I come from a commercial background and a sales background, so I have seen over the years the sorts of skills sets required to be a top sales executive. There is a gap in sales training at the moment, and it is important, in a competitive world, to be able to improve our skills in sales.

That is not to say that there are not some very interesting programmes out there, and, for example, we have been working with the Smurfit Business School to Provide an MSc in Sales Management.

But is sales training really necessary? Is there no such thing as a natural salesperson?

Some people can do it naturally, to some extent.

But, sales is such a competitive area, and so demanding, and if a person is not selling, then his or her company will never succeed. This is why companies need to improve the professionalism of its salespeople.

Marketing is a good parallel of an area of business which made itself more professional through education and training . . . and there is no reason why sales cannot do the same.

Will companies and salespeople still try to get by on natural talent?

Some will, but if you are selling especially big ticket items, then it is essential for salespeople to be on top of their games.

That's what we're trying to do . . . improve professionalism, excellence and ethics in sales.

Speaking of ethics, it is not a word which is immediately associated with salesmen and women. Are there still conmen out there?

Del Boy is history. So is Arthur Daly. Selling is a very honourable profession, and I can say that - having spent 35 years in sales. I have seen the performance of salespeople throughout this time, and how much professionalism has improved.

Your background included some time as a managing director of at least two companies. Can you see a time when it will be usual for a salesperson to rise to the very top of an organisation?

Education will be the key. The sales manager must be competent and must be qualified, but with education, we should have a situation whereby, when a chief executive job comes up, the sales manager will be as qualified as, say, the finance director. But the sales manager needs to be an all-round star in management is he or she wants the big career. This includes working on margins and understanding business models . . . because a sale is never a sale until you are paid for it.