Company Training. The two least exciting words to be joined together.
Nobody likes to spend two weeks in a training programme, coming out of it without any certification and feeling like you have not learnt anything. It’s a waste of time, especially when there are 101 other things on your to-do list.
And, even with the numerous training sessions (if any at all), many are left feeling unsupported at their workplace, with all that textbook theory at hand but having no clue how to put it into practice.
With globalisation, online, digital, virtual and borderless work, the local workforce now competes with a global talent pool. Singapore is respected for its high standards, and that is one way our local workforce can be differentiated globally. Singapore’s government has initiated, led and supported companies by providing grants and subsidies to beef up the workforce through skills’ development courses.
The road to being the best in the industry
Sales is an essential and evergreen function across all industries. We need sales trainers who have worked with various corporations, with real sales experience and track records to guide others. Apart from sales experience, they should also be professionally trained trainers and coaches.
But today, there is a lack of professionally trained sales trainers and coaches in the industry. Why so? For professional B2B sales, at least everyone from the ranks of sales professionals to account managers and customer success reps is involved. But the truth is, not all of them are good in the field, and they require experts and coaches with relevant specialisation experience.
APACMA’s sales industry-endorsed accredited certifications are aligned with current industry sales practices. The coaches are hand-picked across global industries according to their specialisations.
An organisation can tap into these resources as and when without having to invest in under-utilised full-time resources. The sales professional can then get back to the station, be coached, guided and return to the field at any time.
Adapting to the evolving needs of sales
The sales industry requires diverse specialisation requirements. Customer behaviours are unpredictable with a requirement for both online, offline and on-demand experience requirements. Templated sales methodologies do not apply to the current situation, and disparate sales tools are not helping customers with their stories.
There is a lack of skilled talent pool in the industry. While there are associations dedicated to sales industry professional development, their courses require active engagement and participation for the whole industry to be lifted by the tide. There are opportunities for more talents to be developed throughout the industry, with double-endorsed professional certifications needed to overcome talent shortages in the field.
Also Read: Why ClavystBio believes in life science as a key driver of Singapore’s economy in the future
The only way to compete with a global workforce is through acquiring skills aligned with industry standards and requirements – to have global expert coaches and mentors’ guidance to acquire a diverse global experience.
The growth of sales: What the future will hold
Five years from now, customers will depend on advanced intelligence systems to help them decide which supplier or solution is right for them, without needing to talk to an actual human salesperson. Everything will be automated, and self-facilitated on-demand and customers want the autonomy to make self-made decisions.
With the ease of technological simplification, such as the evolution of low code, no code platforms and integration tools, companies will need ready-made tools to help them design their own customer experiences without depending on third parties.
That being said, while technology will be ruling the world, humans will still value interactions with other humans, and might reach out to a human for complex sales guidance, local facilitations and enterprise-wide engagement needs. Companies will, therefore, also need to invest in strategic sales and innovative products and solutions to differentiate themselves.
APACSMA has evolved with the times of customer changes, evolving learner needs, technology advancements, emerging rules in the sales industry and content changes. While we will continue to support and change with the times, we also foresee local language training becoming another core focus area in the coming years.
One thing in common across all these markets locally, regionally or globally is that there is still space and opportunities to drive more talents into considering sales as a professional career option. There’s a need to develop sales skills to meet industry needs and to educate the industry at large on the importance of ethical sales, leadership sales training, continuous development, industry engagement and industry-endorsed certifications.
APACSMA is well-positioned to serve the industry and the evolving nature of sales in the future. The on-demand industry endorses sales roles-based certifications, and training, and APACSMA is here to support organisations and sales professionals in achieving their pipeline and revenue goals.
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