Drive on to present sales as a force for good
Body for management in sector aims to tackle the skills shortage
THE Scottish economy will lose out unless action is taken to deal with a chronic skills shortage in the sales industry, the organisation behind a new campaign launching today has warned.
The Institute of Sales Management (ISM) has declared that company growth will be impeded unless steps are taken to fill the estimated 7,000 sales jobs that are currently available in Scotland.
The recently relaunched organisation has set up a series of committees that will work with communities across the country to tackle the issue, pledging to match candidates with companies and equip unemployed and disadvantaged people with the skills they need to build a career in sales.
ISM chief executive Jack Mizel admitted the sales industry has long been blighted by negative perceptions.
He believes it is “erroneous” that sales has never been same held in the same esteem as professions accountancy and law in the 100 years the Institute has been in existence. And he emphasised sales have a fundamental role to play in the economy, and never more so as the country grapples with difficult economic conditions.
Mr Mizel said: “If you consider it, there isn’t any business that takes place – no transaction takes place unless there is a buyer and seller. So sales is fundamentally important to the economy, and even more so in an economy that is not thriving in the way we all want it to be.”
Yet, in spite of the crucial role sales play, Mr Mizel admits there is a major skills gap to be filled.
Singling out the oil and gas industry, he said some sales staff “became very complacent” as crude prices soared before beginning to slump in 2014. He said some employees became more like “order takers than truly understand [ing] the process necessary to become great at sales.” He added: “Now, sales vacancies in Scotland have gone up, and there is a skills shortage of people who are able to fill that gap.
“And we at the ISM are able to provide that skill, that training and that feeling of belonging to an organisation that gives you, as a sales person, the recognition you deserve, as an ethical professional.”
Pressed on scandals such as the mass misselling of payment protection insurance by the major banks, Mr Mizel suggested such misconduct was more the fault of bad leadership for setting unrealistic sales targets without effective training, rather than a failure of sales staff.
Mr Mizel slammed such episodes as a “disgrace” but insisted they are also “completely avoidable”.
“When you consider the amount of money they get charged in fines, deservedly, if they spent but a fraction of that money in upskilling sales people, and giving them the tools they need to do their jobs properly, then misselling will be a thing of the past,” he said.
Mr Mizel added: “We are the antithesis of that kind of pushy, push product sales practice that is both ineffectual, unnecessary and completely wrong in our view.”
The committees set up by the Institute, chaired by the ISM’s Iain Rose, will aim to add to the tally of skilled sales personnel for companies to tap into in Scotland, while improving the chances for unemployed and disadvantaged people.
“If you consider all the skills and attributes you need to be a good sales person – you need to be a very good listener, to develop rapport, you need to be resilient and be a good communicator,” Mr Mizel said. “If you think about those things, they are fundamental life skills. They are not just business or sales skills, they are life skills.
“We believe those skills are completely transformational, and enable people to live great lives. And we want the ISM and sales people in general to be seen as a force for good in communities.”