To ask a customer a tough question about their budget, which do you think would be most required – WILL or SKILL? Which would be needed most in order to secure 10 new clients in 2021?

Both will and skill are needed in order to be a successful Sales professional – and a lack of either one will show in sales performance. Will is an individual’s desire & commitment to the next level of sales success based on attitude, incentives, confidence, and personal feelings to achieve this success level. Skill is the combination of a Sales Professional’s aptitude, natural talent, sales training and experience.

So is WILL or SKILL more important in order to finish off 2020 strong and accelerate the recovery? 

If a salesperson has low WILL, it is attitude related and does not mean that they are lacking any technical sales skills or are not capable of sales success. Lower will may be caused by fatigue, frustration, anger, or any multitude or external factors including Covid, a personal situation or medical issue. Regardless of the reason for lack of will, an empathetic, psychological approach and motivational strategies are best used by Sales Leaders to address it and help to shift attitudes in a positive direction.

A simple way to increase the will of a sales professional would be through the implementation of goal setting! Setting goals around a specific activity or step of the sales process that they don’t necessarily enjoy or feel motivated to complete can dramatically improve their performance by creating accountability.

Sales Professionals who are motivated but lack technical sales skills may simply need additional resources, training or support in their role to be successful. Small sales skill-gaps can often be easily closed with proper training, tools, and healthy communication with Sales Leader support. Skills are often easier to improve than will as adjusting an individual’s will requires an attitude shift from within. If you notice a Sales Team Member is underperforming or not hitting their goals, Sales Leaders should have a conversation to confirm willingness and drive to upskill in the job to improve their sales performance.

If both will and skill are lacking, try addressing the lack of skill first, as it can in turn improve one’s will as they become more confident in their abilities. Overall, a good balance of WILL and SKILL is necessary to become a high-performing salesperson and finishing off 2020 strong.

If both will and skill are lacking, try addressing the lack of skill first, as it can in turn improve one’s will as they become more confident in their abilities. Share on X

Sales evaluations can be a fantastic tool to measure the Will and Skill of a salesperson, sales team, or potential new hire to show you where there may be low commitment, desire, or perhaps just lack of training that may have an impact on their performance.

The WILL Competencies Measured by OMG Evaluations:

  • Desire
  • Commitment
  • Outlook
  • Motivation
  • Responsibility

SKILL Competencies Measured by OMG Evaluations:

  • Hunting
  • Relationship building
  • Qualifying
  • Consultative
  • Closing
  • Presenting
  • Negotiation
  • Reaching decision makers

Sales DNA Competencies Measured by OMG Evaluations:

  • Coachability
  • Handles Rejection
  • Controls emotion
  • Comfortable discussing money
  • Technology/Video savvy

Schedule a consultative conversation here to learn more about OMG Evaluations and how you can improve the WILL and SKILL of your sales talent!