Soft skills are no longer just nice-to-have skills in sales. Rather they are business essentials. Research indicates that 85% of career success hinges on well-developed soft skills such as communication, empathy, and relationship-building. Unfortunately, many sales teams, despite their technical skills, struggle to close deals because they lack these critical abilities.
As many sales gurus say soft skills are among the most desired yet underdeveloped attributes in sales professionals. It often leads to missed opportunities and stagnant pipelines, as happened with Emma’s team.
Crisis Point: Facing Downsizing
Emma, a high-performing sales director in a tech startup that was in a high growth trajectory, had always been a successful leader, but she began to notice a shift in her team’s performance.
She realized that a lack of soft skills was now prevalent among most of her team members—a stark contrast to the earlier days when salespeople met prospects face-to-face. In the current hybrid work environment, with most interactions happening through virtual meetings, the shift was evident.
Communication had weakened, and empathy was in short supply. These crucial skills, essential for turning hesitant prospects into loyal customers, were missing. As a result, the ability to build meaningful relationships with potential clients had deteriorated, causing deals to stall or, worse, fall apart entirely.
For Emma, this was devastating—not only was she losing valuable team members, but the remaining team now had to shoulder even more responsibilities. Her ability to guide her team properly was compromised.
Seeking a Solution: Realizing the Need for Change
Feeling stretched too thin, Emma realized she couldn’t continue leading in the same way. Her instinct was to support her team, but the overwhelming workload left her with no time to coach or mentor effectively. Something had to change—either in how her team operated or how she led them.
Emma began researching platforms designed to improve sales performance and management under constrained circumstances. She attended webinars, read case studies, and reached out to her network for recommendations and that is how she came to know about Numly.
Emma decides to onboard Numly.
Rebuilding and Optimizing the Team
With the right tools in place, the performance of Emma’s team gradually improved their performance. 85% of her team that once struggled now shows signs of progress due to more personalized training and targeted goals. Soon, the company begins to recover its lost revenue, and Emma’s leadership feels reinvigorated. Though the team is smaller, they are now more productive and cohesive than before.
What Numly offered for Emma and her team
AI-powered Sales Coaching & Learning Pathways: Emma could see immediate improvements in her team’s skill levels, as the AI dynamically creates learning paths to develop soft skills like empathy, communication, and consultative selling, which are crucial for closing deals. her team becomes more autonomous in learning and improving their performance.
Dynamic Sales Skills Assessments:
Micro-learning Content powered by Generative AI: Her team members can now receive bite-sized, just-in-time learning content that addresses specific soft skills required to resolve issues with clients, fostering better communication and problem-solving.
AI-Powered Coaching Network: Emma’s overwhelmed state alleviated by tapping into an AI-powered coaching network, where her sales reps connected with industry peers and coaches who are better equipped to offer specific guidance.
AI-Powered CoPilot for Managers: Numly’s CoPilot helped Emma reduce the administrative workload associated with tracking her team’s progress and identifying skill gaps.
Simple Dashboards for Managers: Emma could monitor her team’s development and performance with an easy-to-use dashboard, giving her actionable insights. She didn’t have to rely on HR approvals or cumbersome processes, freeing up more time for strategic decision-making.
Rebuilding and Optimizing the Team
Emma’s story highlights how soft skills coaching can dramatically improve sales performance, turning stalled deals into successes. In today’s sales environment, where technical skills are standard, it’s the mastery of soft skills that distinguishes top performers.
Using the power of AI, not only did Numly bring executive sales coaching to every sales rep in Emma’s team, It also helped create a more productive and engaged team without the heavy administrative burden, ultimately leading to higher sales and better results across the board.
Discover how Numly’s AI-powered soft skills coaching can turn your sales reps into top performers and drive your team to success.
Start your journey today—schedule a demo and experience the Numly difference for yourself!
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