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It’s been 20 months since some of us saw work colleagues, customers, suppliers and prospects face to face. And with numerous studies suggesting habit forming appears anywhere from 21 to 66 days – it begs the question, have we all formed new habits and if we have – are they the right habits required to perform our roles?

We’ve experienced a severe drought in human contact, in creating engaging relationships and in being able to interact without the restrictions of being on mute. Can we be sure we’ve retained the skills to once again engage with people in a work capacity in a meeting, over an actual coffee, or at a dinner and even at a small- or large-scale expo?

During life in lockdown, we have all had to learn to do our jobs in a different way, to adapt, to evolve and to learn new ways of interacting, communicating and engaging. We’ve also more than likely learnt new ways of living and adopted new habits too – some good and some perhaps more difficult to change once we revert back to a more office-based life. So, as we revert gradually back to our old (ish) ways and the coffee meets return, the last few months of the year become busier than a bank holiday beer garden; it’s time to reassess and redefine Who, How and What we want our customer facing roles to look like and what skills are required in living in a more omnichannel world.

Taking an omnichannel approach is no longer a nice to have element to any customer facing role as our audiences are now looking for engagements in multiple ways. The days of consuming information from one source is long gone and so our customer facing people, who can only operate in a singular manner i.e., face, phone or email must upskill to survive.

So, ask yourself this – have you equipped your team with all the tools they need to achieve the targets you’ve set? Now it’s crucial you’re honest here… When was the last time you conducted a skills gap analysis on all your customer facing roles, especially your sales team?

As a sector with limited or no entry criteria, Sales is a role many consider in their repertoire, yet few consider the key skills required. Six and a half years ago, I launched my first business – a sales organisation aiming to combat this very issue. To professionalise the sales industry and supply SMEs with assessed, qualified and trained sales people. Based on our first-hand experience and to support the very market we operate in, we have designed a sales gap analysis for the SME market, allowing you to understand the starting point for all your customer service and sales professionals. Leading onto a recommended annual Individual Development Plan. A continuous programme to ensure they learn, develop, experience and progress. Designed by sales professionals for sales professionals. The Just Williams Sales Academy’s purpose is to educate and create a recognised sales platform to help elevate and support all those in a customer facing role, endorsed by the Institute of Sales Professionals.

Working in partnership with the Institute of Sales Professionals, offering sales training and membership discounts our ambition is to create the largest training platform for sales and customer facing roles in the UK market. And we would love you to join us, listen to our podcasts, engage with our community, share amongst leaders and let’s help establish sales as a leading profession recognised in the manner it deserves.

Sales modules are now live – click here to visit the website.