The increasing demand for the 70,000 products originating from the chemical industry has created a highly competitive landscape, with companies in the chemical sector having to adapt to regional and global competition through their downstream value chain.

The volatility of the chemical market means that businesses need to fluidly carry out industry best practice and apply the latest available software technology. To maximise this move towards efficiency and productivity, it is necessary now more than ever to view sales and marketing functions as an investment, applying the same level of scrutiny and commitment to these areas as to the rest of process management.

Successful adaptation requires three major factors to get the most value from operations and to meet customer demand:

1. Operational efficiencies
2. Streamlined processes
3. Appropriate skills

Operational Efficiencies

By investing in optimization software, companies can increase reliability, reduce costs and create greater operational efficiencies in production and supply chain management. They can also embrace advanced integrated software solutions to empower staff to optimize operations and take advantage of market opportunities.

Streamlined Processes

Operational improvements often go undetected because of an over-reliance on software solutions that are generic, outdated, or poorly integrated. The fast-pace of the technology landscape today has changed the way business is done, as well as the nature of the challenges faced by companies in the chemicals sector.

Appropriate Skills

Customers have high expectations of the salespeople they deal with, and require them to expertly clarify the pros and cons of different software and adapt the core features to their individual needs. Therefore, the best individuals are commonly those who have technical engineering backgrounds having laid a strong foundation to build solid sales skills upon. There is a need for technical information and impartial reasoned analysis in this area of sales, rather than just an ability to persuade a customer.

It’s difficult enough to find salespeople with the right talents, let alone those who also possess the technical knowledge to sell complex software solutions. Moreover, it’s an extremely competitive market for salespeople right now, and getting a strong candidate shortlist together can be a difficult task in itself. But those who secure the individuals with the right skills get the best possible results.

While hiring an experienced sales person with combined technical and commercial expertise does require more of an investment on your part, it’s a solid investment that will have measurable returns.