Set of skills
TYPICAL C-level positions such as chief executive officer, chief information officer, chief marketing and sales officer and chief financial officer require above-average sales acumen. That is the finding of the research report titled “Business Skills that set high-performing organisations apart” which can be accessed at www.amanet.com.
According to the report, companies that find innovative ways to capture and engage their customers are increasing their market share, revenue and profits in this age of the empowered customer. The largest skills differentiator between C-level executives in these top companies and their low performing competitors, is the concentration of talent with higher sales acumen.
Over 7 000 candidates from both high and low performance companies were assessed as part of the report research. The study analysed participants’ scores over 37 competency areas and the outcome showed that employees from high performing companies outperformed their low performing counterparts in a number of key competencies. High performance companies are led by teams who possess certain skills sets that provide them with the competitive edge.
By comparing employee performance scores with company performance, the researchers came up with a set of five core skills which enable companies to excel: Sales acumen – 32.3 percent higher. Strategic planning – 27.1 percent higher. Negotiating skills – 27 percent higher. Financial skills – 25.3 percent higher. Marketing skills – 21.8 percent higher.
Once managers reach the C-level, they find that their technical and functional expertise do not matter as much.
This means that the skills that help managers to get to the top are no longer sufficient once they enter the C-suite. If you take the chief information officer position, for example, the skills that she would require, would focus less on technical IT capabilities than on how to create a holistic IT system across multiple organisational platforms supporting an increase in sales, revenue growth and market share.
Chief information officers with sales and marketing experience are in high demand by recruiters. Traditional sales and marketing managers are struggling to deal with the new age of the customer.
Enter the chief information officer, who has the technical savvy and sales acumen to align the business technology systems and processes to attract, service and retain customers. Sales acumen is not measured by having sales knowledge. Executives must be proficient in nuanced persuasion skills like sales, influencing others, political savvy and presentations which are key to inspiring people to follow.
They must have the intellectual ability, mental dexterity and versatility to interact with a wide segment of the business stakeholders. Technological savvy is also key to understanding the new age customer who wants to be engaged on a number of platforms and demands a high-quality customer experience.