There are 1.2 million sales professionals in Canada today – that’s 6.6% of the total Canadian workforce.
With so many Canadians working in sales, it’s a wonder that this significant portion of the economy is often overlooked – but not anymore.
The Canadian Government wants to double the number of high-growth organizations in Canada by 2025 – this will require strong, knowledgeable sales professionals, equipped with the necessary tools to lead them on the path to growth. The lofty goals for growth sparked a focus on understanding the ways that investment in the sales profession can support a high-growth economy in Canada. The CPSA Labour Market Research Committee shared their findings on this in the 2019 Sales Growth Report.
In this blog, I’ll be sharing a few need-to-know facts regarding Canada’s thirst for growth in the sales sector.
1. The Sales & Marketing professions have been among the top 5 most in-demand over the last 10 years.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, the future of Canadian sales professionals and the future of Canada’s economy closely correlate.
2. Over 74% of Canadian companies are trying to achieve high growth (+6.7% growth per year).
Are you among this 74% of the high growth companies?
3. Of the 74% of companies aiming for high-growth, 40% don’t have a strategic plan to achieve it.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Strategic planning plays a highly important role in the success of turning goals into reality. Your plan is your roadmap to success, keeping you on track and making sure you aren’t lost.
Over 74% of Canadian companies are trying to achieve high growth but 40% of them don't have a strategic plan in place to do so. Share on XPlans to achieve these high-growth goals consist of:
- Upselling to current clients
- Expanding territories
- Utilizing more marketing, communication, and analytical tools
Entering new industry segments
The Canadian government has chosen to invest significantly in the colleges and universities to create more accredited programs to create more interest and demand for sales professionals who are graduating and entering the workforce. 
What is your plan to become a high-growth company?
Here are 5 strategies to create a high growth company:
- Leadership Team – Are you poised for high growth?
- Existing Clients – The best and most effective way to grow your business is with your existing clients.
- Acquire New Business – Create a prospecting blitz with your sales team to find net new clients.
- Strengthen Your Sales Team – Invest in your team, even your seasoned veterans, to have more purposeful business conversations with your customers rather than product & price conversations. Begin developing a farm team with new college & university grads.
- Customer Service Team – They are talking to your customers every day and can be instrumental in growing your business.
Helping your customers to grow their business, will grow your business as well.
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.