Are you Good Enough to Win the SVP Sales Job?

Are you Good Enough to Win the SVP Sales Job?:from Sales Force Effectiveness Blog by Matt Sharrers
In the next 3 months, interview activity for executive sales talent will increase. Why?  Because every year between July and October, companies recognize they are going to miss the topline number and new sales leadership is determined (often incorrectly) to be the answer. We don’t make the rules; we can however, help you position yourself in the best position possible to win the top sales job.
The impact for those of you aspiring for this role is simple; if you do not possess these traits, you will be passed over and be branded as a “good regional leader unable to take the top spot”. You have plateaued. You will be perceived as having reached your peak. You have allowed the market to outpace you.
Curious if you have what it takes? Take our VP of Sales Competency Assessment and measure yourself against your peers.

Below are 5 of the Must Haves:

1. Evolutionary Pace—What new capabilities have you acquired in the last 24 months and how have you monetized them in your current role? Business is moving faster and this pace is only accelerating. If you cannot outpace, let alone keep pace, the CEO is not interested because his sales force will lag.
2. Strategic Thinking—How did you align the corporate strategy with the sales strategy where you currently work? Can you crisply articulate a sales strategy that has evidence of being deployed and delivering a result?
3. Market Awareness—How did you show that your ability to listen to the market in your current role created a verifiable business result? What strategic shifts did you make as a result of changing customer demands?
4. Intellectual Curiosity—How did your curiosity about new opportunities in your current role drive measurable results? Or did you just salute and execute? CEOs are looking for inquisitive executive sales leaders that will provoke the organization to rethink the go to market strategy when they arrive. They don’t want somebody recycling strategies from their past life.
5. Collaborative—How did you work with other functional groups to drive the execution of the sales strategy in your past roles? What did you do to pull the organization with you vs. isolate the sales team as its own separate entity? CEO’s want influencers not bulls that “shatter the glass”.

Earlier this year, we profiled 15 VPs of Sales who had made the number and were implementing best practices at a rate better than their peers.  They possess these must haves. What other behaviors are you seeing in executive sales talent that is producing measurable results in 2012? There is a group of “A” players wanting to move to the top job that would benefit. Share your thoughts with us below.
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