Irish technology companies are not developing effective long- term sales strategies because of a damaging fixation on meeting short-term targets, according to a new survey.
The complexities of settling on a formal sales policy remained beyond the grasp of many players in the sector, the Irish Software Association (ISA) sales and marketing capability study revealed.
However, firms that have thought through their sales strategies have seen revenues grow as a result, according to the association.
Of the 72 companies participating in the survey, 70 per cent said that they lacked the in-house skills needed to conduct a complex sales process - broadly in line with the findings of last year's analysis.
A major impediment to developing an effective sales policy was the small pool of skilled staff, the study found. Nine out of 10 respondent firms said they found it difficult to hire skilled sales teams.
A lack of adequate training was also apparent in the survey; only one in seven businesses had formal training programmes in place. This represents a slight decline from last year, when one in five were active in sales education.
Companies recognised the importance of sales but the ISA felt they were often not focusing on the correct targets. Too much emphasis was placed on generating promising leads; most firms blamed poor sales on a shortage of leads.
But the ISA said disappointing revenues were more often rooted in a failure to pursue and close a deal, with businesses having incorrectly positioned their products in the first place.
Chief executives accepted that it was important to educate themselves about sales, the survey found. Some 61 per cent of those polled said they saw value in such education, up from 51 per cent in 2002.
But there remained a reluctance to instruct non-sales staff in good marketing practice. This was a worrying development, according to the ISA.
"As buyers continually become more sophisticated and complex, sales become more complex," the ISA said.
"The sales role becomes a multi-faceted one and ignoring roles played by marketing, at the front end, and service during the process, is a perilous path."
The survey indicated strongly that a formal sales strategy brought concrete rewards: two-thirds of those with what the ISA described as "rigorously implemented processes" recorded consequent sales growth. Of these, the majority (87.5 per cent) have introduced sales education programmes.
For those that are not taking sales seriously enough, it was essential that a longer-term view of marketing strategies was taken, said the ISA.
"Urgent pressures for immediate returns are forcing companies to look at quick short-term fixes and are not necessarily allowing time for the fundamental change in the sales and marketing process that is required for long-term success," it said.
Firms participating in the survey included: ESBI Computing, Sage Ireland, Trintech Technologies, Iona, Tyrone Productions and Rockall Technologies.
The ISA represents 230 technology players and is affiliated to employers' lobby IBEC.
