A Guide for Technical Sales and Finance Teams 

Talk to any VP of Sales or CFO these days, and they’ll tell you the same thing: keeping good people is harder than ever. You spend three months finding the perfect financial analyst, only to watch your best sales engineer walk out the door two weeks later.

It’s not just you. 75% of employers say finding qualified candidates is their biggest headache. And honestly, who can blame them? Between AI reshaping how we work and new compliance requirements dropping every quarter, the skills your team needed last year might be obsolete by next year.

Here’s what’s changed: employee development isn’t a nice-to-have anymore. It’s how you keep your top performers from jumping ship to your competitors. Without a real growth plan, you’re basically telling your best people to start updating their LinkedIn profiles.

So how do you build a development plan that actually works?

What Makes the Difference

The best development plans aren’t just lists of training courses. They’re roadmaps that show people exactly how their skills can evolve in ways that matter—both to them and to your business goals.

Most plans fail because they’re too generic. Everyone gets the same “improve communication skills” goal, whether they’re closing million-dollar deals or building financial models. People see right through that.

Instead, get specific. Don’t say “get better with data.” Say “complete the Tableau certification by Q3 and use it to automate our monthly sales forecasting.” Now you’re talking.

Here’s something most people don’t realize: your technical sales reps and finance team members aren’t learning much in formal training sessions. Research shows that in the 70-20-10 framework, 70% of skill development happens during actual work, 20% comes from mentoring and peer conversations, and only 10% comes from sitting in workshops.

That means your best learning opportunities are probably happening right now—in client calls, during month-end close, or when someone’s troubleshooting a pricing model. The trick is being intentional about it.

Here’s a straightforward approach that gets results.

Start with Reality: What Skills Do You Actually Have?

Before you can build anything, you need to know where you stand. This doesn’t require some elaborate assessment tool—just honest conversations.

For your sales team, ask: Who consistently hits their numbers? What makes them different? Which reps struggle with technical demos versus relationship building?

For finance folks: Who can build models that don’t break? Who actually understands the new revenue recognition standards? Who can explain complex financial concepts to non-finance people without putting them to sleep?

Don’t just focus on technical skills. In technical sales, being able to translate complex products into business value is often more important than knowing every feature. In finance, being able to influence decisions with data storytelling can be worth more than advanced Excel skills.

And here’s the thing—some skills are becoming table stakes across both functions. If your people aren’t at least curious about AI tools, data visualization, and automation, they’re going to fall behind fast.

Pick Your Development Focus

Once you know where the gaps are, you can decide what kind of plan makes sense:

Skill-building plans work great when someone’s good at their job but needs to level up. Maybe your sales engineer knows the product inside and out but struggles with executive presentations. Or your financial analyst can build models all day but needs help with variance analysis.

Succession plans are for when you’re preparing someone to step up. Your best account manager might be ready to manage a team, or your senior accountant could be your next controller with the right development.

Leadership development is crucial when technical experts move into management. Suddenly they’re not just responsible for their own work—they need to coach, motivate, and develop others.

Career transition plans help when people want to move between functions. Maybe your finance person wants to get into sales operations, or your technical sales rep is interested in product management. 

Make Smart Investments

Development doesn’t have to break the bank, but it’s not free either. Most companies spend 2-5% of payroll on learning and development, though some studies suggest the ROI can be 353% or higher.

Think about it this way: what does it cost to replace a good sales engineer? Between recruiting fees, onboarding time, and lost productivity, you’re probably looking at six figures. Suddenly that certification program or coaching investment looks pretty reasonable.

If budget’s tight, get creative:

• Pair your senior reps with newer ones for deal coaching
• Have your finance team cross-train on different areas (AP, AR, planning, analysis)
• Use platforms like LinkedIn Learning or Coursera for technical skills
• Set up lunch-and-learns where people share what they’ve learned

Make It Fit Your Culture

Here’s where a lot of plans fall apart—they don’t account for how your team actually works.

Remote sales teams need different approaches than in-office finance teams. Some people learn by doing; others want to understand the theory first. Your millennials might love video-based learning, while your Gen X managers prefer face-to-face coaching.

Also, be real about what motivates different people. Early-career folks often want to build credibility and expand their skill set. Mid-career people might be more interested in leadership opportunities. Senior team members often get energized by mentoring others.

The best plan in the world doesn’t matter if it sits in a drawer. 

Launch Smart

Don’t just announce the plan in an email and hope for the best. Get people involved in creating it. Ask your team what skills they want to develop and what their career goals look like. When people have input, they’re more likely to actually participate.

Be clear about expectations. Who’s responsible for what? How often will you check in? What resources are available? What does success look like?

And handle the logistics upfront. Make sure people can actually access the learning platforms, schedule time for development activities, and know how to track their progress.

Stay Connected

This is where most development plans die—nobody follows up. Schedule regular check-ins, even if it’s just 15 minutes every few weeks.

You don’t need fancy metrics. Just ask: Are you using these new skills in your day-to-day work? Do you feel more confident? Are there roadblocks we need to address?

Watch for the real indicators of success:

• People staying in their roles longer
• Faster project completion with fewer errors
• More internal promotions and succession readiness
• Teams handling more complex work without external help
• Better engagement in team surveys

Keep Evolving

Your business is changing, your industry is changing, and your people’s goals are changing. Your development plans should change too.

Build in regular review points. Maybe it’s quarterly, maybe it’s tied to performance reviews. The key is being willing to adjust when something isn’t working or when priorities shift.

Keep gathering feedback. What’s working? What’s frustrating? What would people like to see more of? Use those insights to make the next round of development planning even better.

The Bottom Line

There’s no perfect template for development planning. What works for a high-growth SaaS company won’t necessarily work for a traditional manufacturing finance team.

But here’s what’s universal: people want to know their work matters and that they have a future with you. A thoughtful development plan sends that message loud and clear.

You don’t need to solve everything at once. Start small—maybe pick one skill gap that’s causing real problems, or focus on developing one high-potential person. Build from there.

The companies that figure this out will have a huge advantage in attracting and keeping talent. The ones that don’t? Well, they’ll keep wondering why their best people keep leaving for competitors who invest in growth.

Your move.

-Mark

Building Your Team the Right Way

At MKIS Professional Search, we’ve built our practice exclusively around semiconductor industry talent acquisition. We understand the technical distinctions that matter, maintain deep relationships with specialized professionals across the chip industry ecosystem, and navigate the regulatory complexity inherent to semiconductor hiring.

Billions in CHIPS Act funding won’t matter if we can’t staff the fabs, design centers, and sales teams. Here is a link to our overall Insight on Semiconductor Workforce Challenges: https://mkis.us/f/navigating-semiconductor-workforce-challenges

Your next breakthrough hire shouldn’t be left to chance. Or to recruiters who don’t understand the difference between front-end and back-end design.