizationP4. Develop meeting and communication cadence with IT or other operations teams to ensuretechnology implementation issues are discussed and addressed proactivelyP5. Monitor technology implementation and support changing processes to ensure intended outcomesare realized for improved sales performanceA competent sales leader must know:K1. Project planning and millstonesK2. Cross-functional team communication methodsK3. Organization’s policies and procedures16SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
PROFESSIONALSALES CONDUCT7.1 ACT WITH INTEGRITYA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Transparently balance customer and company needsP2. Develop an open and transparent sales team cultureP3. Foster an environment where individuals are comfortable presenting their concernsP4. Act in the best interests of the company, the community and the environmentP5. Interpret policies and procedures for the companyP6. Comply with legislation and develop compliance best practicesP7. Interpret new legislation and its impact on current processes and proceduresP8. Exhibit fairness and transparency in all transactions and interactions, for example:› represent capabilities and conditions accurately, without deception› remain objective, e.g. set aside personal opinions and biasesP9. Use ethical principles in decision making processesP10. Anticipate and address situations that may create ethical dilemmasP11. Participate in development of company code of ethics/conduct based on analysisof potential dilemmaswithin sales teamsA competent sales leader must know:K1. Code of ethics or professional conductK2. Industry standardsK3. Company brand standardsK4. Organization’s policies and proceduresK5. Potential impact on business due to public perception of unethical behaviorSALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 201817
7.2 DRIVE RESULTSA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Demonstrate ownership for client and organizational successP2. Hold teams and individuals accountableP3. Manage your time and attitudesP4. Establish principles and discipline to stay the courseP5. Deploy influencing strategies to achieve business goalsP6. Balance urgency and accuracyP7. Gain trust and respect for proactively driving results for assigned areas within the overall businessP8. Determine the timeframe to meet deliverables and regularly meet commitmentsP9. Support team in meeting commitments in agreed upon timeframesA competent sales leader must know:K1. Company expectationsK2. Client’s expectationsK3. Methods and approaches to self-disciplineK4. Approaches to stress management7.3 WORK AS PART OF A TEAM (COLLABORATION)A competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Evaluate effectiveness of collaborationP2. Manage upward communication, sharing of news throughout the companyP3. Engage the right people (SME’s – engineers, consultants)P4. Engage team members across the organizationP5. Leverage diverse perspectivesP6. Seek team members’ ideas and opinions to implement in solution creationP7. Provide constructive feedback to team membersA competent sales leader must know:K1. Organization structures and chartsK2. Cross-functional teamsK3. Expertise of different business lined (eg. legal, engineering, marketing, finance)18SALES LEADER COMPETENCY PROFILE CPSA.COM CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL SALES ASSOCIATION, OCTOBER 2018
7.4 ENGAGE IN CONTINUOUS LEARNINGA competent sales leader must be able to:P1. Manage your professional developmentP2. Assess your own management skillsP3. Develop personal development plans aligned to new skill development priorities or organizational goalsand objectivesP4. Leverage tools, resources, and solicit feedback toward self-awarenessP5. Share with others lessons learned
development of the Sales Leadership Competency Profile. David Jeffrey Regional Vice President, Commercial Sales Sales Force Dr. Karen Peesker, PhD, MBA Sales Program Developer, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University Jesse Cournoyer Manager of Sales - NA and EMEA, Vidyard Lorella Depieri Director, Schulich Executive Education Centre,
