Report Reveals that CRM Proficiency is the Top Qualification Skill for Sales Director Role
Key Takeaways From the Study
Employers are looking for candidates who have:
- a higher education degree (in business or marketing)
- 5-6 years of sales experience
- technical skills, (in particular CRM software skillset)
Not surprisingly, we honed right in on that CRM statistic! It’s notable that tech savvy is crucial to sales roles. Almost a third of the respondents mandated CRM experience; in fact, other tech skills paled in comparison. Here are the findings:
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Technology Skills Preferred (Total Sample)
When a respondent listed a preference for certain technical skills, CRM software appeared every single time!
Technology Skills Preferred (Job Posts Preferring Skills)
“Among those listings that mentioned any technical skills whatsoever (29 percent), every single one asked that candidates exhibit proficiency using CRM systems,” said Jay Ivey, a market research associate at Software Advice, a digital resource for CRM software buyers.
“Employers know that bringing on candidates with CRM and sales technology experience will save them time and money in acclimation costs. They want to know that the person they hire will come in ready to sell on day one. For a leadership position like sales director, applicants will ideally have a good deal of experience using CRM from a managerial perspective. This would conceivably include keeping track of their team’s progress using pipeline reports and using forecasting tools to deliver revenue projections, rather than just entering contacts and deal notes.”
The report was compiled by analyzing 200 sales director job listings, pulled from online boards (including Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn, across the United States. Companies varied by size, specialty, and industry. Find the full recap post by Ashleigh Hover, Contributor at Software Advice, here.
