A sales competency model is a written set of the skills a sales role needs, each described in levels a manager can observe and mark on a live call.
Writing and using the model
Enablement writes the model per role, usually five to ten competencies such as discovery, qualifying, reaching the economic buyer and negotiating, each with levels from 1 to 5. It becomes the standard for hiring, onboarding, coaching and certification, so everyone means the same thing by "good at discovery".
The test of a model is whether two managers marking the same call agree. In our call-scoring research, two trained experts marking the same calls disagreed on 18% of scores. The same research found what makes levels easier to mark. Textbook descriptions of good behavior added nothing. The assessors' own short reasons for why a real call sat at a level, which they called marker reasons, lifted our AI checklist model's fit with human scores from 0.62 to 0.72, the biggest single gain in the program (field guide). Write each level with a marker reason beside it.
The second test is whether the competencies show up on live calls weeks after training. Transfer research finds that what happens back at work predicts whether a skill gets used better than the training itself does (Saks and Belcourt 2006, via our Game Winning Kickoffs field study). The wider picture is in our sales readiness guide.
Example
This example is illustrative. One competency, "quantifying the problem", for an account executive. Level 2: the rep asks about the problem but accepts "it's significant" as an answer. Level 3: the rep gets the buyer to estimate a cost. Level 4: the buyer states the cost in their own numbers and names who else feels it. Marker reason for level 4: "the number came from the buyer, unprompted by a figure from the rep." A manager reviewing a live call can mark it in a minute, and the rep knows what level 4 sounds like.
- 1Level 2Accepts "it's significant" as an answer
- 2Level 3Gets the buyer to estimate a cost
- 3Level 4Buyer states the cost and who else feels it
Related terms
- Sales readiness: whether a rep can do the job, which a competency model defines.
- How to certify sales reps: using the model to sign reps off.
- For enablers: scoring live calls against your standard.
FAQ
What competencies should a sales competency model include?
Usually five to ten skills the role uses on real deals, such as prospecting, discovery, qualifying, reaching the economic buyer, building a business case and negotiating. Start with one role and the skills that separate the reps who win from the ones who stall. Each needs levels a manager can mark.
How do you measure sales competencies?
Mark them on recorded live calls against written levels, with a reason for each level. Check that two managers marking the same call agree before trusting the scores. Certification scenarios show a rep can do it when asked; live calls show whether they do.
What is the difference between a competency model and a scorecard?
A competency model defines the skills for a whole role. A call scorecard applies a subset of them to one kind of call, such as discovery, with the levels written for that call. Teams often build scorecards from their competency model.