Companies’ sales staff ‘must improve skills in presentation and negotiation’

SALES staff in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to the export market need to improve their skills in presentation and negotiation, as well as their ability to manage accounts, according to a report published yesterday.

The report, published by Forfás, the Government-sponsored enterprise and innovation research body, said SMEs needed to work harder to improve their ability to innovate and market and sell products.

It found that customers were the single most important source of new ideas adopted by exporting SMEs and that links with third-level colleges needed to improve.